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102 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2021 knowing exactly how I choose the right books to read. ey might not be the same guidelines you would have, but they are mine and hey, you asked me. Here are my 16 rules for selecting and read- ing good business books: 1. Check the weight of the book. If it is too heavy or too big with too many pages, I will not buy it. ere are too many books to read and too little time to waste on giant textbooks. 2. Check for charts and graphs. I will not read a book with charts and graphs. at might have something to do with my interests in sales, marketing, strategy, branding, and leadership. 3. Avoid number labels. I never read a book with paragraphs labeled with numbers, like this 1:2:3. at book was written by a le-brained person and le-brained people cannot write. ey are the same people who write those unreadable computer manuals. 4. I never read books by big company guys. You know, like the head of Honey- well or IBM? ose guys are in their own corporate bubble that has very little to do with my reality or the reality of my read ers and customers. Someone running their own $3 million, $5 million or even $20 million company knows a lot more than the head of a multi-billion dollar com- pany. And chances are they didn't even write the book in the first place. Unless the CEO is a very creative guy like Jobs or Gates, they have nothing to teach me. 5. I never read books published by the Harvard Business School. ey are heavy, full of charts, and erudite as heck. And I never read books with small-print double- column pages. 6. I only read current books. Unless it's a classic I never read a book that is over three years old. e world is moving too fast to be reading about mass-faxing. 7. I love handbooks and small books.* I like books that I can read in an hour or two, depending on how much note taking (read: idea stealing) I do. 8. I love and read books by real people. People who get to the point. 9. I read books that have bullet point chapter summaries. I love bullet points. 10. I love books by smart people. I like people who "think different." 11. I love books that are easy to read and scan. Remember, business books always have three parts. e first talks about the problems they have that need fixing. You already know this, so you don't need to hear that case being made again and again. e second part talks about what should be done and what fixes are available. And the third part has the meat of the book as well as the sales pitch of what you can do about the problem and how, by using the author's services (which offer the best solutions to the problem), you will solve your prob- lems and become a better company. at's the part you want to read first. Actually, in many cases you can read that part while standing in front of the business book sec- tion at Barnes and Noble. 12. I love very recent books about new and developing innovations. 13. I love books that predict the future including what the world may be like five years from now. (Aer that, they are just guessing.) * For more small books check out I-007eBooks.