As you probably know by now, I’m a very big believer in the idea that leaders are learners. I heard it said once that you could tell the year that a person’s mind began to decline by looking at the copyright dates on his library shelves. And I think there’s some truth to that.
800-CEO-READ had a link today to a great article over at the New York Times about the reading habits of some of some of our most innovative leaders (Steve Jobs, Phil Knight, and others). Fascinating to see a little bit behind the scenes into the libraries of such interesting figures. You can check out the article right here: C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success
Mark – Yes, a leader’s library is a nice bit of information. But there are two things – books we have and books we read. Even the books we have but never read say something about us. But what I want to know is did they really read all those books?
I know lots of leaders who buy books and never read them. Heck, I have tons of books on my shelves I have not read.
Perhaps this is like a wine cellar and I am waiting until they are perfectly aged.
Good point, Lisa! Owning them isn’t enough, is it? Reading the book…that’s the key!
On a related note…I have a friend who’s developing a blog with reviews of “half-read” books.
mark