Review: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was unexpectedly enjoyable reading - which will probably stay as one of the best biographies / memoirs I will have read in my life. Phil Knight is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also a very talented narrator. The tale of dreaming of, creating, struggling through and succeeding with Nike was touching, inspiring and thought-provoking for me.

It's incredible to know that there are people so focused, so obsessed with one idea - making great sports shoes. This goes for Phil Knight himself and his camrades ("buttfaces").

Phil Knight has not been afraid to have shown all his mistakes, fears, failures, even lies he had to do over his life with Nike. That makes this book especially enjoyable - you can really identify with him. As any long-term entrepreneur, he "has seen it all".

Besides, it has been a great journey through the business world in USA and Japan (and to a lesser extent, in Korea, China and Vietnam) in 1960-1980s. Financing, international trade, horrible governmental bureaucracy, law battles - you get it all from this book.

Phil Knight could not have done a better long-term ad for his creation :)

Review: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy. The Difference and Why It Matters

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard P. Rumelt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A business strategy book which defines what can be called a "good" strategy vs "bad" one.

The author points out in quite an insightful way that nowadays the word "strategic" can mean anything from "something that a CEO told us to do" to "our biggest customer" - but then it has nothing to do with company's strategy as a choice of course of action. A strategy is often associated with fluffy statements of mission-vision-values. A strategy is also often mixed up with set of goals.

Instead, Rumelt suggests that defining of a good strategy shall start with figuring out what is really going on, what are the largest obstacles the company is facing. Start with diagnosis - what situation the company is in? And then the overall guiding policy and set of actions shall be defined.

There were several interesting case studies described there. I particularly liked the ones describing the good choice of strategy by IBM, Nvidia and Apple back in the days. Unfortunately, all the case studies have been either from some of the largest corporations in the world or the U.S. government / military. It's interesting reading, but is not as insightful if you lead anything below an organisation of 10.000 employees.

The book is a little bit long-winded and the whole part 3 ("Thinking Like a Strategist") is rather boring and could well be skipped. It felt like a forceful addition of some "strategy ideas" to an overall argument.

Review: Catchy Cyprus: Once was the Island of Love

Catchy Cyprus: Once was the Island of Love by Mary Jane Walker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A very short and basic introduction into Cyprus' history, geography and a few other things. There are some useful practical travel tips before going there.

Review: The Last Crusader Kingdom: Dawn of a Dynasty in Twelfth-Century Cyprus

The Last Crusader Kingdom: Dawn of a Dynasty in Twelfth-Century Cyprus by Helena P. Schrader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Knights, swords, pirates, Vikings, olives, princesses, kings, prostitutes, bishops, wine, castles, beggars, galleys, monks, aqueducts - there is a lot of that in the Medieval setting of this book, taking place in the Middle East and Cyprus of Crusades period.

Somewhat plain and predictable characters - but overall, it is an entertaining and educating historical drama. The PhD in History of the author helps to convey historical accurateness of the novel's background. I actually learnt quite a lot about the period of Crusades in the Middle East and the history of Medieval Cyprus thanks to this book.

Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title and the cover of the book have initially made me rather suspicious - I was not up for another self-help book with rather obvious "how-to" strategies for influencing people.

I was very positively surprised. Although I don't find the metaphor of "weapons of influence" a very good one (just like the term "compliance practitioners" - i.e. the ones using those "weapons"), the essence of the book is quite profound. It is the book on social psychology - and on why we make certain choices in interactions with the other people (particularly, when we make decisions fast, without too much considerations).

What influences our everyday decisions (sometimes in manipulative way when performed on us with someone else's goals in mind):

• Reciprocation: we feel entitled to return a favour (can be well used in negotiations)
• Commitment and consistency: we feel we have to appear consistent in our choices (the-foot-in-the-door-technique can well be used in corporate sales)
• Social proof: we mostly act in accordance to what is socially acceptable to do - and when unsure, we look at the others for clues (can be well utilised being a leader - to endorse and promote certain set of behaviour)
• Liking: we cooperate with the ones we like more and the ones who appear more similar to us (can be utilised in corporate sales to strengthen an image of similarity)
• Authority: we obey to someone's wishes more readily when they have some traits of authority for us (titles, clothes, expetise etc)
• Scarcity: we treat things as more attractive when they appear scarce to us

There was a lot of good research from the field of social psychology and some good (sometimes, sadly, horrifying) real-life stories cited there - to illustrate how these factors impact our decisions. Most of those stories and research are very revealing and well-placed.

Overall, a rather easy, a thought-provoking and well-researched read.

Review: Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting book explaining many of historical and contemporary conflicts as well as various countries' economic development all across the globe - Russia, China, USA, Latin America, Africa, South Asia, Middle East etc. It is a simplification of reality - since it focuses on determinism of geography of various regions. But then again, it opens up your eyes as of why navigable rivers, mountain ranges and fertile lands (or absence of those) have been so important to economic and political development here and there. There were many aha! moments for me, although international relations is a topic I used to study quite a bit.

It's rather balanced, albeit still particular point of view on the global state of affairs. Applying somewhat playful term "prisoners of geography" to countries is in many instances an over-simplification which can lead to dubious conclusions (like being almost defendant of the fact that Russia needs to have expansionist foreign policy in order to protect itself - all due to its geography, of course). The geographical position of USA leads to a reassuring (or disturbing - depending on a reader's point of view) conclusion that USA is to behold its global supremacy, despite the rise of China and Asia overall.

The maps themselves are nothing more than the slices of the political world map with some highlighted topographic elements - I expected to find something more original.

Nevertheless, it's an easy and enjoyable read, helping to give some background to the global events around us.

Review: 100 aastat kiilu all. Eesti lugu laevades 1918-2018

100 aastat kiilu all. Eesti lugu laevades 1918-2018 by Feliks Gornischeff, Mihkel Karu, Arto Oll, Teele Saar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hästi illustreeritud ja põnevate lugudega kogumik, mis jälgib Eesti ajalugu läbi laevade lugude. Mereriigi elanikuna sai teada nii mõndagi huvitavat - mis tüüpi laevad on olnud levinud erinevatel aegadel merel, jõgedel ja suurematel järvedel; mis oli laevade erinevad otstarbed eri ajastutel; mis unistused, soovid ja hirmud võisid olla nendel laevadel reisivatel inimestel.

Ükski lugu ei lähe väga süvitsi. Kuid sellelaadse kogumiku jaoks on detailsuse ja ülevaatlikkuse vahekord üsna hea.

Review: The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World

The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World by Brad Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brad Stone is an excellent business journalist and book writer. It is yet another book written by Stone after "The Everything's Store" (the story of Amazon) that I read - and enjoyed.

This history of the early years of Airbnb and Uber reads like a novel which has all the dramatic twists, controversial characters and unresolved mysteries that a good novel should have. Based on many interviews over several years, Stones gives a full overview of the early struggles, über-fast growth, fights with competitors and large obstacles that both of the companies have faced on the way.

I like that Stone pointedly brings out how much of an impact both Uber and Airbnb are having on our cities and communities, the way we commute and travel, the way we treat the work. This impact - on customers, on drivers (in case of Uber), on neighbourhoods (in case of Airbnb) - is often controversial, yet embraced by customers and is difficult to restrain.

It was also interesting to read about the contrasting approaches of two companies' founders as of running their companies, meeting their competition and overcoming legal hurdles. Idealistic and at times grandiose ambitions of Airbnb's Brian Chesky were very different from the cut-throat-competition style of Uber's Travis Kalanick. "Nothing could stop Uber now, it seemed, except perhaps itself." - this quote from the book sums up the story of the early years Uber quite well.

I would have preferred more in-depth overview of various strategies and business moves that both companies have made in different times. Instead, the book has many juicy details about the founders, their investors etc. But latter makes this business book very humane and easily readable.

Just like in case of Amazon, both Uber and Airbnb are evolving fast and I will be more interested in following their courses of action after having read this book.