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I Started a Book Club at Work

Woman wearing glasses reading a book titled The Making of a Manager
Photo by John Ray Ebora from Pexels

Earlier this year, I had been spending a lot of time thinking about how to better engage my team as well as how to better support them. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been reading a lot of books lately. As I was reading some good books in the beginning of this year, a few neurons fired, sparking an idea: what if there was a way to get other folks at work to read similar books and to multiply what they learn by meeting to discuss the books? It’s hardly a novel idea, but something about it really resonated with me.

In order to gauge reception to the idea, I asked a number of colleagues and direct reports whether they’d be interested. Only a handful of people expressed a desire to participate, but that’s all that’s necessary to get started. I figured that if nothing else, at least it’s a worthy experiment.

Our Team’s Approach

Over the past 6 months or so, we’ve read and discussed 3 books and have selected the 4th. Our group’s approach is pretty simple. We read a book every 2 months and meet to discuss it. I start the process by requesting 1-3 book ideas from the group based on a previously selected theme, as well as what the group members would like to have as the theme of the following book. Once the deadline for inputs has expired, we all vote on the books and themes. For books, everyone picks their top 3 choices in prioritized order, so the votes are weighted accordingly; for themes, we all get a single vote. Once the voting deadline has passed, I announce the results.

Since we can’t meet during work hours, our group meets in the evening via Zoom. Our meetings have been pretty laid back, but always interesting. We follow a rather loose format – in other words, we haven’t used a structured set of questions.

Book Club Best Practices

When first getting started, I did some simple online research to see what others have done to build successful book reading clubs. I’ve summarized here what I learned from my research.

General

  • Set expectations up-front, including the purpose of the group, genres / themes that will be covered, etc.
  • Schedule meetings regularly. Best frequency is about every 2 months; quarterly is probably too long. Alternatively, meet weekly and discuss one or more chapters (two chapter is a good number per week) at each meeting vs. the entire book.
  • Meeting times
    • The time of day should be consistent
    • Lunchtime (“brown bag”) is a good time
    • 3PM is a good time for afternoon sessions
  • Consider inviting experts on the topics occasionally
  • Keep it informal; there are different approaches that can work
    • Can ask some questions for conversation starters (email them beforehand), then let it flow
    • Can have a ‘standard’ set of questions that the group discusses for every book
    • Can select a different person to start the conversation each meeting
    • Can ask each person to choose a passage from the week’s chapters and read it aloud;  then the group discusses their thoughts on the passage
  • Keep the tone of the discussions cordial & arbitrate if necessary
  • Keep two lists: what was read and what possible future options are
  • Consider asking HR or training group if the cost can be covered by the company
  • Discussion should cover how the reading applies to your work / business
  • Invite new members each time
  • Switch up themes each time
  • Consider doing something thematic at each (or some of) the meetings related to the book theme
  • Listen to your members – what do they want?

Book Selection

  • Get suggestions (e.g., 10 suggested books) from each member
  • Allow members to vote on the books. Use an online survey for voting or draw from a hat, etc. Alternatively, consider delegating the book selection each time to someone different, either to select the book or collect suggestions and run the vote.
  • Consider book length – too short could be difficult to have enough to discuss; too long might not allow people to finish reading
  • Books should be widely / easily available (and low cost – e.g., paperbacks)
  • Keep it work appropriate and focus on strengthening the group, not dividing it

Bibliography

  1. The Ultimate Guide To Starting A Book Club At Work, By Nicole Gulotta, January 16, 2017, http://nicolemgulotta.com/blog/starting-a-book-club, accessed 2/23/2021
  2. Implement a Book Club at Work, by  Susan M. Heathfield, Updated September 17, 2020, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/implement-a-book-club-at-work-1917942, accessed 2/23/2021
  3. 6 Tips for Running a Book Club at your Workplace, By Dawid Bednarski, updated in March 2019, https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/6-tips-for-running-a-book-club-at-your-workplace, accessed 2/23/2021
  4. Tips on Creating a Book Club, Penguin Random House, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book-clubs/tips/, accessed 2/23/2021
  5. The Art Of Picking Books For A Book Club, By Elizabeth Allen, Aug 22, 2017, https://bookriot.com/how-to-pick-books-book-club/, accessed 2/23/2021
  6. How Does Your Book Club Choose Books to Read?, https://booksmakeadifference.com/bookclubpicks/, accessed 2/23/2021
  7. How to Pick the Perfect Book Club Book in 7 Steps, By Julianna Haubner, July 30 2018, https://offtheshelf.com/2018/07/pick-perfect-book-club-book-7-steps-2/, accessed 2/23/2021

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Safety: If You See Something, Say Something

Worker with hardhat, orange reflective vest, and safety harness behind DANGER tape
Photo by Life Of Pix from Pexels

In support of a renewed emphasis on safety in the workplace, I shared a personal anecdote to my team that stresses the importance of speaking up when you see a potentially dangerous situation or behavior. I’ve shared that story here as well.

Given that safety is at the forefront and “see something, say something” is a behavior we want to encourage, I wanted to share a personal story to demonstrate an experience I had many years ago that really stuck with me.

When I was a child, my family spent a great deal of time participating in various outdoor activities – boating, fishing, camping, hunting, etc. So when I was old enough, I enrolled in a firearms hunting safety course, which was a legal requisite for obtaining a firearms hunting permit. The course consisted of reading a book and attending several classroom sessions held at a local sportsmen’s club, concluding with a written test.

As you can imagine, firearms safety is a critical aspect of handling firearms – not just while hunting, but at all times. During one particular classroom session, a number of various firearms were placed on a table at the front of the classroom, presumably to show us various types of firearms used for hunting. As the class began, one instructor started his lecture, while another instructor wandered around the table with the assorted collection of shotguns and hunting rifles. He’d occasionally pick one up, mess around with it, point it at various things around the room (though never aiming toward any people, mind you), but generally doing things you just should not be doing with firearms. I thought what he was doing was rather odd and probably a bad idea, but didn’t say anything (I was extremely shy back then – significantly more so than today, though I am actually still somewhat shy, believe it or not). I just watched as the man got more and more bold with his unsafe behavior. I never said anything. Let that sink in: I knew it was unsafe – potentially deadly – yet I never said anything.

About five minutes into the lecture, the instructor who was “playing” with the firearms picked up a shotgun, aimed it at something on the side wall (again, not in the direction of any people), and squeezed the trigger. If you’ve never heard a shotgun being fired inside a building – and I hope you never do – I can assure you, it gets your attention.

As soon as all of the students in the room re-composed themselves, the instructor who was giving the lecture asked whether any of the students had noticed the behavior of the other instructor (prior to the firearm discharge) and why none of the students had spoken up about it, since it was clearly unsafe. The instructor then spent some time cautioning us to not only be extremely aware of our own behaviors and how to safely handle guns, but also to speak up and say something if they see others behaving in an unsafe manner.

In case you were wondering, the shotgun was not loaded with live ammunition – it was just a “blank” (i.e., lots of noise, but no projectile). As you can imagine, this is an incident that I will never forget. And thankfully, it was a staged event where nobody was injured (or killed).

Just like I struggled with having the courage to speak up when I saw the instructor mis-handling the firearms, I would encourage all of you to speak up if you see unsafe behavior at your workplace – or anywhere else, for that matter.

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Starting a New Hobby? Join (or Start) a Group!

Some of the trials biking crew during a weekly group ride
Some of the trials biking crew during a weekly group ride

Hello? Is There Anyone Else Out There Who Shares My Passion?

Several years go I decided to pick up a new hobby: trials biking. I had discovered this amazing sport serendipitously based on a recommended video in YouTube. Since there aren’t too many trials bikers in the United States – let alone locally – I’d never seen anyone riding trials and certainly didn’t know any trials bikers. I asked friends, family, and co-workers if they knew anyone who rode trials. I posted on our company’s internal employee discussion forums asking if there were any trials bikers. I scoured the web looking for anything I could find about trials biking and local riders. After weeks of searching and asking, I discovered some useful online resources, but still hadn’t been able to actually connect with anyone locally.

Initial Encounters

Finally, by sheer luck, I saw a post in a trials biking forum that there would be a trials competition nearby within a few weeks. This was luckier than I realized, since there aren’t many competitions in the US – certainly no organized series of progressive elimination towards a final championship like there is in other countries and different sports. I asked the competition organizer a few questions about the event and he encouraged me to enter the competition. This was only about 3 months after I started even learning trials. I’d never met any trials riders, and had never even seen anyone riding except on YouTube. Honestly, I could barely even balance on my bike in a ‘trackstand’, let alone ride trials. Three weeks after my first trials bike arrived, I figured I had nothing to lose and anxiously showed up for my first competition, having no clue what to expect.

The event was like nothing I’d experienced before. While we were all competing, all the riders were encouraging each other! In addition to meeting other trials riders, I also added my name to the organizer’s email list. Using the email list to notify everyone, a couple larger group ride events were held as well (e.g., one in the fall, one in the spring). Apparently, they had been doing this for a couple years – larger but infrequent group events and an annual competition.

At some point during one of the group rides, the competition organizer (our ‘ring leader’ so to speak) asked me if I wanted to join him and one or two of the other local riders on their weekly rides. Of course I accepted – riding at home and/or by yourself can be great, but riding with a group is a different dynamic. In addition to learning from, challenging, and encouraging each other, there is also the enjoyment of just hanging out socially with people who share a common interest. When I first started riding with them, there were usually 3-4 of us each time.

Critical Mass

Over a period of months I had been telling everyone who would listen about my new trials biking obsession. I discovered that one of my colleagues at work, who is also an avid mountain biker, used to ride trials when he was in high school. Through my posts on the company’s employee discussion forums, I also received a couple of additional responses – one person who rides mountain bikes and wanted to learn trials and another who used to ride trials in high school (also a mountain biker). It certainly wasn’t a flood of replies, but at least I was starting to develop a network of people interested in trials biking. For months I would chat with these guys about biking in general as well as trials specifically. I invited them to join us on the weekly group rides, which still of only consisted of 3-4 of us during a given week. Eventually all three of the people from work participated in the group rides; two bought trials bikes (again) and now are active riders in our group.

Interestingly, I was also contacted by a couple other guys who found me in a Facebook group for trials bikers (our ‘ring leader’ is the administrator of one group, Northeast Bike Trials). I invited them to join our weekly group rides as well. One lives a bit far away for weekly rides, but the other is fairly local and is now a regular with the group. Other riders began to trickle into the group as well – some coming and going, others still active. Once a group hits ‘critical mass’, it’s easier to sustain its size or continue growing. Additionally, most of the folks in the group also ride mountain bikes frequently (I’m the exception, at least for now…), so now there is a larger group of folks who gather to go mountain biking as well.

Now that our local band of trials riders has grown, we have riders at pretty much every level from novice to pro. We have a number of different locations that we ride with a variety of obstacles and lines to support all skill levels. Weekly group rides now continue throughout the entire year, including winter – as long as the snow and ice is clear enough. While for some weeks only 3-4 riders show up, we also frequently have weeks with 5-10 riders (that’s me wearing the green plaid shirt in the Instagram post below).

Trials riding in the US apparently peaked and waned well before I even discovered it, so there aren’t many of us. Obviously, that also makes it more challenging to find other trials riders. It also makes what we have in our local community so much more special. Given how relatively ‘rare’ trials riders are and how difficult trials riding is, being part of this group provides a strong sense of belonging.

Every week I look forward to the group ride. There is a routine on riding day: riders trickle in, greet each other with a little banter, prepare our bikes, warm up a little bit, ride together, then stow our bikes, and finally hang out and chat for a while over a beer before heading our separate ways. During the rides, we often pick ‘challenges’ that some or all of the riders repeatedly attempt. Other times, we each pick our own lines to challenge ourselves. We rib each other at times (light-heartedly, all in fun), but we also encourage each other constantly. We even coach each other on how to learn new moves. It’s an extremely inclusive and positive culture.

Keys To Success

While I’m still a beginner, I’m now in my fifth year of trials biking (already?!?). My journey started with a search to find any other trials riders, but is now shared with a decent-sized group of fellow trials enthusiasts. It certainly didn’t happen overnight, and I only played a small part in growing the group. I believe there are a few critical factors that have contributed to the growth of our local community:

  • Having a charismatic ‘ring leader’ who steps up to build and maintain an email list, run an online community, and organize events, including the weekly rides (this role is crucial!)
  • Fostering a fun, positive, encouraging, inclusive group culture
  • Actively seeking people with a shared interest
  • Inviting others to join
  • Sharing the positive aspects of the group with anyone who is interested
  • Adding variety to the events to keep it fresh and interesting

If you have a new interest or hobby, I would strongly encourage you to join or start a community of people who share your passion. Even if takes a while to find or develop a group, persevere and you will be rewarded.

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