Powered by Twitter Tools

Powered by Twitter Tools

Confucius once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  My “single step” toward accomplishing my reading goal of 24 new books in 2010 began with The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker.

OK, I’ll admit, reading a 174 page book isn’t the pinnacle of achievement, but it’s a start.  If you read my last blog post you may be wondering why I selected this particular book by Drucker.  Although it wasn’t even on my radar at the time, a serendipitous event took place that compelled me to start with The Effective Executive as my first new read in 2010.  Here’s the story…

Once a month I have the pleasure of investing two hours of my life to personal and professional development with a group of peers.  This is not the only development group I participate in, but it is one of my favorites.  The group is led by one of the most impressive leaders I have ever met, my friend, Ron Price.  Ron is the “mentor” leading a b|wise group through the Boise Young Professionals program, which I oversee at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Each month I meet with my b|wise group and we discuss topics regarding individual and group personality and strength profiles, Ron’s book Finding Hidden Treasures, and other areas that lead group members to discover their potential as leaders.  During our group’s December meeting, Ron asked each of us to read a chapter in his book and complete the action items at the end of the chapter.  The action items I completed at the end of chapter five led me to write my January 2 post about my 2009/2010 book list.

Over the past few years, I have heard numerous people recommend books by Peter Drucker.  I enjoy reading business books and love to learn about leadership, management, marketing, innovation, entrepreneurship, and other professional development related information.  During my January b|wise meeting, I mentioned that I had the goal of reading at least one book by Peter Drucker and Ron suggested I start with The Effective Executive. A few other members of the group also chimed in and offered their support of Ron’s suggestion.  So, I stored the book title in my mind and made a decision to add the book to my 2010 reading list.

The following morning I walked into the Chamber offices, but went through the main lobby instead of my regular path past the hallway.  A stack of about seven books, which were placed on the top corner of the first desk in the office, caught my eye as I began walking toward my office.  To my complete surprise, the book placed on top of the short stack was none other than, The Effective Executive.  I asked around the office and quickly learned that the stack of books were just dropped off and donated to the Chamber’s business library.  So of course, I decided to borrow the book and begin reading it ASAP.

After the serendipitous event, I decided to write a quick email to my b|wise group and share the story.  I also committed to read Drucker’s book before completing any other book, since it seemed like someone was trying to signal me to capture the moment.

In my next post, I will highlight some of the many lessons learned from The Effective Executive and share them as part two of my 2010 goal to write at least one blog post about each of the 24+ books I read during the year.  Stay tuned for more.