better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Booking Creativity

3 September 2018

Many years ago, but not in the middle ages as my kids would have it (I’m really not that old), I was lucky enough to be the production planner for a large paperback book factory.

For a bookish person this was a great job and seeing millions of books whizz down the binding lines was always an exciting treat. Interestingly I noted that many fiction titles were already the ‘No.1 Bestseller’ even before they hit the shops …but never the No.2 Bestseller. It seems that 1 is the only number in the book world!

Books to me are amazing. People share knowledge and stories and tips and imaginative thoughts and books survive. They go into the world and lead little lives of their own.

I’ve had emails from readers in many countries and it’s lovely when a book has found it’s way into a second hand shop and helped someone else to find a job or be successful at work.

Safe to say I do like books!

In business I wonder that many of us don’t have the time to read enough. This seems a missed opportunity, given how we constantly need to learn new skills and refine our thinking.

And they are super cost effective too. We can spend £100s on a conference or attending a speaker session and yet a book is only £10 and generally more detailed than a standard one hour stump speech.

From a sales perspective my current read is…

Never Split The Difference, by Chris Voss.

Recommended to me by a client, it’s the FBIs negotiation handbook and both extremely interesting and useful.

For example, I had forgotten that No is more useful than Yes when asking questions to break a deadlock. Good to be reminded of this. No creates a solid foundation to push off against.

For example…

‘Is this project dead in the water for you?’

‘No.’

The clear answer means the respondent is still in the game. If we had had a Yes then fair enough, we can cut our losses and move on to new projects.

Or maybe try…

Round Ireland With a Fridge, by Tony Hawks.

This isn’t a business book, but is a fun read about how someone can push themselves and make new friends. If travelling with a fridge sounds hard then maybe our business life isn’t so bad and we can find new solutions to thorny problems.

Books inspire creativity in thought and deed!

If you’re not reading something then maybe it’s time to visit a library and choose a book?

We can all find an interesting book that can lead on to more business success!

Happy reading!

Next week: Is Being Competitive Really So Good?