Books That Inspired Us

05 Mar 2020

It's World Book Day, so with that in mind, some of us thought we would share books that have inspired us in our careers or helped develop our skills in some way. 

David, our Products and Propositions manager...

My Book: How to Win Friends & Influence People - Dale Carnegie

Why? A commonsense approach to interpersonal skills: work & socially. And it gave birth to a global training business in leadership and sales skills.

Jackie, our Lead Business Consultant...

My Book: The One to One Future - Don Peppers and Martha Rogers

Why? I read this back in the late '90s (ouch!) and it had a major impact on my (professional services) world. As a result, we formalised account management, nowadays we'd say ABM but without the tech to enable it. We also started using very carefully targeted telemarketing (radical in a Big Four accountancy firm at the time), which brought in a lot of business.

Caroline, Senior Consultant... 

My Book: "What Color Is Your Parachute?"

Why? I read it during 5 days in Bermuda! It makes you reflect on what your ideal job and working environment would be and helped me to figure out my next career move after 18 years in marketing.

Paul, our finance manager...

My Book: How To Deal With Difficult People by Gill Hasson

Why? He chases our invoices! Only joking - it's smart tactics for overcoming the problem people in your life. 

Becky, one of our consumer brand consultants...

My Book: Who Moved My Cheese

Why? My parents gave me a copy of it on my 16th Birthday and it's been a book that I've picked up a few times since then. It reminds me not to over complicate things and to take ownership of my own life and keep moving forward.

Eloise our Lead Consultant on our agency team... 

My Book: The Spy and the Traitor by historian Ben Macintyre.

Why? I'm not a fan of business books and generally find that I can draw work inspiration from any type of books - fiction, biographies etc. I recently read The Spy and the Traitor by historian Ben Macintyre. It's the true story of how MI6 smuggled their most highly prized spy out of Soviet Russia. What you can learn about dedication, team-work, focus and problem-solving from this story is greater than you'll find in any business book. Plus it's a far more exciting read.

Zoe, our Senior Consultant for Charities, Public Sector and Healthcare... 

My Book: The Novel of Liars, Lunch and Lost Knickers.

Why? This sums up my sunny days in advertising and definitely worth reading by any new entrants into that world although think it’s a little more sanitised now!

 

Sibylle, our Lead Consultant for permanent roles within charities, the public sector and healthcare has a German choice...

My Book: Das Trendbuck by Matthias Horx

Why? It was hugely influential for me when I started my career. 

Finally, Christine, our Lead Consultant on the Consumer Brands team not only shares her favourite business book but also the best insight from it... 

My Book: Business Classic - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey.

Why? The purpose of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to help you lead your life in a truly effective way. They represent a proven process of personal and interpersonal growth that can have an immediate and lasting impact.

This was required reading working when I worked with P&G and I know people who resigned their job, moved countries or changed their career path after reading this.

Here are the key insights from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People : 

1. Sharpen the saw. Don’t work yourself to death. Strive for a sustainable lifestyle that affords you time to recuperate, recharge and be effective in the long-term. 

2. Be proactive. You have a natural need to wield influence on the world around you so don’t spend your time just reacting to external events and circumstances. Take charge and assume responsibility for your life. 

3. Begin with an end in mind. Don’t spend your life working aimlessly, tackling whatever job is at hand. Have a vision for the future and align your actions accordingly to make it into a reality. 

4. Put first things first. To prioritize your work, focus on what’s important, meaning the things that bring you closer to your vision of the future. Don’t get distracted by urgent but unimportant tasks. 

5. Think win-win. When negotiating with other, don’t try to get the biggest slice of the cake, but rather find a division that is acceptable to all parties. You will still get your fair share, and build strong positive relationships in the process. 

6. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. When someone presents us with a problem, we often jump right to giving a solution. This is a mistake. We should first take time to really listen to the other person and only then make recommendations. 

7. Synergize. Adopt the guiding principle that in a group, the contributions of many will far exceed those of any individual. This will help you achieve goals you could never have reached on your own.

What is your favourite book? What has inspired you in your career? Let us now on LinkedIn.