Currently Reading

• Accelerate (In progress, reading for Agile Book Club)
• The Coaching Habit (Next Agile book club)
• Feel Good Productivity
• The Toyota Way (1/4 complete, putting on TBR shelf for now)

2024

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

This book is a shorter one that I binge listened to while on a road trip. I found the message in it to be a bit morbid but a good reminder that life is short and we need to be careful about where and how we spend our time. The same applies to the work we do. We only give our employer so many hours of the day, it is our responsibility to make sure that we spend those hours wisely so that the value they gain is worth it.

2023

The Goal

“The Goal” is a book written in a fable style that explores the concept of improving productivity and efficiency in a manufacturing plant. The story follows the protagonist, Alex, as he learns about the theory of constraints and applies it to save his struggling factory. The book provides valuable insights into operational management and highlights the importance of identifying and addressing bottlenecks in order to achieve overall success. This is another book that will need to be re-read regularly.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

This book was written in the “fable” style. I really enjoyed how it was laid out and the message it told. I think I will need to re-read it a couple of times to truly get the value out of it that I need to. Katheryn was a fantastic character and would make an amazing boss if she were a real person. Having a handbook to explain how to help foster healthy teamwork is great to have on my shelves.

Lean from the Trenches

This was a thin book but took me forever to read. I really struggled to get through more than a couple pages at a time. There were far too many thoughts and ideas in my head while reading it. I need to take the time to re-skim it and summarize the core of my notes so that I can really see what the true take aways were.

The Phoenix Project (another re-read)

This book has become one of the books that I deem worth a regular re-read. Going through it reminds me of how dysfunctional teams can cause major issues that are difficult to clear up. Spending time thinking through how the problems that they are solving and how we would solve them is well worth the time and brain power.

Building a Second Brain

This was such an inspiring look into how to set up your digital life. This book helped me to find new and different ways to set up my digital information. It will be an on-going project to find better ways of documenting. It with be worth skimming the book a second time and looking for new ideas on how to streamline systems.

The Kanban Pocket Guide

This book was a fantastic summary of what Kanban is and how to put it in place. I learned quite a bit as I read it and was a bit sad that I couldn’t get a paper copy to mark up as I was reading it. This is well worth a re-read again next year to see how we have changed and grown.

Regular Re-Reads

• The Phoenix Project
• The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
• The Goal
• The way of the shepherd
• Kanban Pocket Guide