Overview:

In the field of technology project management, there are many methodologies to choose from, including scrum, SAFE, LeSS, and traditional waterfall. The choice is often not yours as it depends on the type of project, as well as the leadership preferences in place at your organization. Choose Your Wow is a resource you can use for understanding the pros and cons of a particular methodology, as well as a comprehensive toolkit on a new methodology, Disciplined Agile Delivery.

Here Is What The Book Was About:

Choose your wow is essentially a textbook that explains the Disciplined Agile Delivery toolkit in detail, where each chapter can be used as a reference based on the step in the life cycle that you’re interested in. For example, there is a chapter on the 6 variations of the framework you can choose from, and chapters on risk management, as well as on deployment management. It also explains the key differences between the DAD framework, and other agile methodologies, in particular scrum, and SAFE.

Rating: (1 to 5)

Rated 4 out of 5; it offers valuable content that you can use immediately, as well as reference material. The appendix also offers many resources and useful information. It could have earned a 5 if it had been more polished; i.e. better editing, color, diagrams, as well as case studies or examples.

Other Thoughts on The Book:

Those of you familiar with PMI’s methodology may be wondering why it decided to purchase this company, and more information about that topic can be obtained simply by searching for “PMI Purchase of Disciplined Agile” on any search engine.

Link to Book:

Overview:

With over a billion daily active users, Facebook is clearly one of the most important companies of our generation. Steven Levy’s book, Facebook the Inside story is part biography of Mark Zuckerberg, and part history of Facebook. Reading this relatively long book will get you up to speed on what you need to know about the company, with insight into topics ranging from the connection to the movie the social network, Mark’s relationship with Sean Parker of Napster, current challenges with government regulation, and the future of Facebook.

Here is what the book was about:

The history of Facebook’s founding, background on Mark Zuckerberg’s life and upbringing, who he is as a person, and motivations throughout his life, as well as a look at current events and future prospects for the company. If there is a topic about Facebook you’re interested in learning m ore about this book will have at least something for you. It is very comprehensive, and engaging at the same time. Additionally, what makes this book unique is that the author Steven Levy had unprecedented access to Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Chamas Polihapatia and many other high-profile executives.

Rating: (1 to 5)

I rated this book a 4.8 out of 5 because it was so engaging, well written, and all around good journalism. The fact that the author, Steven Levy, is an editor at the influential Wired magazine also helped this title earn the highest rating I’ve given a book this year.

Other Thoughts on The Book:

In determining whether or not to read this book, I came across reviews that indicated the book was biased in favor of showing Mark and Facebook in a positive light. I did not find that to be the case at all. Steven was fair in his reporting and both accurate and engaging in the story telling. He went into just enough detail so as to avoid being off topic.

Link to book :

Overview:

If you’re interested in learning how startups work and think, either because you are planning to start one, or go to work for one, this book is a great way for you to prepare. Eric Reiss’ book “The Lean Startup” is a revolutionary perspective to help companies large and small. His credibility comes from being a successful entrepreneur and one of the founders of the video game company IMVU, and is an advisor to many startups in his consulting practice. He defines a startup as any organization focused on creating something new under extreme uncertainty.   

Here is what the book was about:

The book redefines what a startup actually is; not just for companies in silicon valley but also teams within larger organizations that are building something new under extreme uncertainty. Another key topic of the book is around what it really takes to be a successful startup. Eric’s view is that the true keys to success are not to be brilliant, have a great, idea, and good timing but rather execution. By following the “build, measure, learn” feedback loop over a shorter product release cycle, you will gain empirical evidence and validated learning earlier and less expensively than planning a product launch over a longer period of time. He also offers guidance and insights into pivoting out of a business into a different one.

Rating: (1 to 5)

I rated this book a 4 out of 5 because of its New York time best seller, / Wall Street Journal pedigree, unique perspective on business success, and that it provided concepts to shape my views on business. The book could have been more engaging had it offered more relatable examples and case studies.

Other Thoughts on The Book

The lean startup is more than just a book, it is a movement with a strong following of supporters. More information can be found on http://theleanstartup.com/

Link to book

Overview:

With the current situation we’re in with the Covid-19 global pandemic its hard not to notice this book from the New York Times best selling author Kenneth C. Davis. Another well researched work from Davis, this one in particular focuses on World War I and the Spanish flu. One thing that makes this book even more compelling is that it was written 2 years before the Covid-19 pandemic started. If you’re interested in drawing parallels from history to our current situation, this is one book you need to add to your list.

Here is what the book was about:

Davis uses historical accounts from many sources to tell the story of the Spanish Flu and World War I, and how they were connected events. He goes into the first cases of the disease on a military base in Kansas on March 11th 1918, outlines the global impact with estimates by the CDC of 500 million affected and 50 million deaths, and also briefly examines the relationship between disease and war throughout history. Rating: (1 to 5) This titled earned a solid 4.4 based on the engaging way the story was told. While there are a number of historical references, Davis manages to summarize the history, and put together a story that is factual, respectful of the parties involved, and put together in a cohesive accessible way. It was relatively short read and I had a hard time putting it down.

Other Thoughts on The Book

We’ve all learned many key facts about World War I however this book makes those facts come back to you, and tells an engaging story about the people impacted in a way that is relevant to our current time. Davis has a knack for making history relevant, and this book is one of his best; it will make you want to learn more about the topic.

Link to book

Overview:

Similar in layout and flow to the other books in the Don’t know much about series, DKMAM was a well written summary of myths throughout ancient history, as well as an overview of world history. This book may catch your interest if you want to know more about a particular cultures myths, such as Greek, Norse or Celtic.  

Here is what the book was about:

Are you a comic book fan wondering about the ancient myths of wise one-eyed Odin, the Mighty Thor, and the Trickster Loki? Have you ever wondered what works inspired many children’s cartoons such as Wile E. Cayote, and Bugs Bunny? If so, you should read this book to find out! Davis summarizes myths from Ancient Egypt, the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Indian (Bhudda and Ghandi’s times), Celtic, Norse, African, North American, Australian, and Hawaiian. He makes learning about these cultures interesting and points out many similarities based on his own research. For instance, many ancient cultures, similar to Christians, have a story about a flood wiping out all of man-kind, and more than one culture has a creation story that explains the sun, moon, stars, pain, and suffering.

Rating: (1 to 5)

This titled earned a solid 3.7 based on the authors pedigree, and the timeless knowledge gained from reading this. I also appreciate the references to other great historians work in case you’d like to dig deeper into a cultures myths.

Other Thoughts on The Book

While I learned years ago about the sad truth of the European invasion of North America, I was surprised to see it covered here from the perspective of using the Christian religion to justify their actions. In particular, the author covers how the Spanish Conquistador, Hernando Cortes’ efforts to convert locals to Christianity were somewhat coincidentally aided by the myths and beliefs of the natives living in Mexico.

Link to book

Overview:

This is Marc Randolph’s, co-founder and former president of Netflix memoir. He and his friend, Reed Hastings, now CEO of Netflix, started the company based on their discussions in the car during their daily commute to the office. It’s a fascinating story of how the firm got started, and an inspiring tale for aspiring entrepreneurs. The author ends the book with a call to action / challenge to the reader – what are you going to do after reading this book?

Here is what the book was about:

Overall this is a well written, engaging, and good history of the company Netflix, and how they finally beat Blockbuster in the video rental business. If you’ve ever wondered how Netflix got started, who the key people, and events were, then this is the best book for you. There are many characters in the book, and their stories are developed upon in addition to Marc, including Reed Hastings, and Mitch Lowe.

Rating: (1 to 5)

Earned a rating of 4.85 based on the story, which was beautifully written by the co-founder of the company. Marc is uniquely qualified to write such a memoir and you learn about the company, as well as the life of the author. He did an excellent job of drawing the reader in on the details, even describing the smell of coffee, sounds of engines, etc; very imaginative. You laugh when he wants you to laugh, cry when he feels sadness as you go through the ups and downs of Netflix’ story from start to IPO.

Other Thoughts

Marc thanked Gina Keating, the author of “Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs” in his acknowledgements section. You may want to check out this book if you’re interested in the Blockbuster rivalry story.

Did you read this book? What were your key take-aways? Share your comments in the section below.

Overview:

What is growth hacker marketing and why should you as a marketer care? Well, companies like Drop Box, Air BnB, Paypal, and Buzzfeed grew rapidly, and seem to have come out of nowhere, are ubiquitous in their respective industries – and they all practiced growth hacker marketing. In a relatively short period of time these companies and many others came to dominate, and are now multi-million dollar companies. If you’re a marketing student, an aspiring marketer, or seasoned traditional marketing person, you’ll appreciate the information and isights from this book. The book is written in the classic Robert Greene / Ryan Holiday fashion, where real-world examples, case studies, and lessons learned are shared, that you can apply in your own situation. I particularly like the simple to follow flow and informal language used in the book. Overall, quick read, and good primer on hacker marketing.

Here is what the book was about:

Ryan takes you through his journey from a traditional marketer at American Apparel where he read an article written by Andrew Chen, titled “Growth Hacker is the New VP of Marketing” and became inspired to make a career change. It explains growth hacker marketing concepts, outlines the process to growth hacking, shares success stories / case studies, and encourages you to continue your learning on the topic by providing a list of blogs, websites, and books to check out, and even offers a glossary of growth hacker marketing terms.

Rating: (1 to 5)

I rated this book 3.8 of 5 based on the level of engagement I felt while reading, and that I found the 4-step process to be something that could be used in real life. It would have earned a higher score if the character development had progressed more smoothly; Ryan started out with his own career at American Apparel but by the middle of the book seems to have left that thread and started onto other topics. It would have been better if he kept himself as the main character, and took us through his complete journey before explaining the 4-step process.

Other Thoughts on The Book

You may want to consider checking out Lean Startup, by Eric Ries, if you’re interested learning more about this topic.

If you’ve read one of my book reviews, you may have wondered how I determine what rank to give a title. Here is where the book ranking criteria is explained.

Thanks, and happy reading!

• Engaging & Compelling
  • Can’t put book down, want to continue reading late into the night to finish or simply see what happens next. Main story is compelling and meaningful to you, or applies to your life in some way
  • I give this criteria 30% of the overall score
• Valuable Content that makes you learn
  • By reading the book you learn a new topic or learn more about a topic you’re already familiar with
  • Worth 25% of overall score
• Character development and growth of main character from beginning to end
  • Growth and development of main character from beginning to end. For books that don’t have a single main character, use story development instead, or simply give it a neutral rank on this particular criteria.
  • This criteria is worth 20% of the overall score
• Well written
  • Good use of language, style, interesting and fun words
  • Worth 15% of overall score
• Author Pedigree
  • Author wrote other best selling books in the past
  • Worth 5% of overall score
• Book pedigree
  • Book won awards and other accolades, i.e NY Times Best Seller
  • This is worth 5% of the overall score

Let’s begin a dialog around this topic. What do you think of this ranking criteria? Are there other aspects that you consider? Would you give some items higher or a lower portion of the score?

Overview:

Referred to as the most complete picture Bible ever, The Action Bible is essentially a collection of over 200 stories from the Bible along with compelling illustrations written in a comic book format. It conveys Biblical truths in an easy-to-digest format that would appeal to young readers. It complements the work of the Bible; if you like comic books, and even remotely interested in learning more about the Bible, this is a great book to read and start your journey into Christianity. This book does not take the place of reading the Bible of course, however it is a fantastic tool to get people interested in God’s word.

Here is what the book was about:

The main point of the book are the Bible teachings summarized for young readers, with beautiful artwork, similar to a comic book. While the book is intended for younger readers, older readers can also appreciate and benefit from reading this book. Its written in comic book style format, some key stories are from the King James version, the old testament, new testament, and final stories about Paul are based on non-Biblical historical documents. It is not a complete retelling of the bible however as only 215 stories are used as source material.

Rating: (1 low to 10 high)

I rated this book a 10 for its ability to capture the key lessons from 200+ bible stories. There are too many great summaries to list them all here – overall just a fantastic book. A key reason why I love this book so much is Brazilian artist Sergio Cariello’s beautiful drawings.

Other Thoughts on The Book

The overall finish and quality of the book is excellent! You can tell that a lot of work went into it. The materials, colors, finish appear to be worth more than the $20 price tag you pay.  

Overview:

Here’s another book by Kenneth C. Davis in the “Don’t Know Much” series, which include topics of the American Civil War, American Presidents, American History, and Greek Mythology. This particular book takes a look at the bible from the perspective of a historian and researcher. Kenneth does a fair job of respecting the faith of Christians and Jews, and offers his own thought provoking questions such as who wrote the bible, and why throughout history it has been interpreted in ways to justify often contradictory points of view. The main point is that there is more to the bible than most people are familiar with, and that it is a book of faith, as well as a book that can be studied and analyzed from a historical perspective.  

Here is what the book was about:

A well researched history of the bible; he gleaned information from the King James Version, as well as other versions, in addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnostic Gospels. The book dissects many of the stories that many readers of the bible are familiar with, such as Noah’s arc, wisdom of King Solomon, and the birth of Christ and asks questions such how or whether the story has historical evidence. In many instances, he highlights aspects of a story that are not well known, such as in the story of Jonah; many may know that he was swallowed by a whale and spent 3 days and 3 nights inside, however not many  know what he said to God after he was spit out.  Another example is the story of Job; many are familiar with God’s bet with the Devil however, do not realize that this was the last time God appeared and spoke directly to humans in the bible.

Rating: (1 to 10)

Only 8 out of 10. Well written and researched. While I learned a lot, and did not find his points of view offensive, many true believers would be offended by this book.