Picture this for a fast-paced meeting for a team that is dead
serious about moving forward.You sit together:you each have a
multi-page book synopsis handout.You listen together to a book
synopsis presentation (an audio recording), following along with
the handout.The book synopsis is of an important, current, valuable
book.You learn about leadership; or you learn about working well as
a team; or you learn about improving your personal productivity.In
other words, if you listen, learn, and implement, you get
better.Over time, a lot better.Those books are sitting there, ready
to teach you.This is a way you can learn together.The meeting
elements:45 minutes in length20 minutes listening together20
minutes what do we do with this? conversation5 minutes next-step
planning with your personal action plan This white paper is about
one way to make this happen By Randy Mayeux A First Friday Book
Synopsis White PaperYour Company Needs Some Business-Book Book
Clubs The library (i.e., your personal library) should contain as
much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage
rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allow you to put
there.-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan Photo Credit: Jonathan
Miske (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Summary: !
Each B-BBC session should focus on the content of one business book
that deals with a current issue, or a training/development goal. !
Each B-BBC session should be divided into:content learning and
retrieval;analysis and understanding of the content for this
company and these circumstances; followed by lessons &
takeaways, and action steps to take, for each participant involved;
and an expectation to report back on progress and results at the
next B-BBC gathering. ! Each B-BBC group should commit to meet in a
series of sessions, to be determined by the groups needs and
participants.A minimum of three sessions seems to help provide the
necessary jump-start for a group. ! (Although, there may be special
circumstances when a single session is needed for a new initiative,
or a specic challenge). Problem: With low levels of employee
engagement throughout the corporate landscape, and the failures of
so many training programs to produce lasting results, along with
the dearth of and deciency of leaders and e#ective leadership,
people need better tools to help them become better supervisors and
managers, and leaders end even, simply, better
employees.Assumptions: #1 Gaining and understanding the content of
the best business books, along with putting the lessons of these
books into practice, is a worthwhile endeavor.It is one way, an
e#ective way, to help people within your company become better
supervisors, managers, and leaders. #2 There are book-readers, and
non-book readers.Companies must acknowledge this reality.Most
book-readers have established this practice and discipline by the
time they enter their early adult years.Turning a non-book-reader
into an actual book-reader is a monumentally challenging task, and
a leader should not assume that he/she will succeed at this. #3
Studies show that the average American does not read many books a
year (average:somewhere between 4-11); does not remember all that
they read;and in the mix of books they read, business books is
fairly low in the overall total, even for people serious about
developing their work skills. Randy Mayeux Copyright 2015
www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page2 People need better tools to
help them become better supervisors and managers, and leaders end
even, simply, better employees. Photo Credit: Jonathan Miske
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) In investigating the
reading habits of adults, there appear to be three categories of
readers.Percentages come from a 2014 Pew Research Center Survey: "
The non-readers these are people who read fewer than 5 books a year
app. 54% of adults " The casual readers these are people who read
6-10 books a year-- app. 17% of adults " The more dedicated readers
these are people who read 11 or more books a year app. 28% of
adults " (The percentage of more dedicated readers has fallen
noticeably over the last 3 decades) #4 And yet, reading books is a
great way to learn.The best leaders are readers.(Although, there is
evidence that many top level CEOs read few business books, and
instead, read a wider-range of books -- history, architecture,
biography, science, and of course novels, among other areas of
interest). Conclusion: Therefore, people need to know what is in
the best business books, and put the lessons-learned into
practice.And yet, many (especially the non-book-readers) are
unlikely to practice the discipline of such book-reading and
learning on their own. Thus, a Business-book Book Club (B-BBC) is
an option worthy of exploring.A B-BBC is one important tool to add
to the development arsenal. B-BBC, Version #1 -- for front-line
supervisors or managers lacking business cultural literacy B-BBC,
Version #2 -- for emerging, future-leaders, andB-BBC, Version #3 --
for executive teams. The Three Audiences for Business-Book Book
Clubs (B-BBC): Companies can actually benet from three B-BBCs, one
for each audience within the company. Randy Mayeux Copyright 2015
www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page3People need to know what is in
the best business books, and put the lessons-learned into
practice.And yet, many (especially the non-book-readers) are
unlikely to practice the discipline of such book-reading and
learning on their own. Photo Credit: Jonathan Miske
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) B-BBC, Version #1 --
for front-line supervisors or managers lacking business cultural
literacyFor this group, the books need to focus on the
fundamentals, such as:how to improve in your own personal
productivity (books on time management; energy management); how to
function well as a team (team-building books deal with this, but
the need may be even a little simpler, like how to work well with
others).B-BBC, Version #2 -- for emerging, future-leadersEvery
company needs to be on the lookout for those next leaders ready to
emerge.The good companies have training strategies in place to help
identify such leaders, and then to give them the right training to
help them move forward into later leadership positions.One
municipal government in Texas, in a mid-size and fast-growing city,
has had such a program for the last decade.Each participant is
invited to apply by their supervisor to the program by writing an
essay explaining why they would like to be part of the emerging
leaders group.And then, if accepted, the selected individuals take
part in ve once-a-month book club sessions. One obvious need for
emerging leaders is that they need to develop a greater business
cultural literacy.One way to accomplish this is with carefully
planned exposure to current business books.(Note: Randy Mayeux and
Karl Krayer present synopses to groups, especially leadership
teams, within many organizations. These extended sessions provide
opportunity for facilitated conversations covering implications and
transferrable principles from the selected books.)B-BBC, Version #3
-- for executive team members. This is the obvious, and most
frequent, B-BBC.Leaders at the top of an organization need to step
back, think about big-picture issues, and discuss future
possibilities. However, if they do so just shooting from the hip,
without some form of guided conversation, the discussion may not be
as focused as needed.Choosing the right book, and focusing on the
content of that book, may provide just the right jump-start to the
needed discussion. For all three of these audiences, a B-BBC can be
a valuable tool. Select the Right Business Books for your
B-BBCsSowhere to start?How often should the group meet?The first,
and simplest method, is to simply select the volumes that the CEO
or President demands.(Always please the boss!) But, let's take a
deeper look at this challenge. Each business book deals with a
specic issue facing business leaders.Take a look at the graphic,
Elements of a Healthy Organization, to see an overview of issues
that are constantly in need of ne-tuning within an organization.
Randy Mayeux Copyright 2015 www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page4
Assuming that you have Assuming Process Excellence A product or
servicethat others will pay for Excellent business processes such
as: logistics, accounting,billing (collecting) Marketing and Sales
(Customer Acquisition) Customer Service/ Customer Experience
(Customer Retention) The Healthy & Growing Organization
Constantly Adapting & Innovating Randy Mayeux 214.577.8025
[email protected] Strategy Leaders Communicate Remove
Bottleneck(s) Meaning {core value(s);the why} Team(s) Alignment
(Corporate Culture) Measure Execute Talent Elements of a Healthy
Organization Photo Credit: Jonathan Miske
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Here is a table (see
below) with one-to-more book suggestions for each issue area.This
is simply a representative list;many other books could be added to
this table, or substituted for other titles. Note:some of the
biggest business best sellers are not listed.One reason is this;
the really big business best-sellers are di%cult to categorize.
They deal with so many issues, all at once. Some titles that t in
this meta-category are: Good to Great; Steve Jobs; Lean In; The
Innovators; Freakonomics (and follow-up volumes); The Second
Machine Age; The World is Flat; Exponential Organizations; BoldThis
list can go on and on Because of the big-picture thinking of
executive teams, such books are not part of the table below. Here
is the table of recommended volumes to get you started (this, of
course, will be updated as new books are written): Randy Mayeux
Copyright 2015 www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page5 Audience
Issue/ThemeSuggested Book TitlesSuggested Book TitlesSuggested Book
TitlesFront Line SupervisorsTime & Energy ManagementGetting
Things DoneThe Power of Full EngagementThe Other 90% &
DriveBasic LeadershipEncouraging the HeartThe Checklist
ManifestoEmerging LeadersCustomer Acquisition (Marketing &
Sales)Contagious To Sell is HumanThe Why, (Purpose) Start With
WhyStrategic Planning and ThinkingGood Strategy, Bad
StrategyMastering the Rockefeller Habits (& follow-up, updated
version, Scaling Up)LeadersEncouraging the HeartGreat by
ChoiceWooden on LeadershipTeamsThe Five Dysfunctions of a
TeamWiserThe Wisdom of CrowdsTalent The Rare FindAlignment
(Corporate Culture)Buy-In Smart Tribes Tribal
LeadershipCommunication Words that Work Made to StickExecution
ExecutionMeasuring ResultsThe Checklist ManifestoThe Signal and the
NoiseRemoving Bottlenecks The Goal Photo Credit: Jonathan Miske
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Choose the Best
Format for your B-BBCs Youve decided to have some business-books
book clubs within your organization.You have selected some specic
books to begin with.Youve accomplished the easy part.Now, the much
tougher assignment:what should the format be for your book club?
Ideally, every member reads every book fully each and every word
and understands what he/she has read, and knows exactly what to do
to take full advantage of newly-understood knowledge, insights,
skills. But back to lets be realisticThis is not going to
happen.The only people who will do that are the truly devoted
book-readers.And, most of your folks do not t that category. Lets
look back up to the summary above:what should each book-club
session accomplish in each session? Each B-BBC session should be
divided into ve tasks/elements: ! Task #1 -- content learning and
retrieval(What do the books say?) ! Task #2 -- analysis and
understanding of the content for this company and these
circumstances (What does this mean to our company, in our
circumstances?) " Task #3 -- followed by lessons & takeaways
(What are the most important lessons from this book?) ! Task #4 --
action steps to take, for each participant involved (What should I
do with what Ive learned?)" Task #5 -- and an expectation to report
back on progress and results at the next B-BBC gathering. (How will
I demonstrate to the group that Ive put what Ive learned into
practice?) How shall you conduct your book club sessions? Option #1
No presenter of content.It is assumed that all arrive at the
session having read the book.Thus, the chosen leader of the session
leads a guided conversation, working through the ve tasks (see
above). Option #2 One or more participant presenters of content.One
participant presents the key content of the book; or, the content
of the book is presented in sections (chapters) by di#erent
participants in the group.This can be done either in one session,
or, di#erent participants can take a chapter each, and you can
spread one book over a number of sessions* (*the number of sessions
to be decided by the group). Option #3 The group listens to a
presentation of the key content of the book from a book synopsis
provider, while each participant follows along with a comprehensive
handout* (*see below for a way this can be done). With options #2
and #3, a member/facilitator of the book club will need to lead the
group through tasks 4 & 5. Randy Mayeux Copyright 2015
www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page6One by-product: The more that a
company values and provides interactions between people over the
content ofbooks, the more likelihood that those who might become
book-readers will be exposed to enough books that this practice
will ignite such interest and discipline.This would be a good
thing. Photo Credit: Jonathan Miske
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Randy Mayeux
Copyright 2015 www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com Page7One Final Note:
How long should the B-BBC last?The simple answer isforever.There is
always the next new business book worthy of careful reading and
attention.In other words, making B-BBCs a regular part of a
schedule is a valuable way to help a company keep rening its
skills, stay current, and even stay ahead of the changes coming
just around the corner. *A Book Synopsis from
15MinuteBusinessBooks.com - your ideal book club catalyst tool: We
have engaging synopses of the latest, most relevant business books,
perfect for your team business-book club meetings. Every month
since April, 1998, we (Karl Krayer and Randy Mayeux) have presented
synopses of best-selling business books. We present these at our
live event, the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas, Texas. Each
synopsis is available for purchase, and comes with the audio
recording of our presentations (about 15 minutes in length), along
with our comprehensive handouts. A company can purchase these
synopses, and use them in their own B-BBCs. (Synopses are available
at www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com.)An ideal way to end your book
club meeting is to have each participant complete their own
individual action plan. A printable version is at the end of this
white paper. One Other Business Book Club Approach;lets call this
the Just for Fun Book Club There is one other kind of business book
club.This one serves a di#erent purpose.Call this the Relationship
Building, Fun for the Reader, Book Club. Some companies encourage
and enable book clubs just for the sheer enjoyment that comes from
reading and discussing a book together.These book clubs may not
have overt business or training objectives.They are simply lets
enjoy discussing a favorite book together sessions.These can be led
by anyone in the company, and participants can nd each other.Such
book clubs focus on best-selling novels, and/or maybe works of
general nonction. These are morale-building groups, even though
they may not lead to the same kind of skill development that more
structured B-BBCs might provide. !&One place that has
experimented with such book clubs is Warby Parker.Check out: The
Warby Parker Book Club -- Book Clubs Are Something Many Of Us Do In
Our Free Time. At Warby Parker, They Do It At Work. Here's Why.
www.fastcompany.com/3030178/agendas/the-warby-parker-book-club
Check out my e-book, 12 Vital Signs of Randy Mayeux
[email protected]@Randy1116 Check out my e-book, 12
Vital Signs of Organizational Health Randy blogs about business
books at: www.FirstFridayBookSynopsis.com Synopses available at
www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com A word of explanation: the author of
this white paper could not nd many studies on the e#ectiveness of
business-book book clubs. There are anecdotal descriptions, but no
seriously compiled and evaluated/analyzed data on the e#ectiveness
of such book clubs. Thus, this may be a new area for study. But,
there is plenty of anecdotal evidence (personal testimony) that
such book clubs can be e#ective, if conducted with the right
purpose and in the right format (with the most e#ective
approaches). Consider this white paper as a tool to help a company
get started in this worthwhile endeavor. (One place to read of such
a successful e#ort is www.betterbookclub.com.) I learned this from
this session or, at least, I was reminded of this, which I had been
neglecting: Based on this session, I will tweak my own behavior
(practice), in at least the following three ways: Based on this
session, I will tackle this major personal challenge: Based on this
session, I will have the following conversations: Based on this
session, I will work with the following people in the following
ways: Based on this session, I will tweak and/or even change, the
processes and procedures in my department/area, in the following
ways: Name: ________________________ Topic:
_____________________________ Name: ________________________ Topic:
_____________________________ Name: ________________________Topic:
_____________________________ My Individual Action Plan Session:
___________________________Date: _______________