This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability. Filler words were removed, sentence structure was improved, and the conversation was formatted for easier reading while preserving the original meaning and tone.

Henry Harrison:
Today, I want to welcome to the show—Entrepreneurs, Business, and Finance—the fantastic, dynamic Dianna Booher.

Welcome, Dianna.

Dianna Booher:
Henry, it’s good to be with you.

Background & Career Overview

Henry Harrison:
We became friends because Dianna is a legend—books, speaking, coaching.

I joined the National Speakers Association, and she helped me with some of my material.

When you search “Dianna Booher books,” you just keep scrolling. You’ve written over 50 books and sold more than 4 million copies.

For business publishing, that’s extraordinary. Is anyone else doing that?

Dianna Booher:
Probably novelists—people like Danielle Steel.

I’m not sure about business or how-to authors, but novelists tend to produce that kind of volume.

Henry Harrison:
For a business author, it’s incredible.

Your publishers include:

• Penguin Random House

• Simon & Schuster

• McGraw Hill

• HarperCollins

You’ve also consulted with Fortune 500 companies for decades.

What have you been able to do that keeps people coming back?

How It All Started

Dianna Booher:
Book writing and publishing were my entry into entrepreneurship. I didn’t start out trying to build a business.

When my first book came out, I appeared briefly on an ABC segment—and the response was immediate.

People started calling constantly. Even before the book launched, I was calling companies saying:
“I’m the author of a forthcoming book—can I come help your people communicate better?”

Being an author opened doors.

Building a Scalable Business

Henry Harrison:
You didn’t stay solo—you built a training company.

Dianna Booher:
Yes, at one point I had about 14 employees.

Every time I wrote a book, I turned it into:

• A training program

• A course

• A licensing opportunity

Sometimes companies wanted me to train their people. Other times they wanted to license the content and train internally.

But I never set out to build a large organization—I preferred a solo entrepreneur lifestyle.

Exit & Current Work

Henry Harrison:
And you sold that business.

Dianna Booher:
Yes, in 2017.

Now I focus on:

• Keynote speaking (selectively)

• Coaching executives

• Helping leaders write and launch books

Many of my clients are executives who want to expand their influence.

How She Chose Her Niche

Henry Harrison:
Your topics—writing, communication, presentations—are very focused.

Dianna Booher:
They came directly from client needs.

Early on, a vice president at an oil company told me:
“Our engineers can’t write.”

That led to my first business book.

Then companies like IBM asked for help with presentations.

Then I saw communication challenges tied to customer service.

Each need became:

• A book

• A course

• A product

The Power of Intellectual Property

Henry Harrison:
You’ve essentially built a product that sells repeatedly.

Dianna Booher:
Exactly.

My first book took four days to write. I used real-world examples from friends, anonymized them, and created a practical guide.

That content has been resold for decades in different formats:

• Books

• Courses

• Licensing deals

The key question is:
“How do I get the best return on the time I invested creating this?”

Finding Purpose

Henry Harrison:
You’ve always seemed to enjoy your work.

Dianna Booher:
That’s critical.

I started during a difficult time—my husband was struggling with depression, and I had two young children.

I asked a mentor, “How do I make a living?”

He said, “What do you like to do?”

That changed everything.

I realized I liked writing—and I built from there.

Early Career Reality

Henry Harrison:
Did you always expect to be an author?

Dianna Booher:
Not at all.

I didn’t know any authors. My idea was:

• Sit at a card table

• Write a book

• Mail it off

• Wait for the movie deal

That’s how little I understood the process.

I started with a novel, then pivoted into business writing after seeing real demand.

Email & Productivity Insights

Henry Harrison:
Let’s talk about your book Faster, Fewer, Better Emails.

Dianna Booher:
It’s about behavior, not just etiquette.

People:

• Respond too quickly

• Copy too many people

• Keep email open all day

• Get distracted by notifications

These habits reduce focus and lead to poor decisions.

Sometimes slowing down leads to better communication.

Clarity & Thinking

Henry Harrison:
One thing I learned from you—if I can’t write something clearly, I don’t fully understand it.

Dianna Booher:
Exactly.

One of my most quoted lines is:
“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.”

That’s not a writing problem—it’s a thinking problem.

Final Advice

Henry Harrison:
What would you leave people with?

Dianna Booher:
A few things:

• Start with what you enjoy

• Learn continuously—information is everywhere

• Hire the best people you can

• Find mentors

I didn’t know how to run a business at first—I had to learn everything.

Mentors made all the difference.

Henry Harrison:
That’s a great wrap.

Dianna, you’ve been an inspiration to me and many others. Thank you for coming on.

Dianna Booher:
Thank you. It’s great to be with you.

Henry Harrison:
Thank you.