Summer reading at Soak

As you may know, we are big fan of continuing education and ongoing professional development. Here’s how summer reading contributes to ongoign learning at the Soak office.

Summer book clubs. Oprah had one, elementary school suggest them, my mom is part of one as is my best friend. We have our own version here at the Soak office.

Here’s how it works.

1. Each person selects two books.
2. For each book read they get one day off of their choice during the summer. It’s not really an extra day off, but more a day of reading, anywhere they choose, other than the office. (8 hours per book, 2 books = 2 days off)
3. While reading they consider the following questions about the books and keep notes of interesting findings they might like to share:

• Why am I interested in this book? What drew me to it? Where did I hear about it?
• How is the content of this book going to help me be more effective in my job?
• How is the knowledge gained from reading this book going to contribute to a culture of learning at Soak?

   4.  In the fall, we have a luncheon round-up where each person tells everyone else about their reading and learning experience. That’s it!

My summer reading? I was the first to pick this summer. I am reading Sean Moffitt’s new book Wikibrands. Sean is a good friend and brilliant marketing guy. Check him out if you haven’t heard of him. I’ve also suggested Ngoc, our awesome marketing coordinator read this book. Sometimes I suggest books, sometimes I get introduced to new books!

My second book is a sequel to last year’s summer reading. The book strategy is the same as last year, we modified the ‘time in lieu’ part. Last year we tried to close early every Friday at 3pm (2hrs x 8 weeks = 2 days). We were always busy and it didn’t work so well.

Anyhow, back to my books. last summer I borrowed ‘Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time’, by Howard Schultz from my friend Gilad. It’s a great story on building brand, business and selling great products. It’s no wonder I was interested in it. You should read it. So, this summer, on my recent road trip to Montreal, I picked up Schultz’ second book ‘Onward‘ available in-store for their 40th anniversary. I plan on reading it at the cottage while drinking my morning coffee. I think it will enhance the overall summer reading experience.

Summer reading is important, so we stay up to date on current business books, biographies or whatever else is going on in the world outside Soak. If you work as hard as we do, you probably don’t have enough time to read either. We are busy, so it’s important to schedule in learning. We always want to spend more summer time in the sun, so in the summer, I offer up reading and relaxing away from the office. When the rest of our team sorts out their books, we’ll be sure to share them with you. I hope they do it soon, no reading, no extra sunshine!

What are you reading this summer? What books would you recommend?