Valuable Books to Read for Growth

I'm adding "01" to this post with the intention of eventually having more blogs on this topic, as I've started to appreciate reading once again. My appreciation for books ebbs and flows throughout life, and it's currently on the rise. Since transitioning to starting my own thing, I've been mostly reading books on personal and professional growth. Below, I'll share some of my takeaways from "10x is Easier than 2x," "Obviously Awesome," "Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team," and in future posts, I may share insights from "Getting Real" and "Blue Ocean Strategy," which I'm currently going through.

Thoughts on '10x is Easier than 2x'

You are, by default, unique. It's simply not possible for someone else to have had the same childhood experiences as you, the same teenage years, the same adulthood, the same environment, the same interests, and the same depth of pursuit in those interests, and so on. This notion, coupled with the idea that you are your core product for much of your small business's life, has helped me appreciate that being authentically you is a powerful differentiator to lean into. That's easier said than done for sure. Even now, I've used Claude/ChatGPT as thought partners in much of my site's/product's content, but I continue to improve on making sure my voice isn't lost in the brainstorming process.

Much of the substance from this book comes, unsurprisingly, from you. The exercises and questions are where I found the most value and spent the majority of my time. I still have a few templates in my Obsidian journal stemming from this book that I revisit every so often.

One of the more tactical takeaways I employ often is capping my daily personal objectives to only three things. If I come up with a list longer than this, I've probably included too many easy and/or unimpactful tasks.

Thoughts on 'Obviously Awesome'

I'm not a salesperson (yet). I've never been held highly accountable for sales in any of my previous roles. My hunch is that traditional sales techniques won't align with my goal of remaining authentic with my customers. I strive for every interaction to provide them value without detracting from their valuable time and attention. With this approach, I hope customers will appreciate the type of relationship I aim to build and think of me as a partner in their success — even if small.

I still aim to understand all the tactics employed by traditional roles in marketing, sales, and positioning. This book was an easy read and I think it broke down these concepts well. The challenge, however, is that much of its value is realized once a business or product has matured. While light early positioning can be beneficial, I'd bet a few pivots are likely until you establish a substantial customer base. Thus, I've decided to delay many of the suggested exercises until there's a clearer definition of market-product fit for what I'm working on.

Thoughts on 'Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team'

This book repeatedly made me think back to several onsites I've experienced throughout my career. Many of the best moments I've experienced when everyone is together support the theories in this book - particularly around building trust through vulnerability and engaging in productive conflict. Unfortunately, much of the spark that onsites produce fades especially if you go back to fully virtual. I wonder if there are ways to better preserve the momentum and energy they yield.

Overall, I do think it's a bit of an oversimplification when so much of the reality for team dynamics is individual personalities. For instance, the book's approach to conflict might work well for extroverted team members but could be challenging for those who process information differently. Having context for things like trust, conflict, and commitment is all helpful but requires some critical thinking around how you best arrive at those foundations for your particular team's composition.

Similar to "Obviously Awesome," I'd say this book is also more valuable once a business has matured a bit.

Shared Reading Experiences

Discussing these books with others who also read them has fascinated me with how different the takeaways can be. Each of us trying to start something new are thinking so critically about what it should be, yet we often interpret the same ideas completely differently. What might resonate deeply with me could actually be a significant demotivator for someone else. Ultimately it's made me even more curious to soak up as more perspectives through books, podcasts, blogs and look for more signals out there that help me learn more about who I want to be.

Wrap Up

Hopefully some of this has been of value to you, at least in encouraging some reading as you embark on your venture. Given how differently we all interpret these books, I'd love to hear your perspective! If you've read these or have suggestions for others that I should go through, please let me know at james@kokutech.com and I'll check it out — maybe even discuss in the next book recap post!

Thanks for reading,
James