A page-turning, noteworthy book that adds to the growing library exposing Silicon Valley’s not-so-glamorous underbelly.
A gripping journalistic drama that reveals the details of Uber’s meteoric rise and precipitous fall.
As a Gerald Loeb Award–winning technology reporter for the New York Times, first-time author Isaac has a front-row seat to Silicon Valley’s hotshot companies and founders. In the early 2010s, that meant covering the “unicorn of unicorns” (startups valued at $1 billion or more), Uber, and its founder, Travis Kalanick. As the author clearly shows, the startup worked quickly, subversively winding its way into major cities (even internationally) and breaking dozens of local regulations en route. However, at the same time, the company’s value skyrocketed as it continued to accept massive amounts of funding from several major Silicon Valley funders. Through hundreds of interviews, Isaac pulls back the curtain on the appallingly destructive and misogynistic “bro” culture that was lurking in the shadows. Kalanick was indeed a Wizard of Oz–like character—a magical tech founder who could do no wrong—but he was ultimately revealed as a troubled and deeply flawed leader. It’s nearly impossible not to compare this book to last year’s superb Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou, which told the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the now-defunct biotech startup Theranos. The difference here is that Uber was a wildly successful and entirely real company. Like Holmes, Kalanick was slowly found out, leading to Uber’s disastrous 2017, which Isaac calls one of the single most destructive years for a corporation in American history. The book is not only an indictment of Uber itself, but of Silicon Valley’s founder-worship of the early and mid-2010s, during which those with that holy title were often “treated as Platonic philosopher kings.” It will force readers to reconsider their use of Uber and other ride-sharing companies.
A page-turning, noteworthy book that adds to the growing library exposing Silicon Valley’s not-so-glamorous underbelly.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-39-365224-6
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2019
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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