I believe that reading business books, like most activities, is an acquired skill. We need to learn the language, the standard flow and basics of concepts in a certain area. The first book we ever read on marketing likely blew your mind. The 14th book on marketing, less so.
As with all acquired skills, as we become more proficient we enter a comfort zone – the “challenge” of our initial foray into the field has faded, and we feel good as an experienced doer of the task. Which is exactly when we need to explore something else.
I recently had the opportunity to read an industry specific book as part of a research project for a client. And it was an amazing experience. What I had originally expected to be dry, irrelevant (to me) and basically strictly for a paycheque turned into something else entirely as I found myself reading not just for the client, but in how the concepts could be applied to my business as well. Obviously not everything was applicable, but with a little creativity I was able to hit upon some insights that really shifted the way I viewed my business. All thanks to the act of reading something a little outside my comfort zone.
I’ve heard of people having business epiphanies reading history books, science books, biographies and art magazines. Even fiction. My encouragement to you is to pick something outside your comfort zone and dive in. If you do so with a curious and open mind, you’ll likely be amazed at what you pull from an “unrelated” read.
