3 Lessons New Businesses Can Learn From Historical Business Novels

Businesses constantly adapt to changes in society, new habits, and advances in technology. Even with the basic changes in business, you can still find a lot of practical and useful information from learning through the history of businesses.

Historical novels about business can teach you a lot of lessons as you embark on a new business venture and seek out as much success as possible.

1. Working With Others

No matter how much business changes, you will learn how to work with others. The relationships with employees are important as well as making other business connections. Through historical novels, you can learn how business leaders negotiated with others, motivated employees, and helped a business thrive.

Some of the greatest lessons may come from business failures. You can take lessons from the downfall of a business to learn what went wrong and how communication came into play. When you see specific examples, you can evolve from those mistakes and ensure the same problems don't arise in your business.

2. Vulnerabilities

When you look at great bosses or CEOs, you often see a leader who works hard and does anything they can to get the job done. When reading historical novels, you can get a much different perspective of the person. Instead of a single-minded idea or image, you get a more well-rounded view of their personal life.

One of the biggest takeaways is the vulnerabilities. No one knows everything and people make mistakes. You can see how some of the most powerful bosses were vulnerable and how those vulnerabilities helped drive the success of the business. Overconfidence can lead to major mistakes, so admitting your vulnerability will help you in the long run.

3. Rethinking Strategies

Once a business finds success, the rest of the time isn't just smooth sailing. A company needs to learn how to adapt and rethink specific situations. As you read about businesses, you will learn about the pivots needed for success and ways to help keep your business on the forefront instead of falling into a rut.

You can see where businesses built a success and didn't make the changes needed to stay afloat. Novels may focus on multiple aspects of the business, including the leaders of the company, the decision-makers, and entry-level employees.

As you purchase historical business novels, you can take notes and apply lessons to your own business. Reading the same book twice can even help you come away with new takeaways and information.

To find more historical novels about business, contact a local bookstore or public library.