The Manager 163 - A case for slow reading
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"The Manager" Newsletter
Hi,
I hope you are all safe and well. This week I was contacted by an author putting together a new manuscript about information management. They wanted to know if they could cite and reference my Capture, Curate, Crunch and Contribute image and article. Of course, I'm going to say yes. How exciting. But it got me thinking about my latest reading and learning habits.
A case for slow reading
I spent two years, 2017 and 2018, reading hundreds of books each year. Some good, some not so. I was on a quest for knowledge. I read widely and tried to consume as much information as possible. It felt like the right thing to do. To stay relevant. To stay ahead of my game.
There were loads of ideas, thoughts and yes, potential for personal growth. But, even after reading so many books my behaviours didn't change much. I just read more, hoping something would sink in.
I tried a few ideas but as there were so many coming from the books, I wouldn't give each idea enough time to percolate and set in. These great ideas needed more time, and I was impatient - and reading even more.
I had lost my way. This wasn't what I used to do to learn.
Simply reading more non-fiction books is not just about the accumulation of information - this information must be put into action to generate knowledge. Knowledge is information in action.
There are apps and sites that summarise books so you can take the main ideas. There are people selling courses on how to read 100 books a year. It seems our thirst for information is for sale.
But the point of reading these business and non-fiction books is to learn. To gain knowledge. And knowledge happens when we put this information into action.
To put these ideas and information into action takes time. It means picking a few good books and digesting them. Re-reading them. Trying what is inside. And shifting behaviours because of them.
Over the last 3 years my reading list on Cultivated Management hasn't grown much. It's because I'm spending more time with each book and being more careful with which books get my attention. I'm revisiting old books as a different person and seeing what else they now have to offer.
I'm working on carefully implementing what I read to gain knowledge and shift my behaviours. I'm playing with ideas and getting better. I'm seeing what works and what does not. I'm accommodating and assimilating this information to what I already know. In others words - I'm learning.
Learning is about moving behaviours. And this comes from trying the very ideas that I'm consuming.
Slow reading. Careful reading. Critical reading. It requires absorbing each word and deconstructing what the author is saying. It's about deeply understanding the content and putting it into action. Slowly, carefully, deliberately. Then iterating and mashing it around and creating my own personal development.
Well, this is what I'm doing. I'm trying to get better and the best way I've found (before and after losing my way) is to read slowly.
If there's one thing I've learned in the field of business consulting is that there are loads of people recycling and spouting what they've read and passing it off as knowledge. But it often comes undone when they are tasked with putting this information into action. There's little knowledge, just information. This is not how I like to operate. What I share in this newsletter, on the channel and on the blog - and of course, in my consulting, is based on knowledge - things I've done and tested and tried; knowledge that I hope will help others.
It reminds me of a quote from Marcus Aurelius:
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
I think the same thing goes for whatever profession you do. "Waste no more time arguing what a good (enter your field of work here). Be one. Show them. Demonstrate through your behaviours and results.
Anyhow, slow reading works for me. It's how I get better. But it does mean I don't add as many books to the reading list as I'd like.
And two books I revisit each and every year are these two classics. And each time I read them I pull something new from them. This is a good sign. It means I'm growing and changing. And it also means they pass Francis Bacon's test of a good book:
“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” - Francis Bacon
1. Growing a Business - by Paul Hawken - I've bought 15 copies of this over the last two years for people I'm working with (affiliate link)
2. Wherever you go, there you are - by John Kabat-Zinn (affiliate link)
What about you? Do you slow read?
Interesting Articles
How to lose a monopoly - the study of how the big tech companies eventually lose their monopolies. (long)
I've found this - your most passionate employees may not be your highest performers (medium read)
Enjoyed this - a human interacting with an AI assistant about burnout. Look how quickly the conversation turns into the AI scanning Facebook and recommending a change in career - after telling the human to take some time off. Still a long way to go me thinks. (short)
Apparently HR and managers should aim to compete with social media to communicate with staff. I'll add this new monumental waste of energy and attention to the pile along with Employee Engagement surveys and bell curve distributions in performance reviews.
Until next week
Rob..
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Rob..