Travel Reading, part 7 - Becoming

On a long trip home in mid-April, I had finished my book (The Google Guys), I figured I would finish it on that trip, so I had a knitting project with me as well.... which I normally do anyway, but it wasn't speaking to me.

Fortunately(?), I had a layover long enough to find a book that I had been wanting to read.... so while it wasn't next on my list.... I can say that I loved it.

As a general rule, I like to wait a bit before reading these types of memoirs.  But knowing Michelle Obama's background, having heard her speak, and recognizing how much I loved her and her husband while he was in office, I expected this book to be well written.

After finishing my last book, my travel schedule got more early and more late, so I started listening to Becoming on Audible rather than actually reading the book.  I found it quite nice listening to Michelle Obama's words in her own voice.

Though I have been listening to Podcasts recently, this was my first time listening to a book.

I think what struck me most is how invested Mr and Mrs Robinson were in their children's lives.  This is the thing that makes the most difference in the next generation, having adults interested in helping you become who you want to be.

If you haven't read Becoming already, I definitely recommend it.  Michelle Obama is a wonderful writer and story teller.  I learned a lot about her life prior to their public life.

Travel Reading, part 6 - Raw Material

After Reading Brotopia, I needed something that was more upbeat.

Raw Material: Working Wool in the West by Stephany Wilkes was just the ticket.

I found this book at Stitches West earlier this year.  I just loved the premise, so it went toward the top of my reading queue.

Turns out Ms Wilkes was the first interview on the Soil to Soil Podcast.  In which, I found her to be engaging and compelling.  So I was really looking forward to reading her book.

It was a slow off ramp from Brotopia.  Ms Wilkes is a former Bay Area Tech worker and mentioned some of the sexual harassment she was the target of prior to making her career change.  Fortunately she quickly got to her shearing experiences and told the story of how Mendocino Wool came in to being.

I appreciate the author telling stories of walking into businesses after shearing all day and describing the looks that shop keepers/clerks would give... as well as how good food can taste at the end of a long day shearing.... and of course, the response from family/friends about how crazy she was to leave a lucrative job for manual labor... and the despair that comes with being stuck in an office all week after spending an entire weekend outside, doing tangible productive work... I feel a kinship with Ms. Wilkes and hope I am able to meet her one day.... shearing people are some of my very favorite.  :-)

One thing I find interesting in the author's story, and have experienced it myself... while farming and shearing tend to be male-dominated, they are welcoming to women... if you are interested in learning, then you get the work.... at least in my experience, the overt sexism is not as prevalent as other industries I've worked in.

Travel Reading, part 5 - Silicon Valley

Since my Day Job is tied to the Silicon Valley, I figure it's time to read about some of the people there.

The Google Guys, by Richard L. Brandt

I have been a user of Google products since their beginning... and since I am typically a late adopter, I think this speaks volumes about how they revolutionized "search."  For me, they were useful from the beginning.... significantly more so than the other search engines available at the time.

This book is about 10 years old, so it was interesting to be reminded about the origins and initial guiding principles of Google as well as read about forward looking topics 10 years later.

As mentioned in part 3, it's much nicer to read books that are written by professional authors.  The quality of the text is significantly better.  Which makes it much more enjoyable to read.

Without a doubt, Google was a game-changer.  They understood the needs-of and were focused-on the end user, not short-term financial gains.  IMO, this is an important lesson for all companies.

I'd be interested in reading a more contemporary book and to see if the guiding principles are still as strong as they were at the beginning.



The second book for this edition of Travel Reading is Brotopia, by Emily Chang.

It was recommended by one of my colleagues... not only is it a more contemporary book on the Silicon Valley (published 2018) it is an interesting look into the root of sexism in Tech and specifically the Silicon Valley.

First, the idea that people are smarter in the Silicon Valley is ridiculous.  Yes, a lot of them have been financially successful, but that is only because they were luckier, not smarter.  Reinforced by research that shows the zip code of birth is a strong predictor of income (here and here).

Second, Meritocracy is the idea that you hire and promote based on merit only.  On the surface, this sounds great.  But when that is coupled with just hiring the people you know and promoting the ones that go to parties with you, it becomes ridiculous.... the arrogance of assuming you already know "all the best people" is astounding.

Third, as I progressed through this book, the more difficult it became to read.  Even though I, personally, have experienced a lot of what was described during my career, reading about the institutionalized sexism was still sometimes horrifying and often disturbing.

One part that really struck me was when the author was talking about the harassment/trolling she and many others receive for speaking out against the "bro-culture."  She talks about being used to it and that she has skin thick enough to deal with it.  I know that thick skin, because I also have it.  :-(

I appreciate that the author tried to end the book on a positive note.  She talked about Girls Who Code and the excitement these girls have for their future career.  She also talked about a couple of tech companies trying to ensure diversity, equality, and work-life balance.

We are on the precipice of another wave increase of tech workers.  It's important to understand how we got to where we are and we have an opportunity to do better this time.

Of course, this also happened the day I finished reading Brotopia.  We are in a dark time with respect to opportunities and parity.

Travel Reading, part 4

My last installment was focused on Agriculture and Dogs.

Being that we are farmers and raise dogs, I have a good-sized stack of books on these topics in the queue.... and being (mostly) from Colorado, I've heard about Dr. Temple Grandin for a long time.  She is a professor at Colorado State University, who's Veterinary Teaching Hospital is one of the primary reasons we located in Northern Colorado in 2009.

A friend had the opportunity to hear Dr. Grandin speak recently which got me looking into her schedule and publications (autism, livestock).

I've added a couple of her books to my library.  Animals Make us Human is the first to read.

Each chapter is dedicated to an animal type... Dogs, Cats, Horses, etc.  But each chapter covers more than just the type identified.  She talks about family relationships, and how domestication is believed to occur.

I especially appreciated the discussion about symbiotic vs mutualistic relationships between humans and dogs vs humans and cats.

She also talks in depth about the Blue Ribbon Emotions (Seeking, Rage, Fear, Panic, Lust, Care, Play) and that we as keepers should be working to maximize seeking and minimizing fear thru the environment we provide for our animals

In this social media world we live in where "everyone is an expert" I find it refreshing to read a text with cited references and objectivity.  I love scientists because they are clear about what is known and what is not known... there is skepticism around certain techniques, but allowance for why they seem to work in some situations.

Nothing is 100% right or wrong.  Scientists know this, where social media posters don't often seem to understand it.

Animals Make Us Human is definitely worth a read... Especially if you don't understand why your animals are doing certain things.

Reading, part 3

For my third installment of travel-for-work reading, I've turned my focus from Change Management and Motivation to Agriculture and Dogs.

The New Farm was one of the books I found at an independent, well-curated bookstore while my Bullying book was missing.

It was really nice to have a book that left me wanting more after three that I didn't care for.  So much, that I finished reading it at home.... I could't wait for the next time I was in an airport or on a plane.  :-)

The author is a good story teller... of course it helps that the topic is near to my heart.  I enjoyed his humor, humility, and candor.  The ability for honest self-reflection is important in all we do.  It was refreshing to see it happening in print.

Showing Kunga: From Pet Owner to Dog Show Junkie was written by a friend of mine, and I'm embarrassed to say I had not read it before now.  Alxe Noden is a great story teller and is very good at sharing the humor in embarrassing and frustrating situations.

I especially love the story about a spectator coming back on day 2 of a weekend show with the sole purpose of finding her dog, Kunga, and introducing him to his girlfriend.  This man just loved Kunga... and in an instant Alxe reminds us of what's important.  We all go home with the perfect dog.  :-)

Carrots Love Tomatoes

This is mostly a reference for companion gardening.  There is useful information for solving common gardening challenges.

Holy Shit

Can you believe it?  A whole book about poo!

The author is a farmer and journalist.  Each chapter is best considered as a stand-alone piece.  It's witty and frank.  I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Books written by professional writers are always more interesting to read.  Professional/trained/experienced writers know how to tell a story.  They know how to capture the reader's interest and how to keep the reader wanting more.

The New Farm, Showing Kunga, and Holy Shit are all written by professional/trained/experienced writers... definitely a treat for this installment of travel-for-work-reading.

More Reading

I'm still travelling a lot for the Day Job, which means I still have a good amount of time conducive to reading.

This time around, you can see I've been focused on motivation.

I didn't care much for Drive or The Bully at Work.  The topics are relevant and useful, but each of these books were longer than they needed to be and I got impatient with the non-value-added portions.

With respect to The Bully at Work, I got especially frustrated.  The authors stated that they were using the word "target" instead of "victim" because they didn't want to reinforce the idea of victimization, but the book was still mostly written from the "you poor victim" point of view.  Although I do have to say that to be reading about the different bullying tactics with our current president's behavior, his treatment of CNN, and especially Jim Acosta was quite interesting.

This is a good reminder that changing words is the first step in changing thought process and behavior.... but if behavior doesn't change, the key words don't matter.  We see this all the time, especially with respect to "servant-leadership."  Servant-leadership is more than just drawing the organizational chart upside down.  Some people do it well, and others are just using the key words.

I mostly enjoyed reading Delivering Happiness.  It captured my attention and I looked forward to the next time I could pick it up.  But a lot was left out...  The stories were presented primarily as Tony Hsieh seeking the next adrenaline rush without working too hard, rather than a driven process with a long-term plan.  There was so much focus on the euphoria that I found myself asking "How does he not have a substance abuse problem?"  The book was longer than it needed to be, but Tony is a good story teller and it's worth the read.

One wonderful thing.... I had left the Bullying book on my inbound plane.  I didn't realize until the next day and hadn't finished reading it yet.  So I filed a lost item report online, thinking I probably would never see it again.  Then about 10 days later, I got an email from SWA.  They had found my book and were willing to mail it to me, and I was able to finish reading the book.  That's pretty awesome customer service.

Of course, being without that book meant I needed to find a new one for my ride home...  I found several at this new, well-curated, independent bookstore next door to my cousin's first coffee shop.

I will continue travelling, frequently and indefinitely... so I have plenty of future time for reading.  I'm loving the dedicated time to make a dent in my stash of books.

Happy Reading!

Time for Reading

One nice thing about travelling for work is that the transit time is well-suited for reading.

I've finished a few books already.

You can see I've been pretty focused on Change Management.