Seven Transformative Books
Essential reads that shape how I approach systems thinking, leadership transformation, execution excellence, and strategic innovation
The Phoenix Project
A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
A hands-on, intuitive introduction to DevOps principles through compelling storytelling.
Personal Impact:
"Shaping the way I develop IT projects and conduct sprint reviews and handle incidents"
Key Takeaways:
- •Three Ways of DevOps
- •Systems thinking approach
- •Incident management excellence
- +1 more...
Turn the Ship Around!
A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
by L. David Marquet
Transformative leadership principles from nuclear submarine command.
Personal Impact:
"Excellent leadership book and great case story on handling complacency in organizations or teams"
Key Takeaways:
- •Intent-based leadership
- •Leader-leader model
- •Empowerment strategies
- +1 more...
Extreme Ownership
How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
by Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
Fundamental leadership principles from Navy SEAL operations.
Personal Impact:
"An excellent leadership book - the way I orient, delegate and execute"
Key Takeaways:
- •Complete responsibility taking
- •Decentralized command
- •Discipline equals freedom
- +1 more...
Antifragile
Things That Gain from Disorder
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Revolutionary framework for thriving in uncertainty and building systems that improve under stress.
Personal Impact:
"Great book on building a mindset for exploration"
Key Takeaways:
- •Antifragility vs resilience
- •Hormesis principle
- •Via negativa thinking
- +1 more...
Hostage at the Table
How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others, and Raise Performance
by George Kohlrieser
Powerful framework for resolving conflicts and managing change resistance.
Personal Impact:
"Great intro to resolving conflicts and rivalries. The mourning process can be relevant at sprint reviews as embracing new tech and ways of working involves letting go of what was before"
Key Takeaways:
- •Hostage negotiation principles
- •Mourning process in change
- •Conflict transformation
- +1 more...
Dune
Chronicles of Arrakis
by Frank Herbert
Science fiction masterpiece that challenges romantic notions of the past.
Personal Impact:
"Reflect on a past that never existed. The past often seems golden but only a fool longs for it as it never really was as remembered, instead we must look forward"
Key Takeaways:
- •Future-focused thinking
- •Golden age fallacy
- •Strategic long-term planning
- +1 more...
Hackers and Painters
Big Ideas from the Computer Age
by Paul Graham
Insightful exploration of how technology choices and deployment methods create competitive advantages.
Personal Impact:
"Example with Viaweb in Lisp leading to web UIs being everywhere fascinates me and shows how the medium and bandwidth of deployment is really crucial"
Key Takeaways:
- •Technology deployment bandwidth
- •Medium as strategic advantage
- •Programming language choice impact
- +1 more...
Conceptual Integration: Meaningwave as Mindset Therapy
Beyond traditional books, Meaningwave represents a unique fusion of music and philosophical concepts that makes complex ideas relatable and actionable. This genre serves as mindset therapy, using musical expression to explore fundamental concepts about reality, action, and personal responsibility.
Core Meaningwave Concepts:
- User Interface to Reality: Understanding how we perceive and interact with the world
- Deliberate Action vs. Desperate Action: Intentional, strategic behavior versus reactive responses
- Taking Ownership: Personal responsibility as foundation for growth
Meaningwave transforms abstract philosophical concepts into accessible frameworks through musical storytelling. This approach makes complex ideas about consciousness, responsibility, and action more intuitive and applicable to daily leadership challenges, complementing the intellectual frameworks from traditional leadership literature.
"These books fundamentally shape how I approach technology projects, team leadership, and organizational transformation. From DevOps excellence to antifragile thinking, they create a comprehensive framework for innovation leadership in uncertain environments."— Sivert Kjøller Bertelsen, Innovation Leader & Strategic Thinker
The Continuous Learning Journey
These seven works create a continuous learning framework spanning technical operations, leadership development, strategic thinking, conflict resolution, and philosophical understanding. The journey begins with systems thinking, progresses through leadership transformation, embraces uncertainty as opportunity, and integrates both intellectual and emotional intelligence.
The goal isn't isolated application of individual concepts, but integration across IT projects, sprint reviews, incident management, team development, and strategic planning. Each book reinforces and extends the others, creating a comprehensive approach to innovation leadership that addresses both the technical and human aspects of organizational excellence.
This curated collection represents years of testing these concepts in real-world technology organizations, refining understanding through practice, and discovering how different frameworks complement and strengthen each other in the complex landscape of modern innovation leadership.