written on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
It's been a while since my last post. A few things (small) has changed in my life since then, including the type of information I consume which shifted drastically. I am a very technology oriented person and this makes me kinda geeky by definition. All my friends know that I am good with computers and programming. For those who don't know me, do you think it's because I study hard at college? No, it's because in my childhood I was so attracted to computers that video games were not cutting it anymore, so I found programming and I got hooked. I read so many books and articles on programming and that's what made me so good at it. However, now I try to read technical material as little as possible, and it's not because I don't want to grow, it's because I changed my priorities and I have to grow in a different area of interest. My current area of interest is business. Why did I made such a change? Let's go back to one of my dreams first. About four years ago when I entered the university to study computer science, I thought that college is the last step I have to take, and after I graduate great job awaits me at a big company. Does this sound familiar to you? The main reason why I switched from one topic to another is that I don't like following rules, and a big company will have a huge rule book. So, I changed my dream of becoming a good programmer at a big company to becoming a business owner. For this to work I have to totally change my environment. I can't remember what I read but I memorized the following quote: spend one hour every day on a topic of your interest and after five years you will be a master of that specific topic. So, I started with exposing myself to business related information: books, twitter streams, magazines etc. During the summer I read three books whose titles I would like to share with you.
All these books are business books. Let's start with Getting Real and REWORK. REWORK actually is a revamped and extended version of Getting Real. If you are planning to buy one of these get REWORK. In REWORK authors talk about common mistakes that startups do. If you are familiar with 37signals practices you know that they go for simplicity and clarity in both their applications and business environment. If you are like me and know nothing about business you must read it -- it will completely change the way you think about starting a business (especially web/software). I was working for a startup this summer and was able to see some of the mistakes that were covered in REWORK. For example, we had meetings twice a week where we had to update our status because there was some higher power involved in the company. The length of a meeting ranged from one to three hours which is a complete waste of time, and REWORK nicely explains why "meetings are toxic". Read this book! Linchpin is another great book. Its main purpose is to make the reader unleash the artist within. As the author says: we've been brainwashed. We are constantly being brainwashed by our friends, family, school, colleagues who say that we have to follow the rules in order to secure our future. The book tries to engrave the exact opposite on the reader's mind. In order to secure your future you have to become an artist: you have to take an extra step that makes your work flawless or brings joy to people. The reason for taking this step is that it's the only thing that keeps you in your job or makes you a competitor of huge companies who have power to deliver goods fast and at low cost. Linchpin is a very inspirational book. I hope you will be able to read these books. They are really worth your time. I have a few more books on my reading list which I am planning to cover here after I finish reading them. I also found this very interesting site called StartupDigest. If you subscribe you will receive an email once in a while with upcoming startup events in your area. Maybe I will meet you in one of these! :)