Year End Roundup of Learnings
Here is the year roundup in books, courses and podcasts that stood out to me. I have added a ‘My Key Takeaway (MKT)’ section, which is basically my favorite line from each:
Business, Tech and Product Management
Books:
- Zero to One: Recommended for anyone interested in looking at ‘widely held beliefs’ from a new lens, specially in the business world.
MKT: “The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.”
2. Hooked: Recommended for anyone looking to understand the success of habit forming products.
MKT: “If it can’t be used for evil, it is not a superpower.”
3. Hit Refresh: Leadership lessons from one of the most successful tech CEOs of our times. There are many important lessons to be learnt from this one.
MKT: “ We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen, and overestimate that others need to do for us. We have to get out of the mode of thinking in which we assume that others have more power over us than we do.”
4. No Rules Rules:Lessons from the creation of Netflix- a company that has not just survived but thrived in four massive transitions in its industry.
MKT: “A job should be something you do for that magical period of time when you are the best person for that job and that job is the best position for you. Once you stop learning or stop excelling, that’s the moment for you to pass that spot onto someone who is better fitted for it and to move on to a better role for you.”
Podcasts and Courses:
- Product Management: https://youtu.be/rf4dy3ayicU, GoJek team discusses product management. Some useful insights for aspiring and working product managers alike.
MKT: The product management team is doing a good job when they are able to course correct the beliefs of the people higher up in the chain of command.
2. Tristan Harris on the Joe Rogan show: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2LNwwgJqOMKHOqdvwmLxqd?si=07cb424d340243eb&nd=1#login
Tristan quotes a biologist, “The problem with humanity is that we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and Godlike technology.” He goes on to discuss the dangers of social media algorithms optimized for maximum engagement. This one is recommended for anyone interested in the tech industry and how it is shaping the world.
2. Kunal Shah on TRS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgY1AfUL55k
MKT: “Status is a zero sum game. Wealth is not. Societal norms are driven by what we celebrate.”
3. AI Course: https://www.deeplearning.ai/program/ai-for-everyone/
AI will increasingly play an important role in our lives. People who are working in the tech industry will feel its effects sooner than later. Hence, it is a good investment to explore the field. I would recommend the course to anyone who is curious about AI. No prior tech experience is required for this course.
Curious Learnings
Books:
- Sapiens: This was my second time reading this gem. It has been so widely read and discussed that I don’t even have to recommend it. Personally, I find the book to be a lesson in spirituality. It brings to the fore the temperance of everything.
“People are liberated from suffering not when they experience this or that fleeting pleasure, but rather when they understand the impermanent nature of all their feelings, and stop craving them.”
2. Autobiography of a Yogi: I am still reading this one. Again, this is one book that has been widely read and discussed. Recommended for anyone exploring spirituality, yoga or self awareness.
“Attachment is blinding; it lends an imaginary halo of attractiveness to the object of desire.”
3. Atomic Habits: This was the most powerful book of the year for me. The book outlines simple, step by step processes to break bad habits and replace them with useful ones. The book delves deeper into brain science for providing an explanation for habit patterns. However, the most profound lessons for me came from the latter half of the book. The writer explains how the willingness to do ‘boring’ things differentiates the winners. “The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.” This is the kind of book I would recommend for anyone and everyone. Even if you are not struggling with routines and habits, the book offers a lot of insight into how our brains work.
Podcasts and Courses:
- Neuroscience: This was the year when I drew parallels in the teaching of spiritual leaders and neuroscientists. Our environments are not as important for our well being as we make them out to be. Food, sleep, content, routine- everything has a role to play in balancing our health. Some of the podcasts gave me such insights:
https://youtu.be/2Fst8l-28Ks , https://youtu.be/aeanGegiXpA , https://youtu.be/TDSa7nZhlHY
2. Inner Engineering Course: This is a yoga and meditation course offered by Isha Foundation. For the first time, the full course was being offered in an online format. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to deepen practices of yoga and meditation.
3. Circular Economy: https://www.edx.org/course/circular-economy-an-introduction
Sustainability is not just a buzzword anymore. I took this course to understand it a little better. The course helped me understand how the basic principles of consumerism and an ‘us vs them’ thinking is driving us towards an ecological catastrophe. It has also led me to explore and implement sustainable living in my everyday life.
4. Dealing with energy vampires course by monk Dandapani: This was again a course offered by a monk. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling to let go of non-uplifting influences. The course is a forced reflection on one’s goals and direction in life.
Fiction
On the fiction front, this was the year of childhood nostalgia for me. Staying in my hometown after very long, I also reconnected with the heartwarming writings of Ruskin Bond. His short stories, ‘Its a wonderful Life’ and ‘Become a writer’ filled up my days with memories of the yore. I also had the fortune of completing an online course taught by him: https://unlu.io/class/ruskin-bond-teaches-writing . I would recommend the course to all Ruskin Bond fans.
The only other fiction book I read this year was ‘The Archer’ by Paulo Coelho and I will end with my favorite quote from it:
“Use your bad moments to discover what makes you tremble. Use your good moments to find your road to inner peace. But do not stop either out of fear or joy: the way of the bow has no end.”
