The Lost Discipline of Reading
This is a post I've been meaning to right for some time now and recent events reminded me that I need to do it now! I spoke on leadership just yesterday at a professional development conference in the DC area. The session went well as did the whole conference but there was a disturbing theme that bothers me a great deal so I have to share. It has to do with reading. More specifically, business professional reading........or more appropriately, the lack there of!
I went to seven or eight different sessions where speakers referred to book after book and author after author during various parts of their presentations. In each case, the speaker would ask how many of you have read "this" book or have read anything by "this" author. In session after session, the speakers were amazed at how few people read or had even heard of certain business books or authors. I'm not talking about obscure books but best sellers like "Good To Great," "Balanced Scorecard, "Think and Grow Rich" and even "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I was stunned as well.
Based on this, I decided to do a little research and here's what I found based on a literary research study:
Now I can't validate whether these statistics are true but even if they are half true it is disturbing and based on what I just witnessed at the conference I attended, it certainly appears to be a major issue.
Here's the good news! If you really want to grow professionally and run circles around others in the marketplace.......start reading! I truly believe this is a competitive advantage! It doesn't need to be more difficult than that!
Set a goal to read one new business book a month and start to watch how things change. Start with the classics and do it for one year. Whatever you are passionate about that also applies to your role or career aspirations. You will be amazed at how things will change. I bet that you will see significant improvements in the some of the below areas just to name a few:
Don't be one of those people who says they are too busy to read. Be the one who makes time to read because of it's huge return on investment for you and in your future. For list of great business books to get you started, click here.
Have you ever met an unsuccessful person that had a huge library in their house? I don't think so!
I went to seven or eight different sessions where speakers referred to book after book and author after author during various parts of their presentations. In each case, the speaker would ask how many of you have read "this" book or have read anything by "this" author. In session after session, the speakers were amazed at how few people read or had even heard of certain business books or authors. I'm not talking about obscure books but best sellers like "Good To Great," "Balanced Scorecard, "Think and Grow Rich" and even "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I was stunned as well.
Based on this, I decided to do a little research and here's what I found based on a literary research study:
- 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
- 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
- 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
- 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
- 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
Now I can't validate whether these statistics are true but even if they are half true it is disturbing and based on what I just witnessed at the conference I attended, it certainly appears to be a major issue.
Here's the good news! If you really want to grow professionally and run circles around others in the marketplace.......start reading! I truly believe this is a competitive advantage! It doesn't need to be more difficult than that!
Set a goal to read one new business book a month and start to watch how things change. Start with the classics and do it for one year. Whatever you are passionate about that also applies to your role or career aspirations. You will be amazed at how things will change. I bet that you will see significant improvements in the some of the below areas just to name a few:
- Problem Solving
- Managing Others
- Team Building
- Goal Setting
- Dealing with Conflict
- Communicating
- Leading Change
- Customer Service
Don't be one of those people who says they are too busy to read. Be the one who makes time to read because of it's huge return on investment for you and in your future. For list of great business books to get you started, click here.
Have you ever met an unsuccessful person that had a huge library in their house? I don't think so!
I would love to hear from you. Let me know your comments and thoughts by either commenting on this post or contacting me directly at derrick@titanhr.com or 804-814-9921.
You can also connect with me at:
Derrick Strand is a Principal in Leadership and Organizational Development at The Titan Group in Richmond, Virginia. He
designs and delivers innovative management and leadership courses to
the public and internally to clients who prefer customization. He also assesses and redesigns organizations to ensure they are structured in a way that facilitates, not hinders, their ability to achieve their vision and goals.
Posted by Derrick Strand at 11/2/2011 3:39 PM 
Categories: Leadership, Communication, Management, Creativity
Categories: Leadership, Communication, Management, Creativity
Wow. I literally dropped my jaw as I read the statistics listed above in this blog. I never really thought about the decline in reading as people leave high school and move on with their busy lives, but clearly it is a major issue in our country. I must admit, I do not read anywhere near as much as I did in high school. As a junior in college, I find myself spending most of my time "reading" when I am assigned textbook work. Reading about "Principles of Marketing" or "Financial Accounting" can certainly be useful, but it does not provide the same insight and knowledge as "Good to Great" or other best sellers. Now that I really think about it, I can't remember the last time I sat down to open a book that had not been assigned by a teacher. I agree that the books we read can build our problem solving skills, our level of creativity and depth of analysis, and so much more. I think that I will go to the library to grab a copy of "Good to Great" so that I can spend Thanksgiving break reading (since it really has been a while!) I am so glad that I saw this blog. Now that I have read it, I feel inspired to get back to the books.
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Bravo, Derrick! thank you for the statistics. I've noted the same disturbing phenomenon as I go around the country doing training seminars. I've coined a term for folks who can read but won't: "illiterate by choice".
John Spence also addresses the same issue in this blog post: http://blog.johnspence.com/2011/11/personal-kiazen-2/
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