Book Review: Getting it Right the First Time

In one of my ventures we have debated the concept of rolling out a new company aggressively or conservatively, and a thousand other strategic points as one can imagine.  A partner of mine appreciated this book and asked that I read it.

The book focuses on how to bring a company to market in today’s highly competitive market.  The authors had access to hundreds of startups and based their conclusions on these interactions.  The book is extremely fast to read, and buzzing past the regular market rhetoric that is found in such books there are a few gems to be had in this text.  I particularly enjoyed the business value discussions and the thoughts on narrowing down your focus.  A random Do and Don’t section when dealing with analysts is provided too.

Bottom Line:  There are many other books that one should have in their library before this book, but on a quick flight to NYC for a 2.5 hour flight this one book will be a worthwhile read.

Best,
James

Book Review: Microtrends

This book looked interesting given its topic and the praise placed upon it.  It is positioned as a book that highlights small occurrences in society, and their potential impact.  The beginning highlights areas where opportunity exists to improve and in some cases make money on these trends.  The author has a successful background as a pollster, so I felt there would be substance that would be valuable to my life.  Unfortunately after the first 200 pages I found myself victim to political rhetoric, and finding little analysis or expansion on the “so what” to the trends highlighted.  I finished the book by jumping to topics (trends) that looked interesting.  The book is very fast read (less than 4 hours), but compared to the book I read before (Free to Choose) there was a lacking of thought leadership.

Bottom Line:  If you want to hear political rhetoric and be constantly prodded towards a particular political party and more specifically a presidential candidate this book is for you.  If you are able to ignore those additions and looking for a different perspective of what our world will look like in ten years – this may be your book.

James

Book Review: Complexity

Last week I finished Complexity and must say it was quite good. It is considered equal to Chaos, but I do not agree. I loved Chaos due to its attention to detail and careful explanations. Complexity offered very enlightening views, but presented the material in more of a story line that followed the life trials of the actors in the science.

I loved the concept of Emergence, and the idea that “constantly seeking mutual accommodation and self-consistency, groups of agent manage to transcend themselves and become something more.” There are a lot of insights in this simple idea, and some very scary predictions based on this concept, and the Edge of Chaos Theory thoroughly discussed.

Overall, worth the read and something that deserves more than a few flights…

Best,

James DeLuccia

Book Review: IT Governance by Weill & Ross

I recently finished this book and found it quite interesting. The authors, through research that included interviews and surveys, examined how organizations today structure their IT Governance environments. Based on the identified structure they then determined which corresponded to successful organizations. They characterize success based on a couple of metrics and take into account profit and non-for-profit organizations. They do a nice job outlining the mechanisms that are important to practitioners and executives. The true wow factor of the book was the case studies where practical guidance and implementation were broken down.

There is a great deal of cross analysis presented in the book that can be confusing, but readers will find this book very powerful in assessing their current organization’s governance structure. I would definitely recommend this book. For those executives that are low on time I would advise focusing on understanding the mechanisms, the two main charts in the beginning, and the study benchmark best practices highlighted about mid-way. These tools combined with the case studies can rapidly bring up ones understanding. However – It is a quick read, and could easily be knocked out on a round trip flight between SFO and EWR.

A great wrap up of the 10 principles are available here by HBS Working Knowledge

Best,

James

Book Review: READY, FIRE, AIM

I picked this book up to give my system a jolt after pondering the economic challenges and opportunities as defined by AG. I currently have several ventures in play, and all can be defined as Stage One according to Masterson. The book is a quick read and hits home a very simple message – Just Do It. He says it in a number of different approaches and examples, but the end sum total is – Start. I enjoyed the middle to the end of the book the best and thought the beginning was a bit slow.

A very fast read, as he is very entertaining, but one less academic and practical than other books in this space. I would recommend it for most would-be entrepreneurs given its core messaging.

Best,

James

Book Review: AG, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World

I just completed Alan Greenspan’s book and I must say it is a very timely read for anyone in the world that has investments in play, or is curious where the market may head.  He recounts events, such as the Oil shock of the 70s and the events of 1991 and 1999, that are VERY applicable to today’s markets.  I definitely recommend reading this book ASAP.  If you do not have time, or a slow reader like me, I would advise skipping his biography (first half of the book), and jump right in to the second part where he analyzes everything from globalization, education at the primary and secondary levels, carbon credits, central bank coordination of interest rates, and his predictions for the future.

It is especially interesting to read his thoughts on interest rates, real estate, and the market, as he composed those pages prior to the severe collapse of these financial vehicles.

Good read and definitely worth the time,

James DeLuccia