Bob's Reading List for 2018

Mini-reviews of 16 Books

A few years ago, I discovered that I really wasn’t reading enough, so I started writing a monthly “book review” to force me to keep going.  A couple of years ago I stopped that (wasn’t really getting much pushback), and instead started to write a year end summary of the books I read during the year and highlight some of the best ones that I recommend.Obviously I've also read a lot of articles, which is especially where I get my IT-specific information from.  That's why there's no purely IT-specific reading here about current technologies.  I don't count that stuff as "books".Also, I need to make a confession.  A majority of these were actually audio books.  I don’t really listen to the radio in the car anymore, but books?  You betcha.  Pandora for the music, Audible for the books (and some surprisingly good audio drama, which I’m leaving off of this list).How do I choose a book?  Well, I first look for subject categories.  Business (all levels), Science, History and Philosophy are my biggest interests.  Of course, modern business development.  Recommendations from friends and colleagues.That said, let’s dive into the 2018 Book report!  These are listed in relatively the order I’ve read them in, from most recent to earliest (still in 2018).  A star (*) in front of the title means I highly recommend this title.“Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t”, by Jim Collins.  One of the “older” books, written in (around) 2001 or so and updated in 2005.  A great read when talking about the surprising attributes of organizations that not only are great but maintained that greatness over a period of time (and changes in leadership).  A bit too focused on large public companies (owing to the resource pool a necessity), but useful in daily practice.“Traction:  Get a Grip on Your Business”, by Gino Wickman.  We’re just kicking off formal implementation of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) management framework here at Simplex-IT.  So, this was homework.  Not a book I’d recommend unless you’re actually looking to implement a new business management framework, then wholeheartedly.*“Leadership”, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  A great read (because of DKG I miss Barbara Tuchman just a little less).  A comparison of Lincoln, both Roosevelt and LBJ’s ascent through significant hardship to leadership.“A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing”, by Lawrence M. Krauss.  Gotta get my physics fix in.  A good explanation (not too deep) that goes into questions like “Why is there something rather than nothing?”  Yup, the logic (and some math) makes it a bit of a strain, but it’s worth it.“The Coming Storm”, by Michael Lewis.  This is a strange one.  A review of the battles between public data (ie, weather data received from government satellites) and private companies that want to make money by selling information gleamed from that data (and prevent the government from doing the same for free as a public service).  Read this and you’ll never take a tornado warning for granted again.“The Soul of America:  The Battle for our Better Angels”, by John Meacham.  A really interesting portrait of how difficult the development of America has been.  You might think things are bad today in terms of hate, anger, dirty politics.  There has always been Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde components of America.  Usually Jeckle wins.  Sometimes Hyde isn’t vanquished, but just goes away.“Never Split the Difference:  Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It”, by Chris Voss.  The author (a former FBI hostage negotiator) brings a unique perspective on sales negotiation.  If you’re in sales this is a really interesting book.  Possibly interesting if you’re curious about the mental process of a hostage negotiator, but that’s not the primary focus.“TED Talks:  The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking”, by Chris Anderson.  This book deals with the “art” or public speaking or presenting.  And it does a pretty good job of discussing beyond the standard Toastmasters 101 books.  Using the famous TED talks as examples, presentation styles, tools, methods and goals are dissected and reviewed.  Good read.“Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success”, by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness.  Ok, to be honest, I was looking for something to read when I chose this book.  And it wasn’t bad.  On the one hand, it’s another “here’s another methodology you use to make yourself better at whatever you want to get better at” book.  But the approach was fairly well thought out and presented.  I am becoming more and more a coaching believer, and this books supports that concept.*“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think”, by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling.  Boy, was this an eye opener.  I found this book after reading an article how Bill Gates gave a free downloaded copy of this book to all 2018 college graduates.  Think the world is constantly getting worse and worse over the years?  Surprise!  The data doesn’t support it.  Quite the opposite, in fact.“Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs”, by John Doerr.  OKR (Objectives and Key Results) are yet another way to create, monitor, manage and reach organizational goals.  Similar to Rock in EOS, goals in the Rockefeller method.  This book is an interesting read on using OKR’s and not much else for business (and personal) development.  From a business perspective, I’m sticking with EOS.*“AIQ: How People and Machines Are Smarter Together”, by Nick Polson, James Scott.  Think AI is taking over the world?  Don’t have a clue as to what that means?  This is a great book that serves as both a great introduction to AI as well as explaining what it can’t do well without humans.*“Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts”, by Annie Duke.  Another case of “I need a book to read”.  Boy, did I pick a winner (to me).  Almost makes me want to play poker.  A lot of people will compare strategy to a game of chess.  Not so.  Almost everything in life is a question of probabilities.  There’s always that chance that things will go differently.  You did everything right, and still lost.  You did everything wrong, but still won.  Interesting read.*“Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress”, by Steven Pinker.  A great companion book to “Factfulness”.  The world is not a worse place than we used to be.  Measurable qualities like life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise throughout the world.  And these are measurable numbers, not anecdotal.  There’s still bad stuff, to be sure.  But this is worth a read.“The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire”, by Stephen Kinzer.  I’ve read about the Spanish-American War before, but never the crazy couple of years directly following.  Is the USA interesting in building an empire or just freeing people?  Can’t we do both?  And why is our history with territories like Cuba and the Philippine Islands so…challenging?And yeah, I need to include it:“A CEO’s Survival Guide to Information Technology”, by Bob Coppedge.  Proving that anyone can write a book…ok, seriously (-ish).  I wrote this book specifically for corporate management folks who don’t want to understand Information Technology.  I try to focus on the parts they need to understand, but take it only as deep as is necessary.Ok, so there’s my list.  Feel free to share any titles you recommend!