Super Pumped by Mike Isaac - An enjoyable book that had a similar feel to Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. If you want a good primer on the business that Uber has participated in over the years then this is not a bad start, although clearly it is just one side of the story. Overall, I think this book highlighted the poor leadership that Travis had at Uber. The message “we need to win at all costs” is a dangerous message to be coming from leadership- it pushes people to deceive lie and cheat. Yes, you need that ‘obsessive technologist’ attitude to get things done at pace but is the eagerness, stubbornness and hustle mantra… a la ‘SuperPumped’ psyche the right mindset for a company at this size and scale. Perhaps the innovators dilemma/solution provides an alternative sustainable approach to progress. 7/10
Atomic Habits by James Clear – Amazing book that aligns with many of the ideas and philosophies I have about life. All habits lag in time be it in relation to wealth, health, knowledge. The most effective way to change your habits is not to focus on what you want to achieve but on who you want to become – “I am someone that does…” and the discipline/environment to sustain it. The first rule of compounding is to never interrupt it unnecessarily- stick to a habit even if you can’t do it as well as you like to. Your genes play a significant role in what you will enjoy and therefore, what you will be good at. 9/10
Power: why some have it and others don’t by Jeffrey Pfeffer – Pfeffer book is engaging and important for anyone in an organisational setting where a hierarchical system is present (hint: it’s pretty much all of them). From not being afraid to break current systems to bringing people together and taking control of resource- power is intrinsically linked to the movements of a company. The book is thorough and details not just why some people have power but how people sustain it, why they lose it and why it is hard to give up. His class at Stanford is renowned in its popularity amongst MBA candidates and I’m not surprised. 8/10