Single Sentence Summaries – Page 13

Running a socially responsible business is often just egotism in disguise

Giridharas key argument is that elites only support change to the point where their privilege is not endangered.

Facebook’s content strategy leads to filter bubbles, thereby destroying the cohesion in society

When a a big tech investor like McNamee argues for stricter regulation it makes the argument more convincing.

You are the raw material of capitalists trading in futures on human behavior

Shoshana Zuboff – Surveillance capitalism

There is a tendency in critiques of ‘big tech’ to underestimate the long-term resilliance of mankind; although that does not render the argument invalid.

AI outcomes reflect the thinking of the technochauvinists that built it – which may not be desirable for society

Meridith Broussard – Artificial Unintelligence

Great effort to democratize AI and peel off some layers of mistique that harm public debate (althought the case against technochauvinism seems at times a bit too shallow).

As an incumbent, organize disruptive innovation away from your core business

Clayton Christensen – The innovator’s dilemma

The history of disc drives and mechanical excavators showcases how difficult it is for incumbents to come out on top when technological innovation hits your market.

Some of the few women who ruled as pharaohs were depicted with male characteristics

Kara Cooney – When women ruled the world

The book illustrates how difficult it is to avoid speculation when trying to reconstruct a comprehensive narrative from ancient historical records.

Make sure you create value, and maintain power over transactions on your platform

Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Olstyne, Sangeet Choudary – Platform revolution

Remember: there are many ways in which platforms can fail!

Daughter of partisans has total commitment to her performances

Marina Abramovic – Walking through walls

As a strong artist, she controls her performances perfectly; but she seems to have more difficulty with life itself.

Attract the right team, set a market-driven strategy, prioritize wisely in execution and… don’t run out of cash

Verne Harnish – Scaling up

Densely written ‘how-to guide’ for executives who want to build a sustainable growth company.

Anticipate change in products, processes and requirements; and organize for that

Jez Humble – Lean enterprise

Despite the unavoidable buzzwords that come with the genre, Lean and Agile are actually sane and useful management principles.

Making a great painting is in large part a scientific achievement

Walter Isaacson – Leonardo da Vinci

Isaacson’s narrative falacy (‘Leonardo never finishing what he starts’) is at odds with the public recognition he received in his own day and age.

Overcome predictible growth crises through insurgence, sense of ownership, and front-line obsession

Chris Zook – The founder’s mentality

Steve Bannon skilfully helped Trump to play to his own strengths and avoid his considerable weaknesses

Bob Woodward – Fear

The level of Trump’s incompetency is not even shocking.

High-ranked mafia killer flips, citing his uncle’s ruthlessness as justification

Philip Leonetti – Mafia prince

At some point, The Godfather has evolved from a document of the mafia life style to a style guide for mob leaders.

The history of Rome consists of a unique series of revolutionary social and political experiments

Mary Beard – SPQR

Rome was much more of a ‘social welfare state’ than I ever realized; with a people’s tribunes, food for the poor, land redistribution, and pensions for soldiers.