Reviews and Comments

Basically 2 books in one, was originally going to be about Dorsey’s Twitter, then when he resigned became about Musk’s takeover. The first book is interesting but wasn’t what I was looking for, the second is ok but contributes little that wasn’t already covered in other sources.

Incredible

While it was written almost 30 years ago, it still feels relevant. Industry has been slow to adopt Deming’s ideas, and any manager who reads this will feel challenged. Managers are still treating every problem as a fire, instead of understanding their systems and reducing their unpredictability.

W Edwards Deming is the prophet of TQM, a process for building quality into products, and his book Out of the Crisis is a classic. Here, his disciple William Glasser summarizes many of the theories around getting the most out of people, without the math of Deming’s writings.

In short, stop telling people what to do and start listening to them and leading them.

Deming’s theories are both widely respected and rarely understood. Here, Wheeler gives a comprehensible, practical strategy for bringing chaos under control in an organization, with several examples of seductive traps in thinking.

Lots of great stories of technological failures. It could have used more stories and less abstraction, but overall brought up valid points explaining how to deal with technical failures.

Obsessively fair look at one of the strangest but most powerful cults in the world. Detailed with lots of food for thought on what attracts people to Scientology.

The meme stock craze around GME was a classic example of irrational exuberance, this book covers the saga with insightful commentary.

Frankl recounts his experiences in a concentration camp, describing how even in suffering human life has meaning, and how that meaning combats Nihilism.

Fantastic historical overview of where Quantum Physics came from, what experiments have answered questions about it, and the remaining open questions.

Interesting in parts, but very hyper specific to certain games with little general game theory. You get the feeling some of the knowledge is outdated.

Interesting in parts, but very hyper specific to certain games with little general game theory. You get the feeling some of the knowledge is outdated.

Read this with my small group. Clearly comes from a good place and makes a good point that caring for people can mean pushing them to make decisions they don’t want to consider. Can sometimes be too prescriptive about strategies, but lays out a healthy attitude for evangelizing.

Insightful look at unique problems faced by the millennial generation. Over emphasis on self esteem and following dreams can lead to difficulty with commitment, because the real dream could always still be out there.