An Engaging Story: General Electric (GE) was a significant brand as I grew up and not an insignificant player in my Electrical Engineering undergraduate course. So, I am interested in understanding how such a great company could have gone off the rails. Uncharacteristically, I chose to listen to the audio version rather than purchase the electronic version of this book. …
Beyond the PIG and the APE: Realizing success and true happiness, By Krishna Pendyala and Mike Vargo Backward: Authors Krishna Pendyala and Mike Vargo suggest we have things backward: Success may not make us happy. But, on the other hand, learning to be happy may well bring success! Further, he suggests that we are happy because we belong to life, …
Several years ago, I read a few articles about MMT. Those articles gave me enough of an understanding that I stopped worrying about the U.S. national debt. When I attempted to explain to others why the deficit itself isn’t a problem, they responded with skepticism. I decided to educate myself further and, coincidentally, my son recommended this book as a beginning to understanding MMT at a deeper level.
When David Jenyns contacted me and asked if I would read and review his book, I was knee-deep in books to read already. Another author referred me to him, so I agreed to review his book, but I couldn’t promise when. With that understanding, I purchased his book and put it in the stack.
I did get to reading SYSTEMology, and I am pleased that I did. To begin with, I am a system and process kind of guy. I believe in documenting what we are doing and working to improve it over time. I use checklists and process outlines in my work every day.
Revealed Complexity: Long ago I learned that the more I studied a topic, the more complexity I uncovered and the more I discovered what I didn’t know about that topic. Gregory Diehl’s seminal book, The Influential Author: How and Why to Write, Publish, and Sell Nonfiction Books that Matter, taught me just how much I didn’t understand about writing and …
Persuaded: I will admit that I picked this book up with grave misgivings. I was asked by the author’s assistant to review the book but declined to do so. Coincidentally, a week later, one of my clients was looking for a way to get his leadership team on the same page when it came to marketing and sales. So, I …
Following Lewis: There are a couple of authors who I like to “follow.” By that I mean, I usually get any new book they publish. Michael Lewis is one of those authors. It all started with Moneyball, even though I’m a dyed-in-the-wool NON sports fan. And so The Undoing Project was a must on my reading list. As is almost …
Harari hits another home run. I love the subtitle of this book, A Brief History of Tomorrow. And Harari builds a solid case for his views of how the world of technology might blend with or destroy Homo Sapiens. His book is broken into three parts and takes us through human history (much more detail in Harari’s book Sapiens: A brief …
In his usual engaging style, Patrick Lencioni has expanded on his previous book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, to show us how to make sure we find the ideal team player for our next hire. Through a parable, he shows us how to recognize and cultivate the three essential virtues named as humble, hungry, and smart. The Plot In …
Chris Fuller has written a “lessons learned” leadership book based on his Alaskan adventure training as a dog sled musher. The structure of Iditarod Leadership is both interesting and quite useful for review. Fuller speaks of “taking notes in a small notebook” while learning the ins and outs of mushing. Those “notes” appear at the end of chapters summarizing the lessons learned. …