Week 24, 2021—Issue #166
Reading Notes I: Allen on Bureaucracy, Grove on Inefficiencies, and Sutherland on Relationships
Each week: three ideas on and about the future of work. This week: three noteworthy quotes from three noteworthy books.
I like to read. But like most people, I struggle to remember what I’ve read. I’ve found Mortimer Adler’s advice to be sage in this regard. And I’ve consequently gotten into a habit of revisiting notes from books past.
Recently, I began sharing some of these notes on Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. And I thought I’d share a few of them here under the headline: effectiveness over efficiency:
1. Allen on Bureaucracy
Brian Robertson’s Holacracy is both a book and an organizational operating system. David Allen, best known as the creator of the Getting Things Done (GDT) productivity method, was an early adopter. In this quote, Robertson quotes Allen in saying that when it comes to organizing, balance is key. Too much and you risk suffocating people. Too little and you risk chaos.
2. Grove on Inefficiencies
Andy Grove’s High Output Management is a classic business text. It’s well written, practical, and based on Grove’s experience as the CEO and Chairman of Intel. It’s not a new text, obviously. But it’s still worth a read. This quote is a case in point. Too often, management focuses on output and efficiency at all costs. But as Grove rightly points out: it’s a premise that can be taken too far.
3. Sutherland on Relationships
Jeff Sutherlands is the co-creator of Scrum — an Agile methodology (one of many) that a lot of people (too many) think is all about software development. That’s not the case. Scrum has wide applicability. And in this book, the authors go to great lengths in explaining that fact. It’s a good read. It’s a reminder that productivity is all about people.
Why share reading notes?
Fair questions. I’ve got a few different answers:
- I only recently switched to reading on Kindle. I’m a late adopter, I know. But that’s reason number 1: digital books just make highlighting and sharing so much easier.
- I’ve begun using Readwise to help me resurface and revisit highlights I’ve made in the past. Each day, the app sends me N highlights to review. Game changer. The visuals come from Readwise as well.
- Last but not least: sharing is caring. I’ve obviously found these notes to be of interest and I hope that you will too. You’ll find a few months' worths of caring on Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time: Make it matter.
