Mark Twain said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” Relative to career management, reading business books builds knowledge to apply on the job, when networking and in job interviews.
The first question that comes to mind is: “How do I find time to read?” You make time. You need a fresh mind to absorb information — get to work 10 minutes early and use that time reading a chapter; carve 10 minutes out of your lunch hour, have a weekend reading hour; read on the train or bus, etc.
Next comes topic selection. For input, I polled business book authors in my network. They select topics based upon what they’ve read in trade and professional journals and general business publications. All said their choices would be topics they wanted to learn more about, not what they knew a great deal about. The reasoning:
1. They were more open to learning when it came to new topics.
2. They tended to skim books if they knew quite a bit about the topic.
The easiest way to check out books is to head to a bookstore or a publisher’s Web site because they showcase the latest books (Web sites of online booksellers include books that have been published years past, so the choices are numerous and many contain dated information.) My preference is the bookstore because it gives me the opportunity to really thumb through a book at the coffee bar.
For those Web surfers willing to make choices based upon publisher’s excerpts and accompanying online reviews, business books publishers’ Websites include: adamsmedia.com, amacombooks.org, bkconnection.com, ft-ph.com, harpercollins.com, hbspress.org, books.mcgraw-hill.com, us.penguingroup.com, randomhouse.com, twbookmark.com and wiley.com.
Why didn’t I suggest going to the library? To really learn from a business book, you’re going to have to treat it as a textbook.
Your tools: Two different-colored highlighters, a pencil, an eraser, Post-it flags (one for each chapter and appendices), two colors of 3×5 Post-it notes, an 8.5×11 pad of paper (draw a line down the center of the page — left side headed “Me”’ right side headed “My Network”), a three-ring binder, a three-hole punch and subject dividers for the binder.
Use one highlighter for important information; the other for interesting information. Make notes on the 8.5×11 pad as you read. These notes should list the title/author/publisher of the book at the top and what information is of immediate use to you (the “Me” column). Then list what could be interesting to others (the “My Network”) column; be sure to put their names. Your post-reading to-do list will include putting the information to use and sharing it with those on the “My Network” list.
Now it’s time to organize. Hole-punch your notes and put them in the binder with divider tabs labeled by subject (e.g. communication, change, finance, innovation, general management, marketing/sales, teamwork, etc.). In front of your notes put a copy of the inside dust jacket notes.
Writing reinforces what you’ve learned. Use one color of 3×5 to summarize the important information you highlighted; the other color for the interesting information. Include page references. Put the 3x5s at the end of each chapter/appendix; use a Post-it flag to mark each last page. Use the book’s inside front cover to jot down a keyword summary of each chapter and its page-ending number. If you want to retrieve information, scan the keyword information and go to the flag.
As you accumulate books, the binder and the 3x5s become your fingertip library — a quick, subject-matter reference guide.
Jim Pawlak is a Michigan-based writer whose business book column appears in business publications across the country.
