Michael Hyatt is the former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. He has worked in the book publishing industry for most of his career.
Michael began at Word Publishing while a student at Baylor University, where he majored in philosophy. He worked at Word for a total of six years. In addition to serving as Vice President of Marketing at Thomas Nelson in the mid-80s, he also started his own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, in 1986. Word eventually acquired the company in 1992.
He was a successful literary agent from 1992 until early 1998. However, finding that he really missed the world of corporate publishing, he rejoined Thomas Nelson in 1998. He worked in a variety of roles in both divisional and corporate management.
Michael was CEO from August 2005 to April 2011, when he was succeeded by Mark Schoenwald. He was Chairman from August 2006 until the company was acquired by HarperCollins in July 2012. Since that time, Michael has ran my own company, Michael Hyatt & Company. It is a multi-million dollar online training company.
Michael has written eight books, two of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list. His newest book, Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want, is on the subject of life planning. He wrote it with his friend, Daniel Harkavy, Founder, CEO, and Executive Coach of Building Champions.
Michael has been married to for thirty-eight years. They have five daughters, five grandsons, and three granddaughters. He and his family live outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
Michael Hyatt is the co-author of Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want, along with Daniel Harkavy. It is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best seller. In the book, he discusses the importance of creating a life plan and how to do it.
He is also the author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. It is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best seller. It provides step-by-step guidance on how to gain visibility online for your product, service, or cause.
Michael is the founder of 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever,™ Platform University®, and Get Published. He has been blogging here since 2004.
Recently, he has been featured in the following articles:
Fast Company magazine: “How Can You Tell If A Goal Is Achievable And Realistic?” (April 12, 2016)
Inc. magazine: “The 15 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs” (March 21, 2016)
Entrepreneur magazine: “7 Tips to Take Your Personal Brand to Celebrity Status” (February 5, 2016)
Nashville Business Journal: “Meet Three Nashvillians Making Millions on the Internet” (January 8, 2016)
American Management Association: “The 30 Most Influential Leaders in Business” (February 20, 2015)
Inc. magazine: “Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts” (May 12, 2014)
Inc. magazine: “100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference” (December 16, 2014)
Entrepreneur magazine “Top 25 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs” (December 3, 2014)
Success magazine: “9 Podcasts to Enrich Your Mind and Soul” (January 29, 2015)
Entrepreneur magazine: “50 Favorite Online-Marketing Influencers” (August 25, 2014)
Forbes magazine: “Top 10 Online Marketing Experts to Follow” (February 28, 2014)
My Content
Michael’s mission is to help high achievers win at work and succeed at life.
To that end, he writes on personal development, leadership, productivity, and public influence. He also has a weekly podcast called, “This Is Your Life” which is co-hosted by Michele Cushatt. They cover similar topics as those on the blog. The show is consistently ranked in the top twenty of iTunes’ Business category.