I love talking to authors - in fact I love it so much I dedicate one of my podcasts specifically to conversations with authors which means that I can connect great minds and leading authorities to my community and I learn something at the same time.
My eight year old devours books too and she loves selecting books from the book store. In tough times reading is a great way to develop out knowledge and keep us on top of our game and is one of the most cost effective ways to enhance professional development, especially if we then apply what we read to our business.
However I know that not everyone has the time to read lots of business books. So how would it be if you had someone do that or you and then identify the top 100 business books of all time that they summarise for you so you can glean some insights and perhaps then decide which areas you'd like to explore in further depth?
Well look no further as the executives of 800-CEO-READ, a specialist business book retailer, have just published a new book 'The 100 Best Business Books Of All Time'. A number of bloggers recently had the opportunity to interview just had the opportunity to interview Jack Covert the founder of 800-CEO-READ and Todd Sattersten the company president and co-authors.
Here's what they had to say to me.
Krishna: What inspired you to write the 100 best business books of all time?
Jack: I have always been a supplier of information. From my record store days to the 800-CEO-READ, I have always tried to be the place for information. About ten years ago, I changed my tactic from telling people about all business books to telling people about the best business books with Jack Covert Selects. That branched into our Business Book of the Year awards and our book is the natural extension.
Krishna: What is your goal with the book and what do you hope that the reader will benefit from reading it?
Todd: Our goal is to help people find books that can help them solve the problems they are dealing with. We hear all the time that people don't read business books because they don't have time. The first step in that process is searching out and finding a book to read.
There are 11,000 business books published in the United States each year. That is the real problem. It is too hard to find accessible and applicable books. The 100 Best Business Books of All Time provides a great set of books for a wide range of topics.
Krishna: Which book has had the most profound impact on you individually as a leader and why?
Jack: I really was trying to come up with some clever, why didn't I think of that, book but I need to stick with the classic business book and that would be 'In Search of Excellence'. That was the first business book I read where I understood and appreciated the point the authors were making plus the book is written with a real in-you-face attitude, which I really found amusing and captivating.
Krishna: Which book has had the most significant impact on you as a marketer and why?
Todd: Seth Godin's 'Purple Cow' changed my world. I read it in 2003, when I was running a small sheet metal fabrication shop with my father. We needed a way to stand out from our competitors.
That is a common problem with small business. Most owner/marketers think the mission is to get noticed.
"Be remarkable" is a very different mission. It goes beyond and says that people have to talk about your business with other people. The realization for me was that our shop was going to have a really hard time, because there was no natural set of people who talked to each other about metal fabrication. I ended up leaving about nine months later and my dad sold the business and retired.
Krishna: If you could select one book that you think as leaders we should all read given the economic downturn from the books that you cover, what do you think is required reading?
Jack: That is a very good question. My current choice is 'The Leadership Moment' by Michael Useem. This is a book of stories of people who find themselves is extraordinary situations and how they react to them.
The book features stories of both leadership mistakes and heroic moments. During these trying times we must hold to our ethical underpinnings. We need to learn from the successes and failures of the people that went before us. No book picked more interesting stories - stories we have heard about and some we haven't- and told them better than the author.
Krishna: If you were talking with a Gen Y leader what is the one book that you recommend they read that will help them become an inspiring leader?
Todd: I tell everyone to start with 'The Leadership Challenge' by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. The book has an elegant, insightful model for leadership. They have proven that business results improve when leaders display the competences in their model.
I think leadership is one of the categories that everyone can benefit from reading and they should read widely. The Leadership Challenge is a great starting point and allows you to have a base from which to compare additional views and theories.
Krishna: As publishers and with the well-recorded changing face of publishing, what do you predict is the future of publishing over the next 90 years?
Jack: It goes without saying that 90 years is an awful long time. Being as old as I am, I seldom think that far out. I do think out nine years though and I would like to answer this question within that time frame. Nine years from now we will still have the paper book.
I am not sure if the paper book will be similar to the current vinyl record but it is tempting to compare the two. The music and the publishing industry are very connected. Music ruined itself because they were blind to the changes going on in the tech world. Now they are playing catch up and I feel they have already lost that race.
Publishing is a little different because of the tactile nature of the book. We really love to hold a physical book and turn the pages.
Currently there is no real good delivery system for the digital book but there will be soon. How publishing reacts to this life changing moment will decide where publishing will be in nine years. As the independent book store goes away and Amazon becomes more important and with print on demand, self publishing will become larger and larger. With print on demand and the amazing possibilities of digital, words will be delivered quickly to more people.
Krishna: If you were to predict one book that would be recommended to business leaders to read from the '100 Best Business Books of All Time' at the turn of the next century from the books you featured which would it be and why?
Todd: Oh, 'The Places You'll Go' by Dr. Seuss. Over time, we hold onto simple and memorable messages. Aseop's fables were likely longer stories that over time were distilled to their most essential elements.
Suess has summarized a library of self-help literature in about 600 words of rhyming verse. 100 years from now, I would be my bet is Seuss still ring true:
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
SPECIAL OFFER
Jack and Todd have generously offered all our 'Biz Growth Community' a choice of one of three books if you decide to purchase 'The 100 Best Business Books of All Time' from 800-CEO-READ this week.
Here are the books and their coupon codes:
- Leadership Moment by Michael Useem - clash
- Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono - csq9t
- Growing A Business by Paul Hawken - xtjpt
Just order your copy of The 100 best Business Books Of All Time at 800-CEO-READ (www.800ceoread.com) and then select which one of the three books you would like to receive as the bonus with the coupon code.
The offer expires March 7, 2009.
GET A COPY OF 'THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME - FREE
I was lucky enough to get a copy of 'The 100 Best Business Books Of All Time' to review in preparation for the interview.
Why not share with me and the reader of 'Biz Growth News' your personal favourite marketing, branding, social media or leadership book and why you recommend it by adding to the comments here. I'll then draw one person out of the hat on the 17 March 2009 - consider it our St Patrick's Day book festival - and you can get my copy of the book. I promise it is as good as new.
Make sure that you leave your correct email address when adding your comment as that's how I will contact you if you are the winner.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
You can read the other interviews as part of the Post2Post book tour here:
On Phil Gerbyshak's Slacker Manager
On Chris Taggart's Crowd Spark
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