My local Chamber of Commerce has agreed to one of my pet ideas: starting a book-study group for business owners. This comes from a very interesting presentation by Darren Short, of Avenade, at the 2006 “Future of Training” confrence. From an academic background, Darren spoke on practical channels of deploying new leadership and management methods to business owners and “C” suite leaders.
In my neighborhood in Seattle, “Small Business” ranges down from firms of a few hundred employees to mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. Some are pretty ambitious. Many are struggling to keep going.
Darren suggested that his research showed the highest ROI from $1 spent on leadership training came from a book study group. His model was this:
1) Every participant got a book, a personal journal, and a date or dates when they would meet to discuss what they’d read..
2) A particular book might be divided into 4 weekly read/journal/discuss blocks. This allowed for each person to read at their leisure, journal on what they’d gained, and process the info further by hearing and discussing other’s viewpoints.
3) People were encouraged to find ways to put what they’d read into action.
Those who participated reported higher value than other forms of structured learning - at lower cost. Ideally, the job of moderating the discussion rotated among the participants, and choosing subsequent books was a group decision.
I agreed to help get this started in January, 2009. The first book is “The Small-Mart Revolution” by Michael H. Shuman - on how small businesses, individually and collectively, can survive in competition with Wal-Mart, Costco, and other big-box stores.
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