Meet John Thacker
John Thacker is a book enthusiast. Armed with the cumulative knowledge from hundreds of non-fi ction books, he now runs the MDHUB Shortcut Book Club, as its name implies, a book club aimed at busy SME leaders with limited time.
A chartered accountant by training, John spent most of his career running a busy firm, which consumed his life, eating away at both his leisure time and more importantly, precious hours spent with his family. This took its toll, and John completely burned out. Subsequently, working with a life coach, he began to rebuild his professional life in a way that was beneficial for both him and his team A core part of his recovery was discovering his love of reading, which helped him to better understand the world around him.
One of the challenging aspects of management was learning how different types of people respond to the same question. If the same question were asked of three people, John would receive three different answers Reading business books like "Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson helped him understand how different personalities tend to approach problems, enabling him to be a better and more empathetic manager
In addition to helping him understand his team, books have also helped John understand himself Identifying and understanding your strengths is crucial to an effective and fulfilling working life. Both "StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath and "The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni have been instrumental in helping John find ways of working that suit his personality
Finally, John's love for reading cemented his core belief that you must keep learning. He explains, "I've lost count of the number of times I said to people starting a business, you are going to face difficulties, but you don't know what they will be or when they will happen. How are you going to prepare for that? Keep learning and books are a key place for that as it will give you the best chance of handling these challenges"
In 2006, MDHUB Director Phil Green invited John into the organisation as a member. MDHUB had just opened its doors to businesses offering professional services, and John's accountancy firm was one of the first in. During his time as a member, John gained valuable insights from business leaders across various industries. Their multiple perspectives provided new ways of thinking about problems within his business, enabling him to solve them more effectively. He explains further, "There are so many ways being a member of MDHUB has assisted me, from leading and developing staff better and improving the service we provided to clients to growing in my own business skills and self-awareness/self-management"
After a few years as a member, John was approached by MDHUB's Managing Director, Fiona Shafer, to run a business book club for the organisation, with a twist. As part of his reading, John always selects and saves key passages using his Kindle, compiling them into a useful summary document to refer to later. This has proven to be the perfect way to open the book club to business leaders, who are famously short on time Before the club, John sends a summary and key questions so that members can prepare for the discussion in less than an hour
The Shortcut Book Club is a regular favourite at MDHUB, with new books selected every few months. A drop-in format, members only need to commit to one session at a time, making this perfect for leaders who don't have the time in their diaries for regular sessions. Ultimately, if you continue reading, John reasons, you will continue to grow. As we finished our coffees, he shared this excellent quote from the legendary Investor and philanthropist Charlie Munger. "In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time-none, zero
John provided a reading list of books that are useful for any business leader:
Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson: "I have used the four colour (DISC) model (in both business and life) more than any other in understanding people and their different personalities."
Everybody Matters, Bob Chapman and Rajendra Sisodia: "Yes, they do! This book is a great example of what a 'conscious' business should look like."
Great by Choice, Jim Collins: "Or for that matter, anything written by Jim Collins. His models and principles are clear, powerful and ones that I often use in business."
9 Things Successful People Do Differently, Heidi Grant-Halvorson: "a bit like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People but significantly shorter."
Give and Take 'Why helping others drives our success, Adam Grant: "I've always believed that to be true, this book shows studies prove it."
The 6 Types of Working Genius, Patrick Lencioni: "I mentioned this earlier, and doubtless it's on my mind as I have just finished reading it. I recommend every organisation takes a look at this model."