Thread by @trengriffin

1/ This thread is about "AMP IT UP" by Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. It is a readable no-nonsense book written by a proven business operator. It won't take you long to read it. The book is modern in its format. It doesn't waste your time with a lot of fluff. Less is more.

2/ The set up: Anyone who writes a book deserves a respectful review. Being a published author requires both hard work and bravery. The author(s) deserve to have *their* book reviewed. Comments should not be about the reviewer, but rather about the ideas and writing in the book.

3/ There are sentences in AMP IT UP that jump out at me:

“Hire people ahead of their own curve."

"Be careful about what elevators we get into early in our careers.”

“No two companies are alike and just because another company is doing it, doesn’t make it right.”

I agree.

4/ The author’s minimalist style reminds me of Dutch artists and designers. The key design elements in AMP IT UP are principles and not a precise recipe:

*Raise Your Standards.

*Align Your People and Culture

*Sharpen Your Focus

*Pick up The Pace

*Transform Your Strategy

5/ When I have a great conversation with someone I will sometimes say: “I will be thinking about this conversation for weeks.” What I am looking for are new ways of thinking about the world. What the book delivers are thoughts that make you think from an operator’s perspective.

6/ The only way to be a great operator is to actually be operator. “Having seen things done is not the same as doing them.” Until they have “been in a combat seat” board members and investors shouldn't lecture entrepreneurs on operations. Insights come "from a fellow traveler."

7/ Slootman writes: “Much of this book is about execution…But that doesn’t mean that strategy doesn’t play an exceedingly important role.” He's aligned with this Michael Porter idea: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. Strategy is about making choices."

8/ Slootman: "Sharing our experience with others isn't efficient or scalable, especially when you have a consuming day job" (p 4).

I think about this scaling problem when I mentor people. Great lectures and even software-driven insights scale. One-to-one mentoring doesn't scale.

9/ If you want to be a better operator or know more about how to identify one, you will find this book to be valuable. I've seen some of the best operators "up close and personal." I'll think about whether I write more about them in the context of this book. That's all for now.