One of my favorite CFOs is Bruce Reed of PracticeLink, the number 1 physician job board globally. Like me, Bruce reads widely and is a deep thinker. He’s also good at making the abstract tangible. But he also knows when it’s time to close the book and take action.
Did I mention that Brother Reed is a lacrosse player on the weekends? While the rest of us are either golfing, running, hunting, or working out at the gym, you’ll find him at a Lacrosse game each Sunday during their season.
I recently asked Bruce if he learned the game by reading a book. “Yeah, right.”
CFO Bookshelf Loves Learning – But Doing Too
Periodically, I step back and think about the purpose of CFO Bookshelf. I started this site because I enjoy reading, learning, and studying which tend to overlap.
My starting point is why any of us read:
- We read to be educated
- We read to be entertained
- We read to be inspired
However, all of the above can be done outside of a good book.
For instance, I enjoy visual analytics and specifically building all types of eye-popping insights. I take courses to build on this skill, but I also learn by just jumping in. If I get stuck, I can typically find the answer on YouTube. Or, I can reach out to people like Dan Murray of Interworks.
Finance, ouch. I hate reading books in that genre. Plus, I find finance books boring. I just like to jump in and ask questions when I get stuck on a concept, idea, or any analysis that does not make sense to me.
So what’s the point here? I already know that you’re a reader, or you wouldn’t be on this site. Instead, use this discussion as a starting point for mentoring others who do not like to read.
Perhaps, their lack of reading is not an issue. But if they want to grow professionally, they need a method for building their A-Game. In order to grow, they need to be learning. Sometimes that with books, other times, it’s learning by doing. Right, Bruce?
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