“Combining a deep specialized knowledge in a domain with a broader understanding of the rules that govern the physical world is a rare combination that saves you time, money, and problems.” ~ “The Great Mental Models Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology”1 by Shane Parrish. Thoughts It was greatly fulfilling to read this book.

“Optimism in a leader, especially in challenging times, is so vital. Pessimism leads to paranoia, which leads to defensiveness, which leads to risk aversion. Optimism sets a different machine in motion.” ~ From The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.

“Daring leadership is ultimately about serving other people, not ourselves. That’s why we choose courage.” ~ From Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.1 by Brené Brown Thoughts It feels super inspirational to have finished this book. The book was excellent and it felt good to know that all the people who spoke highly of Brené Brown were justified in doing so.

Thoughts As I had mentioned in My Reading Journey, The Great Expectations was one of the first novels I read. I’ve read it so many times over the years, each time taking something away more than before. Now I’m reading it after The Return of the Native and can’t help but compare the approaches of Hardy and Dickens.

Thoughts This was the first Thomas Hardy novel that I’d read, probably during my engineering days, and re-reading it brings a lot of memories back. What I realize is that I got the gist of the story but had missed out on a lot of details that Hardy provides. Nevertheless, I had become a fan of Hardy and ended up reading almost all of his books other than Jude the Obscure.

Zero Trust Networks: Building Secure Systems in Untrusted Networks 1st Edition1 Thoughts There is no better time to read this book than now. We’re at a point in history where were have examples of massive data breaches in the past to study from, and also an unprecedented number of businesses going online at a rapid pace, accelerated by shelter-in-place rules enforced to stem the spread of covid-19 virus.

The book is about Alex, a plant manager who is in the middle of a very difficult situation. Everything seems to be falling apart. Shipments are always late, backlog is growing, factory is bleeding money though every single person is working hard all the time. The VP comes to the factory and asks about an order that is seven-weeks overdue.

“The quality of your thinking depends on the models that are in your head.” ~ The Great Mental Models, Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts1 by Shane Parrish & Rhiannon Beaubien Thoughts I was introduced to The Knowledge Project2 by AJ last year during one of our 1-1 walks around the campus.

I read this book on the way to and during the Alaska Trip that we took during last winter (2019). Read on the flight from SF to Portland and from there to Anchorage. The bulk of the reading was done during the full-day train journey from Anchorage to Fairbanks on the 3rd day of the trip.

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