2016 Book List

2016 Book List

At the end of every year I create a post from the year's readings. I like wrapping it up this way, with a few thoughts packaging up a specific section of time, and yes, a specific goal.  Every year I pledge to read 52 books, and once again I fell short in 2016 (17).  As usual, I have a number of things I could blame, but my key take-away this year is that I didn't make a plan to succeed.

I love to run, not as much because of the running, but because of the success I feel for having planned, trained, and completed a goal.  Well, this year I aim to approach my reading more like a marathon. I am going to make a plan, and follow it as best I can, and lets see if I don't get closer in 2017!

#	Book	Author	Completed
1	What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast	Laura Vanderkam	January 6
2	Shadows of Self	Brandon Sanderson	January 20
3	A Crown of Swords	Robert Jordan	February 9
4	The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet	David Mitchell	March 23
5	Firefight	Brandon Sanderson	April 3
6	Calamity	Brandon Sanderson	April 10
7	The Path of Daggers	Robert Jordan	April 30
8	The Name of the Wind	Patrick Rothfuss	May 30
9	The Bands of Mourning	Brandon Sanderson	June 19
10	A Man Called Ove	Fredrik Backman	July 24
11	Winter's Heart	Robert Jordan	August 10
12	Wednesday Wars	Gary D. Schmidt	September 16
13	Five Dysfunctions of Team	Patrick Lencioni	September 27
14	Crossroads of Twilight	Robert Jordan	October 5
15	Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea	Barbara Demick	November 20
16	The Rithmatist	Brandon Sanderson	November 27
17	Knife of Dreams	Robert Jordan	December 31

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So this book is a must-read for any professional in an operations role. And I mean any operations role, not just manufacturing. There is an approach to life here that is important not to miss: have a goal, and then do what is necessary to reach that goal. Avoid extraneous activities that don't help you accomplish your goal.

The story is fairly well-written, although at times you can tell Goldratt is trying to pack in data/specifics into the story for their academic value only. However, this was written fairly early in the overall history of business "stories" meant to teach in an entertaining way, and it is very well done given when it was published.