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October 6, 2006
Specific Books For Specific Problems
I have a theory that people buy business books for one of two reasons:
- They are trying to solve a problem.
- They are looking for ideas.
We have a tendency to talk about idea books here. Those are what we are attracted to. Tom's essay this morning on the FT/Goldman Sachs Awards is case in point.
Problem solving books are just as important. If you have just been given a new project or a new job, there are all sorts of questions jumping around in your head. Often, you will just listen to those around you for advice. Books can give you a great third-party resource.
Amacom is good at these sorts of books. Sell Your Business Your Way by Rick Rickertsen is a perfect example. Here is a book that deals with a very specific subject - the things that business owners need to think about when they are deciding to sell their firm. Rickertsen talks about valuation, motivation, and what life after the business might be like. A couple other Amacom titles that match this profile are Effective Succession Planning by William Rothwell and The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation by Andris A. Zoltners, et al.
Posted by Todd S. at October 6, 2006 1:33 PM
Most business books are bought by business consultants, internal or external. They are not trying to solve a problem or find ideas. I think more often they are trying to protect themselves from being found ignorant of a trend. high on the lis f reasons to read is looking for methods, to enhacne one's "toolkit", which are different from ideas.
I often find that consultant's feel they read widely when all the read is standard business books. No history, no literature. Not even serious economics. Certainly not political thery or comparative anthropology or socilogy. The result is a narrowing of expertize to the tried and true, and as a result consultants do not deliver the full value they might if they were to think more broadly.
Posted by: Douglass Carmichael at October 8, 2006 9:51 PM