Reading helps us grow in life and business. Reading gives us new insights, points of view and ideas. Reading helps us to think, problem solve and make better decisions.

The more you read, the more you learn, the smarter you get and the smarter decisions you’ll make. This is true in all aspects of our lives and that includes business. In business, like in many aspects of life, what matters most is what we do and less about who we know. The only way to know what to do is to learn and know more. To learn and know more we have to read.

Reading is one way to get inspired. But, reading to lead means you have to read selectively and deeply. You have to be selective in the books you pick up. There are a lot of books and articles on readcash that have been written that won’t help you much. If you just read any book, you may succeed in reading a few more books. But, if you want to get the maximum value from your time investment, you need to choose the right book.

With deep reading, we go beyond just skimming or scanning. Effective reading requires us to read deeply and understand the ideas presented and apply them to our lives. So, if you are looking for leadership lessons on a particular topic, try deep reading. Pick up a few books on the topic you want to get an understanding of and read them deeply. Once you have completed your deep reading and finished the first book, set it aside and read the next one and then the next one.

Evernote is committed to fostering a culture of learning. As such, we are encouraging everyone to jump into reading with us. That’s why today we are announcing the Evernote Book Club. It’s a simple concept: Every month we will select a book that we think will be helpful to you in your personal development, improve your work and leadership abilities, and make you more curious, creative and capable.

We thought a lot about how best to introduce this idea. So as not to be overwhelming, there will be no theme or schedule. Just a single release each year. In addition to being simple, it had to be open-ended. The list of possible books is endless; the topics of interest are endless; and the learning never stops.

Here are some reading habits of great leaders.

• Read for pleasure.

• This is the number one habit of successful leaders.

• They love to read for pleasure and not just for work.

• Reading makes them smarter, more creative, more innovative, they can adapt new technologies faster as they have more and varied experiences.

• Reading helps leaders build deep connections with people - they have empathy, they have a better understanding of people’s needs.

Reading is key if you want to improve your leadership skills. Effective reading requires you to think deeply and apply the ideas and lessons to the challenges of the day. You become a better leader because you see things in a different light. Reading feeds your mind and expands your horizons by showing you a new way of thinking. It gives you a broader view of life and world.

Here are 4 reasons why reading is important for your leadership development:

• The best leaders are not afraid to admit that they have learned leadership skills from watching and learning from others. They read what they can on the subject and let it play out in their everyday life. When you’re making an effort to be more proactive in your leadership, you need to be one of those people who read. You’ll get ideas on how to accomplish tasks more effectively. You’ll get motivation on how to create strategies that will give you better results.

• Reading helps you think deeper and broader. Since reading helps you to connect the dots across different ideas, it allows you to think more deeply about a subject and understand it more broadly. It also helps you gain more insight into topics that you might have previously thought about superficially. This leads to greater understanding and a deeper perception of the world.

• Books help you understand people better. If you want to build successful relationships (whether at work or in your personal life), it is important to understand the people that you interact with. Reading gives you a glimpse into the mind of authors and allows you to figure out what drives them and motivates them, which can then help you to understand others better.

• Reading is a habit that's closely linked to leadership. If you want to master your domain and improve your leadership skills, you need to read. The habit of reading has been an integral part of my learning experience over the last decade. As a result, my knowledge, insights, and growth have been accelerated.