On Monday afternoon I found out the painters were coming on Wednesday! That meant I had time to clean out my office, shuffle furniture around and generally make room for them to paint the walls.
One of the actions I had to take was to unload three large oak book cases with three to five shelves full of various business, sales and sales management books I have collected over 20 + years, and various 3-ring binders from training programs I had attended or created for our workshops . Most were dusty. However the best experience was discovering items I had forgotten I even had or books I wanted to review again simply for the idea’s I knew they would stimulate for my speaking programs or consulting work. I found it is good to clean your closets and book shelves from time to time!
In visiting my client’s offices there always seems to be a book shelf or two with a variety of book/binders that they have also been built up over time. It is a natural part of increasing your professional status. Hopefully they were all read, not simply collected. When was the last time you took the time to simply review your library of business books or binders to discover gems of information that could be utilized? I have found it common that idea’s or tools that I read 3 years ago that were not pertinent at the time, maybe today or more importantly can be leveraged tomorrow. As sales leaders we must constantly seek new ways or ideas to stimulate our sales teams, increase our business acumen and increase our professionalism. You can find this in the constant supply of new books, but from time to time simply “cleaning off your existing shelves” may lead to a few gems as well.
One of my personal rules is I like to read a business book and then read a fun or enjoyable book. I rotate this principle throughout the year, even having 3 or 4 books going at the same time depending upon my mood or time demands. I will admit that after writing four books these past 18 months my reading time has slowed down. (Your Sales Management Guru series-AcumenMgmt.com) However, I just finished “Successful Selling by Matt Heinz –off to find the next Brad Thor book!
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