I’ve just finished reading ‘The Reading List’ by Sara Nisha Adams and my next job now is to get it added to the book recommendation page on my new Barnhill Consulting website. I’m going to do that for two reasons:
One, I loved the book and its heart-warming message on the importance of regular reading and of pushing yourself to accomplish a new challenge each – and every – day. Two, it is clearly not a business book in the manner of say Patrick Lencioni, Simon Sinek or Malcolm Gladwell, but nevertheless, it contains valuable content for anyone in the throes of leading a business.
Understanding others
The lightbulb moment came for me when I read the following quote in ‘The Reading List’, which is by Atticus Finch, of To Kill a Mockingbird fame, which features often and prominently in the book: “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
These words resonated powerfully with me, as I, myself, used similar words when I was going through an important phase in the early development of my own business, transitioning from a corporate executive operating internationally, to a people-focused coach who simply needed clients.
Keeping afloat
I personally used the words ‘living in someone else’s shoes’ rather than skin, but the meaning was the same. I started my own business from scratch in 1999 without any corporate support system or track record to bolster my efforts. By getting the boat to float, keeping it from sinking and eventually getting it to go faster, I was indeed living the same life as the very clients I would later go on to coach, after a number of painful and demanding years living in their shoes.
I may not have known it at the time, but I was successfully living out the powerful lesson from Atticus Finch’s store of wisdom, and we should welcome, I feel, any opportunity we can find to remind ourselves of our achievements. Such reminders, especially when they occur in unexpected places like the pages of a novel you might just be reading as a diversion, are extremely powerful and play a huge part in sustaining you in your current business endeavours.
Making the most of opportunities
As I said at the beginning of this article, how you feel is how you perform. Take whatever opportunities you can to enrich your own knowledge or skills base. Why follow narrow guidelines and commit yourself to just reading business books to achieve that aim? Go wide, go unexpected and go different, and I believe you’ll be surprised by what you find and, vitally, by the degree to which it will energise you!
If you would like to see my own current Reading List and possibly learn a bit more about where I get my inspiration from, please take a look here.