Month: August 2021

Book: Sasha Filipenko “Ex-Son”

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I heard about the book Ex-Son by Sasha Filipenko, so to speak, in passing. Then, unexpectedly, it started gaining more attention when a theater production based on it was banned in Minsk. Later, it came up in the news again when the production was eventually staged, but in Kyiv. It was heavily promoted, as if it were some sort of “protest book.” However, I don’t like such loud narratives, so I would have let it pass me by if not for several acquaintances who read the novel and gave it decent ratings. So, I decided to give it a chance.

Sasha Filipenko, a native of Minsk, moved to Russia during his university years, where he worked as a journalist, screenwriter, and even a host of several well-known TV projects. As a writer, he has been favored by prestigious literary awards. In 2020, when protests began in Belarus, he actively supported political prisoners, and it seems to me that this is when Ex-Son got a second wind, moving from a rather marginal niche to the wider audience of mainstream readers.

The novel itself was written in 2014, but I personally don’t understand why it is so often associated with the events of 2020. There is no direct connection whatsoever.

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Slot: Slot feat. Neuromonach Feofan “Ancient Russian Soul”

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The Russian-speaking audience is likely familiar with the band Neuromonakh Feofan (literally meaning “Neuromonk Theophanes”), but I doubt it is well-known outside those circles. A few years ago, it became a phenomenon—a mysterious performer embodying the image of an old Russian schemamonk, singing in a style that resembles traditional ancient Russian folk music (or at least what we recognize as such, inspired by Russian fairy-tale movies) but with a modern twist.

The song I want to share today is a collaboration between two bands: Neuromonakh Feofan and Slot. Its title in English is “Ancient Russian Soul”. The track combines Neuromonakh’s traditional style with elements of techno dance music. I believe it could be intriguing for non-Russian listeners to hear at least once. For me, it was a very impressive discovery. Unfortunately, there is no official video for this song. Below, I’ve included a concert video and the Spotify version of the song. I hope you enjoy it!

Cyprus: The IT Mecca of the Mediterranean (Not Really)

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I decided to write about Cyprus and IT. Perhaps this post will upset some people, but I’m sharing my perspective as I see it.

I’ve been meaning to write about IT on our island for a while, but recently I found an additional reason to do so. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed an odd wave of posts in various communities, like: “Looking for a job in Cyprus, currently living in Sunny Podunkville, open to opportunities,” or “Vacationing in Cyprus, skilled and talented—if anyone has work to offer, let me know.”

Alright, I’m exaggerating a little, but overall, there has indeed been a noticeable increase in queries from people who don’t live in Cyprus but have clearly read or heard somewhere that Cyprus is now a fantastic place for the IT industry. I want to explain what it’s actually like, what the advantages are, and what the downsides are.

Let’s start with the fact that IT as an industry has never really existed on the island. I moved here in 2014, and back then, the IT sector was quite uniform. Thanks to offshore regulations and British law, many Forex companies had established a strong presence here, along with a few others connected to the financial sector.

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Book: Peter Thiel “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future”

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Peter Thiel is the founder of PayPal, who later merged with Elon Musk, and together they created a unique solution for the payment market, supporting the growing eBay at the time. Later, as an investor, he backed a relatively young Facebook. In short, he has plenty to be proud of. But beyond pride, he decided to share his knowledge and views on business and startups with students at Stanford University. His lectures gained widespread popularity, partly thanks to the efforts of student Blake Masters, who recorded them in detail. Masters’ notes took on a life of their own, spreading far beyond the university. After some time, Peter Thiel decided to turn Masters’ notes into a book (hence, Masters is credited on the cover as a co-author).

The core idea of the work is to create businesses that bring something entirely new, rather than simply copying or slightly improving existing concepts. The reasoning is that existing ideas can only be improved to a certain extent, whereas new ones offer entirely unprecedented opportunities. Thiel supports this idea by sharing his views on what a startup team should look like, what they should focus on, and more.

To jump ahead slightly, I didn’t initially expect the book to offer groundbreaking insights, but it turned out to be less of an instructional guide and more of a stimulus for reflection on the examples provided and the questions posed by the author. Peter Thiel doesn’t try to teach; instead, he shares his perspective on building businesses, the ways in which the educational system and ingrained American beliefs help or hinder this process, and he poses very interesting questions that have no definitive answers:

This book is about the questions you must ask and answer to succeed in the business of doing new things: what follows is not a manual or a record of knowledge but an exercise in thinking. Because that is what a startup has to do: question received ideas and rethink business from scratch.

In this form, the book became not only interesting but also useful for me. I definitely recommend it to anyone involved in business and the creation of unique products in one way or another. But let’s talk in a bit more detail about the points Peter Thiel emphasizes in his book.

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Song: Grechka “Love Me, Love”

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Once, Alexander Pushnoy brilliantly covered the song “I’m Losing My Roots” by the band Korni in the style of Splean and Boris Grebenshchikov (BG). At the end, he concluded with the phrase, “The song is nothing; the performance is everything.”

This happens with other songs as well. Many years ago, the Otpetye Moshenniki released a pop song called “Love Me” that played everywhere but remained just a pop song. Until it was performed by the relatively unknown singer Grechka. And here, as they say, “feel the difference.” The song immediately took on a completely new life. I first heard it in the series “Peace! Friendship! Chewing Gum!“ (which, by the way, is a pretty decent show about teenagers in the ’90s). Take a listen yourself:

An additional fact about this song: its author is Alexander Kozlov, the founder, keyboardist, and composer of many songs for the band “Agata Kristi.”

Consulting: Company Analysis

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I have often heard opinions that the work of a consultant is useless and lacks prestige. Something like, “They show up, give a bunch of advice, and leave, without caring about what happens next.” Such an approach to work has always been unacceptable to me, and now that I myself work as a consultant, I want to briefly describe one type of task I have performed at the request of several CEOs, whose feedback on the results was positive.

With experience in both software development and operational management, I can take an external view of a business and evaluate different aspects of its work. As a result, analyzing existing processes—everything I can get my hands on—has proven to be in demand. (Sometimes this is called an audit, but I prefer the term “analysis” as this term has a less negative connotation.) I begin high-level examination of a company by interviewing its CEO: why they reached out, what they want to achieve, what they are dissatisfied with, and what their key products, departments, and people are. Then I compile a list of individuals and competencies that can provide insight into internal processes. It’s crucial to identify who will be available and as open as possible for discussions. During several interviews, I try to understand what the person’s work entails, what motivates them, how they interact with and perceive their colleagues, and so on. Simultaneously, I ask to join key meetings of managers and leads, simply to listen to how they discuss topics, set agendas, conduct meetings, and follow through on decisions. Of course, I also gather relevant documentation about products and processes for further study.

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Book: Fredrik Backman “Britt-Marie Was Here”

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As I mentioned earlier, Fredrik Backman is a writer whose books need time to leave an aftertaste. Therefore, no matter how much I enjoy the books I’ve already read, I’ve made it a rule to give myself a break before starting a new one, even if they are interconnected.

Britt-Marie Was Here is exactly that kind of book. It tells the story of one of the characters from the novel My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. The events of the new novel begin almost immediately after those of the previous one, although they are mostly unrelated. This is expected, as Britt-Marie is a secondary character in the first book—one you cannot forget because of her obsession with order and extreme meticulousness about every little detail. She is perceived by everyone as a “pain in the neck,” someone who is not just difficult to negotiate with but even hard to talk to.

Partly because of this character trait, I took such a long pause between the two books. I simply couldn’t convince myself that the story of this woman would interest me. Especially since my wife told me that she liked this book significantly less than A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother… But it’s always important to form your own opinion.

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