December 21, 2004

These software biz stocking stuffers
might help focus your company's New Year's plans

We're long overdue on reviewing a stack of software industry books—some of them pushed our way by anxious authors and publishers, some of them referred by friends in the biz.

But it's a good time of the year to make a serious dent in the stack.

Most software companies enjoy something of a respite during the last two weeks of December, as customers and employees take some time off to attend to more important things in life—namely, family, friends, and loved ones.

Year-end is also the most natural time to take a look at next year's plans: Where is your company headed? How will you get there? Well-written books can help that process, both with expert advice and the provocation of new ideas.

Besides, who knows? Maybe you're still shopping for holiday gift ideas—and books are always a good bet.

OK, then, here's our desk-clearing list of five books, in alphabetical order by author's name, that we think are worth your time.

But, let's insert one little note here about "worth your time": Just because we recommend a book doesn't mean that we agree with everything the author has to say. In fact, we may even recommend something that we think is flat-out wrong.

The point of reading, in our view, is not to reinforce what you already know; it is to learn, to expand one's thinking, to challenge old ideas and test new ones. By that measure, all of these fit the bill.

"Cube Farm," by Bill Blunden
This is Blunden's memoir of his three years working for Lawson Software in Minnesota, a time that could euphemistically be called "a learning experience" for Blunden.

Blunden is a character—he bills himself as "Reverend Bill Blunden, Church of the SubGenius"—and he's what those in the old school might call a rabble-rouser.

"Cube Farm" is angry, extremist, bleak, and bitingly sarcastic. It's also great fun. From that combination, open-minded readers can get a pretty good education.

"Cube Farm" will appeal to those in the programming salt mines, because they'll see themselves: It's a detailed and intelligent insider's view, and it's hard not to empathize.

But we think CEOs should read this book, too, because Blunden is exactly the software employee you love and hate: He's brilliant but argumentative, productive and creative when he believes in the cause, and a leader or a traitor—depending on your point of view.

In short, if you buy into the old joke that managing software programmers is like herding cats, Blunden is a lion. If you can figure out how to keep this guy happy, all the other cats will follow. But when he's cranky, he's a real challenge. (Some might say he's got a bad case of rabies.)

Blunden's book is on the verge of outrageous, and some of the editing is sloppy (come on, couldn't someone check the spelling of Andy Grove's name?), but for anyone deep in the software experience, it's a terrific read.

"Offshoring IT: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," by Bill Blunden
Blunden's been busy: two books in one year. In "Offshoring IT," he takes on "the corrupted inner core of Corporate America" (his words, not ours) to argue forcefully against the offshoring trend.

Blunden and his editor suggest that both sides of the case are presented fairly; don't you believe it.

"Offshoring IT" is the equivalent of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, this time nailed to the software industry's door for the sole purpose of corporate reform. The author sees offshoring as a deadly trend, and he presents his case from the passionate perspective of one who's been affected by it at close range.

Does that make the book bad? Not at all; "Offshoring IT" is compelling and technologically well-informed. It's well-researched, and heavily annotated with tons of third-party references and government data.

And, it's compact: Blunden packs an impressive amount of information and detail in just 130 pages.

If you're anti-offshoring, you'll love this book, and you'll probably buy copies to hand out to everyone you know in order further your cause. If you're pro-offshoring, you ought to read it to see just how cogent the other side's arguments can be.

"From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog: A History of the Software Industry," by Martin Campbell-Kelly
Even though this one's a bit on the dry side and reads like an academic treatise—which makes sense, seeing as Campbell-Hall is in residence at the University of Warwick—we like it simply for its ambition and scope.

"From Airline Reservations..." documents the history of the software industry from a business perspective: It doesn't get into the gears of the technology, but focuses on the products, the business models, and the markets.

For software veterans, some of the "revelations" will seem a bit ho-hum or quaint: Yes, we have heard of IBM and SAP, and do know that Microsoft is not the only game in town.

In his book's preface, Campbell-Hall admits that he only recently acquired a cell phone, and touts the advantages of Post-It notes over a software industry "which consistently falls below our expectations." Obviously, the guy is not a geek.

But, we would argue, that makes him well-suited to write a history of the software industry. Because he is an outsider, his account is more objective than most, and he has neither axes to grind nor masters to serve.

"The Art Of The Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide For Anyone Starting Anything," by Guy Kawasaki
This book has gotten a ton of press in recent months— Kawasaki is a media darling in the innermost circle —and we don't have a lot to add to what's already been said by others.

"The Art of the Start" is fresh, fun, and well-informed. The book is well-organized, professionally polished, and packed with bullet lists, mini-quizzes, and easy-to-read matrices to guide you through the process of becoming an entrepreneur—or improving your standing as a startup.

Business people should pay attention to this book, we think, not because Kawasaki is a media star, but because he is now a successful venture capitalist.

For most of us, he represents the target audience: Even if you're not seeking investment, the VC crowd has a better knack than most for quickly sussing out what's right and wrong in any business plan. Kawasaki and his ilk are rewarded on the basis of this ability, and he's one of the good ones.

So, what's not to like about "The Art of the Start"? Just this rather personal complaint: There are precious few touch points to reality for Kawasaki 's advice.

That isn't to say his advice is off base, because, for the most part, it isn't; we just think the delivery would be more relevant, and more "sticky," if he'd given us real-life case studies of companies that obeyed and disobeyed his rules.

Still, that's a minor whine, and Kawasaki 's credentials buy him a ton of leeway. In fact, part of the reason "The Art of the Start" works so well is that it's fast, practical, specific, and very, very directed.

Sure, one might argue—to counter our complaint—you could sample everyone else's cooking and try to figure out their ingredients and methods; but why bother, when super-chef Guy has given you a fool-proof recipe that's ready for the oven?

"Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity," by Joel Spolsky
Forget for a minute that Joel Spolsky is in a race with Fiona Apple for the World's Longest Title for a Creative Work; this book is a great addition to any software company library.

In "Joel on Software," the book, Spolsky has assembled the best of his essays and musings from his Joel on Software web site, then added postscripts to many: What he's learned since the original postings.

Some of the content is over our non-technical head—e.g., a chapter on Unicode and character sets, another on the law of leaky abstractions—but we know that the coders and Spolsky groupies out there will find it all fascinating.

(One measure of the loyalty of Spolsky's fan club: Our August 3, 2004, interview with him— "How Fog Creek thrives with no marketing budget: Weblog works wonders in developer niche" —received one of the highest hit counts of anything we've ever published.)

And, huge sections of the "Joel on Software" book are clearly in the domain of the non-technical: managing the development process, producing quality code, keeping coders happy, business strategy and ethics, and Microsoft analysis.

Spolsky's writing is highly personal, sometimes ingenuous, always thought-provoking, and unquestionably sincere.

We don't agree with some of his conclusions, but his brilliant style and observation keep us involved, and his concern for the industry—his genuine desire to make the software world a better place—keep us coming back for more.