When it comes to people writing about business, so much of what is written is communicated by one person to the masses with a, “I know how this should be done, let me teach you.” perspective. What I have found is that there are very few people who actually have any real insight based in both experience and fact. There seems to be way too much of the following:

5 Ways to Influence People

7 Habits To Success

3 Key Profit Secrets

The idea is simple, give people just a little something they can grab onto to make their business journey go a little smoother. These concepts are also steeped in idealism. The nature of these types of writings (which I have also been guilty of doing) paint a very simple picture…if you do these things, this outcome is most likely going to take place. I think it merits peaking behind the wizards curtain when it comes to this kind of teaching. The fact is that these key points are very appealing to the majority of people because they are simple and straight forward. Much like going through the In-n-out drive through, the menu is straight forward and, while the methods may seem simple, the outcomes seem desirable. These books continue to hit the market because people continue to buy them. We want quick and easy success secrets.

I can’t imagine that a book with the following title would be all that successful: The Top 1025 Things You Must Do To Be Successful. Why? Because we already feel overwhelmed with our daily lives and adding a mountain of things we can fail at is not an overly desirable journey for most of us. Recently my son, who is 6, has tried rock climbing. At this point, all he knows is keep climbing until you ring the bell. He loves the simple journey. Now, as I see him struggling I begin to teach him about grip, foot position, balance, speed, finding the big holds, so many different elements that come into play while climbing. The fact is that the climb is the same, the desired outcome is the same, but the trip becomes far less fun because he is worried now, not only that he won’t make it to the top, but also that he is putting his hands in the wrong spot. He worried that hips aren’t against the wall. In other words, I have given him many things to fail at.

Business is no different. There are millions of different factors that come into play in creating a successful organization. You have people to develop, you have P&L’s to study, discipline that needs to happen, organizational skills to increase efficiency, a positive customer experience, bills to pay. There are so many moving parts to every organization, and as a leader, we are responsible to each of those elements. I can guarantee you that all of the skills needed to be successful in business are not contained in the 7 Disciplines Every Leader Must Have.

Remember that every journey worth taking is going to be an adventure. Filled with thousands of challenges that no business book will teach you. You could read every book ever written on how to discipline an employee, but I can guarantee you this one thing, the first time you sit down to write up a good employee, you will find yourself sweating and questioning yourself. That is because we are all human and there is no substitute for experience. I can hang pictures of climbing routes on the wall, talk my son through every situation, and show him how I have climbed the same route. But at the end of the day, experience is all that matters. So, read all you can, but then look for opportunities to put that knowledge into practice. Without execution, knowledge is worthless.

Enjoy the journey!