Inspirational summer reading

So holidays are gone and just as normal England start winning the cricket. Hey ho. I  saw the Lord's defeat. To those of you returning to work I hope you had a great time. To those of you about to leave have fun and enjoy the break.

As usual I did plenty of reading while away, a mix of genres to inspire, plan and make me think. Chris Froome's biography The Climb was a tale of dedication, single purpose and tenacity in the face of multiple obstacles with a thrilling end. It also gave me the excuse to buy some new lightweight bits for my bike which I did as soon as I got home. And I worked out that if I can lose another 7lbs I will be two minutes quicker up a 10%, 10km climb. Game on.

Admiral Collingwood: Nelson’s Own Hero by Mark Adams was a revelation. As an amateur student of 18th and 19th century naval history it contained so many relevant lessons about management, leadership, strategy and operations in the 21st century. It also served to remind me how lucky we are today with our work life balance and how important duty is as a personal attribute (he was away from his family at work for the last six years of his life!)     

Back to work matters I have spent the last two days focusing on corporate performance and budget issues and how these need to be factored into our autumn annual planning cycle. More of this anon.

 Speak again soon when I hope we can celebrate a third test victory and series win of the summer for England. For daily updates, discussion, personal opinion, comment or just to connect or keep in touch you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/drcarltonbrand.