CIO & LEADER-November 2017 (1)
Feature TThis is a list of some of the most relevant (in our opinion) current books that we present here. Even before we try explaining the selection, we probably owe you some justification on why a list of books, of all things—that too on cover? Aren’t they so 70s? Google can virtually answer anything that you want to know. Wikipedia can explain a topic a little better. And if you are the active advice/learning seeker type, the TED talks can give you quite engaging content that gives you a different take on a topic. To survive, you need facts and information. Never had information been available so easily. To grow your professional career and do your job better, you need knowledge. The new medium of Internet has made it far efficient and convenient to acquire skills and knowledge. But to become a leader, you need to have a wellrounded perspective. That comes through discovery and introspection. For ages, books have been the most trusted and effective aid in doing that. “What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski,” writes Nicholas Carr, the leading writer on technology and culture, in an article Is Google making us stupid? Carr’s book on the subject The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a New York Times bestseller. The cognitive impact of Internet is a much deeper discussion. What we want to point here is that books, especially books that help you reflect and contemplate, are as much a need for developing perspectives now, as they were 100 years back. All that we have done here is to create a list of such books published in 2017 we think will help you build a perspective. Why 2017? Elementary. We do not think we are qualified to make a list of all time books. We are trying to do what we are committed to: reporting and analyzing to make the knowledge a little more accessible; we are clearly not into advising. We are primarily reporting, extensively flipping through many books, not even trying to read them cover to cover. The idea is not to review them; but to decide if it is worth reading. That probably tells you a bit more about the reading list. The books are not necessarily the books that will help you in your everyday jobs or to develop some leadership skills. That is the reason we call it the not-so-essential reading list. You can just ignore this list. It will not impact you next promotion or next assignment even slightly. However, we have kept the books relevant to your work so that you can identify with the content; not books on fine arts of films delivering similar messages. It is not exactly ironic—though neither was it intentional—that the list starts with World Without Mind, by Franklin Foer, a book that dwells on the same subject of how Internet is making us duller; but unlike Carr, Foer’s villain is not the medium per se but the corporations controlling them—Facebook, Google, and Amazon, in particular. You do not have to agree with him, but he does provide a line of thought that is worth following. The books are classified into four categories—Big Picture, Business/Management, Technology and Self Improvement. By the way, we did the classification after creating the complete list. The purpose is to make the list slightly more usable—and nothing more. You may even ignore the classification. Some of the books are very much your everyday business guides. But they are there because they either make a new point or do ‘the connecting the dots’ a lot better. The information about the books are taken from Amazon.in. You may find different editions outside India. Happy Reading. November 2017 | CIO&LEADER 35
Feature BIG PICTURE World Without Mind The Existential Threat of Big Tech by Franklin Foer Publisher: Random House UK Month of Publishing: October 2017 The Book is about How technology and the big technology companies threaten our civilization by killing privacy, free will, an independent media (yes, the author is an ex-editor) and above all our individuality. Why it is in the list Those who are working to make technology make an impact on business and society must be aware of and sensitized to the other side of it. The Four The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin Month of Publishing: October 2017 The Book is about A more factual account (supported by numbers) on how the four companies have dominated the business, the industry and the consumer psyche. According to Galloway, each of these companies do dominate by capturing a specific human trait—Google targets the thinking and knowledge (brain); Facebook our heart/social needs; Amazon the guts and Apple the senses by creating sleek products. Though the ‘hidden DNA’ part is a little misleading, as the author deals mostly with the tactics of the companies rather than the organizational structure. The book is extremely readable. Why it is in the list Elementary, my dear IT Manager. If you are in technology, you must understand The Four very well which in turn explains the forces of technology. Everybody Lies Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz Publisher: Dey Street Books Month of Publishing: May 2017 The Book is about Not exactly brilliant in terms of new theories or trend-spotting, it is nevertheless a good attempt to establish how Big Data can impact all our lives. A wannabe Feakonomics not as brilliant but fairly witty and with example you can easily identify with. Why it is in the list A witty book that is easy to read on information and Big Data, the book is primarily in the list because of the topic, its readability and the fact that it is published in 2017, not because it offers any great new insights. 36 CIO&LEADER | November 2017
- Page 1 and 2: FEATURE 15 must-haves for the IT le
- Page 3 and 4: S P I N E A 9.9 Media Publication F
- Page 5 and 6: INTERVIEW "Manufacturing of tomorro
- Page 7 and 8: THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF DIGITAL PAYM
- Page 9 and 10: Cover Story A wrong assumption—li
- Page 11 and 12: Cover Story “Beyond demonetizatio
- Page 13 and 14: Insight Source: Freedom of the net
- Page 15 and 16: Insight 1. SDN has lift off! With s
- Page 17 and 18: Insight FFour out of five responden
- Page 19 and 20: Insight T The onslaught of cyberatt
- Page 21 and 22: Insight similarly be replaced by se
- Page 23 and 24: Insight A According to 2018 Gartner
- Page 25 and 26: Insight II. Digital transformation
- Page 27 and 28: Insight DDon’t fear AI Machine le
- Page 29 and 30: Insight Anthony Thomas to Join Niss
- Page 31 and 32: OPINION Peanut Butter and Jelly Fin
- Page 33: FEATURE 15 Books For The IT Leader'
- Page 37 and 38: Feature TECHNOLOGY Doing Digital Ri
- Page 39: Feature SELF IMPROVEMENT/PERSONAL M
Feature<br />
BIG PICTURE<br />
World<br />
Without Mind<br />
The Existential Threat of Big Tech<br />
by Franklin Foer<br />
Publisher: Random House UK<br />
Month of Publishing: October <strong>2017</strong><br />
The Book is about<br />
How technology and the big technology<br />
companies threaten our civilization by<br />
killing privacy, free will, an independent<br />
media (yes, the author is an ex-editor) and<br />
above all our individuality.<br />
Why it is in the list<br />
Those who are working to make<br />
technology make an impact on business<br />
and society must be aware of and<br />
sensitized to the other side of it.<br />
The Four<br />
The Hidden DNA of Amazon,<br />
Apple, Facebook, and Google<br />
by Scott Galloway<br />
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin<br />
Month of Publishing: October <strong>2017</strong><br />
The Book is about<br />
A more factual account (supported by<br />
numbers) on how the four companies<br />
have dominated the business, the<br />
industry and the consumer psyche.<br />
According to Galloway, each of these<br />
companies do dominate by capturing<br />
a specific human trait—Google targets<br />
the thinking and knowledge (brain);<br />
Facebook our heart/social needs; Amazon<br />
the guts and Apple the senses by creating<br />
sleek products. Though the ‘hidden<br />
DNA’ part is a little misleading, as the<br />
author deals mostly with the tactics of the<br />
companies rather than the organizational<br />
structure. The book is extremely readable.<br />
Why it is in the list<br />
Elementary, my dear IT Manager. If you<br />
are in technology, you must understand<br />
The Four very well which in turn explains<br />
the forces of technology.<br />
Everybody<br />
Lies<br />
Big Data, New Data, and What<br />
the Internet Can Tell Us About<br />
Who We Really Are<br />
by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz<br />
Publisher: Dey Street Books<br />
Month of Publishing: May <strong>2017</strong><br />
The Book is about<br />
Not exactly brilliant in terms of<br />
new theories or trend-spotting, it is<br />
nevertheless a good attempt to establish<br />
how Big Data can impact all our lives. A<br />
wannabe Feakonomics not as brilliant<br />
but fairly witty and with ex<strong>amp</strong>le you can<br />
easily identify with.<br />
Why it is in the list<br />
A witty book that is easy to read on<br />
information and Big Data, the book is<br />
primarily in the list because of the topic,<br />
its readability and the fact that it is<br />
published in <strong>2017</strong>, not because it offers<br />
any great new insights.<br />
36 <strong>CIO</strong>&<strong>LEADER</strong> | <strong>November</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
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