Well, it looks like I need to really step it up in order to meet my 2018 goal. According to GoodReads, I am 5 books behind my pace. August was not as successful as I had hoped. I still need to read the rest of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and I must now also finish Planning Programs for Adult Learners. Life definitely got in the way. I need to finish those two books and work through my September list. How are you doing with your reading? Come and check out my reading list and read along with me.
I have quite a varied list for September. One book I have selected is in support of a course I am teaching. Another book was selected for me, I was asked to review a book. The other books are related to self-improvement and another that focuses on Major Dick Winters from the Band of Brothers.
Here is what is on my reading list for September 2018:
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
In one of the classes I am teaching, I will be introducing them to the idea of Agile programming and scrum. I thought this book will help me better explain some concepts..
Via Amazon:
For those who believe that there must be a more agile and efficient way for people to get things done, here is a brilliantly discursive, thought-provoking book about the leadership and management process that is changing the way we live.
In the future, historians may look back on human progress and draw a sharp line designating “before Scrum” and “after Scrum.” Scrum is that ground-breaking. It already drives most of the world’s top technology companies. And now it’s starting to spread to every domain where leaders wrestle with complex projects.
If you’ve ever been startled by how fast the world is changing, Scrum is one of the reasons why. Productivity gains of as much as 1200% have been recorded, and there’s no more lucid – or compelling – explainer of Scrum and its bright promise than Jeff Sutherland, the man who put together the first Scrum team more than twenty years ago.
The thorny problem Jeff began tackling back then boils down to this: people are spectacularly bad at doing things with agility and efficiency. Best laid plans go up in smoke. Teams often work at cross purposes to each other. And when the pressure rises, unhappiness soars. Drawing on his experience as a West Point-educated fighter pilot, biometrics expert, early innovator of ATM technology, and V.P. of engineering or CTO at eleven different technology companies, Jeff began challenging those dysfunctional realities, looking for solutions that would have global impact.
In this book you’ll journey to Scrum’s front lines where Jeff’s system of deep accountability, team interaction, and constant iterative improvement is, among other feats, bringing the FBI into the 21st century, perfecting the design of an affordable 140 mile per hour/100 mile per gallon car, helping NPR report fast-moving action in the Middle East, changing the way pharmacists interact with patients, reducing poverty in the Third World, and even helping people plan their weddings and accomplish weekend chores.
Woven with insights from martial arts, judicial decision making, advanced aerial combat, robotics, and many other disciplines, Scrum is consistently riveting. But the most important reason to read this book is that it may just help you achieve what others consider unachievable – whether it be inventing a trailblazing technology, devising a new system of education, pioneering a way to feed the hungry, or, closer to home, a building a foundation for your family to thrive and prosper.
Clone Yourself: How to Overcome Bottleneck Leadership in 90 Days and Reclaim Your Freedom
I am not exactly sure where I had heard about the book. I am certain it was while listening to a podcast. Naturally, I thought it was interesting enough to pick it up. I will let you know what I think.
Via Amazon:
Running a business should be exciting and rewarding, not a burden. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of trying to do everything themselves and become the bottleneck of their company.
Do questions, decisions and problems always funnel their way back to you? Are you struggling to build a high-performance team and get everything done on time? Does it feel like you’re burning the candle at both ends and not living the life you’ve envisioned?
Clone Yourself is a conversational, step-by-step guide to help busy entrepreneurs find, develop and entrust new leadership inside their organization. With a protégé at the helm who can lead your team and run your business exactly as you would, you will finally have the freedom to work on what you want, when you want, from wherever you want.
Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led The Band of Brothers
Well, I’m getting to the end of my collection of Band of Brothers books. This book focuses on Major Dick Winters, one of the commanders of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Infantry Division. This is an opportunity to examine this leader from the perspectives of others.
Via Amazon:
In every band of brothers, there is always one who looks out for the others.
They were Easy Company, 101st Army Airborne—the World War II fighting unit legendary for their bravery against nearly insurmountable odds and their loyalty to one another in the face of death. Every soldier in this band of brothers looked to one man for leadership, devotion to duty, and the embodiment of courage: Major Dick Winters.
This is the riveting story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary hero. After he enlisted in the army’s arduous new Airborne division, Winters’s natural combat leadership helped him rise through the ranks, but he was never far from his men. Decades later, Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers made him famous around the world.
Full of never-before-published photographs, interviews, and Winters’s candid insights, Biggest Brother is the fascinating, inspirational story of a man who became a soldier, a leader, and a living testament to the valor of the human spirit—and of America.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The Crowd
I was asked to do a review on this book. It relates to marketing, so I am definitely interested.
Via Amazon:
To build a successful business, you need to stop doing random acts of marketing and start following a reliable plan for rapid business growth. Traditionally, creating a marketing plan has been a difficult and time-consuming process, which is why it often doesn’t get done.
In The 1-Page Marketing Plan, serial entrepreneur and rebellious marketer Allan Dib reveals a marketing implementation breakthrough that makes creating a marketing plan simple and fast. It’s literally a single page, divided up into nine squares. With it you’ll be able to map out your own sophisticated marketing plan and go from zero to marketing hero.
Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced entrepreneur, The 1-Page Marketing Plan is the easiest and fastest way to create a marketing plan that will propel your business growth.
That’s it for this month — I want to hear what good books YOU’VE read lately! Please share in the comments below.
I encourage you to check out these reading lists in case you missed them: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August. There was a lot of good reading.
My Reviews for This Reading List
- Book Review: The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out From the Crowd
- Book Review: Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
- Book Review: Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers
- Book Review: Clone Yourself: How to Overcome Bottleneck Leadership in 90 Days and Reclaim Your Freedom
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