Don’t you just marvel at people who talk about the books they read and what they learned? You think, “Good for them, they’ve got time to read. . . but I don’t.” Yes, time is certainly a factor but what’s one of the best ways to make time? Make a commitment to others and meet regularly. In other words, create a business book club!
Being a member of a business book club is the easiest, most fun way to get you to read while infusing your brain with usable information. It’s also a great way to network with like-minded people. (You can also adapt this information for starting a casual book club with your friends.) Setting this up is easy if you follow these simple parameters:
• Ideal Size: 10-12 like-minded people (knowing that only 8-10 will probably make it on a regular basis)
• Meeting Frequency: Once a month at the same time (i.e. 1st Friday of the month)
• Suggested Meeting Length: 30-60 minutes – maybe a breakfast meeting would work?
• Location: A quiet and private location – restaurant back room, someone’s home, an empty office
• Fees: Just the cost of the books (and food if in a restaurant)
• Refreshments: optional, pot-luck or bring-your-own
At your first meeting, decide what types of books you want to read. Create a 12 month reading list with one book a month (or two months if life dictates). Then talk about ground rules to include the responsibilities of members such as reading the book(!), attending meetings, absentee policy, judgment-free participation guidelines, guests, etc.
If you prefer to make this a business magazine reading group, go for it! There’s a lot of great current information disseminated in magazines with much to talk about. Just make sure everyone in the group have similar interests and want to read the same publications.
Every meeting should have a designated facilitator who reminds members of the upcoming meeting, leads the discussion, monitors start and stop times, and encourages dialogue from all participants. The facilitator can stay the same or rotate among the members.
That’s it! As you continue to meet, go with what works and abandon things that don’t. As a result, you will be more interested in reading, more interesting to talk to and more well-informed!
About the author: Abby Marks Beale is America’s #1 Speed Reading Expert. She has taught speed reading for the past 25 years and is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading and 10 Days to Faster Reading. She is also the creator of Rev It Up Reading, the online speed reading course. Please visit www.RevItUpReading.com for more.
