Some good recommendations here. Some not-that-good. Which is not a critique. Every such list, by definition, deserves a similar comment.
I would, however, argue that few founders read Lean Startup *and* understood it.
Build to learn, validate relentlessly, uncover and challenge your assumptions... All these still sound largely rebellious. Maybe not in declarations, but in actions? They sure do.
A separate thought, it's funny how we perceive the books that reached the bestselling status, but didn't age well. A classic example is Collins' Good to Great. If you look at what happened with the "great" companies, save for, I think, one edge case, they were outperformed by the market. That is, those that survived. Some didn't.
They weren't that "great" after all.
Another category that comes with a warning is the books that basically follow the pattern of "I did that. It worked for me. And thou shalt do the same." Horowitz's The Hard Thing About Hard Things strikes me as a classic example.
While I agree with a lot of observations from it, it's only because I can generalize the story, adjust for my context, and figure out it's still relevant. At the same time, I can easily imagine another context where the same advice would not only be useless but actively harmful.
I guess the list should come with the following:
- Read a lot.
- Be critical about what you read.
- Try things. Stick with what works for you. Drop things that don't.
Founders dilemma is a must.
More of a practical manual, but 5 steps to the epiphany was a good start.
Some good recommendations here. Some not-that-good. Which is not a critique. Every such list, by definition, deserves a similar comment.
I would, however, argue that few founders read Lean Startup *and* understood it.
Build to learn, validate relentlessly, uncover and challenge your assumptions... All these still sound largely rebellious. Maybe not in declarations, but in actions? They sure do.
A separate thought, it's funny how we perceive the books that reached the bestselling status, but didn't age well. A classic example is Collins' Good to Great. If you look at what happened with the "great" companies, save for, I think, one edge case, they were outperformed by the market. That is, those that survived. Some didn't.
They weren't that "great" after all.
Another category that comes with a warning is the books that basically follow the pattern of "I did that. It worked for me. And thou shalt do the same." Horowitz's The Hard Thing About Hard Things strikes me as a classic example.
While I agree with a lot of observations from it, it's only because I can generalize the story, adjust for my context, and figure out it's still relevant. At the same time, I can easily imagine another context where the same advice would not only be useless but actively harmful.
I guess the list should come with the following:
- Read a lot.
- Be critical about what you read.
- Try things. Stick with what works for you. Drop things that don't.
I hope one day my book will be on this list!
https://zero2acquisition.substack.com/
Perfect resource for anyone navigating the ups and downs of startup life.
I really like that is categorized, thank you
Nice!
So so helpful! Thank you