Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Executive Mindset: Unlocking the Strategic Power Inside Every Manager

By Scott J. Pearson | June 21, 2026June 21, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Learning to think like the “next level up” is a challenge in any professional group. As the saying goes, what got you here isn’t going to get you there. The gap between management and leadership remains large. As you move up an organization’s chart, mentoring is harder to come by and free passes to make mistakes become fewer. Reading books like Bobby Lampkin’s provide opportunities to level up your thinking and behavior to bring further…

Indie Writing-Communication

Narrative is Everything: The ABT Framework & Narrative Evolution

By Scott J. Pearson | June 9, 2026June 9, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Randy Olson spent half of his career as a Harvard-PhD scientist and the other half as a Hollywood screenwriter. His love for theory combined with his love for narrative, and he built an “ABT Framework” to describe the fundamentals of narrative. ABT stands for “and… but… therefore…” It contends of an assertion AND perhaps another, BUT then a contradiction and conflict to that perspective. THEREFORE, there comes a resolution. In this book, he explores this…

Program Management Software-Technology

Software Measurement & Estimation: A Practical Approach

By Scott J. Pearson | June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Metrics around software can be a difficult to attain. Some (Agile) suggest making up estimates and then making metrics based off of those estimates. Others (function points) build entire abstract schemes based on difficult-to-attain calculations. Either way, predicting and measuring progress are complex tasks, but they are necessary to communicate to management and to provide appropriate managerial oversight. In this book, the authors seek to provide practical methods to assure that projects are on track…

Leadership Program Management Software-Technology

More Effective Agile: A Roadmap for Software Leaders

By Scott J. Pearson | May 30, 2026May 30, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Steve McConnell is one of the best writers about software practices in our generation. Over decades, each of his books pushes the field forward, and each new book updates his thought with oodles of new data. This book, an evidence-based look at Agile, is no exception. Agile has become a catch-all term for a lot of software practices, but McConnell recenters his study about Agile on what’s most important in a business – getting results.…

Science Writing-Communication

Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style

By Scott J. Pearson | May 25, 2026May 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Family members of STEM types will relate deeply to this book. Their STEM-working family member can live in a different world that’s distinct from the world everyone else lives in, and they must learn to relate back to the “real world.” The problem, however, penetrates deeper than that. The public admires those in STEM fields for the braininess required for entry, but the public’s communication styles do not relate to theirs. Memes, movies, and social…

Fiction-Stories

Harlem Shuffle: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

By Scott J. Pearson | May 23, 2026May 23, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

To Harlem residents, Ray Carney seems to be an upstanding furniture owner and salesman. He aspires to sell reasonably priced items to furnish people’s houses and apartments and live a middle-class life by providing for his family. However, he descends from a family involved in crime, and he’s never fully escaped those roots. To those crooks who know his dark side, he represents an opportunity. His cousins and connections allow him to live a double…

Program Management Software-Technology

Agile Estimating & Planning

By Scott J. Pearson | May 22, 2026May 22, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Agile methods are just different than traditional approaches, kind of like Einsteinian physics is just different from Newtonian physics. They both have the same aims; they only have wildly different ways of getting there. Instead of estimating software schedules by reality-based values, agile creates abstractions like user stories, story points, and velocities to measure progress. Burndown charts project how quickly a feature set can be released. Maybe I’m an old fogey in the world of…

Leadership Management-Business

The Leadership Pipeline: Developing Leaders in the Digital Age

By Scott J. Pearson | May 21, 2026May 21, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Developing a leadership strategy is tough for any organization. Leaders have to function at various levels and lead in different ways, depending on the task at hand. Many leaders become stuck by doing their previous job instead of embracing the new charter of their new responsibilities. Leaders must simultaneously be kept happy doing their present work while being ready to accept different responsibilities when needed. Leadership must no longer be viewed as an ascent but…

Program Management Software-Technology

Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art

By Scott J. Pearson | May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Software estimation is a somewhat undefined craft. Most coders simply “go with their gut” in estimating a project, and that gut is often wildly off. Alternative techniques involve intense calculations that take a lot of time, but rarely yield enough accuracy to help, especially for smaller projects. Unlike, say, construction or mechanical tasks, software builds represent a creative process where new territory is tread with each project. There’s a learning curve involved, and it’s hard…