10 characteristics of brilliant business books
One of the things that I enjoy about writing this blog is that it reminds me how many brilliant books there are out there (and sitting on my bookshelf). That has got me thinking about what makes a brilliant business book. So, here’s my list of 10 characteristics, in no particular order:
1. Pleasure to read
The book has got to be enjoyable, not a chore to read. I don’t want to have to force myself to open it up every evening in order to get through it. Instead, it must hold my attention and be written in a style that encourages me to keep reading, to the point that I don’t want to put it down. Yes, that is possible with a business book, trust me.
2. Inspiring
I want to be inspired by the book. Inspired to start trying out its advice straight away. I want to get a feeling of ‘yes, I can do it and I will!’. There’s nothing better than a book that leaves you feeling upbeat and ready for anything.
3. Easy to understand
I want to be able to understand the concepts in the book without resorting to a dictionary or having to re-read sections over and over again. I don’t mind if the concepts are challenging, if I’m learning something new then I do expect to have to make a bit of an effort, but I don’t want to be faced with a load of jargon and acronyms which aren’t explained.
4. Applicable to my business
It’s important to me that I can apply the advice/concepts in the book directly to my business. Of course, if I’m reading ‘Brilliant Book of Business Advice for Emily’ then I would expect it to apply to me, but it’s not that easy. I once did a marketing course designed for creative businesses but the course tutor had entirely based it on ‘creative business’ meaning ‘artist’. As a result he was constantly saying “this won’t apply to you, Emily”. Lovely. So I guess it’s important for the book to be clear from the start about who the intended audience is and then make sure that audience is catered for.
5. Practical application
Not only do I want to be able to understand the book in the context of my own business but I also want to be able to go away and apply the concepts in a practical fashion. Theory is great but I also want to be able to see how I can apply it in a practical way. Give me some exercises to do or talk me through putting together an action plan. Or, give some examples (see no. 6 below). I’m not going to fully understand it if I can’t see how I can use it.
6. Examples
Examples are great. They can be real-life examples or made up, doesn’t matter. Examples help you understand how the theory can be applied. They can also be inspiring (especially if they’re real-life examples) – a description of how somebody took a certain action and the positive affect it had on them or their business.
7. Knowledgeable author
It’s important that the author knows their stuff. If you think that they’ve got something wrong it makes you doubt the validity of the rest of their advice. So, they need to write in a knowledgeable way that gives you confidence in them, but also back up their claims with supporting resources. A few statistics don’t go astray, but don’t overload us with them
8. Up-to-date website
A lot of books these days have accompanying websites with downloads and other supporting materials. It’s clear from some books that the author has great plans for developing a fantastic resource. However, if you’re reading the book a couple of years down the road you may not find exactly what they’re promising. It’s amazing how many obviously abandoned websites I’ve come across. So, if you are directing readers to downloadable resources, put them there and keep them at the address that you’ve given. If you’re not going to actively work on the website for years to come, then provide everything that’s needed for the book and leave it at that. There’s nothing more offputting than news that is 3 years out of date, or promises of downloads which you can’t find however hard you try.
9. Clearly laid out
I like to see a list of contents which makes it clear what the topic of each chapter is. Attractively laid out pages with sub-headings and boxouts. Clear print – I don’t want teeny tiny crammed in print which I need a magnifying glass to read (yes, my eyesight isn’t the best), instead a good size print, nicely spaced out. It’s amazing how much this can affect your enjoyment of a book.
10. References to other brilliant books
And finally, I want the book to point me in the direction of other brilliant books. If I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read then I want to keep reading.
Still working on being brilliant
I’ve just completed the fourth week of my 90 days of brilliance plan and I’m still hanging in there. I started off by preparing very detailed weekly plans and sticking to them very closely, but that has tailed off somewhat. Instead I’m now setting overall goals for each week, giving myself much more flexibility day-to-day. I’m feeling pretty good after four weeks:
- We’ve launched our new website and are actively working on expanding it
- I’m feeling much more confident about networking and as a result more enthusiastic about going to stuff
- I’ve prepared a 28-day marketing programme and started it (today in fact)
- We’ve defined our vision for 5-years and are actively working towards it
- I’m reading on average one book a week
- I’m signed up for an SQL course which will be starting in a few weeks
It’s all good stuff. Tomorrow will mark the end of the first 30-day plan so it will be time to sketch out what I want to achieve in the next 30 days.
My second week of brilliance
I’m at the end of the second week of my 90 days of brilliance. The highlight of my week was joining the A1 Business Forums and I already feel like I’m settling in there. I’ve stuck to my plan pretty well – I’m not always doing everything on the day that I’d planned to do it but everything on the list seems to be getting ticked off. One of my tasks for today is to plan the next 7 days. Must remember not to cram too much into each day.
The most ‘non brilliant’ thing this week is continuing problems with the bloomin’ car. I’m hoping to try a speed networking event next Friday, so fingers crossed that we’ve managed to get it fixed in time.
How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure
It doesn’t have such a structured approach as How To Be Brilliant, however you could easily note down the various steps and devise your own plan from it. What I really like about it is that it makes you look at things differently and pushes you to try things that you might have dismissed otherwise – I have to own up to being a bit too comfortable in my comfort zone at times, but this book reminds me that I need to push past it.
Rating: 
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Off to a good start
Well, I think it’s fair to say that I’m off to a good start with my 90-day plan. I was up at 6am this morning and did my yoga DVD … not very flexible at all so definitely need a bit more of that. Apart from that I’ve got most of the things ticked off my list for today, which is a good feeling. All that’s left is a bit of reading, doing my relaxation cd (brilliant people know how to deal with stress apparently) and to phone my ‘buddy’, which I’ve got booked in for 7pm.
I’m generally feeling motivated and keen to keep going. Well you’d hope so after just one day, wouldn’t you?
Start of another 90 days of brilliance
One of my favourite ‘sorting your life out’ books is How to Be Brilliant by Michael Heppell. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll probably mention it again. The book helps you plan out ’90 days of brilliance’ to help you achieve or work towards achieving your goals. It’s a brilliant motivator.
Last week I came to the end of a 90-day period, which started well but kind of petered out into unbrilliance – though I did manage to get through my planned reading list, so it wasn’t a complete wash-out. So, I’ve spent the weekend working my goals and planning my next 90 days. This time I will stick to it! Helping me along is my good friend Sparkatrician, who is going to be my ‘brilliance buddy’. He’s also starting out on a 90-day plan so we will egg each other on and generally provide support. Have got our first phone call booked in for tomorrow night.
It’s been quite an intense weekend doing the prep, but I now have 90-, 30- and 7-day plans printed out and in my ‘brilliance folder’. Despite intending to limit my goals to a manageable amount, there’s quite a lot on there. Still, got to aim high! First step will be to get up at 6am tomorrow and do yoga.
How To Be Brilliant
Actually this isn’t strictly speaking a business book as it can equally be applied to your personal life. But I think it deserves the title of a ‘Brilliant Business Book’ on the basis that if I’m brilliant then my business will be brilliant too.
I have to admit I haven’t achieved brilliance yet but I’m following the advice of the book and striving for that brilliant moment. I feel positive that it will come if I work hard at it!
Rating:
Buy “How to be Brilliant” from Amazon >
