Why I committed to reading the top 100 business books (and to summarise them)

During my MBA, I was asked to reflect on my life and write a paper about my journey to date. It was very personal and not very ‘MBA-ey’. At the end of the subject, I then had to write what I was going to do.

?Among other things, I committed to reading the top 100 business books ever written – and then summarising them. I hesitated initially. It somehow didn't feel sophisticated enough, almost a little juvenile. This, despite the fact that I knew the one thing most uber-successful people have in common is reading. The Oracle of Omaha himself, Warren Buffet, is particularly known for spending 80% of his day reading. He suggests anyone hoping to achieve similar success should aim to read 500 pages a day. “I just sit in my office and read all day,” he’s often admitted. He believes that reading, like money, is impacted by compound interest – knowledge builds up. It’s no wonder he’s worth over US$100 billion.

?Of course, I’ve read, The Snowball, but surprisingly it's one of only two books on my list of 100 that I actually struggled to finish. The other is Business Adventures by John Brooks, which also happens to be the title that Bill Gates recommends as his number one business book, interestingly enough…

?When I tell people about what I’m doing, they generally ask me these four questions:

?1. Am I an avid reader? My answer is a resounding “yes”. To be honest, not much gets in between me and a good book. I once spent a whole day sitting on a bus reading during my honeymoon while we were visiting the Big Island in Hawaii. My husband was fascinated by the volcanoes, but after seeing one, I figured I'd seen them all and promptly returned to my book (it happened to be a Ken Follett fiction novel, in case you’re wondering). I am actually NEVER without a book. I prefer hard copies, but I do have them downloaded on my phone, both in print and audio, so if I get an unexpected free 15 minutes, I can put it to good use.

?2. Do I read fast? Yes, and it is intentional and a learnt skill. When I signed up to do my MBA at #AGSM, I was also running a business, Recovery Partners, and my children were aged three and five. I knew there would be a lot of reading and I needed to be fast, so I enrolled in a speed reading course. It worked, and I highly recommend it to those who want to be a faster reader.

?3. What do I do with the summaries? I do three things. One, I read and review them regularly. I find they inspire me and I genuinely feel energised by reading them. I actually have my summaries printed as hard copies and I take them with me everywhere – to the hairdressers, on planes, anywhere I can steal some time to read. Two, I share them, or parts of them, with colleagues, friends and associates. And three, I refer back to them when solving problems – they’re an invaluable resource to have on hand.

?4. Why do I do it? I am a big believer in continual learning, and that success leaves clues. I have never read a book that I didn't learn something from. Most problems aren't unique. Chances are someone has faced them before, and their experiences and lessons are in a book somewhere. I feel that by not reading widely, you are continually trying to re-create the wheel. I really believe that the answer to most dilemmas in life and in business are in a book.

?I have gifted 100’s of books to clients, staff, friends, and family. I would estimate that less than 15% have been read. That’s not a criticism, just a fact. What I’ve realised is that people want the lessons and learnings but don’t have the time, inclination, or interest to read.

?I hope that I can share the wisdom from these great books with others and collectively, we can all achieve what we want in business and in life.

?"In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't?read?all the time — none, zero,"

Charlie Munger

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