(This is a rant. Feel free to come back tomorrow for our regular B2B Public Relations ideas.)
I had a pretty successful third grade. My grades were good, hot chocolate was plentiful and I had lots of opportunities to create time machines with my colored shoelace collection.
But my teacher Mrs. DiSilvestro was concerned. I had a bad habit that she couldn’t seem to curb. I am a reading addict.
Every school day, at almost any hour, I could be found sneaking peeks at my hidden book. I’d prop it on my
lap, with the cover tucked under the lip of my desk. Yet despite my best efforts, the math workbook didn’t seem to provide effective camouflage. The result? An unhappy teacher and a frustrated bookworm.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I found plenty of other chances to read. Tolkein’s hobbits, Alcott’s Jo, Austen’s Darcy and Rand’s Roark were all my friends. I‘d also curl up with memoirs, histories and even cereal boxes.
Gradually, I came to realize an astonishing truth. Not everyone liked to read. In fact, some folks actively detested it.
It was easy to pick out those kids in my college’s 19th Century English Literature class. If you are simply fulfilling an academic requirement, you don’t share favorite scenes from the story or speculate on the implication of the ending. You just wait to see what text the teacher mentions, so you can highlight it.
I ignored that group. It didn’t matter to me if they didn’t get it.
Here’s the problem: I can’t ignore my profession. Shockingly, many of the communicators I know have stopped being readers. (Or perhaps they didn’t start?) They skim the daily newspaper, they skip reading the relevant client trades and they only bother to subscribe to a few blogs.
In short, if they’re older, they think it’s ok to coast on experiences. If they’re younger, they mistake “skimming” for reading. News flash. There are no shortcuts.
The act of reading opens you to everything that life – and the business world – have to offer. Do you want to know what the industry leader is going to do next? Read. Are you curious about the emerging thought leader? Read. Aspire to gain market share in a combative sector? Read. Trying to develop new skills? Read, read, read.
We’re all busy, with ever increasing to-do lists. But your counsel – to clients, colleagues and peers — is significantly weakened if you skip consuming ideas.
If you are worried about finding the time, here are a few tips:
- Read with Intention: Decide why you need to read. I’m serious. Is it to develop better program goals? Stay up on trends? Determine competitive benchmarks? Prioritize your goals, then select resources that match them. You may be surprised at the content that falls by the wayside.
- Quality, not quantity: Identify 10 great information sources and stick to them. You don’t need a huge amount of content, just the right ones.
- Find the teachers: Some authors want to deliver data, some want to share news and some want to help you become better. If you are reading to improve your skills, pick the writers who will help you succeed. For example, in social media, Valeria Maltoni is a teacher. Mashable is merely a resource.
- Organize your reading: Create a system that allows you to prioritize and “bucket” your incoming information. Google Reader is your friend.
- Prune your Resources: Over time, you may need different kinds of information or teachers. It’s important to recognize that and change your editorial mix.
Reading takes time…more than you want to give. Do it anyway. You…and our profession…will be the better for it.
Do you disagree? Is it possible to be a critical thinker without reading?
To reach Elizabeth:
Phone: 212.840.0017
Email: elizabeth@blisspr.com
Twitter: @elizabethsosnow
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Sosnow
10/18/2010 at 10:55 AM Permalink
As a fellow “reader” I am not only happy, but proud of the fact that I devote a large amount of my time to reading thoroughly about my industry.
I find it difficult to understand the scope of the article/post/whatever without giving it a full read. So, I agree; I believe you can’t glean the proper information by just skimming.
10/18/2010 at 11:41 AM Permalink
I think we are two of a kind, Elizabeth! And when I wasn’t reading, I was talking in class. Any wonder I ended up in PR!
I’m a life-long learner, so reading and devouring information comes naturally to me. My mom used to send me to the dictionary if she used a word I didn’t know, and even now, if I don’t understand something, I start doing homework. Every week, I make my staff check out new blogs, participate in new chats and read industry pubs and those relevant to our clients and have them report back on how it applies to our business and our clients. Reading is still a great teaching tool, long after the school days are over.
10/18/2010 at 12:01 PM Permalink
I can’t disagree with you on this, Elizabeth. Our industry requires avid readers.
Your point on quality versus quantity is spot on, but sometimes, I feel like everyone spits the same thing. I don’t need to read another Top 10 Tips to Twitter and Business. I don’t want another post on 5 Ways to Write a Better Press Release or reasons why The Gap Logo debacle was genius or sheer stupidity.
Do you ever feel like that?
Would you mind sharing a few links to who you read often?
10/19/2010 at 9:30 PM Permalink
Thanks, Melissa. I agree. Somehow, skimming started to pass as an acceptable substitute for reading. But, honestly it just cheats you out of the richness and/or context of a piece.
I’m certainly not saying I’ve never skimmed, but I’m always aware that I’m dropping a ball (or 3 or 4) when I do that. Appreciate your comment!
10/19/2010 at 9:35 PM Permalink
Laura, you are a woman after my own heart! thank you so much for your comment. Reading is still the best way to absorb information and learn new things.
I can’t even classify reading as “homework,” because (for me) it is still the “treat” that I look forward to in a project.
But even folks who see it as homework can get with the program quickly if it makes a difference in their daily professional lives. That’s why I think it’s so important to set up deliberate reading goals that help you to “connect the dots.”
Thanks again for our fun conversation here and on Twitter about this subject
10/19/2010 at 9:48 PM Permalink
I agree wholeheartedly, Elizabeth.
I was always being told, “Get the book away from the table, Sharie!”
Just had a conversation about this a few days ago, how parents would love to have a child
with that problem these days.
Reading has been considered an all-important privilege throughout history, and now it’s considered optional at best. But, if knowledge is power, and words are powerful, what better thing could we do
than read, read, read!
10/19/2010 at 9:50 PM Permalink
Hi Nate:
I certainly agree with you about the echo chamber…and I admit to avoiding the recent Gap logo blog posts myself
Here are a few more of my favorite teachers:
1. Jason Baer on social media:
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/
2. Avinash Kaushik on web analytics
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/
3. Julien for a deeply human perspective on marketing & much more
http://inoveryourhead.net/
4. Content Management Institute for…well, what it sounds like
http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/
5. Information is Beautiful to get me thinking visually in my presentations: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
Actually, I think perhaps you’ve inspired another blog post, Nate. Stay tuned
10/20/2010 at 9:46 AM Permalink
You said that so beautifully, Sharie. It has been a privilege…and yet now that anyone can do it, no one seems to want to! Sigh.
At least you and I are in good company. Look at what Seth Godin ranted about today:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/10/deliberately-uninformed-relentlessly-so.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29