December 31, 2020

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a wild year! With the global pandemic wreaking havoc on our social lives since mid-March, we’ve all been forced to find different ways to occupy our time. I, like everyone else, turned to streaming services where I binged awesome TV shows like Succession, Billions and Insecure but I also spent a lot of time reading.

According to my “Good Reads” profile, I had surpassed my reading goal of 8 books halfway through the year and finished the year with a total of 16 books read – the most I’ve ever read in one year. I personally like to split my reading time between fiction and non-fiction (Finally got around to reading The Godfather for the first time after watching the movie at least 25 times – have to say, book is just as good), and this year was no different. Wanted to jot down some quick notes on 5 of the business and leadership books I read in 2020*.

*Note, while I read these books in 2020, not all of them were released in 2020.

Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable – Tim Grover

Given that “The Last Dance” Michael Jordan documentary was the most watched documentary ESPN has ever released, it’s safe to say a lot of people spent their early quarantine days watching it. I was no exception. One of the many people interviewed for the documentary was Jordan’s long time trainer Tim Grover whose book “Relentless” was actually released back in 2013 and discusses how he helped Michael Jordan get to the top of his game. In the end, he breaks it down to never giving up, no matter how much you’ve achieved, not matter how many people are ahead of you, keep pushing forward.

“Never stop until you get what you want. Then keep going until you get what’s next. Then you go for more. Relentless.”

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE – Phil Knight

I went back and forth for months deciding whether or not I wanted to read this book. I initially thought the book was about Nike’s meteoric rise to the top of the shoe industry and would discuss their deals with athletes like Jordan, LeBron and Tiger and when I realized it wasn’t, I was disappointed and decided not to read it. Stuck without a business book to read in September, I picked it up and basically didn’t put it down until I finished it. In the book, Phil Knight talks about the early days at Nike and the struggles of starting a business in an already established industry. The risks, the failures, the successes and everything in between (including some interesting trips to Japan).

“Starting my own business was the only thing that made life’s other risks—marriage, Vegas, alligator wrestling—seem like sure things.”

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years As The CEO Of The Walt Disney Company – Robert Iger, Joel Lovell

Prior to picking up Robert Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime I had heard him on a podcast telling stories about his “ride” as Disney’s CEO and was intrigued. Not only was his story about becoming CEO of one of the largest media companies in the world interesting, the story of what he did while CEO is nothing short of amazing. Broken up into 14 easy to read chapters, the book follows Robert from his early days as an executive at ABC all the way to the launch of the new streaming service Disney+. Throughout, Robert provides insight on leadership, deal making, vision and unique anecdotes which bring it all together.

“Ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can.”

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention – Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer

Of the 5 business books I read in 2020, I found this one the least useful for me personally. Not because it wasn’t interesting or was poorly written but because so much of it focused on how a company as large as Netflix operates and treats employees. Because (as of this writing) I’m a one-man operation, it was tough to read chapter after chapter about company hierarchies, international expansion and large group meetings – I just couldn’t relate. I did however store away a few tidbits that I’d likely implement should I ever be in a position to institute change at a company including: only hiring the best of the best, paying above what an employee is worth, allowing employees to take as much vacation time as they wish and selfless candour.

“My goal was to make employees feel like owners and, in turn, to increase the amount of responsibility they took for the company’s success. “

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram – Sarah Frier

I’m a huge sucker for any “behind the scenes” stories about social media, tech or .com companies so the second No Filter was released I was at my local bookshop to pick it up. Similar to some of my other favourite books including Hatching Twitter and Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind BlackBerry, this book details the “come up” of one of the world’s largest social media sites and how being purchased by Facebook was both a gift and perhaps a curse. If you were a fan of the movie The Social Network (as I am) and are not the biggest Mark Zuckerberg fan (ditto), chances are you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did.

“Systrom (one of Instagram’s Founders) was competitive, but it was always very important to him to do things the best way.”