I Wish I Had More Time to Read
I don't know how many times a week someone says to me, "You've got to read this book. It's unbelievable." If I read every book that someone said was life-changing, I'd spend my entire life reading. With kids, church activities, and my ministry/job--I don't get nearly as much reading done as I'd like.
In fact, this picture is the current pile of books on my desk that people have handed or sent me. My assistant asked me what I was going to do about the growing column of books. My best idea was to eliminate the shelf above it so the pile can continue to grow. Bottom line: I CAN'T KEEP UP!
A couple months ago I discovered a group called Leaders Book Summaries. Guess what they do? They summarize books. It was started by Dave Frederick, a pastor who believes in the church and believes in leadership. He understands the dilemma we all face between the tyranny of the urgent and the growth we all want as leaders. So he reviews a couple books every month--and sends subscribers a 10-15 page summary, as well as a 2-page "nutshell." I've read several--and they are spot on! Instead of wading through content to get a few nuggets of great stuff--Dave's team takes the time to whittle down the content so there is gold in every paragraph.
His team issues thirty (30) summaries of leadership books each year--written by both secular and religious authors. Some recent examples include...
- Integrity by Henry Cloud
- On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
- Margin by Dr. Richard Swenson
- The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
- How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Bennis, Goleman & O'Toole
- Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell
- The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero