Reading the right books

Everyone reads the same business books.

I mean, take a look at this list:

They are (or were) on the shelves of every airport. Ask around at work, and 5 out of 10 people will have read (or pretend to have read) them.

The problem?

While they make for nice conversation at the water cooler, they'll give you no edge at your job.

One reason for this is that they're written to be sold to the masses. They have simple, generic messages that can be applied by everyone, and thus aren't truly useful to anyone.

The second reason is that everyone has read them. You get to join the conversation, but you'll have no new ideas.

And what's the point of reading a book if your ideas still sound the same as everyone else's?

The case for reading semi-obscure books

What I found works way better than reading from a best-seller list is finding a few almost obscure books that are highly relevant to your field.

Not the most recent books, but the timeless fundamentals.

Not "business" books, but books related to exactly what you do at work.

So, if your work relates to pricing you'll want to pick up The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing.

If your work relates to growth (especially for an SME), you'll want to pick up Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You've Got.

If you're a software PM, a copy of Paul Graham's Hackers and Painters will serve you well.

And if you work in management consulting or law, Managing the Professional Services Firm is a must-read.

What these books have in common is that:

1. Almost no one's ever heard of them (including your colleagues)

2. They were launched quite a while ago, but remain relevant today

3. They cover the fundamentals of a field (or a part of a field)

4. They were written by practitioners trying to make their name in the field, not professional authors trying to sell copies

The read might be more dry and technical. Maybe you'll go through them slower than you would the ones in the best-seller list.

But they'll be useful for years to come.

They'll help you grasp the fundamentals of what you do in a deeper way than your colleagues ever could.

And you'll see yourself referring to them over and over again.

Finding the right books

If you're convinced, the next question is, of course, how do I find these books?

The first thing to be aware of is that you don't do ONE thing, you do many.

For instance, if you're a Pricing Consultant for SMEs that do fashion e-commerce, you have three books in the list I gave as an example that you should read, and you'll want to still find books relevant to the fashion industry and the e-commerce business model.

The second thing is that you'll have to do some digging. Bestseller lists don't serve you well anymore. Instead, you'll need to do your own research.

Google, Amazon, Goodreads, and Reddit are fine sources.

Look for books that look a little obscure, seem highly relevant, and have stellar reviews from people who seem to know what they're talking about. Look at the table of contents and see if you can find a couple of articles/videos by the author to make sure.

This takes work, which is why no one else does it.

There lies your competitive advantage.

Consider it a small investment of time for the 6-8 hours that you'll spend reading the book are actually useful.

This way of reading books takes more intention. It takes more effort.

But it is this effort and intention that'll make it useful.

That'll make your reading help you work smarter.

-Bruno