In the business literature departments of bookstores, it is difficult not to be confused: there is an endless supply of biographies of entrepreneurs, cases of successful companies, and methods for optimizing work processes. Some of them, such as the epic book by Ilon Musk, become a real event. But most business books are indistinguishable from one another, often containing repetitive advice and other platitudes. “The Secret” found out if business books help entrepreneurs in any way – and, actually, which books do? Question. And it’s in this article that you can learn about the importance of literature reviews in small business and entrepreneurship research.

Is Business Literature Useful?

The entire segment of business literature can be divided into two types. The first includes books that provide applied knowledge and recommendations, such as negotiation practices, sales, and time management. It is certainly possible and even necessary to apply these tips in practice and integrate them into one’s daily work. The second type of business literature is the success stories of famous entrepreneurs. They can be interesting, but they are rarely applied in the literal sense. Rather, they are an opportunity to look at the business world through the eyes of another entrepreneur. Which allows you to evaluate your managerial decisions more objectively. At the core of any business is some kind of an author’s concept of leadership, an author’s view of the world. Therefore, someone else’s experience can be interesting, but, unfortunately, is not applicable in practice. Business literature is a good source of knowledge, but still, the most useful advice to entrepreneurs should be sought in classical literature.

A Guide to Action

Business literature cannot be a guide to action, it should not be considered directly in an applied vein, as there will never be a full coincidence of methodologies, advice, experience, and expertise of the author (even if he is an absolute management guru and creator of a transnational company) with your business. But, like a work of fiction, it makes you think. About yourself, about life, about those around you. About processes, technology, motivation, and goals. It is an extra opportunity to look at your company from the outside, through the eyes of the author or methodology. Business books are a kind of punch card, applying them to yourself, you can open some missing windows that perhaps need attention.

Why Read Different Business Books?

You can’t limit yourself to any book, because no book about business is a prescription or instruction manual. Business is not conducted by prescription at all. Different books give different perspectives on the same problems. If you don’t like a book, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read books at all. You should read other books, looking for what works best for you.

If you don’t read books, you start your life from scratch, making all the mistakes that have already been made millions of times. But… after all, a business person has little time, and you need to read more. In order to cope with this dilemma, you need to know what to read and how to read.

What to Read?

There are two types of books to read:

• The first type is books that give you a new perspective.
• The second is books that make sure you are as tech-savvy as possible and help you generate ideas you could use.

How to Read?

First, you should read the right books. This will provide tremendous time savings and the quickest payoff.

For example, you need to roll out a loyalty program in your company and you want to “be on point” by reading something on the subject. You have two choices:

• Read all the books on the subject (speaking foreign languages would be a plus).
• Or read the best book on the subject.

Second, you need to learn to read quickly and selectively. If you don’t have speed-reading skills, you can get them at special courses. But you can learn to read fast yourself by simply starting to read more. If you try to read more than two books a month, and then more and more, your speed-reading (or rather, scanning) skills will come on their own.

Third, you have to learn to make time to read. Vacations, weekends, business trips, waits… Try to make the most of any opportunities. For example, use your time in traffic to listen to audiobooks.

Your Experience Is More Important

Don’t forget that success in business is, first and foremost, the ability to solve applied problems. There is applied business literature as well, but it does not have an immediate effect either. When you read how to solve physical problems, you don’t start solving them instantly, but first, you practice, checking against the textbook and formulas.

Moreover, a business cannot be compared with the study of one science, it is a whole set of specific knowledge and skills: the ability to manage people, build an effective team, the ability to build processes, the ability to negotiate, the ability to assess risks and form a development strategy, the ability to build marketing campaigns (or hire the right people for that) and so on. You can be a CPA in marketing, but a brilliant excellent manager can be enough to build a great company. It’s just important to be mindful of your weaknesses and strengths.

When you gain experience, you’ll be snapping tasks like nuts. Reading the memoirs of the greats, you form and strengthen your motivation to improve. After all, it’s not enough to learn how to hammer nails and saw boards to build a house. You also need to motivate yourself, including examples of other homes that your neighbors have built, for example. You do not know how to hammer nails neighbor, maybe they even pinned a stone, but you see the result, and really want to make if not better, then at least the same.

Bottom line

Treat business literature the same way you would treat textbooks. Some will help you learn how to solve applied problems and will have an effect after you have practiced your knowledge, while others will give you a burst of energy and motivation to improve. Build your learning consciously and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results!