A breeze read for a quick grasp of the GraphQL API design. The last three chapters, 5, 6, and 7, are implementation-specific. Depending on the tools you choose, you may want to skip those. The first four chapters provide a conceptual understanding of the technology.
I shall recommend this book to newbies to the technology.
The plot is a bit complex for my taste. There is a runaway teenager who sets out in search of his mother and sister. His father used to curse that his son would end up in an incestuous relationship with both and would be the reason for his death. The son ends up meeting an old lady and her assistant in a distant land. With many assumptions and claims, he established them as his lost mother and sister. In the meantime, an old mentally challenged person kills his father and follows the same trail as the young boy. The old man kills the man under the influence of Johny Walker. Not sure if the author means to use the Johny Walker whisky metaphorically. There is also a reference to Col. Sanders of KFC fame working as a pimp. One would wonder if this metaphor for the consumption of junk food affects libido. In the end, the old characters die, the young realize their follies, and some experience near-death experiences and decide to reset their lives.
The book will keep you on it. You may end up thinking about how these parallel threads will merge. There is no clear ending as such. You are left to make your interpretations. Recommended if you have time in reading for pleasure and no knowledge-oriented gains.
By the year of publication, one may say the book has lived its life. I will beg to differ. I think the book has a lifetime shelf life for a management practitioner. Although I read this book as part of a management training coverage almost a decade back, I had not written a review. I will like to rectify that omission. In a few words, Du-Pont analysis of the 60s has a strong influence on this book. That is the reason I like this book most. Product growth is an important aspect, and understanding it through Du-Pont analysis is the easiest. It has numbers and a mechanism to locate the areas of focus from the model. This book gives a simplistic commoner's language without adding the MBA jargon. So anyone can understand the book, while MBAs can see through the theoretical foundations of the book.
It's a breeze to read, and one can complete it within an hour or two. One can bring it to use in one's day-to-day professional life. I recommend everyone to read this book to understand business.
The book is hard to read. The tools described are simple. Yet, identifying and establishing a meaningful association with day-to-day life can be difficult. Some of the tools are relatively easy. For example, sorta. You can colloquially get it, yet some need significant thought-provoking mind exercises. The book is for philosophers. However, it contains little something for biologists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists. The chapter groups are -
Tools for:
The book is for serious readers. But, it's best not to try reading multiple chapters in one go. Try to read a few chapters a day and establish a meaningful connection to how to apply such tools. One should reread the book after a few months for maximum effect.
I recommend the book only for thinkers and readers and not coffee table conversations.
The book does not have a co-author, which means Michael Dell is a profound storyteller. Unlike other CEOs of successful companies, you don't hear much about Dell. FAANG CEOs typically hug all the limelight. However, Michael Dell is remarkable. Precise communicator, to the point delivery of facts, a good bit of details into his likings that made him the successful manager he is, although he does not have a formal college education. He is so precise most chapters in his book are almost twenty pages long. A biography starts from early childhood to successful adulthood in a chronology; this story is more like two parallel stories. One talks about taking Dell company private vis-a-vis the author's childhood and how he set up the company. Towards the end of the first part, both stories merge into the present how he brought Dell Technologies into a publicly-traded organization again, thus providing enhanced stockholder value. He is not the strongest technologist. Yet, he has a deep understanding of the business and conducts himself as a strong manager and visionary. The last chapter was not very interesting; it felt one is leading the regular business press.
Overall the book is a great read and almost unputdownable.
The book is an extension of the commencement speech given by the Admiral. Anecdotes are taken from his experience as a Navy SEAL and delivered as ten short pieces of advice. Those are summarized in the final paragraph of the book.
"Remember… start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better… and maybe the world!"
Overall a breeze read.
I guess the last page of the book speaks it all.
1. Stay active; don’t retire.
2. Take it slow.
3. Don’t fill your stomach.
4. Surround yourself with good friends.
5. Get in shape for your next birthday.
6. Smile.
7. Reconnect with nature.
8. Give thanks.
9. Live in the moment.
10. Follow your ikigai.
The last one is particularly important, Find something that you can do for the rest of your life without feeling bored, limited, being paid, or otherwise. That's your perfect Ikigai.
