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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:03 PM

Five Books To Read If You Want My Job

This came out of a conversation I had today with a few other test leads.  the question was, “What are the top 5 books you should read if you want my job?”  My job in this case being that of a test development lead.  At Microsoft that means
Posted by SteveRowe | 4 Comments
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 10:24 AM

Review: Peopleware

The book, Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, comes highly recommended by Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood over at the Stack Overflow Podcast.  It is probably most famous for its repudiation of the idea that cubicles make a better work environment
Posted by SteveRowe | 3 Comments
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:57 AM

Review: The Effective Executive

I read The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker because it was highly recommend on the Manager Tools podcast.  Despite what its name may imply, it isn’t written to company executives.  Instead, Drucker defines an executive as anyone with decision
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Monday, February 23, 2009 11:07 AM

Now, Discover Your Strengths

This is the title of the follow-up to First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham.  The first book was brilliant and really challenged the way we think about what makes someone successful at their job.  Now, Discover Your Strengths attempts
Posted by SteveRowe | 2 Comments
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Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:32 AM

Managing Humans

I just finished reading Managing Humans by Michael Lopp, aka Rands in Repose .  Michael is a 15-year veteran manager from Silicon Valley.  He’s worked for such notable companies as Netscape and Borland.  He has a lot of good advice based
Posted by SteveRowe | 2 Comments
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Sunday, October 12, 2008 7:50 PM

Review: Tribal Leadership

I just finished the book Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan et al.  It's one of the better leadership books I've run across.  The authors stress the need for leadership to develop a "we" culture instead of an "I" culture. 
Posted by SteveRowe | 4 Comments
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Saturday, December 29, 2007 9:13 AM

Just a Geek

I just finished reading Wil Wheaton's "Just a Geek."  It recounts his struggles after leaving Star Trek.  Today Wil Wheaton is a prominent Geek.  He has 3 books, a popular blog, and was the keynote speaker at PAX 2007.  However,
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Friday, December 28, 2007 7:10 AM

On the Edge

I started On the Edge:  The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore this summer but had to put it on hold as I went back to class.  Now that class is done, I have a few weeks to read what I want and finishing this was my first order of business.
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Friday, August 31, 2007 8:31 AM

iWozn't Impressed

I just finished listening to the unabridged version of iWoz. It's basically the autobiography of Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. I was hoping to get an understanding of the early days of Apple. I've read several books on the subject but this is directly
Posted by SteveRowe | 3 Comments
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007 8:10 AM

Dreaming In Code

I finally finished Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg. It was initially hailed as the Soul of a New Machine for a new generation. As such, it fails. Its depiction of the process and the characters involved is just not that compelling. It's not poorly
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007 9:19 AM

Failure by Committee

I'm reading Dreaming in Code and it's occurring to me at least one of the reasons that Chandler failed. Chandler, if you don't know, is the Personal Information Manager application that is the subject of the book. In my mind, Chandler failed because they
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Friday, April 13, 2007 3:58 PM

Getting Real In Software Development

At the recommendation of one of our designers, I just finished reading the book Getting Real by the people at 37 Signals . This is the company that created Ruby on Rails and several web tools for managing business. This book distills their philosophy
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:52 PM

Showstopper!

I just finished reading Showstopper! by G. Pascal Zachary. It recounts the creation of Windows NT starting with the hiring of Dave Cutler in October 1988 and ending with the shipping of the first version of NT on July 26, 1993. The book puts a lot in
Posted by SteveRowe | 8 Comments
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:53 AM

Recommended Reading for New Test Developers

I've previously written about how to teach yourself to be a test developer. That post included an extensive reading list. It assumed that you were a tester and wanted to learn to be a test dev. What if you are a new CS grad and you just got hired as a
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Wednesday, August 23, 2006 11:29 AM

Interview with Clayton Christensen

The Innovator's Dilemma is an eye-opening book that everyone in the technology industry should read and understand. I recently ran across an audio interview with the author, Clayton Christensen. In it he gives a brief explanation of the main thesis of
Posted by SteveRowe | 0 Comments
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