This is an email I sent out to a bunch of local Montreal thinkers… I hope it takes flight… A lot of it was loosely based on how Fast Company runs their book club. If it flies, I will blog the cool stuff here.

“All too often people ask me ‘what are you reading?’ The answer is: a lot. I can’t get enough information into this bald little head of mine. And, as usual, the repetition of this question got me thinking ‘would it not be cool to set up some kind of Montreal Business Book Club?!’ OK, so I’m getting myself into something else!

The way I see it, we live in crazy times. Crazy times call for crazy ideas. Everyday we’re inundated with new technology, new sales strategies, new marketing ideas and much more. So, surviving… no, prevailing means you need to keep up on all these new ideas, concepts and theories.

I know that, with the exception of a handful of people, I wish there was a local ‘think-tank’ or forum to discuss all the changes. With that in mind, I started wondering if you:

– Ever wished there was a group to discuss the newest trends and ideas in the business world?

– Wish you could explore the leading-edge business practices you read about with others in other industries?

– Wish you could set aside a few hours every month to connect with like-minded business community people?

I know I answered ‘hell yeah!’ to all of these questions!

So, I’m putting out this ‘feeler’ email. I’d like to start the first-ever Montreal Business Book Club. The way I see it, joining with others in a reading group not only provides incentive for keeping up with some cool reading, but even more important, being part of a reading group would definitely stimulate deeper thinking and provide the opportunity for greater insight into how new ideas or theories might be put to practical use.

Here’s the stuff I have yet to determine:

-Size of the group? (I think 6-8 members would be ideal)

-Meeting? (I think once a month – and, I’d be glad to host it at Twist Image, or even rotate to other members’ offices)

-Online element? (Might be cool to set up a Yahoo! Group just in case we all come across a related article, etc…)

-Cost? (Cost of books – do we go for a group discount? Refreshments? Photocopies, etc…? Membership fee – we could give the money to charity?)

-Responsibility? (See, this would suck if people don’t read the book or start not showing up. I think, based on the group we could do a quick conference call and set up the expectations and ground rules. We’re all grown up, so this should be easy).

So, you interested? Any suggestions or ideas to make this cooler? I think this could be a great networking and learning experience. I have some other ideas, but first, I’d like to see the interest level. You can feel free to forward this to your network if you think there may be some interested people I have not tapped.”