My prior “Why A Book?” post describes why we are writing a book versus doing something else. This post is more about who will benefit from this project.

Writing a book is not a small undertaking. Jack and I spent between 10 and 15 hours a week writing this book. The challenge with this particular book is we had to go back and read all the others books before we even start writing. To meet the April 1st, 2008 deadline, both of us each week needed to read a book and write a review.

My statement about the workload is not a complaint. It is a statement of fact and one that we knowingly took on. The commitment though makes a strong statement about the value of the project.

For our company, this is a stake in the ground with 800-CEO-READ solidifying its position as an expert in business books. With our strong ties in the author community, we will be able to speak more easily to them as peers. The book gives our fans and supporters a rally point. The broader business community gets an unparalleled resource for facing the challenges in the marketplace.

We felt we needed to write this book. Certainly, there is the challenge of individual achievement for Jack and I, as one might choose to run a marathon, but what we spent most of our time talking about were things like “Who is going to be reading this?”, “Is this book worthy?”, and “How can we make this review better?” The answers to those questions make a better book for all of you.

I realize both of these post may sound high-minded, but we both believe the best journeys start with a noble purpose. Built into the DNA of our company is the primary idea that we need to help people and that is why we are writing this book.

This is the question every journalist has asked us in their interviews about The 100 Best.

Jack and I normally get about one sentence to answer. The internet allows more space for the proper respsonse.

Q: Why a Book?

A: Because the books still matter and they produce a different result.

There are a number of routes we could have gone with this project. A simple email with the 100 books could have gotten readers talking. People love lists.

We could have blogged our favorite books and created a couple of ChangeThis manifestos with some clever category slices. My top five books for executives post got a lot of traction and generated some great comments. Josh Kaufman’s Personal MBA manifesto has been hugely popular.

Writing a book requires a different level of concentration, both internally and externally. It is not good enough to challenge your co-worker with the five books she’d bring with her to a desert island. Choosing and describing in the right terms 100 titles is a different task. Writing a book gives you the motivation and the impetus to do that work. I am not saying we couldn’t do this without a publisher’s deadline, just that it helps.

It is the same way a publisher signing the project helps. They sign projects they think are going can be commercially successful. That eye can help a book find a larger audience. You also get the sales, distribution, and production capabilities. Those still matter too.

Don’t think we aren’t going to write the email and manifestos I described at the start as well as a dozen other things. We just think writing a book makes the end result better.

We began this week in New York City, hosting an event at the Midtown Lofts on 5th Avenue to show appreciation to all our friends in publishing that make what we do possible, honor this year’s 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards winners, and celebrate the release of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. As one attendee said, “Man, you’re serving food and playing Tom Waits at a book party? I need to make it to Milwaukee more often!” Well, that feeling is mutual.

And so, we’d like to end the week by thanking everyone who joined us in New York for the party. It was certainly our honor and pleasure to have you there. Here is the message that Kate Mytty, Air Traffic Controller for The 100 Best and master event coordinator, asked me to convey to all that made it:

To All of You Who Came, Celebrated, And Said Hello,

Thank you for joining us on Monday night! We believe business books can change and are changing the world. Each book has the opportunity to make a lasting effect on people’s careers and lives. Monday night was a momentous event in celebrating business books, as a genre and the perfect start for what is to come.

This coming week is the big launch for The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. Available in bookstores everywhere on February 5th. Also, in the spirit of business books, we recently launched a new site, My Favorite Business Book. It’s a place where people can share the stories of business books that have changed them. We’re sure you’ll find books you’ve worked on or read in the list of books.

Before we bid adieu, here are photos we captured at the event. If you have photos of the event, send us the link. We’d love to see them.

Thank you again for joining us! For those we hadn’t met before, it was a pleasure to meet you. For those we know well, it was good to see you, again.

Cheers,
The crew at 800-CEO-READ

For an company outsider’s take on the event, head on over to the GalleyCat.
And a very special thanks to Adrian Zackheim and the folks of Portfolio.


Have a great weekend everybody!
(photos: Kathrine Berger)

We’re really ratcheting it up for the ole book launch, which is one week from today. As part of the rolling out, we’ve commissioned four artists (I’m one) to develop four posters based on four choice passages from The 100 Best. They are all gorgeous (I think I’m allowed to say that) and they’re very reasonably priced at $12.00–$40.00 for all four. Four for fore for four. Sorry about that, there are just a lot of fours in this post.

So, for just forty dollars, you can have four posters to brighten your forlorn office fortresses. From left to right, the poster’s themes and artists are:

• Be Remarkable, People Will Talk by wise friend of the company, Mya-Lisa King
• Manage Actions, Not Time by our genius designer, Joy Panos Stauber

• Drive Pushes/Passion Pulls by our lovely and talented photographer, Kat Berger
• Any Industry is Ripe for Reinvention by our awkward resident illustrator, me.

If you don’t buy these posters, I will cry.

There was a post in Twitter last week with someone asking what five business books should be recommended to someone entering the workforce. I wasn’t able to go back and find the post, but the question has been lingering with me as we approach the launch of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

Where to start? It depends on so many things. What newcomers to the world of business lack is not knowledge, but experience. That can makes books a problematic choice for green, just out of the gate graduates, brimming with academic theory.

As I think about it though, the best business books relate stories and through those stories the experiences of others. The good ones also provide context, putting the pieces together in a different way or providing narrative that helps us see the things we already know in a new light.

The five books below provide wisdom for those starting their careers in business. They may also be a good reminder for the rest of us:

• Financial Intelligence – The authors describe financial information as the nervous system of any business and newly minted grads understand debits and credits, while missing the broader point of the matching principle. Financial Intelligence is the book to help anyone understand accounting and its implications on business, much needed context for anyone who wants to be successful.
• What The CEO Wants You To Know by Ram Charan – This books covers some of the same ground but at a much higher level. You may even want to read it before Financial Intelligence for its 50,000 foot view of the really big ideas in business. The book is also small and short, making for a quick accessible read. Jack recommends two handouts for new employees: the company manual and What The CEO Wants You To Know.
• StrengthFinder 2.0 – Focus on what you are good at, says the folks at Gallup. The book comes with a code for the online test that assesses you and provides your top five strengths with descriptions of what you can further do to improve and embrace them. I think this is a great step toward finding your personal purpose.
• Influence and Made To Stick – You are always trying to convince someone of something in business, whether its the hiring manager or customer who just isn’t sure. Both of these books are required reading. I will say no more.
• Six Thinking Hats – Have you ever been in a conversation and realize that the other person is not have the same conversation you are? The both of you arrive at that point with different concerns. Edward De Bono is good at showing us new ways to look at things and he says there are six ways of thinking. And if you are in a team meeting, you need to all be in the same mode. The basis of everything is communication and if it is not happening, nothing is happening.