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Bill's Book list, Part One
May 14, 2007
Good day to you!
I cannot TELL you how good it feels to be back at the computer. In the middle of the night Thursday/Friday I was hit by an avalanche called the stomach flu. It was NOT fun (and you’d think it would be. I mean, when I think stomach flu, I think “Disney”). The weekend was spent doubled over. Why doesn’t it rain on the days that I can’t play golf because I am too sick? It is just not fair.
This week’s Blog postings are about books. I am a reader. That is to say, I know how to read and occasionally I practice the art. I have a problem actually finishing books, but that is a vice for another day. Business books tend to hold my attention far better than personal stuff (though “Eat, Pray, Love” is a GREAT read, especially if you are divorced, separated, or going through either).
With summer coming up, I wanted to share my business faves, beginning with the best sales book ever written….
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” was written back in the 1930s by Dale Carnegie. If you are in Sales, you need to read it. Multiple times. If you are in Sales and you have not read it, drop and give me twenty. Multiple times. It is a book on human nature. It teaches the reader how to get what he/she wants by determining what the other guy wants. Simple stuff, really, but incredibly effective. My mom gave it to me when I was 14 years old. I have handed out dozens of copies to young people in whom I see great potential and sales people who need the hint (i.e.-SHUT UP AND LISTEN!).
Every book ever written on Sales has its roots in that book. Years ago, I read a book written by a man who started a printing franchise (who shall go nameless). The double-spaced, every-other-page-blank dissertation shamelessly ripped off Mr. Carnegie’s comments word for word. Nice.
So, start there, bookworms. You have until tomorrow to read it, though. I suggest you buy this one (the others you can borrow or take out from the library). Put a crowbar in your wallet and pull out US$6.95. It will be the best investment you have made since you bought that 12-pack of Trojans in college.
Posted by Bill Farquharson on May 14, 2007 | Comments (0)
