Jan 11
4

How Many Business Books Should You Read?

I just read a good blog post by my friend and mentor Cameron Herold, “Is 6 Enough????.” It is about reading business books. So often I hear a person boast that they ”read one business book per week.” In fact, I used to be this person. Probably until Cameron pointed it out to me years ago. And he was right. The truth? Unless you have a photographic memory, you are wasting your time.

Why? Well to start, you can’t possibly retain all of that information, and you are probably reading to get “through it” vs. “from it.” Second, there is no way that you can implement all of this learning!

So here is what I now do: I spend a lot of time figuring out WHICH books to read. A book has to come highly recommended by multiple people for me to look at; and it has to make sense to my business NOW. And then I take the time to really figure it out and make sure it is right for my business.I don’t have the time anymore to read books that might have an impact on my business some day in the future.

And the result? I actually implement the stuff I read about into my business. And I get to spend more time playing with my kids. And more time reading books that stimluate my non business brain.

Currently, I have zero business books on the go, so if you have any great suggestions………..

This entry was posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:25 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Entrepreneurship by admin 5 Comments

Tristan says:

January 4, 2011 at 8:20 pm

Great post John! I too have read too much information at times. Just like too much advice, it can distract you and slow you down.

Re a suggestion, I’m waiting for Double Double by Cameron for my next read. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Double-Double-The-Book/149467411770592

Have an awesome day,
Tristan

Marianne says:

January 10, 2011 at 1:14 am

Hi John,
Garret wanted to tell you about a new book he was reading, over the holidays. But with
all the family fun, it slipped out of his mind.

“The Authentic Leader”…it’s about presence, no position

by
David Irvine and Jim Reger

Check it out when you get a minute!
cheers
ms

Rrrraul says:

October 19, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Well, how about Double Double?

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