Still mopping up some 2021 odds and ends.
- A World Without Email, Cal Newport
- Goal: The Ball Doesn’t Go In By Chance, Ferran Soriano
Well, November turned out to be a dismal completion month. Thought I was going to make a lot of progress during the Thanksgiving holiday, but that turned out to be a dud. With 35 down for the year, I can at least still get to 40 hopefully. More after the break.
The thesis of A World Without Email is that technology in the workplace has encouraged a hyper attentive, hyper responsive, hive mind way of collaboration. We just fell into this mode and it’s counterproductive from a both a productivity perspective and emotional health perspective. Definitely agree with his premise, and being a long time fan, I enjoyed how Newport constructed the argument and actionable steps to remedy the issues.
Goal was interesting because it’s a management book written by an executive, Ferran Soriano, who participated in one of the greatest runs of club football ever. He, along with plenty of others, built FC Barcelona into a legendary side that held every title available to a single club team at one time. This slim tome is fun because all the famous soccer names are just a sidelight to an inside look on how the Barca management team thought and executed during this period to create a global superclub. One formula for building a winning team stuck with me: (commitment * balance)^talent.
Also, as a fan of Manchester City, where Soriano is now, it’s interesting to see some hypothetical concepts floated in Goal put to action at City.