Each January I pose the question: What book are you reading now? My experience is the best leaders read. They always have a book from which they develop insights and opinions. And not just books about management or businesses but also books of fiction or creative nonfiction.
Lifelong learning is essential to grow as a leader. A habit of reading books is important to that growth. What role do books play in your life? In your learning? Making time to read books is important. I usually have several books in my study that I am working through. On long car trips I enjoy audio books. I have friends who like audio books best. I was very pleased that my book Decoding the Workplace made it to audio in 2018.
The book I enjoyed most in 2018 was the surprising Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Working in a convenience store, Keiko Furukura finds purpose, fulfillment, and scripts for social interactions while her friends and family encourage her to find a "proper" career. A great read with insights on finding meaning in the workplace and life.
In 2019 I look forward to reading Êloge de Gantner, a folio about my favorite artist, the late Bernard Gantner. A painter and lithographer in the Alsace region of France, Gantner's landscapes have affected how I see the natural world around me. Great art.
The folio is in French. Foreign languages are not my strength. As my teacher Mrs. Suther said to me several weeks into my first high school French course: "Johnny, I had heard such nice things about you and have been looking forward to having you in my class. You are such a disappointment." Fortunately though, the aptitude for language, while skipping me, landed nicely with my two children. Today we have Google Translate and various apps so I will be able to read Êloge de Gantner.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them”, Mark Twain.
Or as the comedian Groucho Marx said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
What are you reading?
Modified from my previous annual January blogs about the importance of reading,
Image, "Route en Forêt" by Bernard Gantner. Photo © John Ballard
© John Ballard, PhD, 2019. All rights reserved.
_______________________
Decoding the Workplace “deals with principles and practices that are timeless . . . Is this a must-have for managers and would-be managers? Yes.” Academy of Management Learning & Education, June, 2018.
Lifelong learning is essential to grow as a leader. A habit of reading books is important to that growth. What role do books play in your life? In your learning? Making time to read books is important. I usually have several books in my study that I am working through. On long car trips I enjoy audio books. I have friends who like audio books best. I was very pleased that my book Decoding the Workplace made it to audio in 2018.
The book I enjoyed most in 2018 was the surprising Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Working in a convenience store, Keiko Furukura finds purpose, fulfillment, and scripts for social interactions while her friends and family encourage her to find a "proper" career. A great read with insights on finding meaning in the workplace and life.
In 2019 I look forward to reading Êloge de Gantner, a folio about my favorite artist, the late Bernard Gantner. A painter and lithographer in the Alsace region of France, Gantner's landscapes have affected how I see the natural world around me. Great art.
The folio is in French. Foreign languages are not my strength. As my teacher Mrs. Suther said to me several weeks into my first high school French course: "Johnny, I had heard such nice things about you and have been looking forward to having you in my class. You are such a disappointment." Fortunately though, the aptitude for language, while skipping me, landed nicely with my two children. Today we have Google Translate and various apps so I will be able to read Êloge de Gantner.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them”, Mark Twain.
Or as the comedian Groucho Marx said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
What are you reading?
Modified from my previous annual January blogs about the importance of reading,
Image, "Route en Forêt" by Bernard Gantner. Photo © John Ballard
© John Ballard, PhD, 2019. All rights reserved.
_______________________
Decoding the Workplace “deals with principles and practices that are timeless . . . Is this a must-have for managers and would-be managers? Yes.” Academy of Management Learning & Education, June, 2018.
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