Leaders are readers. In your efforts to communicate with and motivate others, you must stay abreast of new ideas and developments in your field and in the world around you. You must be able to read faster and at the same time remember more of what you have read. The first step in managing your reading is deciding where reading falls into your time priorities.

Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time at this moment?” Just as you are selective of the speakers to whom you listen and the television shows you watch, be selective in what you read. Choose to read only books, articles, and journals that give you ideas and information to keep you on the competitive edge or to enrich other areas of your life. Once you have chosen what to read, determine your purpose in reading that selection. Then you will know whether to scan the material or read attentively. Technical materials and historical materials often demand that you read word-for-word. But for most of your reading, you can achieve your purpose when you follow these tips: 

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