Reading books together as a team is criminally underrated
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After starting a new job I got a cryptically named meeting invite. It’s the kind of thing that makes being the new kid hard. Except I was excited because I knew exactly what this meeting was about.
In 20 years my bosses have rarely taken me out for dinner. And they’ve certainly never done it before my first day. Until now.
My new boss happens to be a friend of many years. This was still pre-lockdown, so he suggested we get something to eat so he can bring me up to speed.
I was expecting all sorts of information about people, processes and projects. But he spent most of the time talking about vision and culture. Instead of detail, I got direction.
He even gave me some homework! There were four books he wanted me to read. I’m just about done with the third one: Creativity Inc. It’s co-founder Ed Catmull’s fascinating and well written account of the Pixar story.
I’m glad I’ve made the effort to actually read the books because it’s given me insights into how our division runs and where we are headed.
One of the tools Pixar used to great effect is something called “The Brains Trust”. Soon after starting in my new role an invite arrived in my inbox. The title was “Weekly Brains Trust”.
Meeting invites don’t usually bring a smile to my face. But this one did because I already knew the what and why of this meeting.
This experience reminded me what a powerful force it can be to read books together as a team or company.
My new boss happens to be a friend of many years. This was still pre-lockdown, so he suggested we get something to eat so he can bring me up to speed.
I was expecting all sorts of information about people, processes and projects. But he spent most of the time talking about vision and culture. Instead of detail, I got direction.
He even gave me some homework! There were four books he wanted me to read. I’m just about done with the third one: Creativity Inc. It’s co-founder Ed Catmull’s fascinating and well written account of the Pixar story.
I’m glad I’ve made the effort to actually read the books because it’s given me insights into how our division runs and where we are headed.
One of the tools Pixar used to great effect is something called “The Brains Trust”. Soon after starting in my new role an invite arrived in my inbox. The title was “Weekly Brains Trust”.
Meeting invites don’t usually bring a smile to my face. But this one did because I already knew the what and why of this meeting.
This experience reminded me what a powerful force it can be to read books together as a team or company.