Howard Gardner once said that "it is important that leaders be good story tellers, but equally crucial that leader embody that story in his or her life." This observation by the author of 'Multiple Intelligence' brings us to a concept that has long been very much taken for granted. Story telling is an integral part of human existence. Since ancient times, people have been telling stories and many of these stories have an element of moral message that gives deep insights to the listeners. Story telling is also an excellent way to get a cross sensitive messages as it gives a sense of allegorical meaning. With the advents of a fast paced technologically driven society there is a need to manage knowledge and find new ways of doing old things.

As a leader there is a constant need to update the knowledge base and find out what's new in the market. This is what sets you apart from the rest. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is for you to engage in the process of continuous learning. One of the best ways to achieve this is to read widely. Today there are many self-help books that teaches one to develop personal qualities from becoming highly effective, staying motivated, improve communication and how to become a great leader. The list is certainly not exhaustive.

Most of these self help books are written by high achievers who have used the principles that they espouse to further their own personal expectations and are sharing these with the world at large. Some of the well known authors of self-help books are Stephen R Covey, Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Daniel Goleman and Norman Vincent Pearle. Reading this self-help of books will give great insights to you if you want to develop your leadership potential, motivate yourself and manage your personal development. However these kinds of self-help books are not the only ones that can help you draw useful insights in the fine art of leadership, motivation and personal development and success. Apart from these self-help books there are other great literary sources which you should attempt to read as these will provide you with metaphorical and creative insights to fine tuning your leadership and management skills.

Literary books are works of fiction. However, the authors who wrote these literary works sometimes drew their ideas for their books from what they perceived and experienced in their lives. By reading such books, you might be able to notice how relevant the storyline has an impact on the way business and management is run. I would like to recommend ten literary books that I feel you should attempt to read. I have given a brief overview of these books with a little insight on its relevance to the modern business organization.

The twelve books are as follows:
1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach (1970)
2. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (1988)
3. Candide - Voltaire (1759)
4. Winnie the Pooh - A.A Milne (1926)
5. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1943)
6. Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
7. The Prophet - Kalil Gibran
8. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
9. The Lord of the Flies - William Golding
10. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom - T.E Lawrence
11. Moby Dick
12. Mutiny on board the HMS Bounty

Even if you can afford to read a few pages a day - reading will make you knowledgeable and release your creativity in more ways than you think. So go ahead and pick a book. Stay with it and soon you will notice how your mind opens up to unlimited possibilities.

Dr Daniel Theyagu is a corporate trainer and seminar leader who has designed and conducted competency-based training for more than 150 organizations. He is based in Singapore and can be reached at dtheyagu@singnet.com.sg [1] Website: http://www.thinklaterally.com [2]