What are you reading -- November 2019
Thought we could share what we're reading now, what we're planning to read next, and any recommendations from the last little while.
Would be best to include a quick description!
Now:
What You Do is Who You Are, Ben Horowitz
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NVN4QCM
Great writing, but not a lot of insight for me personally since I already agree with the thesis (that a company's culture is based on what you do and not what you say) and find it a little shallow. Everything feels a little obvious.
Up Next:
Trillion dollar coach, Eric Schmidt
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076ZHG3H3
Bill Campbell mentored Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt, and coached dozens of other leaders. This is his 'playbook'. I will probably skim through it, as it seems quite similar to "The Score Takes Care of Itself" (which was a good read and had some really useful bits). I find small takeaways in books like this can have a huge effect on my day-to-day or week-to-week work.
Obviously Awesome, April Dunford
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPW5V9C
Book on positioning your startup and how to market yourself. Something I'm very familiar with, but I've heard great reviews of this book and if you learn just a little it would be super helpful. Always great to have a refresher. I think a lot of indiehackers could use this perspective.
Disciplined Entrepreneurship, Bill Aulet
https://www.amazon.com/Disciplined-Entrepreneurship-Steps-Successful-Startup/dp/1118692284
Recommended by Matt Mochary in his book (see below).
The Entrepreneurial State, Mariana Mazzuacato
https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurial-State-Debunking-Private-Economics/dp/0857282522
Economist argues that the state is necessary for innovation in the private sector.
Read this for a primer: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mariana-mazzucato
Recommendations from last month:
The Great CEO Within, Matt Mochary
https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building-ebook/
Will be released this month, but you can read it on google docs here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJZbv4J6FZ8Dnb0JuMhJxTnwl-dwqx5xl0s65DE3wO8/edit#
Really excellent and actionable guide on running a startup / team. One of the books that has had the most takeaways for me in the last year. Highly recommended.
Radical Markets
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TP5HLWQ/
Don't know if I agree with anything in the book -- but it's interesting to think about things in these terms and to consider what wide scale changes we would implement if it were possible.
Currently I'm reading The Chief Financial Officer: What CFOs Do, the Influence they Have, and Why it Matters. It's quite a short book and the topic is something I have no clue about. So far so good.
Any key takeaways or things you can apply to notyfy/your current business?
I'm reading Raising Capital: Get the Money You Need to Grow Your Business since we are about to launch and want to learn some things about investing and founders/investors agreements.
So far so good, I understand a bit, some things I miss out, but I want to learn as more as I can on the topic.
Other books on investing you might want to check out:
Really good overview (highly recommend it):
https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1119594820/
Also highly rated, but I haven't felt the need to read it:
https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sand-Hill-Road-Venture/dp/B07RSDRT3G
Thanks a lot for the recommnedations! I'll definitely check them out!
I'm reading Implementing Domain-Driven Design from Vaughn Vernon 'cause why not. A lot of good ideas in DDD.
Other than that I just finished the famous How to Win Friends and Influence People, which should be renamed How to Be Liked By Many People Who Won't Really Be Your Friends.
This book is the root of every self-help book out there ("look at this guy who followed my technique and is now rich and famous and beautiful"). It's very interesting and have some good advice. If you're bored reading it, just skip to the end of each chapter, there is a sentence which basically says everything.
Interesting review of HTWF&IP -- It's actually one of my favorite book (and I'm even in the process of making an app based off of it); but I agree with your general sentiment.
There is definitely something missing in terms of making real/deeper connections, but I think that comes with time.
I think one of my major takeaways is to move the focus from trying to be interesting to being interested.
How would you change the advice so that it would be better for making real friends (for lack of a better term)?
I wouldn't use these principles if you want to bring the relationship a bit deeper.
Otherwise I agree that the message of the book is overall very good. It's just the way it's done and maybe the lack of nuance which make it a bit less good to me.
I see what you mean -- we definitely need to bring our own nuance to the book. Taking it too literally would make it a lot harder to have meaningful relationships and kind of make you robotic in a way.
My thoughts on some of these:
This kind of falls in line with the Buddhist(I think?) idea of asking
Before saying anything.
I find that helps my relationships a lot, and over time I have found that I don't really need to criticize/complain much. And when I do, I can try to be more mindful of how I do it.
The same goes for listening. I was so programmed to talk all the time, that even when I take a step back and try to listen more, I find that conversations are generally more balanced. And I learn a lot more by listening and asking questions.
Arguments -- even this comment could be shaped as a disagreement, or take a more cooperative form -- I just naturally tend to agree first now, which I find makes it way more pleasant to have conversations with people.
I agree on the manipulating aspect of some of it. I've tried those things a few times and they worked really well -- but usually I will tell the person afterwards. It's pretty funny in some cases; but I don't know the best way to handle those situations. Now I just try not to be credit-seeking and let the credit go where ever it does, which is admittedly very hard at times.
---
I really did find that changing my interactions with people did change the way that I think about the world and my instant reactions (still a work in progress though!!) and has improved my personal/deeper relationships as well.
Taking an extra moment is indeed something which has great value during a conversation, instead of letting our ego speaking without constraints.
I'm not sure about agreeing first, but I'm trying not to disagree before I have strong arguments. Not necessarily to convince the others (sometimes my arguments come way after the conversation and, let's face it, it's difficult to change somebody's mind) but to know where I stand and if my view on things need to change.