As a businessperson, you’ve probably wondered – what are the best business books to read? Where can I find the wisdom, the insights to run my business better? Ask ten people and you are likely to get ten different recommendations!
There are two books you will not find on any business book best seller list that we find fun and more applicable to business than would initially meet the eye: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.
Consider Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. How many of us, when we joined an organization, felt we had just fallen down a rabbit hole like Alice and entered into a world that became “curiouser and curiouser with each step”. Or, the simple wisdom handed to Alice by the Cheshire Cat when she stands at the cross road and asks, “which way should I go?” and his answer is pure strategic genius: it depends on where you want to get to! Simple, straight forward and clear – and all in 9 words.
Or, witness the cliquish behavior of organizational tribes who define their status by dress, use of certain phrases and other artificial constructs – only to change them when other “less worthy folks” decide to emulate their behavior. This was so well described in Dr. Seuss’ book – Sneetches. And as Dr. Seuss makes clear, it’s not about performance, it’s about bias and prejudice. And bias and prejudice have nothing to do with running an effective organization. Yet Sneetch behavior still runs rampant in some present day organizations.
What a stark contrast these books provide to so many humorless business books filled with far less interesting or relevant information.
So, every now and then give yourself a break, sit back and read a fun and insightful story written for the joy and learning of children. Because sometimes, following a yellow brick road reveals powerful information.
In our Quick Tips this week we will present 10 business books that we have found helpful – in addition to these two (three if you count our reference to The Wizard of Oz).
Copyright 2011 Kubica and LaForest
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