If you can’t tell by now – books are one of my favorite things.
In the last ten days I’ve read “The Radical Leap” by Steve Farber, “Going Rogue” by Sarah Palin and “Drive” by Daniel Pink. And due to Pink’s inspiration – I’m in the middle of “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
I love books. But more importantly I love discussing books with other people! And I know I’m not alone. It’s not unusual for our coaching clients to set aside an entire session to talk about a book they have recently read. Our students often take the opportunity during breaks to ask about the burning questions they have after reading a book we’ve recommended. And just today we got an e-mail (through our LinkedIn BBC group) from a CEO in Wisconsin. He’s reading “Crush It” and “The 4-Hour Workweek” and is looking for someone to share his thoughts with.
Isn’t it amazing how books open our minds and allow us to have deep and meaningful conversations? I think that’s one of the primary reasons we started the Business Book Club. While reading is a solitary activity – research tells us that the best way to remember new ideas and put them into action is to share our thoughts and ideas with someone else. We launched the Business Book Club last year. We read six books in six months. Each month a different group of people showed up to talk. Every month more people joined us on-line.
Our intent was to make it easy to pick up a book and read along with us. And we knew that in the economic climate of 2009 that cost was an issue – so we made it free. There was no cost to join. Anyone that attended could duplicate our facilitation techniques. And we distributed our book guides on Slideshare.
No doubt about it — 2009 exceeded our expectations. Interesting people joined us. Relationships extended beyond the meetings. In December we were featured in an article about business reading groups. And WE grew so much in the process that we knew we had to do it again!
In preparation for 2010’s Business Book Club we asked for referrals, checked out the best seller list, poured over blog sites and read a ton of books. Trust me – Amazon LOVES us! And then we narrowed it down to six.
The Radical Leap A Whole New Mind The Back of the Napkin
Churchill on Leadership The Oz Principle Leadership and Self-Deception
We’re excited about 2010. The books we’ve chosen are diverse and interesting. The authors have made sound arguments. We have a group of smart people that are going to challenge our thinking and ask provocative questions. So whether you choose to read just one of these books or all six – won’t you join us?
Tags: A Whole New Mind, Amazon, Arbinger Institute, BBC, Business Book Club, Churchill on Leadership, Craig Hickman, Crush It, Dan Roam, Daniel Pink, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Drive, Going Rogue, Leadership and Self-Deception, LinkedIn, Radical Leap, Roger Connors, Slideshare, Steve Farber, Steven F. Hayward, Team of Rivals, The 4-Hour Workweek, The Back of the Napkin, The Oz Principle, Tom Smith
