Paul Glen

This book was gift from my employer. General disclaimer: two types of books that I can't stand and actively avoid are business books and self-help books, but this one directly relates to my recent career progression. I found it to be a bit of a mixed bag. The authors begin by indicating that they are focusing on "archetypes, not stereotypes," which is a noble goal. However, the "geek" depicted through the book from that point forward is nearly always a blatant stereotype: all programmers love math, all think extremely concretely, none like to show emotion, none understand how a business works.

There were some chapters that I found useful. Specifically, the discussion of promoting technical specialists too early was insightful to me. There were other bits and pieces here and there, but overall the book fell flat, the enlightening revelations that it promised buried in erroneous assumptions. It's not entirely without use for someone new in a technical leadership role, but don't go into it expecting everything that it claims to deliver.… (mer)