Leader = Reader

Interesting & inspiring quote; isn't it? Itz 100% true too.  To me,
"Apple a day keeps Doctors away; Book a day keeps Descend away."

Why Reading?
Leadership requires storytelling; the story can be the vision of the company. As a leader, telling a compelling story and listening with empathy might contributed much to their skills.

1. Confirms or challenges ideals
Reading can reaffirm your values. It can help strengthen your beliefs by giving you additional reasons as to why you believe what you do.

2. Provides new ideas/different perspective
Reading can give us a different perspective on a view as big as the world or as small as how we schedule our time on a daily basis.

3. Gives us a necessary break from reality
We can enjoy the lives of the characters in the books we are reading or feel their sorrow. Simply, this break from reality is what might help us to get through a tough day.

4. Provides stress relief
For stressed executives, reading is the best way to relax, as reading for six minutes can reduce stress by 68%, and some studies suggest reading may even fend off Alzheimer’s, extending the longevity of the mind.

What to Read?
Relevancy is the key factor. Based on your traits and colors, you can choose the relevant list with this socially connected world.

Two decades ago (when I started to work), fetching the content used to be a nightmare. Now, itz all at your fingers. Few methods are:

• Get recommendations from friends and/or mentors
• Online search for your relevancy
• Follow the industry leaders; Buffett shares his favorite picks & Gates shares in his blog
• Not a bad idea to visit your local library / book club.
• In my view, Age / Experience / Title, etc. are not the factors of reading till you live.

How?
Reading more can lead to a host of benefits for business people of all stripes, and broad, deep reading can make you a better leader. So how can you get started?

Few tips are:

• Join a reading group.
• Vary your reading. 
• Apply your reading to your work. 
• Encourage others. 
• Read for fun.

The research, published in the journal Science, showed that reading cultivates a skill known as "theory of mind," which describes as the "ability to 'read' the thoughts and feelings of others."

Who?
Cherry pick of few use cases:

• Warren Buffett spends 80% of his day reading. 
• Bill Gates reads for an hour each night before going to bed.
• Mark Cuban credits part of his success to the fact that he is willing to read more than anyone else.
• Mark Zukerbuerg set a goal to read one book every two weeks

Leaders' DNA is always wanted to grow with their team by learning & growing. Continuous Learning & Sharing is the mantra.

I have found I am more engaged & motivated in life, work, and other ventures (like IIT, Industry Contributions, etc.) when I am in the midst of reading. What about you?