Book Review : Beyond Code

I read Beyond Code during my flight to Austin for the Kaizenconf. It was a quite enjoyable book that focuses on how to distinguish yourself as a software developer.

As you may suspect, there is no code in this book. Instead, Rajesh Setty provides 9 simple steps that makes the difference between a code monkey and a caring, disciplined software professional.

If life as a whole is a game, then there are two kinds of games: the inner game and the outer game. The inner game we play with ourselves, while the outer game is played with the external world. Both games are important, so the author puts out a lot of advice to succeed in both of them.

Inner Game

• Learn: Continuous improvement is key. This does not only mean how to dig new cool technologies, patterns and practices. This also means learning how to accomplish long-term relationships with other people, learning how to communicate with others, learning to be congruent and how to adapt quickly to ever changing situations.
• Laugh: When you make a mistake, laugh about it, learn and move on.
• Look: How to deliver beyond what is expected of us. Try to look beyond the horizon.
• Lasting impression: Every opportunity you get is a chance to add significant value and an impact that doesn’t go unnoticed.
• Love: Just love your job.

Outer Game

• Leverage: How to leverage as an individual and most importantly as a team. The most obvious leverage points are people, books, blogs, magazines, etc.
• Likeability: I know I fail on this sometimes, but one can accomplish far more if others like us. If we are not likeable, then things can get quite difficult sometimes.
• Listen: Start listening to start succeeding.
• Lead: Look for opportunities to lead. Try to identify voids and step into the gap. You can take advantage of these leadership moments.

Doesn’t this get you interested? Tom Peters ends his foreword with the sentence “Read this book as if your life depends on it. It does!”. Strong words, slightly exaggerated, but somewhat truthful as well. This book contains a lot of good advice. It’s only 120 pages, so what do you have to loose?

Till next time