Book: Soft Skills by John Z. Sonmez

As you might have noticed by the title, Soft Skills by John Z. Sonmez is not a typical book for developers.

But is it?

Even though this book doesn’t talk about technical aspects like the structure of your code,
programming languages (though .NET is mentioned a few times), or what cloud (or no-cloud) provider you should use – over its 500+ pages, John dives into a wide range of topics you might be surprised to find in a book dedicated to developers.

Some parts resonated more than others, as you’d expect from a book covering so much ground. Don’t treat it as a “silver bullet” that will solve all your problems or answer all your questions.
Rather, think of it as a book that gives you alternative perspectives on many challenges you face daily.

What stood out most to me? #

The first four chapters: Career, Marketing Yourself, Learning, and Productivity.

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

• Albert Einstein

The Finance section? Way too focused on real estate. But hey - it seems like that’s the silver bullet for many.
Just buy a few blocks of houses and your passive income is sorted, right? 😉

But as I said: don’t take everything as gospel. Use your brain, and evaluate each idea for yourself.

Would I recommend it? #

It’s always good to read a new perspective. Parts of this book can bring real value - especially
if you’re at the beginning of your career.