Build Your Own Strategic Reading Plan — or, How Should You Pick Which Business Book(s) to Read?

So, I’m sitting in front of my television set.  ”Nothing” is on, and I simply spend some time “surfing” in hopes of finding something that will grab my interest.  I don’t do this often, but to unwind, I do it occasionally.  I much prefer my “appointment” television — you know, when I  want to watch television with a plan in mind, like — when I want to watch House, or a football game.

I wonder if my purposeless surfing has a parallel in our reading habits.  How do you pick business books to read?  Do you just grab the latest title you’ve heard of:  if there is buzz about a specific book, do you say to yourself, “I want to be in on the know about that book?”  I can understand that.  If everyone seems to be talking about Outliers, or The Black Swan, or Good to Great, we all want to be in on the conversation.  But I have a hunch that even then, the books we choose may not always be dealing with the issues we are dealing with at the moment.  Or the skills we need to develop.  Or the information gaps we need to fill.

Yes, it is true that reading almost any book will help us in our never-ending pursuit of excellence and success.  ”The more you know, the more you know.”  But if our hours are precious, and already full of things to do, not only do we need to read to learn and grow — we need to read the best books, the right books for us, for us to learn and grow.

So, I have a suggestion — why not develop your own “strategic” business book reading plan.   You can still read those popular books, but maybe you could always keep one book going that fits your needs, fills your gaps, deals with issues that you are actually dealing with.  Just a few minutes a day, or one focused block of time during the week, will help you knock off that book that can genuinely help you with what you need the most.

So – how do you find which books will meet your needs?  One way (forgive the self-serving comment here) is to read this blog.  Bob Morris, and our entire blogging team, will help you filter out books that don’t fit the bill, and help identify the books that would be most useful.  I warn you – reading Bob’s posts will make you wish you had time to read all of the books he refers us to. Few of us would have the time to do so.  But use his posts as a filter, to help identify the books that would be most useful.  Another way would be to attend the First Friday Book Synopsis (if you live near DFW).  We present two synopses every month of best-selling business books.  Our synopses can give you enough content to know the key themes and ideas of a book, help you filter out what does not fit your needs, and whet your appetite for a deeper dive into those books that you would find most valuable.

But to help you get started with your own strategic business book reading plan, I have started a chart.  This is my first draft, and it includes, primarily, books that I have presented at the First Friday Book Synopsis.  My colleague Karl Krayer would include different titles, and maybe all of us could help identify additional and different titles and business issues.  So — here it is.  I can say, with certainly, that each of these books was worth my time.  Maybe this could help you start a strategic business reading regimen of your own.

A Strategic Business Book Reading Plan

If you need to:	Then you might want to read:
Aim higher – personally	The Other 90%
Think/work like an athlete in training	Outliers Talent is Overrated
Think like an innovator	The Creative Habit The Art of Innovation
Get better at time management	Getting Things Done The Power of Full Engagement
Become a better servant leader	Servant Leadership
Nurture and build your people	Encouraging the Heart
Market more effectively	Waiting For Your Cat to Bark The Tipping Point The Long Tail
Get better connected	Wikinomics Groundswell
Network more effectively	Never Eat Alone
Communicate more effectively	Words that Work Made to Stick
Be a (very good) generalist	Reality Check
Negotiate more effectively	Women Don’t Ask Ask for It
Play well with others	The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Learn to learn	The Opposable Mind
Learn to tell the truth	Crucial Conversations Winning

You can try this list, or develop your own.  You can start slow – with one book a month.  In a year, you will have made great progress working through your strategic reading plan, and, more importantly, you will have learned more, you will know more, and I suspect you will be able to do more.

{To purchase my synopses of many of these titles, with handout + audio, go to our 15 Minute Business Book site}.