Book Review: 4/5 Impact On Me (Book By David Burkus)
Read more about the book here
I have read some of the studies mentioned in this book before. I loved how the book explained these studies and shared opinions on what a network means, how to build it, how to maintain it, how to benefit from it, and how to help others. The book discusses what each of these aspects means for you, society, and your friends.
The book clearly explains weak, strong, and dormant ties. I connected this to how my spouse and I recently got jobs. The book's explanation of the six degrees of separation and its history was fascinating. I enjoyed learning about the need for a mix of closed communities and connections between communities. For example, the glass blowers near Vienna succeeded because they had a closed community and could share knowledge with each other. This reminds me of the benefit of co-located product, engineering, and design teams.
The book also discussed the benefits of a matrix organization, where you might work with different colleagues on each project. It shared an example from the US military in Iraq. I see value in the "donut chat" many tech companies do, where two employees are paired randomly for a virtual coffee chat, even if they have never worked together.
The book analyzed the proverb, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," separating hyperbole, reality, and myth. The impact of this book on me is 4 out of 5. There is a lot of exciting information but not a lot of actionable information because I was already aware of much of it. I used to host cocktail parties, which were like mixers, and maybe I should do more of them, encouraged by this book. you can see my learnings around connections here: https://www.harshal-patil.com/post/le...