Two Impacts on Professional Development
During my career as a sales rep and entrepreneur, two things have been the most impactful in my professional development:
1. Experience: there is no substitute
2. Reading: an unlimited knowledge pool awaits through articles and books
Mostly, I like to read non-fiction books, though occasionally I enjoy a good novel. As Medworks has grown and the business has become more complex, I have at times found myself swimming in deep waters, unsure of the right decisions. The reading of business books has been a wonderful source of information and advice and has often guided me through those uncertainties. All of this said, I would like to highlight just three books that I have read in the last year.
In 1994, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras coauthored a book called Built to Last, an excellent book well worth the read. That book uses a research driven approach to uncover the successful habits of visionary companies. Using the same approach, Collins and his team spent five years analyzing data to understand why some mediocre companies become great while others never make the leap. For every good to great company, there is a comparison to a similar company that did not achieve greatness. These entities, once they made the leap from good to great, sustained market shattering returns for fifteen straight years. The book uncovers specific characteristics that set the great companies apart from their comparison companies. Good to Great contains valuable principles that can be modeled by other business entities.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Written as a fable, this book is a story about a startup technology company, Decision Tech. Decision Tech is quickly running out of money. Kathryn Peterson is brought in as CEO to turn things around. While she is a bit older and has no background in tech, she is masterful at building teams. On arrival, she discovers a very dysfunctional team of leaders, each having their own agenda. Kathryn organizes a retreat for the team where she introduces the five dysfunctions. This book is relevant to any situation where teams and meetings are involved. I encourage every person on my leadership team to read this book. It is an easy read that I would highly recommend.
Called to Create is a book about entrepreneurship written from a Christian perspective. In it, the reader is challenged to appreciate the deeper purpose and meaning of their work, and the good that can be accomplished by entrepreneurs and companies that consider their work a calling. Examples in the book include TOMS shoes, Chick-Fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Guinness, and others. These companies have all strived for excellence in quality and service. They serve their employees, communities, customers, and participate in many charitable endeavors. At Medworks, we try to be “intentionally excellent” as we serve our healthcare community and share our resources with those in need through our charity work.
Do you have a good book or two to share? I would love to hear from you!