My Book Reviews

  I SBN: 978-1-933820-68-2 Verdict :  👍👍   I would argue that this book is a must read, especially if you are working as a Business Architect or Business Analyst, as it provides some great tools with worked examples for approaching business needs and requirements capture with the focus on the Job.  At the heart of the Jobs To Be Done ( JTBD ) approach is the focus on people’s objectives and associated outcomes, independent of the means used to realize and achieve them.  The essence of JTBD: focus on the outcome, not the technology. [p4]. The core principles of JTBD are listed with some context in the first few pages of the book – below are the principles listed; People employ products & services to get their job done, not to interact with your organization [p8] Jobs are stable over time, even as technology changes [p9]   People seek services that enable the, to get more of their job done quicker and easier[p9]   Making the job the un...

ISBN :  978-1-118-95149-1 Verdict :    👍👍   👍   Recently, whilst working on an consultancy assignment, I was asked by the CIO to classify the application estate using a ’Buy ,Sell Hold’  set of tags, so  when I saw this book I thought it would make for a  good read and I was not disappointed. The book provides great value . For me it provided quite a lot to consider especially as I am of the age where I am considering my retirement options. In this book Ken sets the context  in Chapter 1 where he starts with “ You can’t take the risks you did when you were younger. You’re not in the game for growth anymore; you’re in the game to protect your principal ” p3) and continues to follows this through.   The following quotes from the book got my highlighter to pause and think.; When you have a strategy, you can make a plan without being driven by your emotions – p81 As investors, we have to distinguish the battle from the war and make ...

  ISBN :  9976-01-241-548616-5 Verdict :  👍👍   👍   👍   Two of my favourite topics - History and Economics provide the context for this exceptional book and hence my 4 thumbs up 🏆 This is one of those rare books one must read to fully understand the creation  of wealth during British Empire period and what laid the economic  foundation for many organisations that exists today. This book was based on Eric’s doctoral dissertation submitted to the Oxford University in  1938!  Hence well researched and fact based, which due to the nature of the time would have undergone strict scrutiny. This book does not seek to discuss the  slave  (the person)    but  slavery  (the business model) and the underlying economic model which is the premise used to justify some disgusting actions. This book discusses the ‘economic’ model and presents interesting facts, the kind of facts that really should be taught o...

  ISBN: 978-1-292360836   Disclaimer:   I must  highlight  bias on my part, as the author is someone I know personally, and I am quoted ( p64-65) as an independent voice. Hence I have awarded no thumbs  But would  recommend reading. I consider myself a seasoned freelance consultant, one who has worked independently for near three decades, after reading this book I am pleased to say I derived value and re-evaluated some of our practices regarding selling professional services.   Whilst the book is targeted at those considering freelancing or in the early stages of their journey it is equally of value to those, who like me, have worked independently for several years serving as a prompt to reinforce best practices.   The book is organised, in four parts, providing some great context from the basics, the design , the selling and the developing of your service offering and even goes into the management of payments and along the journey yo...

I SBN :  978-1781259658 Verdict :  👍👍   Financial fraud, a derivative of a financial crime, is an interesting topic - For someone who has spent quite a bit of time researching this topic from a regulatory and systems perspective ( transactional monitoring and pattern recognition) this book was on my reading list. The book does not disappoint it is a nice read and I did enjoy it - although chapter 8 was a bit of  curve ball in the sense the author went all  biblical side in terms of crime - which did not interest me , but others may find it useful to read. My highlighter did get used quite a bit and the following are just some of the bits I enjoyed seeing ;   You can tell more about the structure of any industry by looking at patterns of payments than you can from any ‘five forces’ or SWOT analysis (p29) People don’t check upon things which they believe to have been ‘signed off’. The threat is now inside the perimeter . ...

ISBN: 978-1-78125-055-6 Verdict:  👍👍   👍   👍     The story of the Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is a truly remarkable one in which the transformation from a small bank located in a small fishing village, on the Hong Kong waterfront 155 years ago, to that of one of the largest financial global businesses and hence worthy of a understanding in terms of development , ethos and culture – This book covers some of the years from 1970 to 2014ish.   The book charts the history and key decisions surrounding some major global events in history e.g. the transfer of the island of Hong Kongs sovereignty back to China when the lease expired and the subsequent decisions made to ensure the associated risks were mitigated from political and economic forces.   The 622 pages of banking history is not for everyone and mapped to major economic events which makes it an interesting read and my highlighter 📝 was fully used ! – There are several pearl...

ISBN :  978-0-609-90899 Verdict :  👍👍   👍👍 I actually read this book when it was first published, about 19 years ago, hence the ISBN number does not correspond to that on Amazon ( weird ). However, I decided to revisit this book after reading a misleading post from an IBM Employee promoting the historical credentials in a positive way.  So I picked it up again and scan read taking note of the bits I had previously highlighted approx 2 decades ago to write this review. I t’s one of those books that one should read if interested in the link / connection between business and political regimes.   IBM and its German subsidiary custom-designed complex solutions anticipating the Reich's needs. The amazing thing is that IBM did not sell the machines and walk away. Instead, IBM leased these machines for high fees and became the sole source of the billions of punch cards Hitler needed to execute the functionality of the machine - execute being an key word ! For m...

ISBN:  978-1-4711-8955-5 Verdict :   👍👍 You have to respect Scharwazman for what he has achieved in his long life, reinforcing to some extent the old saying that ‘ money makes money ’.This book is worth reading if you are working in finance and is quite a nice read. The book takes you down Stephen's memory lane and his life time of investing. It’s a short book and does lack clarity on the analysis, rules and logic applied on the business decisions. The book is about Stephen and the people he knows and boy does he ‘name drop’, throughout the book, to the extent it was getting boring reading another name popping up towards the end.  There are snippets on Blackstone’s Business Drivers/Methodology e.g.  Blackstone’s three tests  “It must have potential to be hugely rewarding for investors . It must add to Blackstone intellectual capital. And it must have a 10 in charge of it.”          p281  Be...

ISBN:  978-1-78504-218-8 Verdict :👍👍 I enjoyed reading this book with its elaboration of the concepts that centre around the D ominance, I nducement, S ubmission and A nalytics ability (DISA) system for  human  communication which the Author breaks into 4 Color Types ( Red , Yellow , Blue & Green ) and says that " behaviour.Its like a  recipe  - we need to understand all the ingredients before we bake the cake " p13 The book discusses the various  behavioural  traits of individuals which the author centers around a 4 square color model, with each color representing a specific trait and some behavioral patterns associated with the colors - here are some snippets; The Quote "Only Dead Fish Go with the Flow" to describe Reds is classical where Reds are quick thinkers and one on long before everyone else. Yellows can be amusing, creative and elevate the mood regardless of who they are with         p64 " ...

ISBN :  9781508524359 Verdict :    👍👍   👍   👍   This is one of those rare books I wish I had read a few decades ago, especialy as its only 99 pages long, I strongly recommend it be one you read if you haven't allready - it is both short and provides great wisdom ! Arkad the Chancellor and richest man in Babylon is asked by the King to teach his subjects about growing wealth and he sets out to teach them his  ‘The Seven Cures for a Lean Purse’, which are  Start Thy Purse to Fattening  Control Thy expenditures  Make Thy Gold Multiply Guard Thy Treasures from Loss Make Thy Dwelling a Profitable Investment  Insure a Future Income  Increase Thy Ability to Earn It would be wrong for me to spoil this classic s hort book for you by replaying some of the great quotes ands fundamental principles the most notable being “ A part of all you earn is yours to keep ”