Last week I read in the FT Weekend Magazine that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, announced to the word in a Facebook post (where else?) that he is starting a book club.
Maybe it’s just a canny PR ploy, but it is definitely a good way to influence customer behaviour. Will this strong incentive encourage more people to become literary enthusiasts and immerse in an intellectually fulfilling book exploration
Book club
A book club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read. It could prompt a stimulating conversation about your favourite book or simply a means to fuel your love of books. In particular you can combine a week’s reading with an evening’s chatter, wining and textual analysis. Hence the idea to gather and connect the readers is very popular.
Also, because we live in a world where you don’t have to actually “be” anywhere, it’s not surprising that virtual clubs have lately appeared on the Internet.
“There’s a way of interacting through books that you don’t get through any ordinary transaction in life,” suggests Robin Marantz Henig, a journalist who is in three book groups.
Bearing Book Club
A book club for business professionals should focus on the latest business trends, discover personal and professional growth, and connect with the themes that are relevant to current events within a company.
At Bearing we have been successfully publishing a blog for years with the same idea behind it, to select topics which have the ability to provoke conversation and trigger diverse opinions, but most of all are hopefully, interesting and fun to read.
However, I would like to explore a little bit more the idea of a Bearing Book Club and encourage our blog readers to participate in the dialog which could provide an opportunity to learn new concepts from those outside of our company, but also provides an opportunity to learn from within.
I agree with Burton Goldfield , Forbes:
Each day we interact tactically with our colleagues, but it’s not very often we get to share ideas outside of the normal business context. Reading an interesting book helps to spur conversations and allows us to see fellow employees in a different light.
What do YOU, dear reader, think about this idea?
To start with I would like to recommend 3 of Inspirational Books For Entrepreneurs:
- The Strategy Paradox, by Michael Raynor (Crown Business, 2007)
- Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (Harvard Business Review Press, 2003)
- The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (Simon & Brown, 2013)
And the book I am reading at the moment Lingo: A Language-Spotter’s Guide to Europe by Gaston Dorren – learned and pleasantly ironic.
As a psycholinguist and speaker of few languages, I have a great interest in languages spoken around me, and what is needless to say – mastering intercultural communication is essential to prepare for business in a truly global environment.
Enjoy !
Hi Marlena,
I would add to your list two absolutely interesting books that every self respected person should have and are my favourite:
-Purple Cow/Seth Godin
-Capital in the Twenty First Century/Thomas Pikety/
I couldn’t agree more to this suggestion. And as I unfortunately find many management books trivial, superficial and useless when you actually manage a company I also like the idea to add books with content beyond the restrained business subjects. Marlena’s proposal of language is a very good idea – and I would like to add history. I increasingly think that the study of history is one of the most useful and even necessary areas of knowledge. A must on any reading list. I am sure that Jörgen Eriksson would not disagree as he is a history-addict!
Dear Petia,
Great choice of books!
Marlena
Dear Anders,
Good point!
Any specific titles in mind…?
Marlena
At present I read a fascinating biography: “Bismarck. The Story of a Fighter”. It gives a detailed and vivid description of the struggle for German unity, the role of Prussia in that context and of course of the strong and multi-facetted personality of Otto von Bismarck (1815 – 1898).
What makes the book even more interesting is that it was written in 1924 by Emil Ludwig (1881 – 1948), who was a German writer living in other not less turbulent times. This gives the biography a double perspective and renders the psychological analysis even more pertinent.
To add yet another layer – the book was translated from German into English by Eden Paul (1865 – 1944), a socialist physician, writer and translator.
Books have their destiny.