Sacred Texts in your business.

Hi Jezebel,

What a name for a Sacred Texts thread, eh? :) I'm sure you've never heard that one before... <oy>

I have literal sacred texts: the Qur'an, and other texts from various saints and holy people.

And then there are the biographies- Mother Theresa by Kathryn Spink, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. There are some amazing leadership and organizational lessons in those books.

Then there are the business books: Good to Great, by Jim Collins, Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni, Growing a Business by Paul Hawken, The Seven Day Weekend by Ricardo Semler.

Those are some of the books that have earned a permanent place on my shelf, unlike some of the other interesting but faddy books that I read, and then they rotate away.

Well, i'm not sure i would call any of them sacred, but their are a number of tomes that have been helpful to me in life and business. The Tao Te Ching, A Book of Five Rings,& The Art of War are all good strategy books which i think business owners may benefit from.

While not a "business book," The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron has taught me how to uncover my creativity, which is a big one because writing content for our blog and membership subsciption e-zine is one of my major tasks.

The secular definition of sacred = worthy of respect; venerable. Here are some texts I quote from often that fit that description for me.

Anything written or co-written by Byron Katie, especially A Thousand Names for Joy (great for working on self-limiting beliefs)

Tao Te Ching - Stephen Mitchell's translation is my favorite. The consummate text on leadership. Also see his translation of the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita tells us to work without desire for results, which seems contrary to the entrepreneurial mindset, but actually frees me to be of service, which of course creates results whether I seek them or not.

Doing Nothing by Steven Harrison. There's a section on nonduality in business that totally rocks.

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.

Anything by Natalie Goldberg.

Oh, how could I have forgotten that one. I have every book Natalie Goldberg has ever written!

And Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD is one of the very best books on writing that I've read.

For sacred texts: the Bible, and a few commentaries.

For business related texts I am a huge fan of, The Tipping Point, and Fooled by Randomness. Both amazing books! They are a must read for anyone who is serious about marketing and business in general. They both have a statistical bent, but well worth the read.

Hey Jonathan- there's an interesting article in the latest Fast Company Magazine that challenges the wisdom of the Tipping Point. It might be worth a look-see. Title: "Is the Tipping Point Toast?" by Clive Thompson (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html)

I've always liked the Book of Esther as a sacred text, particularly when you read it out loud and drown out the name of H----- through noise makers. It is all about overcoming adversity. And proof that "well behaved women rarely make history."

A hot link for Mark's link above is http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html.

How did you make that a hot link, Keith? I've been trying to follow the formatting help tips, and it never comes out as a live link for me...

For me any book by Robin Sharma would do especially "The Monk who sold his Ferrari"...

I'm fond of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

My very first sacred texs were Illusions and Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach. And I LOVE Bird by Bird.

Kevin, you stole my post idea. His noodliness would be proud.

The only texts I've found that I think of from a business context, and therefore might consider sacred are:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)
• Out of the Crisis (William H. Deming)
• Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

Other than that, I often ask myself, "What Would Henry Rollins Do?" (WWHRD)

Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead are also on my list. Thanks, Michael.

I struggle with Ayn Rand (she's very unforgiving), but there is so much emphasis on personal responsibility, which I love.

I actually wrote a poem called Apology to Ayn Rand as part of my thesis. Heh.

Ah, I love these kinds of conversations. They remind me of a feature Dan and I've talking about adding to profiles some day - a list of your most inspirational books complete with thumbnails of the book covers and a link to a page for each book where members could chime in and leave comments about the book.

Oh, Lara. Book lover that I am, I think that's an excellent idea! And it doesn't always have to be a "business book" to inspire.

I think that the books a person loves tell so much about who they are.

That is a cool feature, Lara. And I totally agree, Judy. I got tired of reading business books at one point (that didn't last...) and started reading biographies of spiritual leaders- amazing inspiration, and all kinds of really practical advice about organizational development and leadership.

Lara, and of course in the book page you'll have links to a BizNik affiliate store (on Amazon or perhaps somewhere less vile) where copies can be purchased?

I confess that I do not read business books, self-help books or the like.. Ever since college and the few grad school level classes I took my brain simply will not allow me to process that type of reading.

I will add my fave:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Elizabeth, for the most part I'm on par with you, except I'm always trying to fill the gaps that my lack of a formal business education has left. But, who really has time to read all of these ridiculous self-help gurus when they have a business to run?

I do, Michael. I can't tell you how much I've learned through books. People poo-poo it, and for sure there is a gap between book knowledge and application, but I can't tell you how much I've grown through books.

My business has benefited in thousands of big and little ways from the books I've read, and saved me huge amounts of time, and also helped the business to grow in very exciting ways.

Just another perspective.

I can see both sides here. I'm curious at heart and love learning, so I tend to read a lot. But the books and classes, I can get carried away with.

I once had a writing instructor who said, "Enough with the books. Studying your craft can be good, but at a point, you just need to get out there and do it." Her implication was that there will always be another book to read but nothing can take the place of practical application, the "seat time" that will allow me to implement what I am learning and, in my case, actually finish my manuscript and submit it to publishers.

I think it can be the same way with business books, self improvement programs, lots of things. There needs to be a balance between education through books and real-world application. Sounds like you're pretty good at both, Mark: the reading AND the application.