为什么领导者必须是阅读者
Why Leaders Must Be Readers
引言
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
– Harry S. Truman
“不是所有的阅读者都能成为领导者，但是所有的领导者一定都是阅读者。”
——海瑞吐鲁门
I’m a proud nerd. I have always loved reading; to the exclusion of many things. It was only when I joined Toastmasters and started writing my speeches that I found my reading invaluable for ideas and conversation starters. However, as a leader, I found reading indispensable. Even though there was lesser time for reading on a regular basis, it seemed more crucial. Here’s my take on why ‘all leaders must be readers’.
我是个自豪的书呆子。我一直都酷爱读书，酷爱到许多其他事情都无暇顾及的地步。只有在我加入“会议主持人”组织并开始演讲之后，我才意识到我读过的书对我的思想和谈吐有多么重要的意义。可是，作为一个领导者，我发现读书不可或缺，而且似乎更加重要，即使在通常情况下阅读的时间更为稀少。为什么说所有的领导者都是读者，接下来是我的看法。
1
读书可以拓宽视野
Reading Expands Your Horizons
你能结识多少可以向其学习的领导者、企业家或者成功者？书籍能让你快速了解非常成功的人员和公司的历程，知识和理念；这些经常来自不同的文化。
How many leaders/ entrepreneurs/ achievers can you connect with and learn from? Books give you a fast insight into the journeys, learnings and mindsets of extremely successful people and companies; often from different cultures.
2
读书可以使你拥有新颖的想法
Reading Gives You Innovative Ideas
你知道吗？对你的团队有十种说“谢谢”的方式，这些方式可以把团队的效率和士气提升30％。你知道如何组织“思维导图”会议吗？你知道为什么你需要走路和举办会议吗？其实，我也不知道，直到我读了书。
Did you know about ten ways in which saying ‘Thank-You’ to your teams can boost productivity and morale by 30%? Did you know how to conduct ‘mind-mapping’ sessions? Did you know why you should walk and conduct meetings? Well, I didn’t either. Till I read books.
3
书和想法是交谈的开始
Books And Ideas Are Conversation Starters
唉，即兴演讲太难了！与人交往时应该聊什么话题？如何让人印象深刻？你完全可以这样：“你读过这本书了吗？”“我简直是太喜欢这个作者了，他／她对奔跑的见解真是精彩绝伦啊……”—阅读可以帮助你和他人建立更深层的联系。
Oh, the bane of table topics! Or what to talk about at networking events? How to make an impression? “Did you read that book on….?” “ I love this author…his/her views on running is so amazing…” – reading helps you make a deeper connect.
4
阅读是压力毁灭者
Reading Is A Stress Buster
比尔盖茨有个著名的习惯：每天睡前阅读15分钟。放下你手中的电子产品，拿出书来，你会发现，阅读是非常有效而且省钱的缓解压力的方式。
Bill Gates famously reads for 15 minutes before going to bed. Disconnecting from your gadgets and reading is a great, economical stress buster.
5
阅读给你思考问题的角度
Reading Gives Us Perspective
领导者有时会陷入线性思维困境。阅读有助于为自己开辟不同的观点和新的视角 — 不论你是否采纳，至少可以让你了解客户或成员的观点。
Leaders sometimes get caught up in linear ways of thinking. Reading helps open up differing viewpoints and fresh perspectives to a subject – adopt it or not, it makes you understand the customer or the member viewpoint.
6
阅读让我们成为思考者和行动者
Reading Makes Us Thinkers and Doers
在社交媒体盛行的时代，我们已经忘记了去深思——思考和反思与执行想法一样重要。阅读使我们成为思考者，因为我们需要用想象力把我们的想法形象化，然后思考需要如何修改它。
In the age of constant consumption in social media, we have forgotten to ‘chew the cud’ – introspection and thinking is as important as executing the idea. Reading makes us thinkers as we have to visualize the idea/concept in our imagination and then figure how we can adapt it.
7
阅读让我们成为更好的交际者
Reading Makes Us Better Communicators
读书人从阅读中学到的词汇量是不读书人的三倍。读书可以使你在交际中运用更高级更恰当的措辞和引用。而且，阅读还会呈现一些案例，可以运用到现实生活中。
Reading gives you an amazing vocabulary – three times more than non-readers. You use better words, correct words and quotes in your communication. It presents scenarios and case studies that you can use in real life.
8
阅读让我们挑战自我
Reading Challenges Us
阅读使我们远离自我陶醉和孤芳自赏。阅读给了我们一个宏观的视角去观察世界。阅读时时刻刻都在挑战者我们的思想，感情，灵感，判断，偏见，观点，以及信仰。当你和你的团队就某个争议话题进行争辩时，说不定创意就会来到你的工作中。
Reading saves us from narcissism and self absorption. It gives us a macro-view of the world. It challenges our thoughts, feelings, ideas, judgements, biases, deeply held beliefs and perspectives. You can spark debates with your team with the reference of controversial topics and innovation might flow into your work.
TED演讲：书籍如何成为心灵解药
