Books & Articles

Better Productivity Through Collaboration

This book has a mission statement! "The goal of this book is to help people spend more time creating and less time fighting -- by improving their ability to collaborate with other people." I purchased this book back in October 12, 2015, over three years ago, because I wanted to be a better leader. I wanted to the best I could be when working with other people, no matter if I was pouring a concrete foundation, or connecting manufactures with retailers. I can't go through life doing everything alone, so building the best possible team around me is a top priority for me.

The focus of this book is around 3 principles:

• Humility

  • You are not the center of the universe. You’re neither omniscient nor infallible. You’re open to self-improvement.

• Respect

  • You genuinely care about others you work with. You treat them as human beings, and appreciate their abilities and accomplishments.

• Trust

  • You believe others are competent and will do the right thing, and you’re OK with letting them drive when appropriate.

The Future of Labor

This book was recommended to me by a good friend when I was feeling down with the work I was doing. I was tired of being called "Resource" or having members of my team be called "Resource". These "resources" are people, trying to do their best possible work and usually they were also my friends. Friends who I knew by name.

This book divides people at work into three camps:

• Pragmatists

  • Find value in life outside of work, because the hope of any meaning or enjoyment from their profession has been taken away from them. They are "checked out" at work, and enjoy life by pursuing their hobbies. This group has given up hope.

• Idealists

  • Believe heartily in the meritocratic company and it to be a benevolent steward of their career. This group will do anything for the company they are employed at. Consistently working overtime for many hours each week to complete a project on time. They put their work before their friends, family obligations, and even their own needs. Without their role in the company, they lose their feelings of worth. This group has given up perspective.

• Opportunists

  • Refuse to yield hope or perspective and recognize that the only way to win the corporate game is to play by their own rules. Instead of working endless hours and hoping to be promoted to manager level, via performance reviews and years of service, the opportunist does everything they can to be promoted. This can mean playing dirty politics for a promotion, jumping from company to company for the increase in title, or paycheck.

The book spends lots of time arguing that the best place to be is in the opportunist camp. The opportunist is focused on becoming a manager, and eventually CTO/CIO because this is where people will have the most amount of decision making and money earned. I didn't like the focus on money and power in this book took until I connected it with Dan Pink's "The puzzle of motivation" speech.

Dan Pink argues that the key to motivation lies in giving people; mastery, autonomy and purpose

Idealist lose autonomy, when a boss at work says jump, they'll jump. The pragmatist has lost purpose, working their lives away for a paycheck. The only way out according to the book is starting of working for an Efficiencer Firm. In simple terms, it is a company where all members of the firm are partners, and the firm is centered around a niche - a productized service or at least a highly targeted service.

I am not ready to starting my own business at this point in my life, but what this book instilled in me is to go to work, whatever that may be and keep a balanced perspective.

An Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology

It was the introduction of this book that caught my attention;

"...I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it."

This book goes through the reasons why Thomas Paine does not believe various parts of the Bible to be true. It was a difficult subject to write about back in 1794, and is still a difficult subject today.

I think I discovered this book in my second year at University, although I cannot remember exactly when. It was during a period when I was struggling with what I believed about life, where we come from, and what happens when we die.

I still don't know the answers to these questions, however I do agree with what Thomas wrote;

"I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy."

I realize that many of the pronouns are in the masculine form, but that is because this book is old.

The book has two parts and I prefer the first as it talks about God and religion in a more general sense. The second part is specific to the Bible and the contradictions it contains. This book, along with "What Must We Do To Be saved?" by Robert G. Ingersoll shaped my religious values and beliefs, but also sparked my search for what it true.

A Step-by-Step Relationship-Saving Guide for Men Caught Cheating

This is a recent book I have read. I usually don't read relationship books as most of them are not written for men. Even though this is marketed as a relationship saving guide, I have treated it more as a "how to" for relationships.

The concept that struck me most was the idea of "Active" and "Passive" truth. Passive truth means telling the truth only when it is asked directly. Active truth is practiced when important information is shared before it is asked about, and before it can become a problem.

Relationships are hard, probably the most difficult thing I have ever started. There are many songs about falling in love, and subsequent heart break. I don't know any songs of the top of my head about persistence and making it through tough times, other than "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers.

The message of this book can be summed up as follows: Be honest, to the point of over-communication.