About 1 year ago I made a personal commitment to read 2 new business books each month. I set this goal because I wanted to ensure I was keeping up with the latest learning and because I am a believer in life-long education. This was in addition to the RSS Feeds and Newsletters I subscribed to.

So 1 year later, here are a few observations.

1. A lot of books are sounding the same. For example, how many books can you read about Net Promoter before you start to feel you have read this before. In my thirst for knowledge I was just reading the same stuff restated by a different author.
2. I have stopped focusing on new books. I am now “re-reading” some previously read books because I didn’t absorb everything in the first read. I am now going back and re-reading books (i.e. Good to Great, Unleashing Excellence, Branded Customer Service, etc) that I found were meatier and offered more information that I could absorb in the first read. I pay particular attention to those that are action plan oriented.
3. I have cut back my newsletters and blogs because I found a lot seemed more interested in building their own distribution numbers and selling their own products than actually sharing usable information. I want to see actionable ideas.
4. I am using the new found time to think about the information that can provide more value to my clients. Great ideas don’t become valuable until they are implemented.

My Perspective: Life long learning is essential, but like everything, we must be careful what were are measuring — because that’s what gets done. I was focused on numbers of books, but not on the depth of knowledge I was getting or using.

I have now refocused on getting usable information I can implement. I think this is a much more powerful measure.