It’s no secret that I read a lot. Especially business books.
Though I have been known to mix that up with other choice non-fiction.
For instance, I’ve spent the last two days reading Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Body. Despite the fact that I hated Ferriss’s first book, The 4-Hour Work Week, I couldn’t resist the temptation to check out 4HB after seeing people rave about their results on Twitter.
But I didn’t read 4HB straight through, as I do with most books. Instead, I read the parts that were most relevant or interesting to me, and then immediately started putting the principles into practice.
I read most business books cover to cover because I actually find them fascinating. (I know, I’m a nerd.)
But for most of you reading this, that isn’t an ideal strategy. You’re busy, you’ve got lots of other things to do when it comes to running your business, and your idea of a fun Saturday night probably isn’t reading Good to Great
So I hereby give you permission to “read” business books differently.
When it comes to tackling the business books on your to-do list, you should focus on two things:
1. Read only the parts that are most relevant to your business.
2. Put what you’ve learned into practice.
I mean, think about it. Is it more effective to read an entire business book but continue running your business as usual, or to read one chapter and use those strategies to make your business better?
So today, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read. (You can check out the recommended reading page for some suggestions.) Read the one chapter that is most relevant, and think about how you can apply that to your business. Then give yourself permission to cross that book off your list and go do something to make your business better.
(And if you’re a nerd like me? Feel free to continue reading business books from cover to cover. Just make sure you take the time to put what you’ve learned into practice as well.)
I smiled the whole time reading this. This is exactly how I read business books. I recommend having a notepad and your schedule at hand while you’re reading that way you can write down action items as you go and then immediately add them to your daily, weekly or monthly routine, so they are more likely to get done.
This is advice I probably should put into practice. I am certainly a big nerd when it comes to reading, though my choice of books is pretty varied. Classic novels, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction on just about any topic you can imagine, I’ll read it all. And I always read it cover to cover.
That makes sense for recreational reading. I’m re-reading Madame Bovary right now, and I’m not going to pick and choose individual chapters from that… But if I’m reading a book for the purpose of learning something to put into practice, it does make sense to skip over the parts that aren’t relevant to what I’m trying to do.
Wow, the perfect advice with which to start my day. I was just complaining to my friend last night and I was inundated with information for business books, but wasn’t putting it into practice. Thank for the tip, and for giving type-A’s like me the permission to do the thing that makes sense: only read the parts you need!
I’ll definitely be back to your blog – Thanks!
Like Josh I had to smile at this post. I was not a fan of 4H Week–I am not about to go to Thailand to save money. And I did find Good to Great a great read. I found that it read well with Mindset by Dweck.
One of the things I am doing now that is making a difference for me is utilizing a notebook to jot down ideas that are inspired from my reading.
I like Erika’s idea about having a notebook to jot down ideas while your reading. I’ve been going through stickies (marking pages) lately like a mad woman. You can take a look at my pic of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh http://twitpic.com/2xb0u2 to get an idea of my madness! That way, I won’t have to dig and dig when I want to go back and reference the wonderful bits!
I am guilty as charged. I have stacks of business books still to read because I haven’t gotten through the ones I bought before them. I want to read them cover to cover, but find that I never finish. The beginnings that don’t have the practical knowledge often don’t keep me interested so I rarely pick the book up, yet I feel compelled to read the whole thing before going on to the next one. Not a winning cycle.
So Megan I will take your permission to read differently and flip right to the chapters that interest me most and use what I’ve learned. And who knows maybe one day I’ll go back and read it cover to cover.
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