Forward Janesville - TheReport - FirstQuarter 2019

BOOKISH BRILLIANCE Best Business Books to Read This Year 6 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M Pour yourself a cup off coffee, find a cozy corner, and curl up with some written- word wisdom designed to entertain as much as it enlightens. BY LAURA BARTEN Warren Buffett, perhaps the consummate example of business success, is often asked what it takes to be successful. His answer? "Read 500 pages . . . every day. That's how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will." That’s not a typo. While building his investment career, Buffett read between 600 and 1,000 pages per day. Ready to take the challenge? Start 2019 off with a dose of classic inspiration mixed with some contemporary insights from some long- respected and well-loved authors. Jim Collins “When what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at, and what drives your economic engine come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life.” Classic ______ Good to Great A consistent favorite of top CEOs, this book addresses a single question: can a good company become a great company, and, if so, how? Collins based this on a five-year research project comparing companies that made the leap to those that did not, finding that greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline versus circumstance. Trending ______ Turning the Flywheel: A monograph to Accompany Good to Great A companion to Good to Great, Collins expounds on the six-step process he developed at his management lab to implement the flywheel concept—one of the cornerstone concepts of his seminal 2001 book. A former Stanford Business School professor, Jim Collins has authored or co-authored six books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide, including the #1 bestseller Good to Great, which The Economist described as the “Harry Potter of management literature.” In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds. Read more about the 16 concepts Jim Collins thinks makes “great companies tick” here: https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts.html simon sinek “Imagine a world in which the vast majority of us wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day. We commit to finding and building the leaders who will work to make this vision a reality.” Classic ______ start with Why In 2009, it could be argued that Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work. This book examines how people like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers all used a similar approach to inspire others by first communicating the “why” behind what they were doing. The book provides a framework for building organizations and movements by starting with “why” to more successfully inspire others. Trending ______ The infinite Game You’ll have to wait until summer to pick up a copy of Sinek’s latest, but the buzz surrounding it is promising. The book is based on the concept of two types of leaders: those who pay with a finite or infinite mindset. Sinek goes on to say that leaders who embrace an infinite mindset, in stark contrast to those who see things as finite, build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations, and demonstrate greater resilience. Simon Sinek describes himself as an unshakable optimist who believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. He may be best known for popularizing the concept of WHY in his first TED Talk in 2009, which rose to become the third most watched on TED.com, with over 40 million views. He is the author of multiple best selling books. Brené BroWn “The bottom line: I believe that you have to walk through vulnerability to get to courage, therefore . . . embrace the suck. I try to be grateful every day and my motto right now is ‘Courage over comfort.’ “