Why I stopped reading business books (and what I do instead)
For years, I devoured business books.
I kept a mega-list of must-read books in Apple Notes.
I listened to my latest purchases on Audible while driving to the swimming pool, highlighted like mad on Kindle, and annotated my tattered paperbacks over coffee.
This oddly formulaic, bizarre genre has hard and fast rules. A clever business book author (or their editor) must write a title with a catchy metaphor. Expect ones like:
Winning the Game: How to Dominate Your Market
The CEO’s Playbook: Strategic Moves for Victory
Battle-Tested Leadership: Conquering Corporate Challenges
(Not actual books)
Inside, they’ll share an anecdote from their personal life that relates to a business lesson.
Fancy packaging aside, 9/10 of business book authors take old ideas and slap on some make-up. Here are a few business book clichés you’ll find in almost any best seller:
Work smarter, not harder by delegating.
Think outside the box by getting outside your comfort zone.
Fail fast by yadda, yadda, yadda.
I’m not here to criticise business book authors. If you want a book to succeed, you’d best know the conventions of the genre. I even wrote a business book a few years ago that follows this playbook.
Reading about business is like reading about how to swim. You can memorize how to swing your arms and when to breathe, but you’ll only ever get from one end of the bank to the other by getting into the water.
If you’re applying a lesson from a businessy book, make sure it’s the right one! Here’s one of my favs:
“What gets measured, gets managed.”
I dined out on that maxim for a few years.
Take my email stats. I’ve thousands of subscribers, so Kit gives me lots of fancy numbers to track like open rates, click-through rates, and bounces.
I tracked my numbers meticulously every week in a fancy Google Sheet. I used this info to A/B test my email subject lines and play with my CTAs. And… I eked out a more percentage points.
Job done? Well, open rates alone weren’t enough. I brought in more moolah after a former coach sent me to write and send MORE emails.
Writing four, five, and then seven emails a week gave me more chances to appear in subscribers’ inboxes with fresh content and offers. And I practiced my subject line writing skills along the way. That’s not something a simple A/B test or a Google Sheet reveals.
These days, I read a big fat ZERO business books. The easiest way for me to solve a problem in my business is by either taking action or hiring someone to provide me with prescriptive advice.
I’m not here to knock the genre. Some business books have merit if the author can address your specific problem directly. But what most people call “research” is usually just procrastination with an available subscription.
So, before you buy another book, ask yourself, “Can I learn by doing?”
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