Just Seven Things

Surely Continual Learning Should Apply to the Boss Too?

World in My Hand by Sachin Ghodke

I was clearing through some old articles I cut and not yet reviewed. About a year ago the FT ran a survey of global business leaders to try and ascertain whether there was one business book which had had most influence over them.

The fact that there was no consensus (it was either a Peters or Drucker book that received four votes. All other books selected just received one vote each) is not the point of this piece.

It was an interesting set of assertions about global leaders’ reading habits that surprised me (I don’t think I misinterpreted…)

The gist of it was that such prominent leaders would be bordering on the dereliction of their duties if they were seen to be spending their time reading ‘business’ or ‘management’ books. That their shareholders would be aghast that such individuals would have either need (nor time) to read and learn anything from these books..

Maybe I did read it wrong?

As well as my strong belief that leaders should continually look to be learning from their teams, I wrote previously about how leaders should have the ability to shift their own values, beliefs and views to enable the modelling of alternate future realities: they are the lead person in the organisation who should continually be getting better at seeing round corners.

And how to develop this skill?

Surely, unless you force yourself out of your thinking rut (particularly when perpetuated by your followers in the leadership structures), you cannot be checking that you are as right as you can be in your strategic decision-making? And what better way to do this than reading? It’s not all about learning (although it obviously often is), but to be nudged into having a different perspective from a contrary theoretical or practical view is the way of a sure footed strategic future?