HN Books @HNBooksMonth

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1031937.Quality_Is_Free

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...

Personally I think KPIs (particularly when you are asking the question "how do I adopt KPIs") are toxic.

In a non-startup company there is generally one bottleneck that holds the organization back and has to be controlled

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...

In a startup company or if you are trying to develop a "revolutionary" product there are usual several bottlenecks that need to be attacked. For instance going to the moon you have to solve problems from a list such as

  * propulsion
  * navigation
  * life support

if you are looking at a 10% improvement you need to find the one bottleneck (e.g. "The Goal") if you need to get a 10x improvement you will hit several bottlenecks on the way there and the writings of W.L. Livingston apply

https://www.amazon.com/Have-Fun-at-Work-Livingston/dp/093706...

When you use goals to "destroy the competition" or "change the world", goals are a powerful technique. If you are setting goals because somebody told you to set goals or somebody else sets goals you are going to drive yourself to distraction.

I'm reminded of the story of the joint interview with Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

The interviewer asked each of them to write down the one thing that contributed most to their success. Both independently wrote "focus".

https://www.inc.com/marc-emmer/bill-gates-warren-buffett-rev...

I remember reading the book The Goal in business school. What impressed me the most, was that the most efficient path to achieving a goal, is often non-intuitive, and sometimes even involves making destructive choices - choices that outside observers would find absurd and distasteful.

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...

It's not only about choosing a singular goal, it's also about meticulously calculating your path there.

Don't follow the herd. The pack is FULL of jack-of-all-trades that have a smattering of random skills they picked up. Make literally every life choice with directionality and planning.

This is a great companion to "The Goal" and "The Phoenix Project," both of which use fictional narratives to illustrate best engineering practices in the context of saving a (fictional) business.

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Busine...

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...

Well I don't have a MBA :D, but I do have a masters degree of a similar orientation (Masters in engineering management). I can only recommend the ones I have read and found of value:

[1] Crossing the chasm (Marketing related)

[2] Peopleware (HR related)

[3] How to win friends and influence people (HR related)

[4] The Goal (Business related)

[5] Critical chain (Project management related)

[6] Who moved my cheese (Change management related)

and any of the lean / agile businessy books for ex.

[7] The lean startup

These might not be viewed as traditional MBA material, but my course featured some of these along with more traditional academic books on subjects like financial management, people management, operations etc. I can provide these textbooks to you as well if you like.

*Amazon links just for convenience, no affiliation.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstre...

[2] http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-3...

[3] http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/06...

[4] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271951?keywords=eli%20g...

[5] http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Chain-Eliyahu-M-Goldratt/dp/0...

[6] http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0399144...

[7] http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-...