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BookListPageThis is a place to list your favorite books related in some way, perhaps obscure, to AYE. I like JimBullock's categorizations:
I've added a summary + additions: BooksOnPersonalSkills
Submitted by TomStokes - I often feel more comfortable with a subject when I have a sense of its history. Taylorism has a bad name, but it remains at the center of what most of us do. I believe the book provides a model of what we can expect in terms of real change in Software and Hi Tech Development. See also ExtremeProgramming for books related to XP and Agile Methods. (13.) The challenge is to pick only one book. Here's one I refer to a lot: The Art of Focused Conversation edited by R. Brian Stanfield. Focused conversation asks questions in a particular order to help smooth out the flow of ideas in one-on-one and group conversations. Start with data; then assiociation/meaning and emotional respones; look at the interplay between data and response to understand the significance to the current situaion; form an opinion or make a decision, take action. EstherDerby 02/26/02 (14.) So hard to pick just one, and Keith has blocked-out all the XP literature, so I opt for: Getting It Done - How to Lead When You're NOT in Charge by Roger Fisher & Alan Sharp. [Fisher is co-author of "Getting to YES" the win-win negotiation book] This is the essence of working today - influence is the best policy, and many in software need to understand the logic of influence. Your authority rarely covers all the alternatives you need or could use, so influence is an essential arrow in anyone's quiver. Very persuasive on why you should prefer to use influence over authority - internalizes the goal. BobLee 02/26/02 I'm squeezing this book next to Bob's recommendation since it seems to be similar: Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge , by Geoffrey Bellman. I use this in workshops on practicing the art of influence (along with Jerry's Secrets and Genie LaBorde's Influencing With Integrity). I thought it fit well with Satir models and risk assessment as another approach to raising awareness and dealing with situations in a congruent way. - BeckyWinant 3/3/02 OK, I give up on the "just one" rule too! (15.) First, Break All The Rules - What the world's greatest managers do differently by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman. Why you should concentrate on maximizing your natural strengths rather than trying to improve your weaknesses. Likewise with subordinates. (16.) Loyalty Rules! - How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships by Frederick Reichheld. Sound economic reasoning for "taking the high road". BobLee 3/3/02 Looking for books on giving feedback in a work context... I've got "What did you say?" (Weinberg, Seashore and Seashore). It's excellent,I highly recommend it. I'm curious about what else is out there that's sensible and helpful. EstherDerby 030202 See Getting It Done!above. [more on FeedBackTopic page] BobLee 3/3/02 It's not a book on feedback in a work context ... but I just finished The Dance of Connection by Harriet Lerner. I enjoyed and learned (or re-inforced learnings). Another book I learned alot from recently is Bernard Mayer's The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution Oh, and I fail the challenge of picking only one book. DonGray 0303002 I mentioned it on another thread, so I should put it here: Slack, by Tom deMarco. And you should put it on your shelf - after reading it, of course. - JerryWeinberg 03/03/02 I just started Jim & Michele McCarthy's Software For Your Head. To say that they're eccentric would put it mildly, see www.mccarthy-tech.com for my vote as least user-friendly web site format. However, they have some provocative ideas on expediting team behavior. Specifically, attacking headgap: the psychological distance between people working together. I don't care for their taste in art, but the ideas seem well researched and explained. They even have a "GNU Free License" Core Protocols PDF download on the site - the 21 core "protocols" for engaging teamswork. They analyze team interactions in terms of Patterns, Anti-Patterns, Definitions and Protocols. Patterns & Anti-Patterns are used pretty much as in the Design Patterns sense. Definitions are deemed necessary to make their meanings precise on overloaded words. Protocols are pretty much Miss Manners for teams. Funky reading, but fun.
Agree. It's a tough read. I'm reserving judgement until I get through the rest. The formatting / cross-talk / footnoting make it difficult for me to stay in it. I'm going to try some experiments with my team, in playground mode. One of us will observe. - BobLee 2002.04.10 I think Software For Your Head, based on workshops, defines the best way to run a workshop, while its intention was to find the best way to run a project. I can't realistically see many teams adopting its practices. KeithRay 2002.04.10 Probably not workshops, either. I get the impression they're playing "how smart we are." And maybe "how smart you aren't." Not good for workshops, nor for projects. - JerryWeinberg 2002.04.11 Some of the touchy-feely stuff in Software For Your Head sounds a lot like descriptions of TemperatureReadings. In fact, I'm surprised that TemperatureReadings isn't a pattern or protocol documented in that book. The weird thing is, the "check in" protocol / pattern in that book keeps resonating in my head. Check In is intended as a way for everyone on the team to be fully present. However, Check Out would have to allowed, and I'm not sure my office would approve of me or someone on my team checking out for any length of time. I do agree the book needs a better introduction. It starts out talking about the history of The Protocols without ever defining them. And then starts using "pattern" language to describe the protocols. And the Gnu description of the Core Protocols at the end of book -- well, I couldn't finish reading it, and in my lifetime, I've only not finished reading about 4 books out of all the ones I've started. KeithRay 2002.04.19 Oh my! I checked out www.mccarthy-tech.com. Scary. I can't recall ever reading biographies where the authors displayed such complete satisfaction with themselves. Their approach doesn't fit for me. Bob hit it right -- saying this site is eccentric is an understatement. SteveSmith 2002.04.19 Oh my! Oh my! The McCarthy site must be intended for young folk. The print is way to small for me to read, even with my glasses! Perhaps this is so the seasoned crowd is deterred from reading and debunking! EstherDerby 042002 It's not just the size, but the awful patterned & colored background and variable contrast of the text. Good model for AYE to avoid!
The webmaster, Dan McCarthy [a little nepotism demo?] contacted me and said the site is being redesigned. I sent them a link to Don Norman / Jakob Neilson for human [humane!] factors in web page design. A learning opportunity, for sure. If you haven't viewed it, I recommend looking at the Isys Information Architects Interface Hall of Shame. If you can scroll through that without cramps from giggling, you need help. BobLee 2002.04.20 I think you're missing the point, and Esther is close. I first noticed this phenomenon in Wired magazine - the typography, background, etc. is designed so that older (and possibly wiser) people will not read it. This gives you a fresh start, making all your ideas seem incontestibly new, since all who might contest them cannot and/or will not read them. JerryWeinberg 02.04.20 I'm not certain that it's that black-and-white. The "under-40 fonts" thing is a comfort / usability experience. I've worked with lots of 20- and 30-somethings who could squeeze a lot more context onto a given screen than I could. All things being equal, it's much more efficient seeing more context (Help file pages, sections of code, names introduced in articles...) than scrolling. I don't think that the problem is imaginable when your eyes aren't difficult yet. Perhaps a "fuzzy-view" adapter could give page developers and help file authors some look & feel analogy. The other issue is that content developers tend to have massively wide screens. (Jealousy!!!) I'm still hoping Bruce Tognazzini's 5-foot by 3-foot virtual desktop monitor becomes economic real soon now. See: http://www.asktog.com/starfire/starfireHome.html BobLee 2002.04.21 Oh. my. god. I just skimmed the Michele bio on the McCarthy site (aren't accessibility options fine?) I can only hope that Ms. McCarthy has her tongue firmly in her cheek. EstherDerby 042020 To me, her tongue seems to be sticking out at the reader. SteveSmith 2002.04.21 I honestly believe she's really saying, "I'm bad! I'm bad!" As least the recently fashionable deep irony is so deep that I can't detect it. MikeMelendez 2002.04.22 (17?) Orbiting The Giant Hairball , Gordon Mac Kenzie. Gordon's journey through the "hairball" of a corporation and certainly a journey of personal effectiveness. One of many good ideas is "The Pyramid and the plum tree". He suggests the plum tree as a better metaphor for organizations: lots of fruit at the top. Plus, he adds a pyramid is a tomb, while a plum tree is a living organism. Gotta love it.- BeckyWinant 4-23-2002 Wayne Strider's Powerful Project Leadership was quite good. I've read it once, and plan to read it again, and plan to begin applying its lessons. KeithRay 2002.06.06 I recently read Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most and found it useful. Its written by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, who are connected with the Harvard Negotiation Project. EstherDerby 060702 Esther, I also tried to read Difficult Conversations, and am still not done. I can't figure out what's bothering me about the book, although I perceive some placating in the writing. Since placating is not my preferred incongruent stance (no, I go to either blaming or superreasonable in the blink of an eye), I found the book difficult to read. I was able to use some of the information in interactions with my kids. JohannaRothman 2002.06.10. I found Jim Highsmith's Agile Software Development Ecosystems to be an easier read than his first book Adaptive Software Development -- James H. and Jim H. seem to be the same person, but amazon doesn't act like that's the case. This one is an overview of the Agile methods and people behind them -- Scrum, DynamicSystemsDevelopmentMethod, CrystalClear, FeatureDrivenDevelopment, LeanDevelopment, ExtremeProgramming, Adaptive Software Development, Kent Beck, Alistair Cockburn, Ken Schwaber, Martin Fowler, Ward Cunningham, himself, Bob Charette -- and descriptions of some projects each method was used on. None of the method descriptions are in-depth enough to actually do them, but they provide enough information to point you into a direction for further investigation. There is some discussion about Agile principles and values, and Agile methods versus non-Agile methods and Company Culture and Market Style, and some discussion on "how to make your own agile methodology" (or how to adapt one to your company's requirements). I recommend it. KeithRay 2002.06.19 I've gotten a lot of mileage (and hope to get more) out of David Allen's . Allen provides a novel framework for dealing with all of the "stuff" that comes at us in frequent, high-velocity bursts. I feel less out-of-control when I stick with his system. The list of books here contains many books which were written with similar audiences in mind. What about listing books which are of relevance to AYE but are far from the traditional "change agent books". I vote for The Nanny Diaries: A Novel KenEstes 2002.06.29
I really like this idea, Ken. I'll have to think some about it. I'll also have to think about how you got the type so small on your references. (I can read it, though, so I'm proud of my old eyes. Let me try it: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Of great relevance to all of us. I used to use Martin Gardner's annotated version (to which I'd contributed a few notes) as my text in a software development course at IBM, in the early 1960's. - JerryWeinberg 2002.06.29 Not a book but interesting reading. In Dwayne Philips book "The Software Project Managers Handbook" he says: Mr. Zahaniser is the most under-rated thinker in the software community. He has created several outstanding low-tech techniques that help people produce software quickly...Read anything he writes and try to attend his talks. I have just found that the hard to find Zahaniser Articles are available on the web, from his retirement home in Belize. Please help yourself. http://www.belizenorth.com/teamworx.htm --KenEstes 2002.10.24 I am reading a bit of humor at the moment. I find it "laugh out loud funny", I have had to stop reading it several times so that I can catch my breath. My stomach hurts from reading it. Anyway it may not be everyones cup of tea, so first read the website and if you like his writing, try the book which is fiction along the same lines. Things My Girlfriend and I have Argued About KenEstes 2003.04.25 I end up reaching for these a lot:
I end up giving away these a lot:
I end up using what I gathered from these even though I don't reach for them much, or give them away much:
Quality Software Management, all four volumes - JerryWeinberg
I end up going here and getting spun up about all the great stuff I ought to be reading: -- JimBullock, 2003.04.25 (List Mods: 2003.05.31) Has everyone seen the articles by Kruger and Dunning about unconscious incompetence? The article is hard to read and not very practicle but the result is really fascinating and would be of wide interest to this group. Abstract People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities Here is an overview of the research http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/overestimate.html Here is the article
http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html
KenEstes 2003.04.28 Here are some short articles by "Jared Diamond", not only is he the author of "Guns Germs and Steel" but he also wrote my favorite article in the PSL readings hand out. Much of this was discussed in GG&S but the context of these articles is more relevant to this conference. Try clicking on : "How to Get Rich" [6.7.99] "Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions?" [4.29.03]
KenEstes 2003.04.29 Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein "The Tale of the Man Who Was too Lazy to Fail" in the book Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein My Early Life by Winston Churchill The Realm of Algebra by Isaac Asimov The Realm of Algebra finally convinced me that (-1)(-1) = 1! That started me up in mathematics for which I am forever grateful. Double Star was the first time I was aware that one's life could transform. I find it interesting that it was a work of fiction that did it. Harry S Truman's Memoirs show this too. "The Tale of the Man Who Was too Lazy to Fail" was the first time I saw that one can live to one's own spirit. Again I find it interesting that it was a work of fiction that first showed me this. My Early Life--I fell in love with Churchill's true introduction to English because he was "too dumb" for Latin or Greek. He had two years of grammar. He said that was one of the greatest gifts he was given. CharlesAdams 2003.05.09 Everything published by DorsetHouse PhilStubbington 2003.09.29 It should be mentioned that DorsetHouse has a book table at AYE every year Ken Estes 2003.09.29 Here is an interesting article and a small quote from it. How scientists proved that the pain of rejection is all too real Ian Sample, science correspondent > The volunteers who felt most put out by the snub showed the > "The response to this social exclusion was remarkably similar KenEstes 2003.10.11 How about books to avoid leaving somewhere that your boss might find them? I would nominate:- When Smart People Work For Dumb Bosses: How to survive in a crazy and dysfunctional workplace There is another book in a similar vein, I'll dig out the title if people are interested? PhilStubbington 2003.10.23 I have been reading a lot of Ken Wilber's books lately. Has anyone in the AYE community read any of his work? I think his Integral Theory has enormous applications and is very relevant to being more effective in work and in life. I would highly recommend:
The titles are a little ambitious and arrogant, but don't let that turn you off. He is truly amazing in his ability to distill and synthesize various concepts, philosophies and world views. EricBabinet 2004.02.11 JeffMcKenna mentioned the Theory of Everything last fall, so it's sitting in my "to read" pile. I'll bump it up a couple of books closer to the top. Thank you. DonGray 2004.02.17 A Global Survey of Software Development Practices. MIT KenEstes 2004.04.30 I would like to add everything written by VirginiaSatir - a journey I've only recently started on, but since attending a session by JeanMcLendon at AYE last year, it's a journey that I'm looking forward to immensely. PhilStubbington 2004.05.02 I have been reading two books of interest to the AYE crowd. The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World By Christopher Duncan A nice book about the politics of being a programmer,and what one can do to be more effective in "real" organizations. It fits very nicely with the AYE approach. Domain Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software by Eric Evans This is a book about modeling business rules but includes many AYE issues, using the model to create a common language and culture, getting a sudden flash of insight which allows you to radically resign the model and deepen your understanding, keeping the model and the code in sync. KenEstes 2004.11.08 The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. She is a family therapist and painter, he is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a music professor. I bought this book two days ago after hearing Benjamin Zander speak to a crowd of over 2,000 people and make an experiental session of it. He spoke of his personal passion for drawing people into the experience of music, the possibility of making music and the possibility of creating possibilities. Conversing with a woman in the first row he discovered it was her birthday. He had the entire room sing Happy Birthday to her. What a present!! By the end of the session he encouraged us all to sing Ode to Joy and happened to have handed out the German words but phonetically spelled (for English speakers). A grand finale. The book has many of the stories I heard him tell and all of the philosophy. - BeckyWinant 6.9.06 Here is an interesting article in the news today
The Expert Mind Studies of the mental processes of chess grandmasters have revealed clues to how people become experts in other fields as well By Philip E. Ross
"Teachers in sports, music, and other fields tend to believe that talent matters and that they know it when they see it. In fact, they appear to be confusing ability with precocity. There is usually no way to tell, from a recital alone, whether a young violinist's extraordinary performance stems from innate ability or from years of Suzuki-style training. The preponderance of psychological evidence indicates that experts are made, not born. In fact, it takes approximately a decade of heavy labor to master any field. Even child prodigies, such as Gauss in mathematics, Mozart in music, and Bobby Fischer in chess, must have made an equivalent effort, perhaps by starting earlier and working harder than others. It is no coincidence that the incidence of chess prodigies multiplied after L�szl� Polg�r published a book on chess education. The number of musical prodigies underwent a similar increase after Mozart's father did the equivalent two centuries earlier." And here's a couple of books on the topic: Bereiter, Carl, and Marlene Scardamalia. Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry into the Nature and Implications of Expertise. Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 1993. Ericsson, K. A., and J. Smith, eds. Toward a General Theory of Expertise: Prospects and Limits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. - JerryWeinberg 2006.08.16 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv This page would have improved utility if it were CoherentlyRewritten. An unsupported claim by DickKarpinski, Nitpicker. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Dick, I agree with you wholeheartedly, about this and several other pages. I would point out that any AYEr who wishes can rewrite any page, coherently or not. Any volunteers? - JerryWeinberg 2006.08.17
Updated: Thursday, August 17, 2006 |
