My friend Tim Ferriss just released his new book, The 4-Hour Body. It contains lots of tantalizing body hacking strategies from losing 20 pounds in a month without exercise to reversing permanent injuries.

More intriguing than the book itself is how Tim intends to keep it on the bestseller lists for the better part of this year. As my other buddy Jonathan Fields put it on his Tribal Author blog, instead of trying to appeal to as many people as possible, Tim created an ultra-slick, James Cameron worthy book trailer that “makes a bee-line for the hearts and souls of most rabid, hyperbolic, youth and performance driven part of the market, knowing that there were more than enough of them to push the book onto the New York Times list.”

People wonder why everything Tim Ferriss does turns to gold, and here’s the reason: he knows his audience better than himself. He has slowly but carefully cultivated a loyal legion of fans on his blog by providing advice of a very specific nature: think extreme breath-holding and round-the-world plane tickets. After years of using the blog to analyze what his audience wants, Tim now serves it up in The 4-Hour Body. And it’s working.

The point is, Tim doesn’t try to be all things to all people, and neither should you. As you progress in your career, do you have a solid understanding of your strengths, where you add the most value, and the people who most appreciate what you bring to the table? Can you articulate what you want to be known for in your organization and your field besides pleasing people in the senior ranks? It’s only with these insights that you will be in a position to actively drive your career forward.