Business books? Sounds boring right? They often get a bad rep. They’re stereotyped as dull, dry and jargon-filled, best suited for squared-shaped MBA types. But the good ones are as good as any books out there, and can help you get a grip on things, no matter what you do or what you hope to achieve. Here are some seven reasons why business books are worth reading.
1. Business books teach you ways to think
You can think well if you can learn how to think. What’s interesting about business books, at the least, is that they offer simple frameworks which can serve as a guide to think. Business books tend to take complex problems and simplify them to make them solvable. They can help power your life, for all sorts of professional and personal scenarios. Whether you’re dealing with a tricky negotiation with your boss, trying to organise a family holiday or simply hoping to be more productive, you can find the way out from the frameworks that business books offer. At the least, you learn how to challenge situations strategically and reach better outcomes.
2. Business books teach you a thing or two about persuasion
Everything in life is a sell. You’re always trying to sell something, or you’re being sold something. At the heart of this all lies the power of persuasion. Who doesn’t want to be persuasive? Trying to convince your kids to do their homework, trying to get votes, trying to make that promotion a reality, trying to convince your partner to travel, wanting to get a flight upgrade without having to pay for it? All of this comes down to persuasion, and how persuasive you can be. Business books teach you to be a bit more persuasive for all sorts of professional and personal scenarios.
3. Business books teach you with examples
Business books, at the very least, aren’t fiction. They become business books worth reading because they’re based on real world case studies, facts and realities. In other cases, they take broader cultural patterns, synthesise them and articulate the common reasons for why things happen. So whether you’re a marketer, a small business owner or a student, learning from facts and truths, supported by real examples, give you the confidence to apply those ideas in life. Business books not only look at successes but failures, and reveal surprising insights into how things happen in the real world. No matter who you are, these real-life learnings can be applied to your own life so you too can reach your ambitions, or at the least avoid wasting time and energy commiting the mistakes others have made.
4. Business books teach you to challenge assumptions
Almost all business books study the patterns of success, and offer learnings on the back of it. When you interpret these successes, you tend to notice that many of those successes have come from challenging conventional theories and wisdom. So reading business books expose you to unconventional wisdom that can help you to think a bit more creatively to put out innovative solutions to people’s problems, or your own personal problems.
5. Business books give you life lessons
Business books tend to feature stories of successful people — they may be business people or entrepreneurs, but still people at heart. So you learn to understand how they’ve overcome obstacles. These stories can inspire and motivate you, encouraging you to pursue your goals and aspirations with vigour and conviction. Learning from the experiences of others is a mature way to deal with the complexities of life. For many, books serve as mentors in written form. They offer guidance, insights, strategies and life lessons that can shape the person you are.
6. Business books make you look good
You are what you are. If you’re a person that appreciates learning, and are well-read, you’re naturally seen as interesting. Business books don’t just offer learning, they offer credibility. Learning from business books help you expand your perspective about how the world works, give you the opportunity to discuss with a variety of people, across professions. Knowing a thing or two about some business books signal your commitment to learning, positioning you as a credible person worth talking to, worth talking seriously.
7. Business books keep you informed
It’s a pain to keep in touch when the world’s moving fast. You’re in the perpetual FOMO mode. Things are happening by the minute, across channels, cultures, countries. Business books offer a means to learn what’s going on in the world. All good business books talk about solutions to problems, and successful businesses are always finding ways to solve pressing problems of the world. So a business book is one way to stay informed. It lets you stay ahead because businesses are required to stay ahead creating solutions for new and upcoming problems.