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Book Recommendation: CRM as a Rapid Development Platform
Last Fall ( late Summer actually ), David Yack released an excellent book for CRM developers: CRM as a Rapid Development Platform.
David is a fellow MVP with an extremely high level of knowledge of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform.
The book covers all development aspects of CRM including:
- Development best practices
- Client-side development
- ASP.NET and Silverlight extensions
- Plug-ins and workflow assemblies
- Performance tuning and troubleshooting
just to name a few.
More than a just a book about development, also included are assemblies and tools to enhance your development experience with Dynamics CRM ( downloadable from the web site, after you register ).
Think of the content of this book as the CRM SDK Part II.
If you are a developer working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you should have this book on your shelf.
Book Reviews and Recommendations
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Book Recommendation: Half-Moon Investigations
Now this is a bit of a stretch for me since I rarely read fiction books, much less recommend them. Regardless, I picked up this book on CD this past weekend to keep me occupied while returning home to visit family and found it thoroughly enjoyable.
In a nutshell, it's about a twelve-year old private detective living in Ireland trying to solve a case in which he finds himself a suspect in a crime.
While almost everyone in the book is under the age of 14, the author's style is very witty and he gives his all of his characters mannerisms and prose that really keeps you engaged. So much so that I'm having a hard time determining if this is a kid's book or one for adults.
Regardless, it's a wonderful distraction if you happen to find yourself in a place where you need one.
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Book Recommendation: the dip
A couple of weeks ago, needing a break from coding and documentation creation, I took a mid-afternoon stroll to the local bookstore where I ended up picking up Seth Godin's latest book, the dip. Is a very interesting read and at a little under 80 pages, a fairly quick one. In fact, it took me a bit less than 2 hours to read it the first time.
And yes, I've read it about three times since I purchased it. It's not that it uses big words or that I'm slow or anything; it's the fact that some of what Seth has to say require a bit of self-examination and thought about your current situation and those from your past.
The book's main discussion point is this:
A Dip – a temporary setback that you will overcome if you keep pushing, or
A Cul-de-Sac – which will never get better no matter how hard you try.
So how do you know which is which? Well, that's what the book addressees an why it may take you reading it several times as your sub-conscience has an internal debate between readings.
I could be wrong, but I really don't think this book has all of the answers, but I can tell you what it does have: It has enough of the right information to get you thinking about where you are and where you need to be. That makes it well worth the $13 price of admission.
Additional resources:
the dip blog.
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Book Recommendation: Idea Mapping
If you've been reading my blog for very long you know that I use a product from MindJet called MindManager to do everything from product and project planning to brainstorming.
I'm sure most of you have never heard of Mind Mapping so you're really not sure what I'm talking about. Here is how Wikipedia defines it:
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making.
It is an image-centered diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information. By presenting these connections in a radial, non-linear graphical manner, it encourages a brainstorming approach to any given organizational task, eliminating the hurdle of initially establishing an intrinsically appropriate or relevant conceptual framework to work within.
A mind map is similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no formal restrictions on the kinds of links used.
Mind Mapping really does work for people like me who are visually oriented. It allows you to clearly and concisely organize your thoughts into a cohesive picture.
A couple of months ago I picked up a book called Idea Mapping, by Jamie Nast. In this book she covers how to utilize Idea Mapping ( a form of Mind Mapping ) to do everything from planning to note taking.
If you are new to mind mapping or you are using mind mapping and you'd like to see how to become more productive with your maps, I would recommend reading this book. It has some background that is useful and some techniques that come from years of teaching the subject world-wide.
It also comes with a CD containing the demo version of the MindManager application.
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Book Review: iWoz
iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.
If you are a computer industry history buff like me, this will fill in a good deal of the behind the scenes data regarding the founding of Apple and how Steve Wozniak created the Apple I and Apple II computers.
While I have read much of this information elsewhere, Woz tells his side of the story and includes details that had either been previously unpublished or had been reported incorrectly.
As a matter of fact, Woz himself states that he wrote this book was to set the record straight.
While iWoz does offer a bit of insight into how an engineer thinks and works, there is really only one chapter that offers any real advice for would-be engineers and entrepreneurs. Regardless, I found the book interesting and a fairly good read.
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Book Recommendation: Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Simply put, this is one of the best business books I have ever read. It contains common-sense information and best practices that anyone, working for any company, should have at the top of their reading list.
I think I must of purchased and gifted this book to at least 5 friends, business partners, or managers over the course of the past few years – which is not something that I generally do. But, I think this book offers up some outstanding insight from a guy who has been there, and done that.
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Book Recommendation: Getting Real
I need to warn you about this book, even though I highly recommend it. It's going to piss you off. It's going to make you throw it down in disgust. And, it's going to make you think about how you do things. Which is the entire purpose of the book.
Do I agree with everything they have to say? No. But they have a ton of experience to back up their dribble. This is not some business guru who hasn't done business since the late 80's. These are real people doing real work that you can touch and see.
I also think you'll find that you need to read it in sections so that you have time to absorb what they have to say. Like I said, it may be a bit much for you to handle all at once so don't try to choke it down in an evening. Take your time, and keep your mind open till the end.
Finally, it's only $20, and I consider that to be a pretty-much no-loose offering. ( Heck, I drink more beer than that on a Friday night hanging out watching Stargate reruns. )
Link to Getting Real site.
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