Books I Read in 2021
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over who can’t read”- Mark Twain
People have different reasons for reading. For me it is the easiest way to make a better version of myself. Books have opened up a new world for me. So here are the books that I have read in 2021 and the key learnings that I absorbed from them.
Books Read so Far: 3 (Target 20) / Goal accomplished: 15%
My criteria of book selection is : it should help improve myself and also the key learnings that I share with all is of some value. Hope this is a knowledge gathering journey worth taking.
- Atomic Habits (By James Clear)
The most valuable lesson I learnt is it is ok to build good habits by doing 2 mins or even 1 min as long as you keep repeating until it becomes a habit. Results of good or bad habits only show after long years have passed by whether it is reading books or watching TV.
The difference is bad habits have instant rewards whereas good habits have rewards in the long run, which is the very reason it is hard to build good habits and hard to break bad habits, it is the “path of least resistance”.
2. Raise Your Game (by Alan Stein Jr.)
One thing you can always do is prepare yourself, whether going into a project, any meeting, you can always prepare yourself with a goal to be the most knowledgeable guy in the room(attitude matters here).
Openness to learning (Author uses term coachability). Everyone openly shares what they know but very few will do same for what they don’t know. Self awareness leads to humility.
“Control the controllable” You can prepare well, work hard but cant think too much into if you (your idea) will be accepted or rejected.
Self Awareness + Passion+ Discipline+ Coachability = Confidence
3. No Rules Rule (By Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer)
This is a business book on culture of Netflix whose culture is as disruptive & unusual as its evolution story. It believes in : Don’t work to impress your boss instead think how are the decisions & actions you are going to take benefit Netflix.
The culture is based on three pillars : Talent density (hire the best, keep only the best); Candor (transparent culture with a strong feedback mechanism) and Remove Controls . Lead my context and not controls which means you empower people to make big decisions. Practice Feedback : Share your feedback with positive intent and not to vent out your frustration or harm the other person.
Netflix is in the business of creativity where innovation is the lifeline hence people are not judged by hours logged in office instead on the value created.
