Fascination with Collaboration Leads to Book Deal for Sanker

Dan Sanker never intended to write a book.

“I didn’t really want to be an author,” said Sanker, president and CEO of Fayetteville-based logistics firm CaseStack. “It was more about a topic that I was just really interested in.”

The result is “Collaborate: The Art of We,” a 170-page book described by its publisher as a “hands-on guide” for competing in the business world through collaboration. While electronic copies of the book have been available for weeks, hard copies weren’t out until Feb. 6.

Sanker said CaseStack largely is built on collaborative processes, and he’s constantly looking for new ways to improve its business by working with others. Subsequently, he first began writing everything he knew about collaboration as a way to organize his thoughts.

Sanker eventually decided others might be interested in the same idea, or want to learn more about it. After following a few leads from friends and placing dozens of phone calls, Sanker secured a publishing agreement.

“At one point, I was worn out with the process of doing it all,” he said. “Now that it’s done, I want to figure out a way to use it productively.

“I don’t want to formally promote it. I want to use it.”

Details haven’t been finalized, but Sanker thinks one way to help people figure out a way collaboration applies to their respective industries might be to use the book in group presentations. The presentations would have an interactive element — using real-world scenarios — and perhaps include a board-style game that can be played on mobile devices.

Sanker said he was surprised to hear CaseStack’s accounting department has been holding lunch meetings to talk about the book chapter by chapter, and to discuss its practical applications. Those kinds of stories make all the headaches associated with writing it worthwhile, Sanker said.

“It’s more fun now. It’s kind of taken on a life of its own.”

“Collaborate” was published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Inc.