Making Yourself Indispensable, Mark Samuel
A catchy title and intriguing thesis, but the advice
bromidic. The key to indispensability, says
the author, is self-accountability. Bottom line: find ways to go the extra mile
and you’ll wind up OK.
Death March, Edward Yourdon
This is a project management book, not one about the
Holocaust. Author Ed Yourdon, who passed away last year, was one of the few
famous technology consultants that I never met personally, but I know people
who knew him and who are quoted in this book. That’s why I had high hopes when
I started. But... Written in 2004, this
book did not age well. For me, there’s too much fluff, and the anecdotes are
dated. Although this book was written
for the era of it’s publication, there
are a few nuggets still relevant hidden inside if you look for them.
Out of the Depths, Rabbi Israel Meri Lau
Unlike Yourdon’s Death March, this one is
about the Holocaust. In this
autobiography, Rabbi Lau tells of his journey from surviving the Buchenwald
concentration camp to becoming Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi. The subject
matter is heavy but it's an awesome (in the literal sense) and miraculous
story.
Uncommon Type, Tom Hanks
Written by the famous actor, this is a truly delightful collection of short stories. Each
one is richly imagined and presented, transporting the reader to settings as
varied as those of the author’s movies.
Who knew he was such a talented writer too.
Go, John Clellon Holmes
A fascinating and thoroughly entertaining semi-fictional
autobiography. (Yes! That’s a thing.)
Published in 1952, it paints a romantic picture of the nascent days of beatnik New York City and it’s underground
bohemian subculture. Captivating, honest, and brilliantly written.
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
For reasons I’m forbidden to expand upon publicly, I’ve been
exposed to the Kafka software platform recently. Well then, I said. Let me go back the source.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a classic work on absurdist existentialism,
where the main character wakes up one morning to find himself trapped inside
the body of a hideous bug. Oh, the irony.
Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant, Lynn Taylor
What a cockamamie book. I should have known just from the
provocative title. A pop psychology attempt to draw parallels between toddler
behavior and that of office coworkers. There may have been something worthwhile
in there but I gave up trying to find it.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni
I liked this book a lot. Written as a novel, it tells the
story of a fictional CEO taking over a struggling company and in doing so
explains a model of teamwork and success. Management-fiction is a hard format
to write in, as I know first-hand, and this does it well.
Leadership on the Line, Heifetz & Linsky
This is a heavy duty management book, published by Harvard
Business Review Press. It presents a dichotomy between Technical Leadership,
which solves known problems in a known way, and Adaptive Leadership, where
leaders successfully shoot at problems from the sides of their hips. Good
stuff, but it takes an effort to get through.
Black Edge, Sheelah Kolhatkar
Recommended by a peer, this book attempts to be an exposé on
the alleged financial shenanigans of Steven Cohen, founder of hedge fund SAC Capital. Entertaining,
informative and thought provoking, and even somewhat successful.
The Rookie Bookie, Wertheim & Moskowitz
A kids book, fun short and light, with key lessons in
financial statistics seamlessly weaved in. Cute and easy.
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