Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Software Engineer’s Guidebook: Navigating Senior, Tech Lead & Staff Engineer Positions at Tech Companies & Startups

By Scott J. Pearson | June 1, 2024September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Writing software promises a career full of intellectual challenges, never-ending learning, and collaborative projects. Yet sometimes, the career path can seem arduous and hidden, especially for those not on the management track. How can engineers lead when they’re not managing a team? In this book, Gergely Orosz shows how engineers can establish a career, progress to senior level and tech lead, and then move onto principal or staff engineering roles. None of these roles involves…

Management-Business

Managing Your Boss

By Scott J. Pearson | May 29, 2024May 29, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

“Managing up” has become a part of work culture over the past 20-or-so years, but that scenario hasn’t always been the case. This article, originally published in Harvard Business Review (HBR) in 1993 and 2005, represents some of the first voices to discuss this topic at length. Thus, the HBR Press has compiled this article into a brief book for sale. Had I known of its prior distribution, I would not have purchased the book…

Management-Business Psychology

Working for You Isn’t Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss

By Scott J. Pearson | May 27, 2024May 27, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Although I write a lot of book reviews, I usually don’t review psychology-related books because their value is so subjective. The things that are most valuable to me as a worker in a non-psychological enterprise aren’t necessarily valuable to everyone else. Thus, I have a hard time ascertaining a psychology-related book’s general worth. However, this book is an exception. Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster offer workplace advice that pertains to almost everyone. They investigate dealing…

Writing-Communication

The Sound on the Page: Great Writers Talk about Style & Voice in Writing

By Scott J. Pearson | May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Books about writing offer varied advice and often contradict themselves. Should everyone write like Hemingway? Is it ok to diverge from Strunk and White’s style? How can I inject personality into writing without putting off my audience (or my editor)? These are common issues for writers, especially new or aspiring ones, and Ben Yagoda has decided to address them. He has interviewed and compiled results on acclaimed writers from many fields, genres, and styles. He…

Leadership Management-Business Software-Technology

Mastering Collaboration: Make Working Together Less Painful & More Productive

By Scott J. Pearson | May 19, 2024September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Many modern problems must be solved in teams, so healthy organizations must prioritize social issues to the fore. Yet sometimes, it seems that modern culture has done worse, not better, at limiting stress and anxiety. These problems are heightened in technical fields where workers often address scientific issues, rather than people issues. To answer these troubling questions, Gretchen Anderson, a Harvard-educated Silicon Valley executive, lends her voice from decades of experience leading teams to develop…

Society Software-Technology

Co-Intelligence: Living & Working with AI

By Scott J. Pearson | May 16, 2024May 18, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic on today’s news pages. Some fear that AI will take over the world and replace it in some dystopian society. Others take its evolution in stride. What’s becoming clear is that life will change in a revolutionary way. Ethan Mollick agrees and also points to opportunities individuals can take to use AI to create a better life and a better workplace. Mollick has used AI to teach business…

Science Writing-Communication

Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of Scientific Discourse

By Scott J. Pearson | May 12, 2024May 12, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Much of a career in science revolves around writing challenges. A scientist has to communicate with their colleagues through journals. They have to communicate with funding agencies through requests for proposals. Not to be forgotten, they have to communicate with the wider public. Thus, scientific writing becomes a key element of the game. Likewise, understanding the forms and conventions of scientific writing can give one a professional leg up towards enhanced status in the scientific…

Biography-Memoir Science

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character

By Scott J. Pearson | May 7, 2024May 7, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Dick Feynman was a Nobel laureate and professor of theoretical physics at Cornell and Cal Tech. Like many accomplished people, he had a unique reputation and a magnanimous spirit. In the classroom, his students revered him for his interesting stories. This memoir, written towards the end of his life, records his reflections on his life with the same zeal that won his students’ hearts. To be frank, some of his stories tend towards the anti-feminist…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Transforming IT Culture: How to Use Social Intelligence, Human Factors & Collaboration to Create an IT Department That Outperforms

By Scott J. Pearson | May 6, 2024May 6, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

I liked this book a lot. It’s labeled as a part of a “CIO Series,” but that’s really a mislabel. It’s for anyone working with software developers who has to navigate a distinct company culture. It’s especially geared for those who want to mold that culture for good. Software development is a tricky industry. Good people are hard to find, and they often don’t have a stereotypical personality – especially if they’re really talented. Yet…

Fiction-Stories

Walk the Blue Fields: Stories

By Scott J. Pearson | May 3, 2024May 3, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Claire Keegan’s tightly constructed short stories never cease to enthrall me. This collection poses no exception. Each story takes its own life. They do not take long to read, but oh, they take long to ponder! A couple of these stories are in other collections, but each one provided a treat at the end of a workday. My favorite in this anthology is the last story: “Night of the Quicken Trees.” It tells of two…