When was the last time you read a novel for pleasure? Well for me, prior to the last couple of months, I would have to answer “when I was in school and I was forced to.” Since graduating, my reading has been entirely on business books. I am constantly reading. I really enjoy flying for the simple reason that while I am in the air, I get a tremendous amount of reading done. I always have one or two books on the go.

During a recent executive team building project, we had the participants tell each other their abbreviated life stories. Each story revealed elements of the forces that shaped each individual’s lives. One of the participants mentioned how pivotal the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” had been in his life. I was curious and decided to check the book out of the library. I was fascinated by it. It is amazing how a great author can use the power of story to make his/her point. A skilled author can actually change people’s lives with his/her storytelling!

As I thought about the novels I had read in school, I remembered Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business. I remembered it as a strange book but I also remembered the key lesson I took away from the book. The definition of Fifth Business in theatre is: “Those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were none the less essential to bring about the Recognition or denouement”. We must realize that as suppliers, we are “Fifth Business”. We are neither hero nor villain. We must deliver what we promise but we must let our clients be the heroes. We must share our knowledge and enable the people we serve to become more enlightened as a result of their association with us. We must realize the stage is our clients’ stage and while we are essential to the development of the plot, it’s not about us.

As I re-read Fifth Business, I was amazed that I understood any of it in high school. Youth is wasted on the young! I was amazed by Davies’ command of words and turns of phrases. As communicators, we can only benefit from seeing masters at work. The novel also does something else for us. It helps us understand the inner world of people. In today’s economy, the winners are those who understand people at their most fundamental level. Well-written novels can give us these insights. They can also be a great way to give our minds a rest.

How about you? When was the last time you read a non-business book? There is wisdom in understanding. Novels can significantly deepen our understanding. What great books have you read lately?

I came across a great quote from novelist Saul Bellow today: “Poets and novelists give new eyes to human beings, inducing them to view the world differently, converting them from fixed modes of experience.”