An excerpt from Exponential Organisations… “Size Does Matter, Just not the Way You Think… Ronald Coase won the 1991 Nobel Prize in Economics for his theory that larger companies do better because they aggregate assets under one roof and, as a result, enjoy lower transaction costs. Two decades later, the reach delivered by the information…… Continue reading Smaller Beats Bigger
Category: Books
The problem with experts
An excerpt from Exponential Organisations… The reason “Disruption is the New Norm” is that democratized, accelerating technologies, combined with the power of community, can now extend Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma to an unstoppable force. The old saw that an expert is “somebody who tells you why something cannot be done” is truer than ever before. History…… Continue reading The problem with experts
Sprint by Jake Knapp
Awesome book, buy it. Here’s a taster… It’s a freezing December day, overcast and blustery. Two cofounders lean close to each other and exchange a few words. One week ago, their last prototype failed, but they think they know why. They’ve made a few fixes, and this morning, both men feel confident. After more then…… Continue reading Sprint by Jake Knapp
The smartest book ever?
I’m currently reading Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg. It’s about how individuals and teams can become crazy productive. It’s brilliant because it summarizes all my favorite books, and also because it’s a gripping collection of stories. Here are the chapters i’ve read so far… 1. Motivation. What makes the Marines so effective? Drive by…… Continue reading The smartest book ever?
Making Ideas Stick
From the awesome book “Made To Stick” PRINCIPLE 1: SIMPLICITY How do we find the essential core of our ideas? A successful defense lawyer says, “If you argue ten points, even if each is a good point, when they get back to the jury room they won’t remember any.” To strip an idea down to…… Continue reading Making Ideas Stick
The problem with computers and programmers. A lesson from the first atom bomb.
World War II almost ended differently. Physicists couldn’t help over-engineering the software to develop the atomic bomb. “Well, Mr Frankel, who started the program, began to suffer from the computer disease that anybody working with computers now knows about. It’s a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is you play with…… Continue reading The problem with computers and programmers. A lesson from the first atom bomb.
What Matters Now – Highlights
What Matters Now is Gary Hamel′s impassioned plea to rethink the fundamental assumptions we have about management, the meaning of work, and organizational life. He asks, “What are the fundamental, make–or–break issues that will determine whether your organization thrives or dives in the years ahead?” The answer is found in five paramount issues: values, innovation, adaptability,…… Continue reading What Matters Now – Highlights
Stats: 2sd rule
For data with a normal distribution, 95% of results will be within +-2 standard deviations of the mean. (Taken from the book Super Crunchers)
The Lean Startup – Highlights
A startup isn’t about size, it about extreme uncertainty. Startup = experiment. The measure of innovation is the rate of validated learning. In fact, the best way to achieve sustainable profit is validated learning. Validated learning is THE NUMBER ONE OBJECTIVE. Only borrow big money if it’s the best way to pursue validated learning, otherwise…… Continue reading The Lean Startup – Highlights
The Google Story – Highlights
“The billions of dollars in money and profits that flow from it [Google] are a by-product of the company’s concentrated efforts at innovation, rather than a yardstick used internally to measure success or to determine whether a project is worthy of exploration. Unlike most companies, where executives and product managers try to think of ways…… Continue reading The Google Story – Highlights
The Black Swan – Highlights
The Black Swan is a classic book on risk. “We will see that, contrary to social-science wisdom, almost no discovery, no technologies on note, came from design and planning – they were just Black Swans. The strategy for the discoverers and entrepreneurs is to rely less on top-down planning and focus on maximum tinkering and…… Continue reading The Black Swan – Highlights