Management Rules: 50 New Rules for Managers

CHAPTER 32

HOW TO READ

You are reading this, so why on earth do you need to learn how to read? Because reading for business is different from reading for pleasure.

Reading for pleasure is, hopefully, a journey of discovery: you are led by the writer. In business, you do not want to be led by the writer. That is passive reading, and managers do not succeed by being passive. You need to read actively. Active reading requires some very simple preparation before you read anything.

Before you read any report, form your own point of view on two things:

1. What is your point of view on the subject? Do not get caught in the brilliant internal logic of the report in front of you. Form your own view. If the report says something different from what you ...