Team and Culture · Published April 26, 2026
Two Years of a Reading Club
One technical book a month, twenty-four in two years. The biggest takeaway was not in the books.
Two years ago the team started a reading club: one technical or management book a month, each person reads part, and we talk for an hour at month's end. It nearly died several times; we adjusted and it survives.
How it survived
Everyone reads one chapter only. Requiring whole books means most people stall in week two.
Shares are not summaries. Each person brings one useful idea tied to a project example.
Book choice is loose: technical, management, industry reports, anything, but never a mandatory title.
The real gains
A shared vocabulary. Discussing designs, people cite the same concepts and communication gets cheaper.
Sustained input. Daily work converges on one track; the club forces a monthly step outside.
Discovering interests. Someone pivoted after one book and later led our work in that area.
The club is not knowledge transfer but a monthly reason to sit down and think together. That reason is worth more than the books.
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