Yesterday, I began looking through a copy of Debbie Millman’s new book, Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design, and was immediately struck by the layout. On the surface, it looked like any other, but on the inside, the drawn, handwritten, sewn, etc. typesetting made me want to stop and read. This potential novelty was backed up by really interesting stories and observations, in superbly written form. Here’s one bit where Millman reflects and philosophizes about books:

“Every now and then, I remember a book that I read when I was eight or eleven or sixteen…the memory flutters into my head like a yellow butterfly and then I am inspired to once again start a new search. I love this recreation of sorts; knowing that I am simultaneously rebuilding and recrafting my present and my future. Knowing, as Proust observed of Swann’s moment with a madeleine, that these books “ultimately reach the clear surface of my consciousness, this memory, this old dead moment which the magnetism of an identical moment has traveled so far to importune, to disturb, to raise up out of the depths of my being…and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of my recollection.”

I wish you could see these words as they are written in the book, but I cannot recreate the layout in this blog post. A testimony to print? Perhaps. Moreso, it’s clear that the layout Millman chose is not for the sake of novelty, but serves a function to support the content, to make the reader change their perspective with each chapter, as the appearance itself changes.

Also, the quote above is interesting in regards to our company and our product: business books. It made me think a lot about the books I’ve read that really stuck with me. Books where my imagination created the sound of the author’s voice, and when in a situation at work where I needed direction, could actually recall this imaginary voice to talk about the idea from their book, which would, of course, inspire me to seek the book out again.

Praising books is not all Millman’s book does though. It’s about many things, and I’ll post on it again, likely with a Q&A with the author, in the coming weeks. However, I urge any remotely creative group to order a box of these. It will change the way you think about things, how things work, how things look, what brands mean to us and how they function, and how all this work and business and function and design is not just our jobs, but a part of who we are, how we think, and what effect we can have on the world.

Marcus Buckingham’s latest book, Find Your Strongest Life, focuses on helping women find their inner-strength, purpose, and fulfillment in life. To further the discussion, Buckingham will be featured in an upcoming webinar, co-hosted by Thomas Nelson Publishing and 800ceoread. Details on registering can be found here.

For insight into Buckingham’s message, here’s a Q&A sample from a recent interview with him:

Q: What stops most women from making change for the better in their lives and work?

Marcus Buckingham: I think what stops many women initially is that they are so close to themselves that they are not aware of their uniqueness, and they don’t really know what strengthens them, so they don’t know where to begin to make change. It’s hard to take action when you’re not sure of what you’re trying to move toward. It’s hard to cradle something, if you don’t know what to catch. The Strong Life Test is designed to provide that bit of distance to show you that you aren’t the same as somebody else; you don’t have to be the same sort of employee, wife, or mother as everyone else.

The second reason is fear of what you don’t possess and how that might hurt you. Around the world, as compared to men, women are harder on themselves and spend more time thinking about ways to fix themselves. When asked, “What will help you more in life, building your strengths or fixing your weaknesses,” 72% of women say fixing their weakness, compared to 52% of men. Women will not say, “I will celebrate the best of me and what invigorates me,” they will say, “The skills I don’t possess might hurt me and I need to work on them.” I think that’s a dangerous way to live, because counter-intuitively, the more you think about what’s wrong, the more the trajectory of your life moves toward what’s wrong. If you’re thinking about what’s problematic in your marriage, the more those elements gain detail and vividness, and your marriage comes in your own mind to be defined by what’s wrong rather than what’s right with it. It’s noble to want to fix it, but attention amplifies each moment, and women need to realize that if they want change in their lives, they need to focus on the things in life that are really working for them and build from those.

For more, click here for the book and webinar package.