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12 May, 2019 16:50

CEO’s reading tips go viral for being ‘the absolute worst’

CEO’s reading tips go viral for being ‘the absolute worst’

An executive detailing the weird and excessive ways he reads books is going viral as people poke fun at the odd methods employed by the businessman, including his habit of tracking down authors to ‘connect’ with them.

The Linkedin post by a CEO identified only as “Richard” was shared on Twitter and outlines how he consumes books. He starts by buying the audiobook and listening to it at 2x speed. “If it’s good, buy a hardcopy and highlight juicy bits,” he says, then he makes “summary notes of juicy bits in Google Docs” before trying to “connect with the author to discuss in depth.”

“How do you consume books and audio?” he asks, likely not suspecting most people’s answers would be ‘definitely not like that,’ and more like, open book and read.

Many expressed pity for the poor authors Richard sets his sights on in the hope of discussing their work “in depth.” Others pointed out how difficult it can be to connect with all the great writers who are long dead.

Some people suggested the CEO’s reading methods suggested he only read books about “management and leadership” and could easily speed through them.

Others mocked his use of the word “consume,” joking they boiled their books before eating them or consumed them with their eyes.

RT.com can reveal that the mystery CEO is Richard Banfield, of Fresh Tilled Soil, who describes himself as being a co-author of Product Leadership & Design Sprint, and who appears to love books.

He detailed further how he approaches authors under his Linkedin post. “Some respond to a tweet or email. Some you need to get through a backchannel friendship or connection. I’ve also paid authors to give me their time if I think it’s warranted.”

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