Heed that Recommendation

When I started my second job out of college, Brett Hurt, the CEO and Founder of Bazaarvoice recommended I read Call To Action by Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg.  He lent me the book from his personal collection and yet I didn’t read it.  In fact, it took me almost a year to even open the book cover.  It collected dust and wasn’t even used as a paper weight.

It took me two years to actually read the book, but after reading it, I immediately understood WHY he wanted me to read it.  In short, he thought I would benefit immensely from it.  He knew I was new to the e-commerce industry, and Call To Action is a great introduction into the terminology and mind-set of e-commerce executives.

I still don’t know why it took me so long to read the book, after all, I tend to read at least a book a week.  It only dawned on me recently after reading Winning, by Jack Welch that a recommendation is given for a good reason.  The person who gives the recommendation, does so because a) they thought you’d benefit from it, and b) they thought you’d enjoy it.  I was reminded again by that because David Cohen recently recommended I read  Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure – Larry Smith.

Well, it’s officially in my Amazon shopping cart, and I will give it a read.  I’m sure I will enjoy it.