
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Ben Horowitz, Kevin Kenerly, et al.
4.7 on Amazon
3 HN comments

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Robert T. Kiyosaki
4.7 on Amazon
3 HN comments

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Gino Wickman
4.6 on Amazon
3 HN comments

Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh, et al.
4.5 on Amazon
3 HN comments

Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
John Warrillow, Erik Synnestvedt, et al.
4.7 on Amazon
3 HN comments

The Professional Chef
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
4.8 on Amazon
3 HN comments

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Patrick Lencioni
4.6 on Amazon
2 HN comments

Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell
Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, et al.
4.6 on Amazon
2 HN comments

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
Scott Adams
4.7 on Amazon
2 HN comments

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness
Morgan Housel, Chris Hill, et al.
4.7 on Amazon
2 HN comments

SPIN Selling
Neil Rackham
4.5 on Amazon
2 HN comments

The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare
Christian Brose and Hachette Books
4.6 on Amazon
2 HN comments

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business
Josh Kaufman and Worldly Wisdom Ventures LLC
4.6 on Amazon
2 HN comments

Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say--and What You Don't
L. David Marquet and Penguin Audio
4.6 on Amazon
2 HN comments

Basic Economics
Thomas Sowell
4.8 on Amazon
2 HN comments
bwh2onMay 30, 2021
wenconJune 25, 2021
* Designing Data Intensive Applications (M Kleppmann): Provided a first-principles approach for thinking about the design of modern large-scale data infrastructure. It's not just about assembling different technologies -- there are principles behind how data moves and transforms that transcend current technology, and DDIA is an articulation of those principles. After reading this, I began to notice general patterns in data infrastructure, which helped me quickly grasp how new technologies worked. (most are variations on the same principles)
* Introduction to Statistical Learning (James et al) and Applied Predictive Modeling (Kuhn et al). These two books gave me a grand sweep of predictive modeling methods pre-deep learning, methods which continue to be useful and applicable to a wider variety of problem contexts than AI/Deep Learning. (neural networks aren't appropriate for huge classes of problems)
* High Output Management (A Grove): oft-recommended book by former Intel CEO Andy Grove on how middle management in large corporations actually works, from promotions to meetings (as a unit of work). This was my guide to interpreting my experiences when I joined a large corporation and boy was it accurate. It gave me a language and a framework for thinking about what was happening around me. I heard this was 1 of 2 books Tobi Luetke read to understand management when he went from being a technical person to CEO of Shopify. (the other book being Cialdini's Influence). Hard Things about Hard Things (B Horowitz) is a different take that is also worth a read to understand the hidden--but intentional--managerial design of a modern tech company. These some of the very few books written by practitioners--rather than management gurus--that I've found to track pretty closely with my own real life experiences.
mrongeonMar 26, 2021
- In Thin Air - About a mountaineering expedition that turned into disaster on Mount Everest.
- Black Hawk Down - The story of hundreds of US special forces trapped in Mogadishu overnight after a mission went completely sideways
- Leadership in Turbulent Times - About different US presidents leading through crisis and how there is no one singular type of leadership
- The Hard Thing about Hard Things - Leading a startup on the verge of failure to an eventual massive acquisition
- The Sledge Patrol - How a small group, outgunned and out manned fought back Nazi invaders in Greenland