Leaders are readers — habits first, results later

I  saw Napoleon winning at Austerlitz, Dale Carnegie influencing people and Barbara Kingsolver chopping off chicken heads on her Vermont farm. Written words create searing images. Reading mastery uses those images for business, career and life success.

Sitting in the audience in Las Vegas, I was shocked by the speaker ahead of me — the average American reads 0.9 books a year. My talk was ready, so now I had something to occupy my brain. How could a manager with hundreds in her department keep a professional edge without reading? What about the serial startup artist who practices pitching for other peoples’ money yet soaks up knowledge from viral videos rather than published innovators who diligently put pen to paper?

Habits first

It takes roughly 28 exposures for us humans to form a habit.  When those exposures are sporadic or interrupted, the habit has little chance to gel, forcing a weary retreat to motivation or willpower — both huge drains on emotional energy. I suggest reading seven pages a day in the same place and at the same time, if possible. This 14-minute ritual slowly becomes a life habit yielding about one book a month. The average leader starts — the exceptional ones finish. This is a foundational requirement for anyone wrapping themselves in the mantle of original thinker, entrepreneur or innovative leader.

Results later

Innovation comes from crossing industry boundaries and witnessing things you’ve never seen. It seems everyone puts the word in logos and brochures while rushing back to fix urgent crises — fixing problems leaves little time to cross boundaries. The brilliance of devouring a book a month starts with the seven-page habit.

High achievers read widely and deliberately. For you, this will excite your brain and hone your instincts to sniff out opportunities worth 10 times the heroic effort of fixing another stale problem. This means reading books you would normally never touch and adding specific titles to your list that will fill gaps in your creating, pitching, collaborating or marketing. Honor the habit to always finish the book.  Willpower gets you started, but habit carries the day — with seven pages.

Approach your reading mastery as an archeologist uncovers a fossilized woolly mammoth — slow and steady brush strokes. Many wonder, “What if I skip a day?” Or, “Aren’t some books longer than 210 pages?” If you skip a day, avoid double up and reading 14 or even 20 pages the next day to grunt your way to nirvana. This grunting effort is painful, and your brain will turn it off when you’re not looking. After skipping, go back to the seven-page habit in about 14 minutes — remember: habits first, results later.

Books longer than 210 pages may tempt you to force your reading like you did in school. Save that limited emotional sizzle for your product, your idea or your book. Wait for a calm Thursday afternoon or a serene Sunday morning; forgetting minutes and pages.  This is a break-out day when you’re in the zone and pages fly. Here is where you make up for skipped days and how you get through longer books in a month’s time.

Finally, when you get to that last page, the psychologists tell us to celebrate and praise the accomplishment, if you want to repeat it. This pumps that jolt of juice that sustains the titans of achievement, innovation and mastery.

Believe me, I was at that battle with Napoleon, in the room with Carnegie and a safe distance from Kingsolver — every book instructs me in ways I could never have planned. Each book adds value. A leader of one, a dozen or thousands is faking it if they can’t lead themselves to complete a book a month — habits first, results later.

Rick Griggs is the inventor of the rolestorming creativity tool and founder of the Quid Novi Innovation conference. Contact him at rick@griggsachieve.com or 970-690-7327.

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