Book Review: Being Geek

I recently read Being Geek by Michael Lopp (O’Reilly 2010).  I’ve been holding off publishing my review of this book waiting for my wife to offer her opinion of what the author has to say to spouses/partners to help them understand us ‘geeks’ – unfortunately with her schedule and school she hasn’t had time, and I didn’t want to wait any longer!  So maybe later I’ll update or post again with what she thought about the description of geeks and how to live with them (See Chapter 23 – The Nerd Handbook).

The Good: The book was really a pretty quick read.  It has lots of ‘gems’ of information – many of which you will find to be self-evident and well-know once you read them, but may be things that you never fully comprehended before. Some examples of this include:

The Itch (chapter 3) - overall as tech professionals are a pretty mobile bunch, I don’t know the exact stats, but I know I have averaged about 3 years per job, and I know many others who have similar resumes.  This chapter describes some signs of an impending itch to change jobs, and gives advice to support analyzing and understanding the cause of the itch – helping you to make better choices;

The Culture Chart (chapter 8) - In any job it is necessary to know the organization chart – you must be aware of who wields the power and can make or break your position in the company.  But equally important (maybe more important) is to gain an understanding of the un-official leaders, movers and shakers in the company.  There are many people who do not show up prominently on the official org chart, but they make things happen and drive many of the initiatives in the company;

The Impossible (chapter 13) – It seems like so much of what we are asked to do is impossible, but there are times when ‘management’ doesn’t even seem to try to mask it.  These can be very stressful and/or exciting times.  You will need to analyze the situation and determine if the the impossible request is a sign of insanity or an amazing opportunity in the making.  I remember seeing a poster with Walt Disney saying something like – it’s kind of fun to do the impossible.  And there is really nothing quite like it!

These are just a few of the insights that are presented in the book – I expect that you will find snippets of wisdom in nearly every chapter!

The Bad: The only caution I would suggest about this book is the unnecessary (in my opinion) use of foul language.  I am certainly used to hearing plenty of ‘colorful’ discussion at work (and in other environments), but I would prefer a little more effort on the part of the author and editor to present the content in a cleaner manner.  I offer this in the review just as a word of caution to readers who may be offended.  For me the content trumps this unfortunate flaw, but be warned…

Summary: This book is a quick easy read that really delivers on giving the reader many insights into living and working as a geek (or nerd if you prefer the term).  Many of the chapters will help the young and less experienced professionals chart a course for success in their career.  But there are also many chapters that provide some pretty deep views into the life of a manager.  These chapters should be of value to both practitioners and managers alike.