Year-End Book Review
December 29, 2008 - 7:24pm — bexI usually like to give verbose book reviews... but I realized that I've fallen more than a little behind lately. Writing my second book sucked up a lot of my free time, but I was still able to squeeze in about one non-fiction book per month... not to mention the hundreds of hours of podcasts on ancient history (my current obsession).
I decided to avoid books on programming and technology this year, and focus mainly on business and communication. I think it was a good idea: partly because I get the best software news from blogs, partly because of the utter lack of software innovation in 2007 and 2008, but mostly because I felt the need to read more about economics and management. If more software geeks did the same, I think the world would run a lot more smoothly...
Anyway... below are the books I read in 2008 that I felt worthy of a review on Amazon and my blog. I hope you find them useful:
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow -- I read this because I had a long standing white-hot hatred of Hamilton, so much so that it deeply amused my friends. Sam White suggested I read this book to get a different perspective. After a few years, I finally did, and it really did turn me around a bit. I now have a lot more respect for Hamilton, and can see through the obvious propaganda that was set against him... Hamilton is still a political fool, but he's a military and financial genius, and the USA would be much worse off without him. And Aaron Burr was a tool.
Getting To Yes by Fisher, Ury, and Patton -- Highly recommended! This is a great book about negotiation, both in theory and practice. It demonstrates how there are three general kinds of negotiators: soft, hard, and principled. Its the latter category that will always be able to find a solution that satisfies both parties, without either party feeling like they gave in. I've used this concept multiple times recently -- sometimes with more success than others. It will always remain a useful tool to help me find the win-win situation in every conflict.
The Influencer by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler -- the follow-up to the book "Crucial Conversations," this book gives some pretty practical advice on how to set up systems that promote positive change. This is a combination of individuals, social groups, and the environment itself... all 3 areas need systems that encourage both the ability and the motivation for positive change; otherwise it will not last. In each area, there are multiple tools that can help, but a true "Influencer" will know what tools to use and when. Highly recommended for anybody who wants to make lasting change.
Speak Peace in a World of Conflict by Marshall Rosenberg -- This is a good grounding in the principles of Non-Violent Communication. It shows some basic techniques for how to communicate in a language of needs, rather than in a language of good/evil/right/wrong. It has more real-world examples for folks, which makes it more accessible to skeptics, and first-timers. If you like it, I would also recommend Non-Violent Communication, Getting To Yes, and Crucial Conversations.
Three Cups of Tea by Mortenson and Relin -- This was a fun read... its a real-world story about a man who failed to climb mount everest, and wound up lost in a remote area of Pakistan. The people there were so kind to him, he promised to return to build a school. After multiple setbacks -- and some hard lessons about life in this region -- Mortenson now runs the Central Asia Institute, and has built nearly 80 schools in the region. He gives an interesting perspective into the instability of the region, including the Taliban and the real causes of 9/11.
The Turnaround Kid by Steve Miller -- A fairly timely book for anybody curious about the US automotive industry. I've always been fascinated by turnaround CEOs: people who relish taking a failing company, and making it profitable again. Steve Miller was one of my heros there, because he engineered the turnaround of about a dozen companies... most recently Delphi. In case you didn't know, Miller was the real brains behind Lee Iacocca's turnaround of Chrysler in the 1980s. He has quite a few words of advice for US manufacturers, which you might want to heed before you need his help!
The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom -- Forget it. You will never be Warren Buffet. Accept it. Don't invest your money in the stock market: invest in your business, or yourself. Even if the stock market is your business, you're probably not going to pick stocks better than a computer. Nevertheless, if you want to know how Warren Buffet made his billions, this is a good primer. The book also constantly reminds you to not get carried away: put your money in a S&P index fund, and get back to work. Stock speculation is only profitable for insiders with nearly illegal insider information, or people who work amazingly hard at it every day (like Buffett).
Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis -- I liked this book... its a short book, geared for both US history buffs, and the general public. It was a good overview of six important moments in US history: the Hamilton/Burr duel, the Hamilton/Jefferson/Madison dinner about debt assumption and the creation of Washington DC, the early arguments about the slave trade, Washington's retirement after a mere 2 terms, the early Adams and Jefferson presidencies, and the later friendship between Adams and Jefferson. I'm not positive it deserved the Pulitzer Prize, but it was certainly one of the better history books I've read.
E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber -- the latest in the E-Myth series. This book helps entrepreneurs create systems that allow their company to run, so that they can free-up their time to build and grow the company. As a computer geek who has observed highly ineffectual business process, I was skeptical that this book could teach me anything. I was pleasantly surprised... its a bit big, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you are actually running a business -- or a part of a business -- but it certainly opened my eyes to the value of a culture of entrepreneurialism. It does suffer from a fairly tedious writing style, and perhaps others in the E-Myth series would be a better fit -- such as the E-Myth Revisited -- but it opened my eyes a bit so I'll give it a solid 3 stars.
The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford -- decent coverage of scarcity theory, and slight coverage of comparative advantage, but not much ground-braking information here. Its not as good as Freakonomics, which I also disliked. I'm still looking for a book on classical economic theory that I can tolerate... any suggestions are highly welcome!
Blink by Malcom Gladwell -- this follow-up to The Tipping Point was a bit of a disappointment. There was a lot of good data in it, but I felt that his entire thesis was flawed. Its all about "thinking without thinking," by trusting your "gut." Yeah, that always works out... there was some good data about folks who could read emotions by observing facial muscles, and how the mind operates when under stress, but otherwise it wasn't very thoughtful. Worth reading if you take it with a grain of salt.
"Blink"
I have to say -- I think you missed the point of Gladwell's book, "Blink". I thought it was better than "Tipping Point," because of additional data (as you stated).
However, Gladwell is not proscribing "going with your gut" in every situation. He brings up very specific situations where gut instinct is the correct methodology, but doesn't suggest we should always use it. Further, his emphasis is on identifying the "gut reaction" for what it is, so that your rational side can be aware of the influence of thin-slicing everything. It discusses many of the same topics as Robert Cialdini's books -- and Cialdini does a better job of explaining how to identify and disarm the thin slicing urge in interactions with (people | products | marketing influences).
I think (and it seems to be supported by more and more neuroscience and psychology research) that people are MUCH more highly influenced by their thin slices than they traditionally believe. So much of everything we evaluate has to be done super quickly (Cialdini calls this behavior "click, whirr") that we aren't often aware of the factors we use to reach a decision. "Blink" is a book that examines this fact of life -- it doesn't suggest it as a useful tool except in certain circumstances.
BTW, his newest book, "Outliers", is the class of his writings (so far). Give it a shot this year!
Regards,
Travis L
blink had some decent data, some bad data, and worse analysis
Gladwell did go into situations where the "gut feeling" is incorrect... what he called the "Warren G. Harding Effect." However, about half the time he presented "evidence," it was horribly anecdotal. Good examples of scientific rigor were few and far between.
Half of his examples of when "the gut" works were based on lousy supporting evidence. The other half were probably right on. So his thesis of when to not trust your gut is flawed, because it's not a wide enough swath.
Besides, most of the book is a self-denying prophesy. Once you're aware of your emotional and irrational jumps, you may no longer be a slave to them. Case in point, remember the psychologist who can tell within 10 minutes if you will be divorced in a year? Once people are told about his technique, how much therapy would it take to completely ruin his batting average? I'd wager very little.
Of course, those numbers were never presented... because that would be too rigorous.
I've contemplated purchasing "Outliers," but it just sounds like the same old rehashing of the "10,000 hours == mastery" meme.
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