Kevin Maney

3.5 stars

I picked up this book on a whim. At work we are supposed to do some professional development. After watching mind numbing video tutorials, I figured I would go back to books to help me develop professionally, especially since I read a lot any way. Just have to change my reading criteria a bit. So I veered away from historical fiction and (at the moment) reading about a origami Star Wars children's book, I now learn about the 2 second advantage.

The book introduces with Wayne Gretzky, the master of the 2 second advantage in hockey. Even though he's not an elite athlete he make ups for it mentally. He's able to anticipate the development of a hockey game 2 seconds before everyone else. My mind kept going back to Qui-Gon Jinn (hey, I'm reading Star Wars books at the same time) who explained how a Jedi could see a little bit in the future ... he said this while grabbing Jar Jar Binks tongue.

There were moments where the book got my brain really thinking. being published in 2011, it's a little dated but still pretty solid read.… (meer)

Cem anos atrás, a empresa que se tornaria a IBM deu seus primeiros passos em um futuro desconhecido. Em Making the World Work Better: The Ideas That Shaped a Century and a Company, jornalistas Kevin Maney, Steve Hamm e Jeffrey M. O&; Brien conta uma história de progresso que ilumina e transcende a rica história de um único empreendimento.
Através de extensas pesquisas, eles exploram o impacto da IBM na tecnologia, no papel em evolução da corporação moderna e na maneira como nosso mundo literalmente
funciona. O mais intrigante é que eles descobrem um conjunto de ideias convincentes cujo maior impacto pode não estar no século anterior, mas no próximo e ideias com o poder de moldar um futuro surpreendente, e mudar a maneira como pensamos.… (meer)

This took me a very long time to get through. Not because of the content, per se, but because of the style. It read a lot like a textbook, so trying to read it at night was often a no go, with only getting about 10-15 pages read and then falling asleep. I actually just took the last couple of hours to finish the last 150 pages.

As a former IBM employee, it's interesting to see the evolution of the company throughout history, and to have first hand experiences of how the company's values were put into effect on a more personal level. While I won't comment on my personal experiences at IBM I will say that I do admire their business values of thinking on a global level and working together to help create new technologies to serve communities and solve problems in addition to their corporate duties. It's nice to see a company that doesn't think of itself only on the corporate level but also envisions it's capabilities and responsibility to individuals.

I also admire, (and was unaware until reading this book) the fact that IBM was one of the first companies to hire women and minorities, and didn't follow the racial segregation issues of the past.

… (meer)