Celebrating National Reading Month: 5 Books and Podcasts to Enjoy
March is National Reading Month, and let’s face it, we’ve got more time on our hands than usual. If you’re looking for a good read (or listen) to pass the time and also looking to sharpen your mind, we’re here to help. We’ve come up with a list of books and podcasts to help you pass the time while also incorporating professional development and challenging the way you think.
The Loyalty Effect
This book is a favorite of our CEO Kevin Wilson. Kevin worked for Bain & Company at the same time as author Fred Reichheld, who was a partner at the time doing research on customer loyalty. That research eventually led to writing this book, focused on the power of loyalty-based management. His research and books ultimately led to his development of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is based on the question “On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend us to your friends and family?” The Net Promoter Score is the primary tool that we use at Buzz Franchise Brands to measure how we’re taking care of our customers.
Stuff You Should Know Podcast
This podcast is an award-winning podcast and video series about - you guessed it - stuff you should know. The show is hosted by Josh Clark and Charles Bryant. The topics are varied: champagne, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks to name a few. With an average of three episodes posted a week, you'll always have something new and interesting to learn about! Check it out here or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Big Magic
At BFB, we spend a lot of time looking at data and analyzing, but it’s important to take a step back every once in a while, to channel our creative side. This book is a take on author Elizabeth Gilbert’s perspective of creativity. Our graphic designers recently read this for their creative growth. For more on the connection between humanity and creativity, and how to challenge yourself daily to be creative, give this book a read!
The Effective Executive
Peter Drucker, one of the greatest business academics, reminds us that the measure of the executive is the ability to “get the right things done.” This is an easy read, with practical steps that can make all managers both more effective as decision-makers and more efficient with their time. If you are looking to get more out of a day, this is a must read.
Freakonomics Radio Podcast
If you’ve ever read the book Freakonomics (also a must-read that uses forceful storytelling to show that economics is the study of incentives), then you’ll appreciate this podcast by the co-author Stephen J. Dubner. Each week, the podcast focuses on discovering things you thought you knew, and also things you never wanted to know. Check out the most recent episode highlighting the side effects of social distancing.
Social distancing has provided us time and opportunity for self-reflection and growth. While it’s easy to get in a trance scrolling through social media (as our phones remind us each week with our weekly screen time summary) or endlessly binging TV shows on Netflix, let’s break up that routine with challenging ourselves to be more knowledgeable and informed.