Forwardthinking has an impressive list of some of the world’s most successful companies, major charities, influential government departments, and, oh, and Everton Football Club.

The book has a series of in-depth interviews with high achievers who share the stories of their lives and accomplishments.

Chris Woolston has recognised that what he calls soft knowledge, that learned from someone’s own experience, is as powerful as that appearing in text books or taught in universities.

On Reflection has sixteen individual interviews. All are unique to the specific leader and reflect their distinct experiences in their work and private lives. Each of the interviewees is successful in their field, including medicine, education, and commercial business.

The interviews appear in a question-and-answer format, which is easy to read and very refreshing from some other business books, which can be dry and often patronising to the reader. These stories are open and honest and give insight into the person, not just the career.

It is such an enjoyable and easy read that I found myself spending more time than I intended with my nose in the book. Chris himself says the book is "something you can dip in and out of".

That’s exactly what I did. I read the chapters in order but was able to put the book down frequently without losing the flow. Each contributor offers a different perspective on life and career, which reinforces the author's contention that "no two successful people are the same. Events shape them differently".

The conversational style of the book was enjoyable, and I had a feeling that I was watching it live as Chris and his interviewees chatted amongst themselves. It was like a chat show without the whooping audience and irritating pauses for commercial breaks.

I gathered as much from some of the personal anecdotes as from the career tales. It helped me see how theory is all well and good, but it doesn’t operate in a vacuum. What is happening in your private life has an impact that cannot be ignored.

Each chapter gave a new perspective, a different approach, or a unique understanding of how success can be achieved. These were people who were mostly comfortable with their work-life balance. They understood, or became to understand, that work-life balance is a choice, and it comes with consequences. Sometimes these consequences were unpalatable, but they were consequences nonetheless.

The examples of ingenuity and determination catalogued in these conversations shone a light on each person’s journey and were inspirational.

The book doesn’t give you all the answers; it demonstrates that there are a multitude of solutions that can be considered, and different approaches can all be right or all be wrong, but you have to play it as you see it.

Most of the stories are about success; perhaps the next edition could focus on failure, or at least perceived failure, to understand how to come to terms with disappointment and carry on.

I can recommend this book. It is a pleasure to read, and with its chatty and relaxed style, it’s good for reading at any time, before bed, on a train, or at the beach. It does stimulate your mind, but without stirring too much passion, anger, or frustration.

It’s not a pot boiler, but a nice way to observe successful people, take away some lessons, and form your own style.

As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I suspect you will too.