keep it coming

The leadership program and the new position have me reading more business books. Currently reading "One Minute Manager" and "Developing the Leader Within."

After having for years spent reading textbooks, novels, and poetry books, business book reading is well, like bedtime stories for adults. Often written in a nice large 14 pt font full of small stories and anecdotes that remind you of Reader's Digest.

Both of the books are several decades old, so I have to think about whether the books continue to be relevant and if so which part is relevant and which are not. I do find some of the anecdotes hard to swallow as sometimes they are used as an example of an abstract idea. I'm either not getting the abstract idea or I'm not following the story telling. Having focused on novels and poetry, bad story telling really irks me.

It's almost like a self-help line that is pseudo-fiction. The tales are written to convey what would really have been a one page memo with a list. And like fairy tales, I somehow need to pull out the moral of the story to become a better leader and/or manager.

In any case, I feel like I'm caught up with the new pace of things. Getting used to my schedule getting filled with meetings rather than client calls. Tackling on other problems and doing more analysis in terms of effectiveness and cost. And all in all trying to guide people through change, which most people are inherently afraid of, including at times myself.