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Latest Read: Radical Focus

Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results by Christina Wodtke. After reading John Doerr’s Measure What Matters it was a short trip to discover Christina’s book as a worthy follow-up.

Radical Focus

Christina certainly established herself in Silicon Valley. Leadership roles at LinkedIn, Myspace and most recently Zynga.com serve her key message why OKRs are essential and not just limited to startups.

Further, her insights consulting with Yahoo, Hot Studio, and The New York Times solidify her experience. Today Christina teaches at Stanford.

Listening to Atruity Consultancy’s OKRs Q&A Podcast and following single episode OKR podcasts, it is clear Radical Focus holds impactful messages. It is and yet is delivered in a very unique way.

Above all, in the growing pandemic how can organizations inspire diverse teams to address unplanned challenges while collaborating remotely OKRs provide a framework for regular check-ins, reviewing weekly key results, adjust to setbacks and unplanned failures, while striving amid COVID to create success.

TeaBee

Likewise, Radical Focus is an actionable business book in the form of a fable as stated up front by Christina. To clarify, I had to stop myself from Googling their startup name. The narrative is a fictional case study of two recent MBA grads Hanna and Jack, who are stumbling in their newly launched startup. Likewise after hard lessons, they learn the practical steps they need to take to do what must be done.

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Latest Read: Why Nations Fail

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Accordingly, Why Nations Fail is a true tour de force of economic history. Daron is professor of economics at MIT. James taught at Harvard University. Today James is now professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago.

why nations fail

Above all, Why Nations Fail is a compelling book based upon an amazing amount of economic research. Nations have evolve into one of two basic forms of economic and political structure.

Firstly, they author extractive institutions. These countries hold concentrated power by a powerful dictator. The elites supporting the dictator are of course also wealthy compared to the rest of the citizens. However, there is little if any technological progress.

Secondly, Acemoglu and Robinson define inclusive institutions: “those that allow and encourage participation by the great mass of people in economic activities that make best use of their talents and skills, and that enable individuals to make the choices they wish.”

Moreover I was impressed by Chapter 6: Drifting Apart, How Venice became a Museum. Certainly Venice’s birth as an economic hub in 810AD was a remarkable result of Charlemagne opening the city to trade. In addition, the rise of the Ducal Council helped solidify Venice’s mark. However, the Venetian fall beginning in 1324 was a result of high taxes placed upon traders. Amazing story indeed.

Inclusive economic institutions also pave the way for two other engines of prosperity: technology and education.

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At the same time Why Nations Fail serves to fully understand the impact of slavery. Throughout history the production of material that drove economies was in due to slavery. This is focused within chapter 9: Reversing Development and chapter 12: The Vicious Circle which addresses modern slavery across America.

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Latest Read: Smarter Faster Better

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. Certainly after reading his previous book The Power of Habit I was really looking forward to this book exploring the science of productivity.

Smarter Faster Better

Above all the ideas outline managing ‘how’ you think rather than ‘what’ you think may actually transform your life. Charles provides insights to well told stories. Certainly while a story may be well known to others, your interpretation will provide insights for you toact upon.

Firstly, within Chapter 1 – Motivation: Reimagining Boot Camp, Nursing Home Rebellions, and the Locus of Control. These stories reveal how to adopt a growth mindset. At the same time, his story of Viola and Robert Philippe reveal a view of medical diagnosis. You may be able to leverage the Philippe’s story to reflect upon family or friends similarly impacted. This lesson can assist you in supporting a loved one’s long road to recovery.

Secondly, Chapter 2 – Teams: Psychological Safety at Google and Saturday Night Live. While too many books have been written about Google, looking at how Lorne Michaels at just 36 years of age would begin shaping an American cultural institution is widely appealing. Between Morgan Freeman and Larry David auditioning for SNL’s first season, many will easily understand how bringing teams together can benefit challenges at work, supporting your children’s extra school activities, or leading a volunteer group. Above all, Work Rules by Lazlo Bock would serve you best to understand how Google manages teams.

Chapter 3 – Focus: Cognitive Tunneling, Air France Flight 447, and the Power of Mental Models. Charles is clearly an excellent writer. Certainly his detailed description of Flight 447 which literally fell into the Atlantic ocean in 2009 teaches us to no blindly trust technology.

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Latest Read: Zero to One

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel. The best way to describe this book? Thiel addresses in the opening pages the book is a series of college lecture notes. Likewise, this book is a rather short 195 pages.

The ideas fall into a few camps. Firstly, in the startup view, do everything you can get away with focusing on a small market solution.

Secondly, Peter’s larger message is avoiding a monopoly. This seems to be quite a stretch as technology has reached a rather mature market versus looking at monopolies at the turn of the century. Apples to oranges by comparison.

Above all, Thiel’s key insight for startups to succeed: a product’s improvement must rise by a factor of 10 or it will not succeed.

Certainly Peter’s suggestion the next Larry or Sergey won’t make a search engine is valid. Google has that monopoly position he alludes to throughout. And the same is true for the next Bill Gates and Zuckerberg. This position is somewhat weak.

Certainly it is challenging to understand a billionaire providing a book with general insights, but not much more. However, Peter gently reminds us how monopolies can acquire a lead:

“Tesla secured a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. A half-billion-dollar subsidy was unthinkable in the mid-2000s. It’s unthinkable today. There was only one moment where that was possible, and Tesla played it perfectly.”

Above all, it’s nice to get ahead of the competition with tax dollars paving the way for crucial development efforts. In other words, Germany and China along with Austin Texas have been providing tax free offers to Tesla. Certainly this moves into monopoly. Meanwhile, Musk revealed how close Tesla was from filing bankruptcy from 2017 to 2019.

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Latest Read: The Catalyst

The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger. Jonah is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Catalysts are agents for change and the goal for this book. Above all, to change the mind of an individual even on the most contentious issues is proving even more challenging during a pandemic.

The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind

While not having read Jonah’s other books (yet) his efforts simply introduce new approaches. Jonah’s approach has a more personal view.

In contrast, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg is a more mathematical approach to change. So, I believe both work across unique audiences. Certainly, there is no one size fits all solution today as the power of an AI driven internet customizes the delivery of news and information.

Be a catalyst for change. Many times we face challenges that require change. Further, there are a series of books about this and their recommendations to make change run far and wide.

Subsequently, Jonah makes a valid effort to find meaningful ways to make that change. He outlines ideas that should appeal to anyone who finds themselves stuck in a rut and finding no success. Change is hard.

Catalyst has an approach that certainly reminds me of Switch by Dan and Chip Heath. Some lessons reveal his own resistance to change as illustrated in his story about upgrading his mobile phone. But it crossed my mind that this story is not about being a catalyst, but rather procrastinating. It is in this story that recalling the lessons of Wait by Frank Partnoy.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world

Gandhi

For example, the Catalyst lesson of a rabbi helping a member of the Nebraska KKK to renounce an extremist past is by no doubt a powerful lesson that a catalyst can face initial overwhelming odds yet overtime watch a transformational moment develop.

On the other hand, it is possible that Grit by Angela Duckworth or even Drive by Daniel Pink is what is really needed today to be an effective catalyst for change.

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