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.  ~Charlie “Tremendous” Jones

Charlie Jones, author of the bestselling book Life is Tremendous, had it right according to Steven Shallenberger author of Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders.

One of Shallenberger’s 12 principles for highly successful leaders is: apply the power of knowledge.  He makes these three suggestions to increase your knowledge.

• Develop the habit of reading at least one book a month.
• Invest 3 percent of your income in acquiring more knowledge through seminars, training, books, and personal development courses.
• Surround yourself with people who inspire and lift you.

Others agree.  John Coleman, who wrote For Those Who Want to Lead, Read makes the very same argument.  Coleman said:

Deep, broad reading habits are often a defining characteristic of our greatest leaders and can catalyze insight, innovation, empathy, and personal effectiveness.

Reading can also make you more effective in leading others. Reading increases verbal intelligence, making a leader a more adept and articulate communicator.  Reading novels can improve empathy and understanding of social cues, allowing a leader to better work with and understand others — traits that author Anne Kreamer persuasively linked to increased organizational effectiveness, and to pay raises and promotions for the leaders who possessed these qualities.

I was reminded of the importance of maintaining a healthy reading regimen when I opened my Christmas cards.  One of my friends, an MD at a major teaching hospital, always includes his list of the “best books of the year” along with brief descriptions in his Christmas card.  He follows Coleman’s recommendation to the letter.  His list of books is absolutely deep and broad.  It includes nonfiction covering a wide assortment of topics, biographies, and fiction.  There might be a book in the sciences but his reading goes far beyond his profession.  I’ve found him to be one of the most thoughtful and diverse thinkers I know.  I’m grateful that he’s “one of the people I’ve met” as Charlie Jones suggests.

Bill Hybels said, “Great leaders read frequently.  They read voraciously.  They soak up lessons from academia, from politics, from nongovernmental organizations, and from leaders who are leading well.  They refuse to let themselves off the hook in this regard, because they know that all great leaders read.”

What’s on your reading list for 2015?