The library More than 200 books across psychology, engineering, building and leadership. These sixteen are the ones I keep coming back to. Spin the ring, then open a book.
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Psychology Man's Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl Why it is on the shelf The book that taught me people survive almost anything when the thing they are doing means something. I use it every time a team is exhausted: the fix is rarely more hours, it is a clearer why. Man's Search for Meaning Psychology Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman Why it is on the shelf It made me distrust my own certainty. Estimates, hiring calls and product bets all got slower and better once I started asking which system in my head was actually talking. Thinking, Fast and Slow Psychology The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk Why it is on the shelf Essential reading for the therapy side of my work, and quietly useful for the engineering side too. Stress lives in the body long before it shows up in a status update. The Body Keeps the Score Psychology Nonviolent Communication Marshall B. Rosenberg Why it is on the shelf A grammar for difficult conversations: observation, feeling, need, request. It changed how I give code review feedback more than any engineering book has. Nonviolent Communication Engineering The Pragmatic Programmer Andrew Hunt, David Thomas Why it is on the shelf The first book that made me feel like a craftsman instead of someone typing syntax. Its warning about small neglected faults is still the rule I repeat most often to juniors. The Pragmatic Programmer Engineering Designing Data-Intensive Applications Martin Kleppmann Why it is on the shelf The reference I reach for whenever a system has to survive real traffic. It gave me the vocabulary to argue about trade-offs instead of defending favourite tools. Designing Data-Intensive Applications Engineering Clean Architecture Robert C. Martin Why it is on the shelf Useful less as a rulebook than as a way of asking what a system will cost to change in two years. That question now shapes every project I start. Clean Architecture Engineering Refactoring Martin Fowler Why it is on the shelf Proof that code is written for people first. I still run the small, boring moves in this book before touching anything risky in a legacy codebase. Refactoring Building Zero to One Peter Thiel Why it is on the shelf It pushed me to look for products that are different in kind, not degree. BidBary exists partly because of the question of what nobody else is building here. Zero to One Building The Hard Thing About Hard Things Ben Horowitz Why it is on the shelf The most honest book about the days when nothing is going well. It is the one I lend to founders who think their struggle means they picked the wrong idea. The Hard Thing About Hard Things Building The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick Why it is on the shelf A short book that saved me months. Every discovery call I run now asks about what people already did, never about what they think they would do. The Mom Test Building Shape Up Ryan Singer Why it is on the shelf Where my delivery rhythm comes from: fix the time, shape the work, give the team room to make the calls. It is why clients get weekly cuts instead of promises. Shape Up Leadership Radical Candor Kim Scott Why it is on the shelf It named the thing I already believed as a therapist: caring about someone and telling them the truth are the same act, not opposites. Radical Candor Leadership Turn the Ship Around! L. David Marquet Why it is on the shelf The book behind how I run teams. Moving from asking permission to stating intent turned my engineers into owners, and freed me from being the bottleneck. Turn the Ship Around! Leadership The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni Why it is on the shelf A clear map of why teams stall, and it always starts lower than people expect. When delivery slips, I check trust before I check the sprint board. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Leadership An Elegant Puzzle Will Larson Why it is on the shelf Engineering management treated as a systems problem, which finally made the job feel solvable. Its thinking on where to put your limited attention shows up in every plan I write. An Elegant Puzzle
Psychology Man's Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl, 1946 Why it is on the shelf The book that taught me people survive almost anything when the thing they are doing means something. I use it every time a team is exhausted: the fix is rarely more hours, it is a clearer why. “the last of the human freedoms” Psychology Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman, 2011 Why it is on the shelf It made me distrust my own certainty. Estimates, hiring calls and product bets all got slower and better once I started asking which system in my head was actually talking. “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is” Psychology The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, 2014 Why it is on the shelf Essential reading for the therapy side of my work, and quietly useful for the engineering side too. Stress lives in the body long before it shows up in a status update. “The body keeps the score” Psychology Nonviolent Communication Marshall B. Rosenberg, 1999 Why it is on the shelf A grammar for difficult conversations: observation, feeling, need, request. It changed how I give code review feedback more than any engineering book has. “What's alive in you?” Engineering The Pragmatic Programmer Andrew Hunt, David Thomas, 1999 Why it is on the shelf The first book that made me feel like a craftsman instead of someone typing syntax. Its warning about small neglected faults is still the rule I repeat most often to juniors. “Don't live with broken windows” Engineering Designing Data-Intensive Applications Martin Kleppmann, 2017 Why it is on the shelf The reference I reach for whenever a system has to survive real traffic. It gave me the vocabulary to argue about trade-offs instead of defending favourite tools. “reliable, scalable, maintainable” Engineering Clean Architecture Robert C. Martin, 2017 Why it is on the shelf Useful less as a rulebook than as a way of asking what a system will cost to change in two years. That question now shapes every project I start. “The goal of architecture is to minimize the human resources required” Engineering Refactoring Martin Fowler, 1999 Why it is on the shelf Proof that code is written for people first. I still run the small, boring moves in this book before touching anything risky in a legacy codebase. “Any fool can write code that a computer understands” Building Zero to One Peter Thiel, 2014 Why it is on the shelf It pushed me to look for products that are different in kind, not degree. BidBary exists partly because of the question of what nobody else is building here. “Competition is for losers” Building The Hard Thing About Hard Things Ben Horowitz, 2014 Why it is on the shelf The most honest book about the days when nothing is going well. It is the one I lend to founders who think their struggle means they picked the wrong idea. “There are no silver bullets, only lead bullets” Building The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick, 2013 Why it is on the shelf A short book that saved me months. Every discovery call I run now asks about what people already did, never about what they think they would do. “Opinions are worthless” Building Shape Up Ryan Singer, 2019 Why it is on the shelf Where my delivery rhythm comes from: fix the time, shape the work, give the team room to make the calls. It is why clients get weekly cuts instead of promises. “Fixed time, variable scope” Leadership Radical Candor Kim Scott, 2017 Why it is on the shelf It named the thing I already believed as a therapist: caring about someone and telling them the truth are the same act, not opposites. “Care personally, challenge directly” Leadership Turn the Ship Around! L. David Marquet, 2012 Why it is on the shelf The book behind how I run teams. Moving from asking permission to stating intent turned my engineers into owners, and freed me from being the bottleneck. “I intend to...” Leadership The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni, 2002 Why it is on the shelf A clear map of why teams stall, and it always starts lower than people expect. When delivery slips, I check trust before I check the sprint board. “Trust is the foundation of real teamwork” Leadership An Elegant Puzzle Will Larson, 2019 Why it is on the shelf Engineering management treated as a systems problem, which finally made the job feel solvable. Its thinking on where to put your limited attention shows up in every plan I write.
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