I recently enjoyed a very productive kick-off session to another leadership seminar series. Part of our focus dealt with the development of front-line employees. The subject of reading arose, and we discussed various authors and books which should appear on any must-read list.
A few days later I received an e-mail from one of the vice presidents who had attended the session. I must admit his personal note warmed the cockles of my heart. He explained that he had visited our web site to check out our collection of 180 book reviews. He did so for two reasons:
- To look for a few books he was personally interested in
- In hopes of getting some ideas as to what titles he and his wife might want to consider to include in a personal library they are building for their son.
Their son is in his junior year of college, majoring in business while working on a minor or even another major in marketing. Thus far, he seems to enjoy leadership classes so his parents are considering books in that category as well. What they plan to do is purchase books from time to time that relate to his current and future studies, potential career, personal preferences and spiritual favorites … in hopes of assisting him in his chosen line of study.
At the same time, unbeknownst to him, they want to compile other appropriate titles to build “His Personal Library” which will be presented to him as a gift upon graduation. What a fantastic idea! This is truly a “Gift That Will Keep On Giving” … for decades! Years from now this young man will still be thanking his folks for this exceedingly precious and obviously priceless gift.
This caring and thoughtful father concluded his note with a request for any suggestions I might have to add to this valuable library. Needless to say, I felt honored by the request and replied with a list of authors and titles I felt might be suitable for such a magnificent gift.
Wouldn’t it be nice if more parents thought along these lines? It certainly is an investment not only in their son but in his future as well.
“A book is a gift you can open time and time again.”
~ Garrison Keillor
“The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who can’t read them.”
~ Mark Twain
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read.”
~ Charles “Tremendous” Jones
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.