Read Baby, READ

In these days of reading online, does anyone read books?

If you want to be successful you do. From the Church of the Customer Blog:

The 1 book on...

Posted: 04 Mar 2009 01:04 PM PST

The average Fortune 500 executive reads 9 business books per year. The average entrepreneur/business owner reads, maybe, 2-3 per year.

That's according to Todd Sattersten, co-author of the recent book "The 100 Best Business Books of All Time" and president of bookseller 800-CEO-READ. Given that time is short for everyone, I asked Todd to recommend just one book for COTC readers among a variety of business categories.

Q: The one book on leadership?

A: "The Leadership Challenge," by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. It was conceived in the late 70s and published in the early 80s. It's the most complete model for how to think about leadership. It's very research-based; they went out and asked leaders to tell them what their behaviors and experiences were like when they were having personal best moments. It's a classic. Now in its 4th edition, it's a perfect place to start.

Q: The one book on innovation?

A: "The Art of Innovation" by Tom Kelly. Tom is the general manager of Ideo. Many people know Ideo -- they're the folks behind the original Apple mouse, and they've done a ton of stuff since. What I like about Tom's view of innovation is that it isn't theoretical, it's very pragmatic. It's techniques they use, like observation and prototyping. There's been a lot of research in the past several years that says brainstorming is not a good way to come up with ideas; Ideo will tell you emphatically that brainstorming is an outstanding idea. It's a core competency. One thing I like about the book is the numerous examples found in each chapter on how to be innovative.

Q: The one book on strategy?

A: Instead of a book, I would recommend a Harvard Business Review article by Michael Porter called "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy." We don't recommend his book, "Competitive Strategy." It's 432 pages. It's a little dry and quite impenetrable but at 26 pages, his HBR article is absolutely outstanding. It's still the best model for how people should think about strategy.

Q: The one book on sales?

A: "How to be a Rainmaker" by Jeffrey Fox. It's very nugget-oriented. Lots of great, quick ideas.

Q: The one book on marketing?

A: "Positioning: The Battle for your Mind," by Al Ries and Jack Trout. It's a classic book from the 80s based on a series of articles that ran in the 70s. They're the guys who said "own a word." It's the pre-cursor to "Purple Cow." There's so much stuff that gets based off positioning. People tend to read the stuff that's come out since then. I can't recommend it enough. Everyone should read it.

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