These are the most important skills. They build on each other. Reading improves writing. Writing improves speaking. All of which improve thinking ability. Which in turn strengthens capacity for strategic planning or entrepreneurship.
Reading
There’s no better book on reading than How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler. He says there are four types of reading: elementary, inspectional (skimming), analytical, and synoptical. All of these are necessary to become intelligent.
Skimming a book is important when you need to quickly decide what a book is about and if it is worth reading more carefully. You are gutting it for key information. Here are the tricks:
After skimming, if you decide a book is worth reading carefully (or analytically) the important thing to do is to read it with questions in mind. Adler recommends asking:
- What is the book about as a whole? (theme)
- What is being said in detail, and how? (main ideas, assertions, arguments)
- Is the book true, in whole or part?
- What of it? (Is the information significant? If so what are you going to do about it?)
Writing
One of the best books on writing is On Writing Well by William Zinsser. However, the best way to learn how to write is to write every day. One way to do this is to start a blog and review books that you are reading. This is something I do. Over the past year my writing has significantly improved.
One simple way to review a book is to write down your answers to the questions above.
Logical Thinking (listening / analyzing)
Logical thinking involves measuring what one hears, sees and reads against standards of truth, goodness, and beauty. One helpful aid is the ability to ask good questions.
For an entertaining example of dialectics, or logical thinking, read Sherlock Holmes.
Speaking
For speaking, I recommend How to Speak How to Listen. Also, Ted Talks.
The best way to get over stage fright is to think about the needs of your audience.
Strategic Planning
This requires making decisions with the future in mind. Successful business people do this well.
Start by reading this very important, short book, Managing Oneself. I have read it several times. It will show you how to make career decisions.
Other Skills
Arithmetic is a top skill. Certainly consumer mathematics.
Five for Five 