I have just finished (in this order) reading Rework by Hansson and Fried, Drive by Dan Pink, and Linchpin by Seth Godin.

I really enjoyed Rework.  It is part of the reason I started this blog and want to get back into Linux.  I'm not yet sure how I can make decent money off Linux with the skills I have, but I'm excited to try.  And Rework, combined with reading a lot of things written by VCs, has given me a good feel for the tech new business starting landscape.  Mostly that there's no one right way to start up a business, but without trying, it won't work.

Drive was also very good, but a little more wordy than Rework.  Also, before I read Drive, I watched some of Dan Pink's presentations on YouTube.  Basically what he says in the book is what he says in the videos online.  That was somewhat a letdown for me, but still worth reading the book as he is able to go into more detail of examples.

Linchpin kind of let me down.  It's very wordy for the message.  I liked the message, but it just takes too long for Godin to get it across.  A book with half the amount of pages would have gotten the message across just as well, if not better.

I'd recommend both Rework and Drive.  Especially if you're at a job where you feel something is missing but you're not sure what.  You're talented and capable but you're not reaching your full potential at work, these two books will talk to you.  Linchpin will talk to you too, but it's annoying and less inspirational.

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Published

01 November 2010