Business books, articles, linkedin posts – everyone has an idea about where we are, how others are approaching an opportunity or problem, and what we could or should do. Often the discussion is more trendy than helpful. Occasionally your read an author and the first response is “wow”. You can feel it. Often there is a sense of hope and possibilities that follow the moment and invites one to see and think differently.
In walking Mumbai’s streets, I find that it is one of the only remaining cities with sidewalk hawkers selling books. Paperbacks, hardbacks, new and old, there is something for almost everyone. Many of the business books on display reflect the latest trends in management, sales, and leadership thinking.
Shop owners seem to have read everything. If asked, they can give you a synopsis, review, and offer an opinion. I am not sure how much they really know about the subject, but they do have a view. They also know what sells.
Classics are always in demand. The Art of War, books by Tom Peters and Michael Porter have been available for decades and they still sell! I do wonder about limited copies of books published years and even decades ago. Are they classics I should purchase and read or are they reminders that trendy answers do not always last? I could search the web for a book review, but here, now, in the moment, it is hard to know.
A writer and publisher’s belief in a piece of work does not mean that book will stand the test of time. Some ideas have stood the test of time for decades only to find themselves challenged and discredited in today’s world. Were the ideas always wrong or did they become non-relevant with time and changing values and cultures?
To every author that helped me see life more clearly, thank-you. In contrast to the trendy competitors of your day, “You’ll still be around when they’re long gone, threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes. You’ll throw them away like a worn-out coat.” (Psalm 102.26)
