Month: January 2022

Coach Parin (Mehta)

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

There was a time back in my Spuul days where I got a call from a guy at Google who wanted to help us with our ad stack. We were a small company and usually Google wouldn’t return our calls or spend much time with us. However, Parin somehow come across our site and offered to help. And help us he did.

What started then was a great relationship that has lasted across many of my gigs as I am always bugging Parin for advice. We usually meet for a coffee, a bagel or we go for a walk. I have probably been getting “coached” without realising it and it has become an important method for me to bounce ideas or just admit where I am stuck and ask for help.

But hey – for a while now Parin has also been running a newsletter with weekly coaching questions that prompt a bit of self-reflection. During my peak COVID low points while working at home and just overthinking everything – his weekly emails and prompts have been a nice way to get back on track.

https://coachparin.substack.com

Give it a whirl…

Web3

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I won’t claim to be an expert so when I write about any of this it is for my learning and sharing and discussions with rationale people. First off – it is early yet. We have a long ways to go.

Read this one to see how some of this stuff works, how hard it is and how centralized a lot of it it still is:

https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html

This twitter thread kicked off my Matt, of WordPress, is really good. There is a tendency to slam all old stuff in favour of new stuff but we all know everything inherits from the old. So Web3 is building new stuff but a lot of it is built on Web2. I am still struggling with how centralized a lot of Web3 is. Sure there are ways to go really de-centralized but it is not easy and takes a certain level of expertise that most people don’t have.

Best to read the whole thread – I won’t unroll it in the post as it is very long.

Latest Book :: High Output Management

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I feel dumb for not reading this sooner.

One of the best management books written by one of the best Leaders in tech – Andy Grove.

When I read this though, I wonder at one point did Intel get so far off track? Of course Intel has had to pivot before to survive and it looks like they will have to figure out a way to pivot again.

I realize I am finding it harder and harder to learn new things and have to carefully pick what I want to spend time studying. I do my best to keep up with tech trends, companies and protocols but I find playing around with code to suck up a lot of time. However I keep trying. What I do like is continually studying leadership since I feel like I can put it work quickly and it will impact many people.

So far this is feeling like one of the books that will add to my repertoire.

Book Review :: Hit Refresh

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Can get the book here :: https://amzn.to/3ELM5Vx

Had this book laying around – another one of my book piles and when I got bored of a new book I was reading, I finally picked it up.

Rather enjoyed it. Not too long and not too windy. Love the history, his previous gigs and how it all slowly lead to the top gig at MSFT.

It’s evident why MSFT is experiencing a turnaround and a record share price – Satya has a clear vision and is establishing a new culture at one of the largest tech companies around.

Quite stunning when you think how long MSFT has been around and all of their ups and downs throughout history.

Enjoyable read. Took notes.

Book Review :: Amp It Up

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Link to where to get it in this post :: https://dreampipe.blog/2021/12/23/latest-book-amp-it-up/

Trying to read as much as I can over the break but I am always reminded of the difference in a good book versus an okay book. What happens to me is a good book I can’t stop reading and will keep going back to it day after day till I finish it. A mediocre book, I will try to get through few chapters, skip around a bit and then never finish it. I have a bunch of this books in a bag that I will drop off at the GoodWill store this week.

With Amp It Up. I could not put it down and powered through over a few days. It was great, took a lot of notes and have suggested it personally to others to read.

I won’t reveal spoilers or give you the highlights but here is some the points:

  • It’s not a long read – which is good
  • Frank lays out the points he is going to cover in the beginning and nails all of them
  • Lots of real-world examples
  • Lots of actionable things I can apply to business tactics or leaderships ideas
  • No BS

Most books are too long, talk too much around ideas and are not concise.

Not the case with this one.

Check it out.