Erik on Software

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Erik Gfesser

📍 Greater Chicago Area

Software Engineering: 40 Years

During the summer of 1998, I visited Germany for the first time, backpacking solo cross-country throughout former West Germany while not neglecting to visit some key sites in former East Germany. Some of the most pleasurable destinations in former East Germany included Berlin (most notably the incredible Pergamonmuseum), the Harz

New Book Review: "The Strategy Paradox"

New book review for The Strategy Paradox: Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure (and What to Do About It), by Michael E. Raynor, Currency Doubleday, 2007: Raynor explains through several case studies that poor luck is usually the cause of company failure, not poor planning or execution. Any future

New Book Review: "Selling the Invisible"

New book review for Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing, by Harry Beckwith, Business Plus, 1997: Almost 150 reviews at this point for this text, spanning consistently over a period of the 10 years it has been written. This reviewer recalls the recent "The Wall Street

New Book Review: "Leadership Beyond Reason"

New book review for Leadership Beyond Reason: How Great Leaders Succeed by Harnessing the Power of Their Values, Feelings, and Intuition, by Dr. John Townsend, Thomas Nelson, 2009: Copy provided by Amazon. Townsend explains quite plainly in his introduction that "great leaders succeed by harnessing the power of both

New Book Review: "The Consultant's Scorecard"

New book review for The Consultant's Scorecard: Tracking Results and Bottom-Line Impact of Consulting Projects, by Jack Phillips, McGraw-Hill, 1999: It is quite surprising that more reviews have not been written about this text by Phillips, because it is seemingly rather difficult to find other works that directly

New Book Review: "Managing Humans"

New book review for Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager, by Michael Lopp, Apress, 2007: A lot of reviews for this work have been posted here already, including a few which puzzlingly complain about the substance of what Michael Lopp has to share, even though

New Book Review: "Leading the Charge"

New book review for Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom, by General Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009: Copy provided by Amazon. The authors walk the reader through, provide insights to, and discuss possible solutions to some of the many pressing leadership challenges

Product Reviews: Part 1

Since submitting my first book review in 1999, the Amazon review process has been an interesting one. At this point in time, Amazon shows that I have 85 product reviews to my name. Apparently, this total number is based on the reviews currently available via the Amazon web site; I

New Book Review: "Managing the Professional Service Firm"

New book review for Managing the Professional Service Firm, by David H. Maister, Free Press, 1993: This text is a classic resource on the professional service firm, and as a consultant this reviewer appreciates the accumulated wealth of knowledge the author graciously decided to share. The content that Maister provides

New Book Review: "Rethink"

New book review for Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation, by Ric Merrifield, FT (Financial Times) Press, 2009: Copy provided by Amazon. If there is one overall motif or theme for this book by Ric Merrifield, it is a constant attempt to focus on the "