Reviews and Comments

I've worked on the Google campus for 11 years, and have seen first-hand the impact OKRs have had on the company. John Doerr is single-handedly responsible for bringing OKRs to Google. He saw before anyone else the transformative power Andy Grove's system from Intel could have at Google, and this book is a great window into those early days. John does a great job showing how that early presentation at Google set the stage for so much of the growth and success that came later.

Some of the best parts of the book are the mini case studies from a variety of companies. One of the biggest complaints I hear from founders about OKRs is that it works for Google because, well, Google is Google. By letting you hear from founders in their own words - from small startups to fast-growth startups to non-profits - John makes it easy for the reader to model how OKRs could work at their company. It's not just Google: Doerr shows how any ambitious, outcome-oriented organization can benefit from implementing OKRs.

Anyone who wants to understand what makes Silicon Valley tick will learn a lot from this book. So many of the giants from the last fifty years are captured in these pages – as relayed by John, their commitment and ambition shine through. John makes clear that they also shared an embrace of a simple framework for setting goals and communicating throughout their organization – which should be encouraging for any founder who wants to know how to build similarly effective organizations.

(Disclaimer: a brief anecdote involving me is included in the book. I didn't tell John I was writing this review ahead of time - I bought the book last night and wanted to share my thoughts.)

Intriguing, challenging follow-up to the first book in the series. When I finished the first, I didn't know where a sequel would go – and this did a great job of continuing the story in a new and different way. Unlike the first, it clearly telegraphs where the next book will focus – but that doesn't take away from the overall story.

There were times I wished Winters would share more as it played out... when Hank figures something out but won't explain it, it left me frustrated that I'd have to keep reading to learn whatever it was. It didn't detract from the story so much as it distracted me from it – I still enjoyed reading the story, and am looking forward to the third entry in the series. Just wanted the author to trust us with the revelations as they happened.

I continue to enjoy the mix of detective novel w/sci-fi apocalypse – I've never read anything quite like this.

Thoroughly enjoyable story. Pavone has a gift for the tiny detail that sheds light on a character; my favorite throw-away line in the book has to be when one of the main characters puts a glass of Scotch down on the table, then picks it up to look for a coaster - while his internal monologue acknowledges that the Scotch is at room temperature, it's in a glass, the table is glass, and there is no risk of condensation, therefore no need for a coaster. He does it because the absence of a coaster would infuriate his wife (there's even a callback to this later on, when she goes looking for a coaster for her own drink)... and in that moment, Pavone conveyed a rich background of information about their marriage, their quirks, their priorities. I knew who both characters were, all because of a coaster.

Beyond that, I enjoyed the Hitchcockian nature of the story – few people are exactly what they seem, few explanations can be taken at face value. Though I didn't love all of the characters (that's by design, I think), I understood them. And it was hard to find fault with their decisions at major moments in the book – the very nature of the overly complex operation produces flawed outcomes, something I think Pavone did a good job illustrating throughout the story.

If you enjoy spy thrillers, or appreciate a well-crafted story that holds its cards close to its vest, you'll enjoy The Travelers.

(Disclaimer: I'm on the board of Defy's Bay Area chapter, and have known Cat for a couple years. I consider her a friend, and am grateful for her leadership.)

To visit a prison with Cat Hoke is to have your eyes opened to a national tragedy. Mass incarceration - the reality that while the US is home to just 5% of the world's population, we're home to nearly 25% of the world's prisoners - is a national crisis. Three of every four people who leave prison will return some day, often within a couple years.

Cat's goal is to end that in her lifetime. Her book is a chronicle of her journey, a testament to her commitment, and proof that for those who are willing, change and second chances are possible. I've witnessed first-hand the life-affirming nature of Defy Ventures' days in prison, and have listened to Cat's passion lift up a room full of men who were convinced that society had given up on them.

The book is also a challenge to the reader to ask whether you're living your best life, and if not, why not. Cat forces you to think hard about what your purpose is, what your goals are, and if you're not meeting them, demands that you think hard about why. Through her own struggle, she helps you see what you are capable of.

I'm grateful that our paths crossed, I'm grateful to have had my own world view changed forever by Cat's passion. And I'm thrilled that with this book she will inspire so many more to make the world a better, more just, place.