I have always loved to read. In the last few years, I’ve devoured a lot of business books. Mostly books on leadership and books on Lean Manufacturing. These have the most impact on my career and our business so I really find the ideas and concepts give me new ways to approach the problems we run into at the office.
I always looked as books a lot like movies. They are great the first time but you don’t really re-watch an old movie if there is a new one available. My view on this had changed lately.
In our management group, we read books together. We pick a book and read a chapter each week and we have to write 2 distinctions from each chapter and explain how it would apply to our company and what value it would provide. This has been a valuable process for all of us. It helps us learn together and have a shared language together. A lot of these books have been on Lean and because I have read so many books on the subject, a lot of the books are ones I had read previously.
The interesting thing I am finding is that these books that I had already read are now providing completely different insights than they did the first time I read them. This is not because the book is different or I didn’t read it thoroughly, but because I am different. The things that I am struggling with, the problems that I am trying to solve and where I am along my journey are all different so the things I am reading and the insights they provide are all different. Some of the best books I have read in 2014 are books that I had read one maybe two times before.
So if you are looking for a new book to read in the new year, try going back to a book you have read previously. You might find some profound insights hidden among the pages of something you have already read.
