Tag Archives: 2-stars

Review: Charlie Gilkey – Team Habits (S)

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Team Habits
How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results
Charlie Gilkey

“DISCOVER SMALL, TEAM-BASED CHANGES THAT HAVE COMPANY-WIDE RESULTS. The teams we work in amplify our individual efforts, yet we constantly struggle to accomplish what is possible. You can see all the problems in a typical weekly meeting. No planning. Missing goals. Muddled communication. We think just bringing our personal hopes and desires will be enough. It’s not.”

I had high hopes for Team Habits, but it turned out to be a real letdown. The premise sounds promising, but what you actually get is a lot of vague advice, recycled concepts, and filler content. There’s nothing new or groundbreaking here. Most of it reads like generic business blog posts strung together into a book.

The author touches on a ton of topics, but never dives deeply into any of them. The writing is full of abstract ideas with very little substance. The so-called “takeaways” at the end of each chapter are just painfully obvious stuff like “communicate clearly” and “encourage collaboration.” Great advice… if you’ve never worked with other people before.

It’s incredibly dry. There are no real stories, no case studies, and barely any examples to make the content engaging. I found myself skimming through entire sections, hoping it would eventually get better. It didn’t. Also worth noting: the book seems primarily aimed at project teams in tech or agile environments. If that’s not your world, it’s even less useful.

Overall: Team Habits might be helpful for someone completely new to team management, but if you’ve read even a couple of leadership books before, you’ve already seen everything this one has to offer. Skip it. 2 stars.

Quick Reviews of Non-Fiction Business Books #7 (S)

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Blockchain: The Next Everything
Stephen P. Williams

The author seems unsure of the book’s purpose. At times it leans toward being educational, but the information isn’t well-researched or in-depth enough to be truly informative. It skims the surface, repeating the same broad ideas in different forms without ever really getting to the heart of what blockchain is or how it’s actually being used today.

The focus is mostly on Blockchain’s potential, filled with vague references to what “people are saying”, without much substance to back it up. If you’re looking for a deep dive or anything that would satisfy a tech-savvy reader, this probably isn’t the book for you. It feels more like a long-form article padded out into book form. It’s frustratingly repetitive and light on new insights.

This wasn’t really my type of read to begin with, but I still hoped to take away something useful. I didn’t. For me it’s a 2-star read.

The Future Is Smart: How Your Company Can Capitalize on the Internet of Things—And Win in a Connected Economy
W. David Stephenson

This book gives a broad introduction to how businesses can use the Internet of Things (IoT) to become more connected, efficient, and data-driven. It includes some interesting examples from big companies like GE and John Deere, and it’s written in a way that’s easy to follow, even if you’re not very techy.

That said, it’s already starting to feel a bit outdated, and the ideas don’t go very deep. It could’ve used more diverse, up-to-date examples and clearer takeaways. Overall, it doesn’t really land on a strong point or message, more of a general overview than a compelling argument.

Average, skimmable if you’re just curious. I didn’t really get into it. 3 stars.

The Art of Thinking in a Digital World: Be Logical – Be Creative – Be Critical
Luc de Brabandere

I picked up this book hoping for fresh, practical insights, but it mostly felt like a rambling mix of poorly organised stuff that the author thought could vaguely be relevant. It covers the “three modes of thinking”, logical, creative, critical and has a bit of historical context and AI-awareness, but it never drills into how to think better in a way that sticks. Instead you get a lot of surface chatter without much depth or actionable takeaways. The illustrations are nice, and I appreciated the occasional metaphor, but I often found myself wondering: “What’s the point?” Luc de Brabandere does shine in his earlier book Thinking in New Boxes. It’s far more practical and definitely worth a read if you want genuine, hands‑on strategies for reframing how you think.

2 Stars. Skip this one, and reach for Thinking in New Boxes instead.

Quick Reviews of Non-Fiction Business Books #5 (S)

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Win Or Die: Lessons for Life from Game of Thrones – Bruce Craven

I might have rated this book a bit harshly, because it just wasn’t for me. I haven’t read Game of Thrones so I didn’t get much out of it. A lot of the book makes reference and fully analyzes Game of Thrones. I don’t recommend reading this book if you haven’t read Game of Thrones. There are some leadership ideas, however, nothing new. There is very little leadership theory, and a lot of explaining via Game of Thrones. While the author aims to draw parallels between the challenges faced by the characters in Westeros and real-world leadership scenarios, the book seems to cater primarily to fans of the series. Without prior understanding of the characters and their arcs, the lessons feel abstract and disconnected.

For those who are avid followers of Game of Thrones, this book might provide an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. 2 stars.

Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography – Richard Branson

I found this hard to review. The book itself is ok and not that badly written. It’s obviously an autobiography so it’s told as the story of his life. The stories don’t drag on, they get to the point at least. The part I don’t like is Richard Branson himself, and his life story. He is not someone I would be friends with. I have not read his first autobiography and wasn’t even keen to read this book. I didn’t know much about Richard before reading it, but after reading this book it confirmed everything I already knew.

Richard Branson considers himself a legend. He views himself as The Most Interesting Man in the World. I hoped to learn a little about running companies. But really he does none of this. Instead readers are subjected 450+ pages of egomania. It’s all about what he does in his everyday life which is off on dare deviling adventures that he brags about. Including his complete list in the appendix of “75 close shaves with death”. Most of which are doing dumb idiotic situations he puts himself into. Besides always almost dying, the rest of it is his views on politics, bragging, any time he did anything “cool”, and out right just being rich. I don’t even think he runs any companies?! Not in the day to day sense anyway.

There is no advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. It is just Branson telling the world, over and over again, how much fun it is to be Branson. I thought he was a wanker before, and now reading this, it confirms it. 2 stars.

Quick Reviews of Non-Fiction Business Books #4 (S)

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The Excellence Dividend – Tom Peters

The author’s points and principles are correct. I do agree with them. But the writing style is horrible! It’s poorly constructed and has a disjointed writing style. I picked up this book agreeing with the title and the concept. I hoped to come away from it motivated and inspired. But I struggled to even finish it, and was even skimming parts!

I don’t mind the quotes. I do like some quotes, but when they have no context and heaps of them, what’s the point? It was also written a lot in bold and caps which irritated me. And let’s talk about the length! This book is a heavyweight, but what did I get out of it? Not much. It did re-confirm the things I know and believe in. But it didn’t have anything new and interesting, and definitely not inspiring. Overall, I’m disappointed. Those seeking a more impactful and engaging exploration of similar themes are advised to explore alternative titles that better deliver on the promise of motivation, inspiration, and fresh insights. 2 stars.

How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job – Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith

I am a supporter of feminism, particularly in the realms of careers and in the workplace. I appreciated that this book acknowledged the existing disparities in these areas and aimed to tackle them. However, while I fully embrace feminist principles, I found this book to be overwhelmingly focused on feminism to the point of excess. While I acknowledge some valid points made by the authors, the book often resorts to comparing males and females and implies that women must conform to societal expectations rather than advocating for societal change. It feels patronizing and relies heavily on broad stereotypes.

The book repeatedly suggests that women must adapt to fit into traditional leadership roles rather than challenging societal perceptions of success or women’s roles. Also the portrayal of the corporate world as a rigid hierarchy with only upward mobility options doesn’t resonate with my experiences. I disagree with the book’s insistence that women must emulate men to succeed in this environment. The writing style, with constant references to the authors and their previous works is off-putting. While I grasped the authors’ points, they were poorly articulated and lacked clarity. The book also took too long to delve into its content, and while some anecdotes were relatable, others felt contrived. Ultimately, the book perpetuates the notion that women can only advance by conforming to male standards, which I find condescending and patronizing. I rate it 2 stars.

Review: Samantha Parent Walravens – Geek Girl Rising (S)

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Geek Girl Rising
Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech
Samantha Parent Walravens

“Meet the women who haven’t asked for permission from Silicon Valley to chase their dreams. They are going for it — building the next generation of tech start-ups, investing in each other’s ventures, crushing male hacker stereotypes and rallying the next generation of women in tech. Geek Girl Rising isn’t about the famous tech trailblazers you already know, like Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer. Instead, veteran journalists Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravens introduce readers to the fearless female entrepreneurs and technologists fighting at the grassroots level for an ownership stake in the revolution that’s changing the way we live, work and connect to each other.”

I had high expectations for this book, hoping to find compelling case studies and valuable insights about women in the tech industry. While it does touch on those aspects, I found the book to be disorganized and lacking a clear structure. It begins with a captivating short story about GoldieBlox, which instantly grabbed my attention. However, this story is only briefly explored and not revisited until the very end, which left me eagerly waiting for more throughout but left me disappointed.
The book presents numerous anecdotes about different companies but they are presented in a seemingly random order. It even jumps between companies within the same chapter or paragraph, using examples we’ve already encountered and expecting us to remember all the names. We never get a comprehensive understanding of any particular company or gain any valuable insights into their achievements or methods. There is an excessive reliance on statistics highlighting the under representation of women in the tech field.
The chapters fail to establish a clear argument or purpose, making the entire narrative feel disjointed and confusing. Many of the terms mentioned are specific to America, such as Trump and the Super Bowl. Come on, the rest of the world exists too.
I found the excessive focus on the appearance of the women mentioned in the book to be irrelevant and uninteresting. I had hoped to delve into the core content of the book and learn about their strategies for success and the challenges they faced, but unfortunately, the book falls short in delivering that. It felt more like a collection of disjointed magazine articles lacking an unifying theme.
The constant bouncing around made it difficult to extract any meaningful takeaways, to the point that I don’t feel I gained anything substantial from reading it. It could have gone a lot deeper. I don’t want to come across as anti-feminist, but I have to say that the book was poorly written. Despite my initial enthusiasm for the first 8 pages, I must admit that I couldn’t develop a genuine fondness for this book, leading me to rate it two stars.

Review: Laura Garnett – The Genius Habit (S)

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The Genius Habit
Break Free from Burnout, Reduce Career Anxiety and Double Your Productivity by Leveraging the Power of Being Who You Are at Work
Laura Garnett

“Both inspirational and practical, The Genius Habit introduces a methodology that has helped Laura’s high-profile clients at LinkedIn, Capital One, and Verizon transform their careers and their lives. The Genius Habit gives employees—from entry-level assistants, to middle managers, to CEOs of major companies—the tools they need to gain clarity about who they are and where they are going, and to proactively create the career of their dreams.”

I thought this book was about habits, but it’s not at all. For a book with such a long title, it still didn’t explain what it’s about. This book is about doing your strengths in work and life, which the author calls “your zone of genius”. It’s a drawn out way of saying ‘know thyself’ – this book focuses on building a career on those things you already do well and enjoy. The thoughts and ideas of this are fine but I feel like it’s also just common sense. I also feel this is not possible 24/7, there are always times you need to do something that you enjoy less, and it doesn’t give you any tips for this. The book also has a bunch of other wishy-washy topics on mindfulness, meditation, getting sleep, and perseverance.

One aspect I struggled with was the explanation of the “performance tracker”. The idea of measuring when you’re in your “zone of genius” makes sense, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Numerous variables such as location and who you’re working with are not thoroughly explored, leaving me questioning the reliability of this tracking method.

The message is fine, but I just didn’t feel for this book. It just wasn’t well executed? I found myself not wanting to continue to read it. It was a long book regarding only one topic, yet still didn’t get much out of it. It’s common sense and basic knowledge to me. Unfortunately the writing style was not super engaging for me and the overuse of words like genius made me not enjoy and connect with it as much as I would have otherwise. The author spoke a lot about their own experiences and in a voice that just annoyed me.

There was not any new or unique concept in the book that would make it stand out.
Overall the main points can be summarized very quickly and it wasn’t written in an engaging way. Basically, do work in your strength areas. 2 Stars for me. If you’re after a book on habits, try Atomic Habits instead. Or just try a few pages to see if the style works for you.

Quick Reviews of Non-Fiction Business Books #3 (S)

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The Conversation Yearbook 2017: 50 Standout Articles from Australia’s Top Thinkers – John Watson

I was really hoping this book would be all about fascinating individuals or businesses considered as “top thinkers.” Instead, it’s filled with essays covering topics like climate change, same-sex marriage, public school education, Indigenous issues, and Australian politics – and all of them are from 2017, which makes them feel pretty out-of-date now. A bunch of these essays are just plain boring and hard to get through. I managed to read most of them, but there were a few that I had to skip. Plus, the way the book is organized feels a bit messy. The themed chapters don’t flow together smoothly. If these essays are supposed to represent the best thinking from our top minds, I’m not feeling very optimistic. I’d give it a 2-star rating.

The Golden Passport: Harvard Business School, the Limits of Capitalism, and the Moral Failure of the MBA Elite – Duff McDonald

Who would be interested in reading this? It’s essentially a history of Harvard Business School (HBS). It comes across as quite dry and unengaging, and I fail to see its purpose. I initially expected more content related to prominent business figures, akin to a textbook, but even those sections fell short. For instance, when I saw the discussion of Frederick Taylor in Chapter 3, I hoped to have fond memories of his accomplishments for that era. However, this book somehow managed to render his historical contributions as mundane and uninteresting, not reflecting Taylors true significance. I would rate it with only one star, as I was unable to finish it, but I do acknowledge that it might appeal to a different audience, warranting a two-star rating.

Flying Solo: How To Go It Alone in Business Revisited – Robert Gerrish, Sam Leader, Peter Crocker

I found this book to be quite good. It’s an enjoyable read that covers all the basics, so don’t expect groundbreaking insights. Nevertheless, it’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re looking to embark on your journey into self-employment. The book provides essential tools for planning and starting a solo venture, offering a mix of motivational advice and practical strategies. Despite being released a few years ago, the content remains surprisingly relevant. It challenges the old assumptions of the 9-to-5 grind, introducing concepts that are increasingly gaining popularity. The book not only gives you the basics but also includes some practical examples, making it a valuable resource for those considering or already navigating the world of self-employment. 3 stars.

Quick Reviews of Non-Fiction Business Books #2 (S)

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SMART Time Investment for Business: 128 ways the best in business use their time – Kate Christie

I’m sorry but I didn’t love it. The 128 ways to best use time felt very basic and repetitive, some were also not explained enough. The book is meant to be short and to the point, and “time saving” which was fine. It then had a bunch of quotes from each business person after each point. I don’t mind a few quotes, but that many seemed to lose its point with not enough context. I find that quotes can be very contradictory, there seems to be a quote for every situation. There were a few short case study examples but again not enough context to really get the point across. The 128 ways to save time were not new tips. Maybe you’ll pick up a handful of new tips by the end but that about it. I recommend it for anyone who is not an organised person. 2 stars.

Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together – Thomas W. Malone

This is an intriguing book that explores the concept of collective intelligence. While not aligning with my typical reading preferences, it managed to capture my attention to some extent. The beginning of the book was challenging to get through, but it improved as I progressed. Some sections stood out as particularly engaging, shedding light on the possibilities and implications of collaboration between people and machines. However, I found it lacking in substantial takeaways and not engaging throughout. It was very general and referred to already fairly outdated technology. I felt this book was much longer than it needed to be, with lots of repetition and multiple examples illustrating the same issue. Overall I give it 2 stars. It was not intriguing to continue to read it.

So Now You’re a Leader: 10 Precepts of Practical Leadership – Peter Stokes and John James

Since the book is quite old, it’s hard for me to give it a proper review. I guess it was okay back in the day, but in today’s world, it feels pretty outdated. The principles it presents are still relevant, but the stories and writing style feel old-fashioned. It’s written in a very textbook-like manner, and it even throws in theories like “SMART” goals and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s a bit dense and dry, but the points it makes about being a better leader are valid and serve as good reminders. However, there’s nothing really new or groundbreaking here, just the basics. I’d give it two stars.

Review: Bina Venkataraman – The Optimist’s Telescope (S)

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The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age
Bina Venkataraman

“A trailblazing exploration of how we can think more strategically and effectively about the future–our own, our family’s, and our society’s. Many of us never learned–or have forgotten–how to make smart, long-term decisions, so we avoid making them. In a world where immediate satisfaction is the norm, it’s easy to do. Whether it’s decisions about our health (our chronic overuse of antibiotics has triggered a shocking rise in immunity to them), our finances (20% of us have nothing saved for retirement), or our jobs (we slash R and D to improve short-term balance sheets and then can’t keep pace with competitors), we avoid mastering the skills to make smart choices about the future. Yet today more than ever, we need to understand how to make such choices–for ourselves, our families, and the world.”

Considering that the book is titled “Optimist” it did not leave me feeling optimistic, as it primarily focuses on a pessimistic view of the future. While I comprehend its message, it fails to inspire motivation for future action.

Despite some historical tales and scientific insights, the book’s structure feels all over the place, leaving you a bit lost amidst the mishmash of stories tied to future thinking. It does have its engaging moments, but there are also some political and dull sections.

The book doesn’t deliver on its promise of offering tips on staying optimistic and thinking ahead, as suggested by its subtitle. Instead, it takes a gloomier approach to what’s coming our way. If you’re looking for strategies or fresh ideas on changing your mindset when dealing with current and future challenges, you won’t find them here.

In a nutshell, “The Optimist’s Telescope” may leave you feeling a bit let down, as it doesn’t provide the practical guidance or inspiration needed to tackle the uncertainties of the future, although a need to discuss the topic. I’d give it a 2.5 star rating.

Review: Donald Roos & Anne de Bruijn – Don’t Buy this Book (S)

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Don’t Buy this Book: Entrepreneurship for Creative People
Donald Roos, Anne de Bruijn

“The sequel to the highly successful Don’t Read This Book – Time Management for Creative People. Like its predecessor, it uses the “To Don’t List” method to help you make the right choices – choices that help you achieve your goals as a creative entrepreneur. Don’t Buy This Book walks through the necessary steps: testing your idea, getting it ready for business, and building on it. It covers everything you need to get started or improve your business as a creative and offers practical exercises to clarify who you want to be as an entrepreneur.”

I should have listened to the cover and not bought the book! It’s a quick read, throws some good ideas your way, but let’s be real, it’s not the be-all and end-all of entrepreneurship guides. This is more like an Instagram-worthy motivational pep talk with quotes galore. They toss around some practical questions to get your brain working, but don’t expect actual answers – it’s more like a brainstorming session without a whiteboard.

Sure, there are snippets about some companies, but they barely scratch the surface. Oh, and they keep bringing up their first book, “Don’t Read This Book,” but don’t stress – you don’t need to read it for this one to make sense. It’s not really a sequel.

If you’re just dipping your toes into the entrepreneurial pool and need a little inspiration, go ahead and give it a shot. But if you’re after the real deal, check out “Twelve and a Half” by Gary Vaynerchuk. My verdict? Two stars – it’s okay, but nothing to write home about.