Date: Tuesday, 20 March 2012

Leadership and succession planning go hand in hand for most small businesses. If you are a founder of a small business, it's always  important to earmark who in your organisation is going to lead your company, reinvigorate your staff and your product or service, and create fresh blood that catapults your business to heights you never imagined possible.

I met with a friend of mine who is an absolute genius. You know the type, a kindof Bill Gates clone that has peculiar habits but is as smart as they come. What struck me as surprising is that he is an avid reader of cold reading books. Surprising because I would have thought that he would think body language books are a bit beneath his 'genius'. Obviously not.

Actually, he reads cold reading and body language books in the dozens. The other week, he bought a whole host of new body language books and has no doubt already read them from start to finish. Sitting with him for a chat is extraordinary because he is so bright, but also because he is absolutely fascinating with his passion for knowing more about why people do what they do. He likes the idea that he can read people which no doubt has made him a lot of money over time. Important if you are in the business of dealing with people and you need to know what they are thinking to make better decisions yourself.