DPL Reading List – October 14, 2016
Here are some of the articles we’ve been reading around this office this week.
8 Ways Billionaires and Elite Athletes Perform at the Highest Level (Thanks to Brian Zimmer for recommending this article) – “Average is over. The middle-ground has all but dissolved, leaving you in one of two positions: among the leading few or mediocre many. Your relationship with technology will either facilitate unthinkable opportunity and growth or keep you on the wrong side of average.”
Security Design: Stop Trying to Fix the User (Thanks to Jarrod Wubbels for recommending this article) – “We must stop trying to fix the user to achieve security. We’ll never get there, and research toward those goals just obscures the real problems. Usable security does not mean “getting people to do what we want.” It means creating security that works, given (or despite) what people do.”
The Minimum Viable Product Balancing Act – “Part of the challenge is that the moniker “Minimum Viable Product” seems to convey diametrically opposite goals. “Minimum” indicating build as little as possible so you don’t waste time or effort. “Viable” indicating that you need to build enough to make the experiment realistic enough that customers will believe they are responding to an authentic product experience. Furthermore, “Product” indicates a level of completeness or refinement in what is delivered to customers.”
How do we reform tech? – “In the past, popular movements have forced major industries to confront their need for ethical reform. But today‘s media, policymakers and activists don’t yet seem prepared to fix the tech sector’s problems. So how will reform happen?”
A Technical Follow-Up: How We Built the World’s Prettiest Auto-Generated Transit Maps (Thanks to Jarrod Wubbels for recommending this article) – “When you think of Transit, you might think sleek, colourful interface. Given that we’re extremely particular about making the app as beautiful and usable as possible, that’s no big surprise. But UI isn’t the only thing we’re about: our team extends well beyond expert designers, and our app is much more than just pretty. Below the surface, there’s a lot of ‘hard’ technology quietly driving it.”
How Microsoft Uses a Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders – “By giving many more people chances to become leaders, these programs are unleashing greater potential across the company, and may well be instrumental in attracting new people. While Microsoft is still in the early phases of adopting a growth mindset throughout the organization, this cultural component can’t be overstated.”
100 Women in Tech and Founders to Follow on Twitter – “I’ve witnessed how diverse networks have the power to shake up the startup world and the tech sphere. Over the past year and a half the Women Startup Challenge has introduced 1000+ diverse startup founders to a network of investors, which has led to more investments in women-led startups. But if these investors only networked with people who looked like them, they would have missed out on funding some big ideas and game changing ventures in areas like health tech, energy storage, and fintech, to name just a few.”
