Business owners find insight in books
NEW YORK — A book about marketing or managing employees may be the last thing small-business owners want to read on vacation. But some say they’ve found insight they can apply to their companies from the subjects of books they cracked just for the joy of reading — Abraham Lincoln, Harry Potter or a young woman in an alternative universe.
Some of their recommendations:
BOOK: “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin RECOMMENDED BY: Corey Nelson, owner of 4C Global Logistics LLC.
COMPANY PROFILE: 4C Global Logistics, founded in 2012 and based in Lakeville, Minn., is involved in the distribution of chemical and agricultural products. WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT: “Team of Rivals,” published in 2005, details how U.S. President Abraham Lincoln put together a Cabinet that included politicians such as Secretary of State William H. Seward and Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, whom Lincoln had defeated for the Republican presidential nomination. Lincoln encouraged his team to put aside their animosity toward him and each other while the Civil War was being waged.
WHY NELSON RECOMMENDS IT TO BUSINESS OWNERS:
“Building and running a business is about relationships and bringing great minds together from all different backgrounds to be successful. Lincoln listened to people, he understood their
motives, and genuinely cared. He had passion in everything he did and always refused to quit regardless of others’ actions.” HOW IT HAS HELPED HIM
IN BUSINESS: “When times get tough, which they always do as a business owner, that book helps to keep me going and realize if I stick to the course and treat all people well, good things will come in the end.”
BOOK: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood RECOMMENDED BY: Serafina Palandech, co-owner of Hip Chicks Farms. COMPANY PROFILE: Hip Chicks Farms, founded in 2011 and based in Sebastopol, Calif., manufactures organic poultry products. WHAT THE BOOK IS
ABOUT: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” published in 1985, is set in a society where women are subjugated and placed in classes. The main character is in a class called Handmaids, forced to bear children for infertile couples.
WHY PALANDECH RECOMMENDS IT TO BUSINESS OWNERS:
“The fact that is set in a dystopian world where women are trophy wives, servants, or of breeding stock provides anyone reading it with a powerful feminist message. I think this message is particularly important to women entrepreneurs, founders, and business owners who have daughters.”
HOW IT HAS HELPED HER IN BUSINESS:
“It helps me in business to recognize that my experience and my voice are relevant and important. I might not be saying things the way business folks in my industry are saying them, but that can still be a real asset.”