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kwerle's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't like all the analogies, and I don't know that I agreed with everything - but this was a very interesting perspective on running companies/groups bent on intellectual pursuits (like software).
etopiei's review against another edition
3.0
I adored the first chapter of this book, but ultimately found it a little disappointing. A lot of the ideas were quite disconnected, and although interesting, differed greatly from the book I'd signed up to read. I picked up this book after reading a blog post which re-iterated the message of the first chapter. I found the post, and the start of this book compelling, but Slack lost me in the middle. I think it crammed in a lot of management knowledge and experience, but in the process lost some thrust with the main message. This could probably be a more enjoyable book for managers, but for me I didn't feel it provided a great deal of value.
_mac_'s review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
It's hard to believe this book is 20+ years old. It feels like it had been written with today's companies in mind (something that is as much an endorsement of the Author's wisdom as it is a condemnation of how slow and ineffective organisations are in changing their ways).
One of the great things about this book is that it expresses a lot of concepts that got eventually popularised under the label "lean management", but - due to it having been written before "lean" was on everybody's lips - it does with its own unique language, so the reader is never tempted to say "I know what this is about" and skip ahead.
It is also just about the perfect density. Many management books ought to be a blog post instead, and they go on and one for pages repeating the same thing with different words, just because the author wanted to be able to say they published a book. This one is not. There is no page that I found superfluous and/or a repetition of anything that was already said.
Finally, Tom DeMarco can write. The vocabulary is richer than the typical business book, the prose crispier, the imagery stronger.
One of the great things about this book is that it expresses a lot of concepts that got eventually popularised under the label "lean management", but - due to it having been written before "lean" was on everybody's lips - it does with its own unique language, so the reader is never tempted to say "I know what this is about" and skip ahead.
It is also just about the perfect density. Many management books ought to be a blog post instead, and they go on and one for pages repeating the same thing with different words, just because the author wanted to be able to say they published a book. This one is not. There is no page that I found superfluous and/or a repetition of anything that was already said.
Finally, Tom DeMarco can write. The vocabulary is richer than the typical business book, the prose crispier, the imagery stronger.
jollyhammer's review against another edition
5.0
Every page in this book is pure gold. I couldn't put it down; there is sage wisdom in every chapter of this book for technology businesses. I was struck by how simple some of the ideas he presents are, but also at how engrained the complete opposite of those ideas can be in corporate culture. There's a lot of "uncommon" sense in this book. I feel like it deserves a place on every manager's bookshelf and should be re-read frequently. I highly recommend this book if you are a knowledge worker or manage knowledge workers.
jacalata's review against another edition
2.0
Internally contradictory, glib and confidently asserting things that appear completely wrong - and not all of them are because of how old the book is, either.
feeona's review against another edition
3.0
Das Buch ist gut geschrieben, sehr locker und ehrlich, ohne große Sach- und Fachlichkeit, aber doch gut recherchiert und aufbereitet.
Letzendlich hat mir aber das "how to" gefehlt. Das Buch zeigt gut auf, wo wir die falschen Wege gehen, jedoch nicht wirklich wie wir davon weg kommen.
Trotzdem eine gute Lektüre und ein bisschen was mitgenommen habe ich auf jeden Fall.
Letzendlich hat mir aber das "how to" gefehlt. Das Buch zeigt gut auf, wo wir die falschen Wege gehen, jedoch nicht wirklich wie wir davon weg kommen.
Trotzdem eine gute Lektüre und ein bisschen was mitgenommen habe ich auf jeden Fall.
jakemcc's review against another edition
4.0
Good, quick read. Highly recommended work for anyone working as a knowledge worker.
Gives advice in how knowledge work is not manufacturing, importance if middle management, and how to handle risks.
Gives both examples of both good and bad practices.
Book title gives away the focus of the book. Many arguments given for why slack is necessary and cost effective.
Gives advice in how knowledge work is not manufacturing, importance if middle management, and how to handle risks.
Gives both examples of both good and bad practices.
Book title gives away the focus of the book. Many arguments given for why slack is necessary and cost effective.
mrtazz's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. As someone who has not been actively part of the dotcom era, and has mostly been told about the bad sides of that time, it’s refreshing to read something coming out of that time full of what are still essentially progressive ideas today. Slack as the part of the work where innovation happens vs the always on, always busy culture is something organizations can still learn heaps from today. Definitely recommend reading it.
howardgo's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic book about how our collective focus on efficiency has blinded us to the more important goal of effectiveness and the critical role slack plays in achieving it. In our efforts to achieve efficiency, we have removed much, if not all, of the slack in our systems and management teams. This is catastrophic if anything goes wrong.
In this short book the author show how and why this is a problem as well as excellent and simple approaches to creating more slack in our businesses.
In this short book the author show how and why this is a problem as well as excellent and simple approaches to creating more slack in our businesses.
rgarver's review against another edition
4.0
Great read and a great description of good management. If you do any kind of management in your job you should read this.