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2020 – Book Review #001: Borderline Citizen by Robin Hemley

It’s the 1st of January and I just stumbled home from a rather exciting NYE with former neighbours turned friends.

Many of us are expatriates who’ve made London home.

One of the conversations we have, after countdown and singing “Auld Lang Syne”, is how we identify more with being Londoners than wherever we moved from.

That conversation made me curious about books written about this…

The space between where you are and where you want be can conjure feelings of confusion that make you question who you are. For so long, people have seen you as sub par and inadequate. To the point that even you now see yourself as mediocre. Then something snaps and you decide you can change. You decide you can be better. You decide you can be excellent. So you start working on you. Then the doubts…

Book Review – The next factory of the world

Usually when I read books that aim to discuss Africa as the next continent in line for whatever, I roll my eyes.

Many of the well meaning writers who embark on such expedition sit in their Western bubble and think what worked for Europe or North America should work in Africa. Irene’s book is refreshingly different.

Not only has she researched the economic history of major African…

Podcast Review – The Hidden Brain podcast

Hosted by Shankar Vedantam, this podcast uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behaviour, shape our choices and direct our relationships.

In this episode, Shankar explores how how a fear of appearing feminine restricts men, and affects us all.

He takes us through a journey of the American employment rate and how unemployment is currently at it’s…

The Lawyer in me is happy about this antitrust violation complaint Spotify filed with the European Commission.

Over 1 billion people use the Apple platform (iOS and App Store). It goes without saying that they give themselves undue advantage:

1. Certain apps are requires to pay 30% tax when they use Apple’s in app purchasing system. This is not a problem; the problem is when there is no…

Book Review – A Seat at the table by Mark Schwatz

This is one of the few books that address IT leadership without mincing words.

First, Schwatz sets the ground work by explaining how IT fits into the overall business. Then explains how IT leadership will always have a reactionary role if it continues to see itself as having to prove value instead of actually delivering value. He not only states the problems IT leaders have in providing value,…

Podcast review: How I built this – Black Entertainment Television: Robert Johnson.

This is by far my favourite podcast episode from NPR in a while.

Now, I am not a fan of the current BET. Let’s just say the content I have seen so far is not intellectually stimulating.

However, you cannot deny that there is a format that works and the person who created this format, had a good business model that worked…and still works in some ways.

In 1979, a 33 year old man who had no…

Book review – Originals: How Non-conformists Change the World ​

It’s the bank holiday weekend and I am lazily reading this book on my purple rug with a pot of tea, of course.

The mood is set: It’s raining and I have Handel playing in the background and this beautiful book in my hands.

I started reading it on the train and finished off when I got home.

This book tells stories of different start ups and entrepreneurs who have challenged the status…

Book review – Originals: How Non-conformists Change the World ​

It’s the bank holiday weekend and I am lazily reading this book on my purple rug with a pot of tea, of course.

The mood is set: It’s raining and I have Handel playing in the background and this beautiful book in my hands. I started reading it on the train and finished off when I got home.

This book tells stories of different start ups and entrepreneurs who have challenged the status quo…

I took a break from work and went to the Sicilian restaurant in Clerkenwell (Luce e Limoni). While waiting for my meal, I had a chat with a friendly diner who happened to be Sicilian and was curious about the book I am currently reading. He is a Lawyer and we got talking about business, career and life in general. We got to the topic of personal improvement and how I was learning the art of staying…

Podcast Review – The hidden brain

Hosted by Shankar Vedantam, this podcast uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behaviour, shape our choices and direct our relationships.

In this episode, Shankar explores how how a fear of appearing feminine restricts men, and affects us all.

He takes us through a journey of the American employment rate and how unemployment is currently at it’s lowest.

Book Review – Big Money Thinks Small

This book discusses investing (especially in index funds) and it is a good introduction for readers who want to understand what investments are all about.

He starts by explaining the differences between investing, speculating and gambling. I like how Joel gives examples of how certain behaviours/ patterns have an impact on stock analysts. He also describes unethical accounting frauds that…