Post by 4aapl on Apr 22, 2024 21:19:59 GMT -8
This book was well worth the read. It's 615 pages, in 95 chapters, but for most of the book there was a page of pictures as an intro to each chapter, so it's not quite as many. And until the last 150 pages of so, getting into the Twitter timeframe, the chapters just really flowed by.
There's a lot of different things going on, nearly all the time. And that's more obvious later on, but the book does a good job of separating them out.
As a nitpicky thing that we seem to not care about in this day and age, I came across some editing errors, and some repeats. Maybe the repeats were for drama. I almost feel that there was an Elon push on it, to get it out even if there was some broken stuff. Like SJ saying "real artists ship", but a bit earlier when not everything is really ready, depending on the quality level you are aiming for. It wasn't bad in this regard...just something I noticed. And with all of the comparisons to SJ or Apple, especially in the first half of the book, it seems important to note that there is a different mindset going on there in that regard. And in the general regard of how each treated people, I still feel that there was a huge difference in the stories I hear of Steve after he came back to Apple, vs the first time around. That's not really the most important thing here, but it's also worth noting.
It is very amazing what all Elon is getting done.
But boy does he have some baggage. None of us are perfect. But wow!
He seems obsessed with the birth rate going down, especially with the people he knows, saying they often have 1 kid or none. But then look at who he knows, and who he is surrounded by. Not everyone can put in the "80 hours and loving it" mindset (believe that was SJ's Pirate flag waving Macintosh team). But if expecting that nearly all the time, and firing people left and right that don't seem to be committed enough, of course you are going to be surrounded by people that are really focused on their work, and just don't have a whole lot of home/family time. It seems pretty obvious.
These big things take a big push. He's managing to make it happen, pushing big things. There are a lot of great messages and stories in there, like at all the companies trying to get things down to just what is really needed (why are 4 bolts needed for that, try just 2).
The last 150 pages that had a lot about Twitter was really interesting, partly in just the problems and thoughts on moderation, which really mirror some things that go on here.
It was a good read, connecting many things I had heard over the years. Now I understand the storyline of all of his kids, and it makes a little more sense (But Walter, you didn't name drop Doogie Howiser?). And getting insights into the products, process, and direction was great too.
Thanks JD for recommending it. It was on my list, but having someone recommend it helped get me to put it on my library hold list. And I'll probably try to read a couple other books from Walter, when I get a chance.
There's a lot of different things going on, nearly all the time. And that's more obvious later on, but the book does a good job of separating them out.
As a nitpicky thing that we seem to not care about in this day and age, I came across some editing errors, and some repeats. Maybe the repeats were for drama. I almost feel that there was an Elon push on it, to get it out even if there was some broken stuff. Like SJ saying "real artists ship", but a bit earlier when not everything is really ready, depending on the quality level you are aiming for. It wasn't bad in this regard...just something I noticed. And with all of the comparisons to SJ or Apple, especially in the first half of the book, it seems important to note that there is a different mindset going on there in that regard. And in the general regard of how each treated people, I still feel that there was a huge difference in the stories I hear of Steve after he came back to Apple, vs the first time around. That's not really the most important thing here, but it's also worth noting.
It is very amazing what all Elon is getting done.
But boy does he have some baggage. None of us are perfect. But wow!
He seems obsessed with the birth rate going down, especially with the people he knows, saying they often have 1 kid or none. But then look at who he knows, and who he is surrounded by. Not everyone can put in the "80 hours and loving it" mindset (believe that was SJ's Pirate flag waving Macintosh team). But if expecting that nearly all the time, and firing people left and right that don't seem to be committed enough, of course you are going to be surrounded by people that are really focused on their work, and just don't have a whole lot of home/family time. It seems pretty obvious.
These big things take a big push. He's managing to make it happen, pushing big things. There are a lot of great messages and stories in there, like at all the companies trying to get things down to just what is really needed (why are 4 bolts needed for that, try just 2).
The last 150 pages that had a lot about Twitter was really interesting, partly in just the problems and thoughts on moderation, which really mirror some things that go on here.
It was a good read, connecting many things I had heard over the years. Now I understand the storyline of all of his kids, and it makes a little more sense (But Walter, you didn't name drop Doogie Howiser?). And getting insights into the products, process, and direction was great too.
Thanks JD for recommending it. It was on my list, but having someone recommend it helped get me to put it on my library hold list. And I'll probably try to read a couple other books from Walter, when I get a chance.