Why You Should Acquire the Wisdom of the Ages

In the last few weeks, I have been struck by several posts, as well as an interaction with an honest-to-goodness internet troll who I mistook for someone asking my opinion on sales. The posts suggested that one should not read sales books, least of all by people over the age of 50. It's stunning to see ageism on display on platforms like LinkedIn, especially now. 

That said, I would regard you with scorn were you not to rebel against the wisdom of the ages were you, say, some age between fifteen and twenty-eight. After that age, you should have matured enough to recognize much of what you need to know is already known. Much of it gained as the result of mistakes, missteps, and errors that came at a higher price. 

The internet troll, a sales consultant, tweeted me that he doesn't read books, least of all books from people who write about sales. What could one learn from another person's perspective or experience or study? The list of books one might recommend to one who already knows everything need contain no titles.

"When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes." - Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

Here is a concise defense of books, and a tribute to authors whose work influenced my thinking and writing. 

The Value of Knowledge and Experience

 I am not sure how many times I have written the following sentence, but it's likely a number closer to ten than one: For around twenty-five dollars and six hours of your time, you gain the knowledge and perspective of someone who spent a lifetime studying some subject. Their experience has taught them lessons worth writing down, many of them worth observing. You pay almost nothing and gain everything. 

The acquisition of knowledge can improve your results, allowing you to avoid common challenges and improve your approach. None of this is to suggest that because someone published something that it will serve you at all times and in all places. But, if you are thoughtful, the understanding you gain by reading creates new possibilities, strategies, approaches, and choices for producing results.

A List of Books and Authors

The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History by Howard Bloom. Should you wish to understand memetic and the human soul, there isn't a better book. Howard was 52 years old when he published his first book. 

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Seven Habits is a masterclass on effectiveness as a person—and with people. The book sold over 25,000,000 copies when last I looked. Covey was 57 years old when he published the book in 1988. 

Dan Pink started publishing books when he was young, Free Agent Nation, believe it or not, was published in 2001, when Dan was 37 years old. How prescient was he? However, Drive hit bookshelf in 2009, when he was 45, To Sell Is Human a year later, and When in 2018 at the age of 54. All of these books started a national conversation. 

Marcus Aurelius was born in 121. He wrote Meditations between 170 and 180, making him between 49 years old and 59 years old. You will struggle to find a better self-help manual. 

Ken Wilber, my favorite American philosopher, wrote Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality when he was 45 years old. In that book, he introduced Integral Theory, and in doing so, became the most cited philosopher in academia. 

George Leonard wrote Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment in 1992, at the age of 69. A beautiful book and one that high school students should read. 

Miyamoto Musashi finished The Book of Five Rings, for my money, a better guide to strategy than the Art of War when he was 61 years old. The timeless lessons are valuable now, though Musashi died in 1645. 

Neil Rackham wrote SPIN Selling in 1988, which would put him at some age close to 45 years old. SPIN provided training for many generations of salespeople. 

Jeffrey Gitomer wrote and published The Little Red Book of Selling when hew 57 years old.

Peter Drucker published no less than 39 books, but the two that may have been most popular Managing for Results was published in 1964 at the age of 55. He published The Effective Executive in 1967 at the age of 58.

 Jill Konrath wrote her first book, Selling to Big Companies, in 2005. She was not 21 when she wrote that book, a book that has helped thousands of people improve their results. 

Trish Bertuzzi wrote The Sales Development Playbook in 2016. An incredibly great book for SDRs and those who lead them. Also, not 21 years old. 

My friend Jeb Blount just publish a book called Inked, a guide to negotiating and closing deals. I gave him the title because we are tight. He was 53 years old when he published that book, his eleventh. 

Mark Hunter, another close friend, just published what I would argue is his best book, A Mind for Sales. Mark, if I am not mistaken, is 62 years old, just a tiny bit older than Tom Peters was when he published Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age in 2003. 

Mike Weinberg, yet another close friend, wrote and published Sales Truth in 2019, making him around 52 years of age. Sales Truth is a good an explanation of what's in the book as anything I might write here.

Keenan self-published Gap Selling last year and sold 40,000 copies, a runaway success of a book. We are very close to the same age, so let's put him at 51 years old when he published Gap.

Art Sobczak just published the third edition of Smart Calling, one of the best books on outbound calling ever, and one you should study.

Umberto Eco, the Italian semiotician, Philosopher, Literary Critic, and Novelist (see The Name of the Rose), published a small and challenging book titled: How to Write a Thesis. In that book, Eco suggested that in writing a thesis, one might create a "critical bibliography that, to be conservative, includes at least 300 titles." He goes on to say that were he to write "a thesis in three months and rely mostly on indirect sources . . . 30 titles would be enough. . . The books I have not found are probably quoted in the ones I have found." Eco feared he would miss some vital concept by reading too little. 

Eco was 45 when he wrote that book for his students. He published The Name of the Rose when he was 51 years old, the novel that took him the shortest amount of time because his whole life's work was conducting the research. The rest of his novels took more than five years to complete. 

What if your thesis is something like, "This Is How to Live a Good and Successful Life." Certainly, you could explore that throughout 30 or so books and improve your thesis and your results. 

Should you decide to read books and acquire the wisdom of the ages, you might find that you value your insights too highly and think too little of those who are dozens of chapters in front of you. 

Those who don't read books have no advantage over one who can't read books. It doesn't benefit you to be ignorant of what is already known.