Speed and Scale

The first part of the book was the best (most shocking). The scale of the problem is laid out. The action plan is interesting to read, but is simplistic and too dependent on external political will. Maybe if politicians were to read the book we would get more traction.

How do we deal with the climate crisis? In this book John Doerr sets out a plan for the survival of humanity and our planet. If you only read one book about climate change, make it this one. It will give you understanding of the enormity of the challenge and hope that we can achieve it.

The problem with this book is that it tells ordinary people that they are the problem when really it is our governments and the people who control our highly concentrated industries which are virtual monopolies. Why should I save water, electricity and do all the other recommendations to avoid a climate crisis when the elite waste so much on a grander scale. Take, for example, crypto currencies: at the moment they consume more electricity than the state of Washington and allow criminal activities and the avoidance of taxes. Interestingly the mayors of New York City and Miami have said they will take their pay in crypto curenency.....

John Doerr and Ryan Panchadsaram finally did what so many have struggled to do: write a clear, actionable guide to tackle the climate crisis that anyone can pick up and use.I share their first book (MEASURE WHAT MATTERS) with the founders and entrepreneurs I work with. It outlined how to use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), first invented by Andy Grove, in a business setting. Now with SPEED & SCALE they propose applying the same method to the climate crisis so we know both what to do and can measure our results. Instead of a dry, open-ended, politically-driven collection of pages, they wove together data with stories by some of the most compelling people working in this space.The book is also highly visual, with well-designed graphics like these throughout. I especially liked the behind-the-scenes bits that dove into John's storied investment history–including his big miss in Tesla–which made it all the more real. If you care about this problem–as all of us should–it is a must-read.

This book is supposedly directed to our climate crisis but it starts with the strange title "Speed & Scale"!!! What that title means or what it has to do with the book is not clear to me. The world is faced with a climate crisis and a better title would have been CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION PLAN Chapters 1-6 did not feature such a plan but I thought they are a review of where to go and Chapters 7 through 10 would detail how to get there. Not! Instead, the last 4 chapters just continue to talk of a plan rather than come up with one. What they do provide (along with the initial chapters) are about 20 "conversations" with people such as Bill Gates, John Kerry and Henrik Paulsen. These also talk of plans without ever getting around to originating one. To a prospective reader I would warn "the strange title is an indication of failed purpose within".