Reading Business Books Is Sort of Like Listening to Good Sermons

I had breakfast with my blogging colleague Bob Morris this morning.  He reads more books than anyone I know.  You cannot talk about a business issue, a business idea, without him knowing the two or three books to read on that specific issue.  And in the midst of the breakfast, I had one of those moments of insight – you know, an “aha”  moment.

So – a little background.  I used to preach (I still do, occasionally, but only as a guest preacher).  I preached at least two new sermons a week – for about 20 years.  If you go to church, then you know the truth about sermons – after a few, they all deal with the same themes, the same issues, repeated a multitude of times, in whatever new and creative ways the preacher can come up with.

One homiletics textbook said that most preachers only have 5 sermons anyway (plus or minus), and then challenged preachers to make sure they were the right 5 sermons.

So what was my “aha” insight?  It is this:  Reading business books is a lot like listening to a steady diet of sermons.

Here’s a simple truth:  people who go to church and listen to sermons learn very little.  They are simply reminded of the basics, over and over and over again.

So it is with business books.  There are about five major themes (or maybe 7, or 10…the number is imprecise).  But the truth is clear.  Business books do more reminding than they do teaching.

Some of the themes that crop up over and over again are:

• be an ethical leader
• have the important conversations that you need to have
• treat your people well
• be a good team leader/player
• be sure that your product/eservice is top quality
• and, though you provide top quality, make it even better next year  (innovate, constantly!)
• and, use your time well (it disappears so very fast)
• study the successful companies/leaders, and emulate them
• study the unsuccessful companies/leaders, and do not repeat their mistakes
• plan well, execute better
• communicate! — openly, often — hide very little!

You could expand on this list.  But…  I think it really is true that after you’ve read a good initial stack of business books, you continue reading not to learn, but to be reminded.  Don’t you think?

So – how many books should you read a year.  It depends – how quickly do you forget to do what you know to do?  I suspect the answer to that question is… pretty quickly.  That is why preachers always encourage their folks to show up at church week after week.  Unfortunately, it takes regular reminders to “love your neighbor” to help you do a good job of actually loving your neighbor.  And, it takes regular reminders to lead well, to treat your people well, to keep getting better at what you do.

So, read more books.  Lots more books.  It takes a “business sermon” a week – just to help you remember.

And, by the way, some books are better than others.  Lots better.  So too, some sermons are better than others.  But it is better to read a mediocre book to help you remember than it is to not keep reading, and thus fail to remember.

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