As an entrepreneur who runs a management consulting firm and teaches a graduate course in “Leadership & Team Building” at NYU, most people assume that I have a degree in business.

But I don’t.

I was an English literature major.

And while I LOVE reading business books (and average one a week), the truth is that today’s businessperson cannot – and should not – live by business books alone.

With the word “novel” having the same Latin root, “nov” (meaning “new”) as the word “innovation,” it follows that reading more non-business writing may be not only an engaging and enjoyable escape, but a catalyst for new business ideas.

When my students ask me, “How can I become a better writer?” my response is always: Become a better reader.

And when I am in need of inspiration, I often find myself going back to my English major roots to revisit the classics. As the French novelist Marcel Proust famously said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” So every time I go to my bookshelf to grab some Shakespeare or poetry, or a play or a novel – even those (especially those) I have read before – I tend to find that these great works not only hold up over time, but take on new meaning, foster innovation, and provide fresh insights into the human condition. Insights that can be directly applied to the everyday world of business. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote that one “cannot set foot in the same river twice,” for both the river and the person are, forever, in flux. So it is with reading and re-reading the classics: Each time, a new adventure. Each time, a new voyage of discovery.

A few examples:

SHAKESPEARE: The story of “Julius Caesar” is as current, meaningful and impactful as in the time it was written (1599), as well as when it actually happened (44 BC). It explores the world of individuals, organizations, and teams -- as well as the themes of politics, public speaking, persuasion, and power. To see parallels to today, all one needs to do is open up the newspaper or turn on the tv. And how many times has your workplace turned into “A Comedy of Errors” in which you needed people to do things “As You Like It” so that “All’s Well That Ends Well”…only to find yourself working for a boss who always makes “Much Ado About Nothing,” and is as indecisive as Hamlet, as weak as Macbeth, as over-emotional as Othello, and/or as mad as King Lear. Turning everything into a “Tempest”…when what you really want and need is the inspirational leadership of Henry V.

PLAYS: Arthur Miller’s classic dramas “Death of a Salesman” and “All My Sons” each explore numerous, timeless business-related themes, from core values (e.g., truth and integrity) and work/life balance, to relationships, communication, motivation, influence, and human nature in general. In the devastating drama, “All My Sons,” factory owner Joe Keller must make a choice between shipping a batch of cracked airplane parts (hoping nothing will happen) or admitting the truth and taking responsibility, thereby risking the loss of his government contract. You can probably guess which option he chooses and what the tragic outcome is. While this was a work of fiction, the fact is we can see this type of tragic scandal play out in the business section of the newspaper everyday – from faulty airbags (Takata) and ignition switches (GM), to tainted food, and toxic water supplies (Flint, MI).

FICTION: In this age of crowdsourcing, mob mentalities, and social media flaming, might there be a cautionary tale for us to heed hidden within Shirley Jackson’s still-shocking, horrifying, and controversial 1948 short story, “The Lottery”? And who hasn’t wanted to say to his or her boss at one point or another, when asked to do something, “I would prefer not to,” as the title character famously does in Herman Melville’s classic short story, “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" (1853)? And having recently re-read five of my all-time favorite novels – 1984, Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-Five, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and To Kill a Mockingbird – though times have changed, I found the themes and messages contained therein to be as relevant, thought-provoking, universal, and impactful as ever. And there is a powerful reason, from a leadership perspective, why Atticus Finch (the original To Kill a Mockingbird version, not the recently-published, unauthorized Go Set a Watchman version) is often held up as one of the greatest fictional heroes, role models, and real-life influences in the history of American literature (and film).

POETRY: Reading poetry by the likes of Keats, Shelley, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Cummings, Yeats, Eliot, and so many others reminds us of the importance of language when attempting to effectively communicate with others. Poetry demonstrates the power of visual imagery, alliteration and allusion, rhyme and rhythm, meter and metaphor, and more. For example, one of the hot topics out there in the business world right now is “mindfulness.” What better example of that is there than Wordsworth’s 1804 poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (aka “The Daffodils”) in which he illustrates the concept of “emotion recollected in tranquility”! And when it comes to the subject of decision-making, is there a more well-known, thought-provoking, and impactful metaphor than Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”? And while we set off on the rat race each morning, striving to climb the corporate ladder (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?), it’s important to keep in mind our core values, maintain a sense of perspective, strive for work/life balance, and seek happiness, taking heed of the cautionary tale of E. A. Robinson’s “Richard Cory.”

Beyond entertainment, enjoyment, and escape, great literature transports us to another place and time, allowing us to experience the world through the eyes of others. It often brings us back to the basics, and reminds us of the universality of the human condition, making us more informed and literate, more educated and enlightened, more aware and self-aware, more empathetic, more humane, and more human. And, all together, this will (hopefully) make us both better business leaders and better people.

And while the focus of this post is on the business value of fiction, the same can be said of non-business, non-fiction books. Whether you enjoy reading about the arts, sports, science, politics, history, biography, travel, self-help, etc., if you are open to “seeing with new eyes,” you are guaranteed to discover valuable business and life lessons hidden in plain sight within anything you read. So if you are thinking about switching careers, looking for leadership lessons, or seeking out fresh new ideas and approaches, one of the best ways to stimulate innovation and open up the world of possibilities is to look outside of, and beyond, your usual field of vision.

And, in addition to books, business and life lessons of all kinds can, of course, be gleaned every day, both online and offline, from such diverse media as newspapers, magazines, e-newletters, blog posts, or even the back of a cereal box. There is so much out there to read and so little time; so much to learn, wherever we turn...if we are proactively looking for it and open to seeing it. As Simon & Garfunkel once sang, “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls…and tenement halls.”

If “Wisdom is where Knowledge and Experience Meet,” then when we enhance our knowledge through reading, and combine that with the real-world experiences of our everyday lives, we eventually attain the wisdom that only time can teach.  

So if one of your New Year’s resolutions was to start reading more – and even if your high school English lit days seem like a distant memory – it’s never too late to dig up and dust off one of your old novels or anthologies and read or re-read those timeless classics. It’s a great habit to get into, and one that you can continue to enjoy and benefit from for the rest of your life. Though we are all growing older with each passing day, it’s never too late to hit the pause button, turn back the clock, and rediscover the classics. 

As the Fool put it to King Lear: “Thou shouldst not have been old before thou hadst been wise.”