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dr.Pep
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Copyright © 2023 Pepijn van der Laan.
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Africa and Africans have never been taken seriously by the Western world, simplifying the story of the continent to ‘famine and safaris’

Africa and Africans have never been taken seriously by the Western world, simplifying the story of the continent to ‘famine and safaris’

Dipo Faloyin – Africa is not a country

Well known story told in a fresh style, which unfortunately still serves a purpose.

The lack quality control on generic drugs opened the door to fraud and deceit, endangering health and lives of the world’s poor

The lack quality control on generic drugs opened the door to fraud and deceit, endangering health and lives of the world’s poor

Katherine Eban – Bottle of lies

Impressive and concerning whistleblower story illustrating the subtleties in developing and producing effective generic drugs.

When managing your enterprise data, you should aim for a flexible, loosely coupled architecture that can handle large-scale batch and streaming data as well as APIs

When managing your enterprise data, you should aim for a flexible, loosely coupled architecture that can handle large-scale batch and streaming data as well as APIs

Piethein Strengholt – Data management at scale

Thorough expose that goes through a lot, over-indexing on the architecture side.

To succeed in business: conform to reality, be cunning, but stick with whatever moral compass you have

To succeed in business: conform to reality, be cunning, but stick with whatever moral compass you have

Robert Ringer – Million dollar habits

Life advice packaged as ‘business zen’ but lacking elementary kindness towards others and ‘borrowing’ its title from the more well known Bryan Tracy book.

Since the invention of the micro processor, chip production has become of imminent strategic importance for both the USA and other geopolitical power blocks

Since the invention of the micro processor, chip production has become of imminent strategic importance for both the USA and other geopolitical power blocks

Chris Miller – Chip war

Nice historical overview, very topical in an era where technology significantly affects the Ukraine war and the power play between the USA and China around Taiwan.

Silicon valley types and tech icons all recommend using OKRs for business steering, but each means something slightly different

Silicon valley types and tech icons all recommend using OKRs for business steering, but each means something slightly different

John Doerr – Measure what matters

If you look past the author’s boundless Andy Grove adoration, there are some useful lessons to be learnt.

The issues and conflicts plaguing modern Spain are rooted in a troubled history that until shockingly recently was a dictatorship

The issues and conflicts plaguing modern Spain are rooted in a troubled history that until shockingly recently was a dictatorship

Tobias Buck – After the fall

Great overview that brings together different perspectives in a shocking narrative without becoming judgemental.

The subtle nuances that can be achieved by varying ingredients, shaping, and timing  of your bread are under-appreciated

The subtle nuances that can be achieved by varying ingredients, shaping, and timing of your bread are under-appreciated

Dan Lepard – The handmade loaf

Impressive collection of inspiring perspectives and variation on bread making.

Protective parenting and the quest for emotional safety hurt the mental resilience of gen Z

Protective parenting and the quest for emotional safety hurt the mental resilience of gen Z

Greg Lukianov and Jonathan Haidt – The coddling of the American mind

The writers provide valuable life lessons for individuals, but (unfortunately) do not discuss the broader societal function of protest movements.

The struggle to keep the legacy of the Roman empire alive has shaped much of Ravenna’s history

The struggle to keep the legacy of the Roman empire alive has shaped much of Ravenna’s history

Judith Herrin – Ravenna

A front-row seat to the decline and fall of the (Western) Roman empire.

To bring a socio-techincal concept to life, you need a lot of technology

To bring a socio-techincal concept to life, you need a lot of technology

Zhamak Dehghani – Data mesh

In capable hands, data governance can actually be made into a sexy topic.

Rivalry and pursuit of personal glory are major drivers for scientific progress

Rivalry and pursuit of personal glory are major drivers for scientific progress

Walter Isaacson – The Code Breaker

History blessed the author with a pandemic that made his subject even more topical, but unfortunately he could not resist the temptation to make it more a memoir than a biography.

Consumer brands should prioritize investment in mental and physical availability

Consumer brands should prioritize investment in mental and physical availability

How brands grow – Byron Sharp

Some basic statistical concepts (regression to the mean, conditional probability) presented with much fanfare are sufficient to marvel marketeers.

Polls are certainly not perfect, but they are much less bad than public opinion suggests

Polls are certainly not perfect, but they are much less bad than public opinion suggests

G. Elloitt Morris – Strength in Numbers

The explanation of combining online and offline methods is insightful, though somewhat superficial

If you want to learn how to build good products or start yur own company, Tony Fadell recommends listening to Tony Fadell

If you want to learn how to build good products or start yur own company, Tony Fadell recommends listening to Tony Fadell

Tony Fadell – Build

Shamelessly self-aggrandizing autobiography dressed-up as self-help book for entrepreneurs.

Aging populations and the breakdown of global trade make that very bad things are going to happen all over the world, but less so in the USA

Aging populations and the breakdown of global trade make that very bad things are going to happen all over the world, but less so in the USA

Peter Zeihan – The end of the world is just the beginning

Highly entertaining read with a lot of black humor, but incomplete in its analysis (e.g. of risk of internal conflicts in the USA and likelihood of collaboration between states in Europe).

Elections are not democratic but aristocratic, because only members of the elite get on the ballot

Elections are not democratic but aristocratic, because only members of the elite get on the ballot

David van Reybrouk – Against Elections (read in Dutch)

It would be interesting to expand the solution space to include not just random selection of citizens but also modes of participation and collaboration from non-political domains like open source software development.

To learn how to make an open source software project a commercial success, study business models in the media industry

To learn how to make an open source software project a commercial success, study business models in the media industry

Nadia Eghbal – Working in Public

From an economical perspective, open source software is no different from other content that is published online.

To benefit the most from network effects: build local scale, fiercely fight for each new value pocket, and remember that every hockey stick will become an S-curve

To benefit the most from network effects: build local scale, fiercely fight for each new value pocket, and remember that every hockey stick will become an S-curve

The book proves that those A16Z folks are very good at marketing sauce on not-so-ground-breaking ideas (as described by Sebastian Mallaby)

Every measured quantity should come together with another, more intuitive, figure as a reference

Every measured quantity should come together with another, more intuitive, figure as a reference

Andrew Elliott – Is that a big number?

Charming book with some nice perspectives that preaches to the converted

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Copyright © 2023 Pepijn van der Laan.
All rights reserved.