At least for myself, I do believe that professional reading is an essential element of self-development. When an individual reads, they are able to take in information that they may have not had access to beforehand. There have even been some studies that suggest that those who read more often are able to have increased focuses and are able to make correct decisions faster. Referring to whether or not a leader who reads constantly is better than one who does not, I believe that it is hard to tell. Generally though I would say that those who read more are probably more well-rounded and know more about a particular topic than somebody who does not read. There have been a plethora of excellent leaders who have engaged in extensive reading, most notably James Mattis. However, I am sure that there are some leaders who hardly read and are able to be just as proficient if not more proficient than their counterparts who do read a lot.

I do not believe that the concept of “professional reading” is dated. With the development of newer technologies such as smart phones, the resources a person has to obtain knowledge only grows and intensifies. I think that a person can obtain the same type and quality of information from both a digital source (i.e. youtube, documentaries, etc.) and a hard copy source such as a book. It all comes down to personal preference and what a person likes more. For myself, I like to both read about a topic as well as watch videos about it. I will say though that I believe videos are nice because they provide a visual stimulus for the viewer and you can generally receive the information at a faster rate than if you read a book. With that being said, it must also be said that we should not totally rely on technology because technology often fails. In addition, it is important to realize where the information is coming from on the internet because some sources can be less reliable than other sources.

Balancing academics while trying to do some professional reading can be pretty tough. For me, whenever possible, I like to try and listen to audio-books and listen to a book while I’m doing my laundry or packing my stuff for the next day. One author that I particularly like to read is John Grisham who writes legal thriller novels. Some of his more famous works include A Time to Kill and The Firm. One book of his that I read over the summer was Gray Mountain. This is a fiction novel that follows the life of the main character named Samantha Kofer. Ms. Kofer was an associate lawyer with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a global financial services firm. However, the firm went bankrupt (Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was actually a real company that went bankrupt in real life) and Ms. Kofer ends up moving to a small Appalachian town where she ends up fighting/prosecuting mining companies due to the environmental dangers of strip-mining.