```json
{
    "title": "Management Books as Entertainment",
    "url": "https://performancezen.com/2004/12/12/management-books-as-entertainment/",
    "datePublished": "2004-12-12",
    "dateModified": "2004-12-12",
    "language": "en-US",
    "description": "Occasionally, when I am travelling, I will find an airport with a decent bookstore. And I will indulge my habit of buying management books to try and get a competitive…",
    "author": "spierzchala",
    "publisher": "Performance Zen"
}
```

# Management Books as Entertainment

Occasionally, when I am travelling, I will find an airport with a decent bookstore. And I will indulge my habit of buying management books to try and get a competitive advantage when dealing with all sales people, even those that work in the same company that I do.

You see, when you understand how sales people think, and how they will try and position the types of services that I am capable of providing, then I am able to defend myself when they dream up some cockamamie scheme that will help them cover their butt for just one more quarter.

This time, it is [Hope is not a Strategy](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=performance03-20&path=tg%2Fdetail%2F-%2F0071418717%2Fqid%3D1102887911%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fref%3Dpd_csp_1%3Fv%3Dglance%26s%3Dbooks%26n%3D507846) and [Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=performance03-20&path=ASIN%2F0609610570%2Fqid%3D1102887977%2Fsr%3D2-1%2Fref%3Dpd_ka_b_2_1). Started *Hope*, and will likely get to *Execution* later this week. Then I am going to go back and read [Solution Selling](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=performance03-20&path=tg%2Fdetail%2F-%2F0786303158%2Fqid%3D1102887911%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fref%3Dpd_ka_1%3Fv%3Dglance%26s%3Dbooks%26n%3D507846). Then, after I indulge in all of this competitive detective work, I hope that someone buys me a copy of [High Performance MySQL](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=performance03-20&path=ASIN%2F0596003064%2Fqid%253D1102888093%2Fsr%253D11-1%2Fref%253Dsr%255F11%255F1), if only because I love what Jeremy has to say on his blogs ([here](http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/) and [here](http://www.ysearchblog.com/)).

So, if you see some non-Web performance related rantings this week, it's most likely cause of what I am reading offline.