Read to Lead

I just finished reading my copy of Read to Lead by my friend Jeff Brown and Jesse Wisnewski. Honestly, I wanted to be a part of the “launch team” to be the first to read the book primarily because Jeff Brown is a personal friend and I wanted to be supportive. I also just enjoy reading. Let me begin by stating that my last comment is still a bit hard for me to type and believe. “I enjoy reading.” I never imagined those words coming from my lips (or fingers in this case). Growing up, I never read. Oh sure, I remember reading Encyclopedia Brown in grade school but that was about it. I wasn’t really a “gamer” either. Video games were just becoming a big deal when I was a kid in the 70’s, and I did have most of the various systems, but I just wasn’t overly hooked. Most of my time was spent outside playing whatever game or sport I could play. By the time Jr High and High School rolled around, I was way into sports (and girls too but mostly sports because they seemed to like me better). The first book I ever remember reading from cover to cover was in 7th grade. This was the year the movie The Outsiders came out. My entire 7th grade class had to read the book and then got to go see the movie.

From that time until my mid 20’s, I could probably count on one hand how many books I had read. (And this was while I secured both a Bachelor and a Masters degree!). However, sometime in my late 20’s, I developed an interest in reading. Most of my reading included Christian books or books on leadership. Soon I began to develop more than just an interest. A love for reading had been birthed.

I knew that reading and leading were tied together. There is a definite correlation. I found that in Read to Lead, that connection is deeper then I had realized. One of the first quotes from the book that I underlined was a quote from Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States. The quote from President Truman states, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Jeff and Jesse do an excellent job of not just stating why we should read (they have loads of evidence to back this up in the book), but they also share with us how to become a better reader. They have listed several tips how to read faster, how to retain better what you have read, how to read something (and why) that you may not be particularly interested in, and even some advice on how and why to start a book club.

If you want to be a better reader, and therefore a better leader, this simple yet practical book is a must read!