Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni (2007)

Another great book by Patrick Lencioni!  Short, direct, clear, and actionable.  I have added all three simple methods to my daily work:  Recognition for everyone; constant updates of our team's impact and the relevance of our work for the company, customers, and making the world a better place.  And, perhaps the hardest in a big tech company, is asking everyone to help define their own, individual daily, on-going success measures.  Fantastic. 5/5 Stars.

The Six types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni (2022)

I am still catching up on all the Lencioni books.  This one popped up in my queue.  I did not like it as much as most of his books.  He is over-selling this idea and the book reads like an over-hyped sales pitch.  It is obvious to most of us that we should do what we love, especially within our chosen profession.  It is somewhat less obvious, but easily understood that we should seek out others who are talented, passionate, and competent at areas our "day job" work requires so that the team we form is optimized for performing the entire mission and attaining the outcomes required.  And there is likely some strong academic literature that verifies this common sense.  But Lencioni's claims and hyperbole detract from his ideas. This is a good, short story / idea but among the worst I have read by Lencioni. 3/5 Stars.

The Motive by Patrick Lencioni (2020)

Short, sharp, insightful, valuable.  I am catching up on the Lencioni books I should have read a while ago. 5/5 Stars.

Three Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni (2008)

Our family is no longer frantic; this book would have been fantastic during the decades our family was frantic. Interestingly, the business concepts behind their application to families shines through, making the book worthwhile, so I am glad I did (eventually) read it.  I still have a bunch more Lencioni books to read. 4/5 Stars.

Silos, Politics, & Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni (2006)

It's another interesting story; however the "model" (prescriptive methods of overcoming the problems), is not (at all) appropriate to my own situation; so I was disappointed. 3/5 Stars.

The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

Fantastic book. Prescriptive and useful. Highly recommended for senior leaders in any organization. 4/5 Stars.

Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni (2010)

In many high-pressure work situations it is very hard to keep centered, thoughtful, and "mindful." We can all use the ideas and checklist from this story about consulting companies.  The key theme of vulnerability generalizes to being genuine in high pressure business settings. Clients and customers appreciate partners who are genuinely interested in customer success. 4/5 Stars.

Books Mitch enjoyed in 2023

 

I value, cherish, and enjoy learning, scholarship, and reading. About half of what I read is for entertainment.  Like everyone else, I suffer from 150 cognitive biases, including "curse of knowledge bias," and "false consensus bias."  As a result, I unconsciously assume others have read as much as I have, that they remember everything they have read, and that they also enjoy reading.

In 2023 I read 170 books in five genres.  Here are some recommendations in no particular order: 

Fiction

Everyone loves Murderbot.  This new installment is extremely well-crafted. I predict it will win awards (Hugo, Locus).

Here is a 1994 Stephenson book that I had not read; it holds up very well 20 years later.  If you enjoy Neal Stephenson's books, go back and look for his earlier works.

This series is hilarious, silly, mindless madcap entertainment.

Here is a crypto-bro asteroid mining fantasy with some interesting science and plot points.

Juli Zeh is currently my favorite writer.  I read 5 of her books this year;  I highly recommend most of her books if you read German.

Non-Fiction

Many people have spoken to me about the topics covered in this book and why we should all read and discuss how it applies to our work. The book really is as fantastic as everyone said.   Now I understand all those commit messages and code comments such as "DDIA page 132." I cannot recommend this book enough. The book exceeded my high expectations.

In 2023 I read seven Patrick Lencioni books.  At least two of them have helped my career and the engagement of my teams.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: This collection of journal entries is short, approachable, and interesting.

This book is interesting for people who are transitioning through the journeyman years of their careers towards mastery, or for people entering middle age.  The data and theories are well-presented despite the weak writing.

After a gap of 10 years, I read some Malcolm Gladwell books this year.  Most of them were not good but I liked this one.  As usual, Gladwell's stories are very entertaining; readers love the stories and scientists dislike the presentation of the science.