Books I value
“He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How” – this quotation of Nietzsche is repeated many times on the pages of this book by professor, psychiatrist, Auschwitz prisoner, Victor E. Frankl. “How to understand your Why to live” is the question that Victor E. Frankl explains how to answer for yourself.
The book and the author is so well known that I doubt I can add anything valuable to what have already been said by many people about this book. One may just check it on Amazon, for example. This is very powerful book that can open new horizons of understanding the meaning of life.
Most management really sucks. And it is not necessary about your boss or about management in your company. It is about management as a generic process: managing your time, people around you, your life in general.
Marc Stevens wrote a book that was an eyeopener for me.
First of all, this book is free. You can read it online here.
I love this book because it contains a quintessence of right/proper/correct/efficient approaches to web development in modern environment.
In brief, it is a collection of small articles about all sides of software development, that can turn your idea of web development upside down. Especially if you are a freelancer or work for a big company (not startup).
It’s really worth reading by everybody. Even if you do not develop web apps.
What is a company? Why most companies live 10 years, but some live 200 years? What can be done to make the company overcome crises, environmental changes, even revolutions?
Arie De Geus asks these questions and tries to answer them. This book gives great insight that company is a living organism, not an artificial structure. It covers the principles that properly applied can change the company and prepare it for long-living. Most of them can be applied to individuals. This book has many philosophical ideas and every conclusion made on its pages is confirmed by facts and practical results.
I was greatly impressed by this book. I understood that management is not only about planning, directing, economy, and psychology, but also about biology and sociology. This book won’t help you create a startup, but will describe you what may be done to keep your business alive. Of course, if you are not building it for sale.
In short: this book can change your life, or at least make you think hard about it.
It’s not just about how to become effective or productive, it’s about how to train your character so that you live in harmony with yourself.
Honestly speaking, I’ve been reading this book for about a year. Making pauses for weeks, returning back and rethinking. It just contains so much information and inspiration that I had to stop and think about all I have read, to adopt it, even to have a rest.
It’s very difficult to apply all the principles described there and I’m sure it’s not even necessary. Everybody takes what he or she need. But once taken, you never regret.
If Built to Last Jim Collins and Jerry Porras tried to answer the question “What makes and keeps the great companies great?” But there was another question, not less interesting: “Can a good company may become great and if yes, then how?”
Collins concludes that it is possible and, comparing 11 companies that made it from good to great, identifies key traits that favoured the process. Making the transition from good to great doesn’t require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. It’s mostly about discipline (in minds, actions and views), commitment, modesty and culture.
This book was very interesting to read, because generally it’s not only about companies. As I have already mentioned, many principles can be applied to other social systems and even to yourself.
Built to Last, first published in 1994, great work by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, who set out to determine what’s special about “visionary”, great companies like Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Marts, 3G, those that have demonstrated longevity and great brand image.
This is a myth-breaking work, disproving generally acknowledged opinions and conventional wisdom. It unveils the principles that made visionary companies successful, kept them on top for long years and still support their prosperity.
I ran into this book in some bookstore which generally sold pulp fiction and I was very surprised. Built to Last brought up my interest in management and social interactions.
Moreover, this is also a great example of correct, thoroughly thought and sound analytical work, perfectly structured where none left unfounded. This may be taken as a standard and tutorial for those who want to write good dissertation or sound scientific work.
Steven McConnell wrote the best book on software construction I ever read – Code Complete. Of course, there are great books on design patterns, software architecture, programming languages and practices, software development processes but this one is special.
Generally, it describes how to write good, reliable, easy to maintain code and how to do it efficiently. But from another perspective, it describes what other programmers value in you as their team member. While reading I often caught myself on a thought: “My god! I’m doing it the same!”, and I was very happy that I came to those ideas by myself and already applied many good practices in my work. Nevertheless, Code Complete contained many stuff that were (at that time) like a revelation to me.
I won’t go into details describing the principles covered in Code Complete, because this is not what is intended by this post. I will only tell that this book can be the first real step into a professional career of software developer.