Unless you have been living in a cave for the past two years, you should already realise that we are still amid the Covid pandemic. No country can safely claim that they have reached the endemic stage. Thus, watching streaming shows and doing Tiktok videos need not be our only past time. I feel that all businesspeople must read at least one business book a week to recharge their business smarts and stay current to world-class business insights. Sometimes, the benefits of a well structure business reading programme will bring more returns then attending a post-graduate programme. Here are some tips about buying a business book and seeing how you can maximise its value.
Bibliography
This is the first place (if any) that I will scan before I even open the book at the bookstore. The reason is that I want to understand how thorough and serious the author is in preparing the content of the book. Just by looking at the sources of reference, I can gleam if his book is based on “Google-inspired” searching. I also want to see if his information is up to date too.
Subject Expert
Next, I will read the bio of the author and find out about his strengths and expertise. I may even send an email to him to further enquire more elaboration.
Research
Some business books are the culmination of years of research on a specific topic. The book is crucial as it summarises the findings and saves the readers countless hours in analysing the research. Thus, the reader will feel that the book is money well-spent because the entire research paper may be rather costly to purchase.
Permission
I always make it a point to get in contact with the author to get permission to use certain portions of his writing for my public presentation or PowerPoint slides. I feel that this not only gives me more corporate credibility but also to allow him to know more about my own business.
Networking Opportunities
Where relevant, it is quite crucial to find networking opportunities with these business writers. I feel that the fastest way of getting their response is to read his book in its entirety and to provide constructive feedback about possible improvement. Every good business writer loves feedback because he can gather them and perhaps even use them for materials for his next book!
Book Review
You can create a book review for him. Even if he does not use it, you can collect these book reviews as a form of reference for your own talks.
Publisher
If you want to be an aspiring business writer yourself, you can approach his publisher with a book idea. You can use his book as a starting point (not template) to attract the attention of his publisher.
Your Business Journey
Lastly, I feel that purchasing a print book is a tangible way of building your own library of knowledge as you mature. There is a form of respect that you give the author, and the numerous underlining and dog-eared pages is a testament of how this book impacted you through different stages of your business journey.
So, go ahead now and read a business book!
