“If you went to a doctor who told you that she hadn’t read a scholarly
article or taken any training since med school, would you stick around?
What about a lawyer who doesn’t read law journals or a dentist who
never bothered to read up on the newest case studies?”
That’s from a post by Seth Godin emphasizing the importance of reading.
And as you consider that quote, is it any more likely that you can remain clueless and succeed in your career? I don’t think so.
Leaders are readers, pure and simple and that’s even more true in today’s world of rapid change. As Peter Drucker says: “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong
process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to
teach people how to learn.“
I urge you to develop a habit of reading. Seth makes a great point when he says that “we read stuff all the time (email, stop signs, the comics) but for some
reason, people think it’s fine to draw the line at books.” Don’t be those people.
Reading is such an easy thing to do and it can totally transform your life. What should you read? I suggest concentrating on business skills and industry happenings. Don’t worry about what’s good or bad, just get started. There are bunches of suggested reading lists online (I have a short one started here and I’ll add to it soon). You’ll relate and/or like some more than others and that’s okay. Don’t struggle through a book you hate, find another one on the same subject and move along.
And don’t forget about blogs – which I’m guessing isn’t a concern if you’re reading mine and don’t forget about magazines. Books take days or weeks, but are FULL of stuff. Blogs take 3 minutes and give you quick and useful nuggets and magazines are somewhere in between. Use them all.
A couple of final thoughts:
- Keep stuff to read with you at all time – either real or on audio. In the course of an average day, there are multiple opportunities to read a few pages. You’ll be surprised how quickly it adds up.
- Keep books/magazines in multiple places – bathroom, car, backpack, living room. Read whatever’s handy where you are. When you were in school you read/studied multiple subjects at once, you can do it now.
