10xDNA

Admittedly, the word mindset in the title made me skeptical - you hear the word almost everywhere, almost like a prayer. Too often you then ask yourself, "am I somehow thinking wrong?". But Frank Thelen, in the book 10xDNA, is mainly concerned with one thing: he persistently wants to make us aware that the speed at which we are confronted with change will keep increasing.

Using core technology fields such as AI, robotics, IoT, blockchain etc., we learn why these technologies are an ever stronger driver of change.

In this review, you'll find out why the mix of technology, mindset and methods convinced me.

If I had to describe the basic problem that 10xDNA revolves around in one word, it would be speed. The knowledge available to us as humanity is growing rapidly; building on it, technologies are developing faster and faster and are also changing the way we work and live faster and faster.

This speed frightens many people. Be it the threat of losing their job because their own knowledge is suddenly no longer needed, or because we simply can no longer fully grasp the scale of some changes.

In 10xDNA, Frank Thelen makes this point clear several times and tries (in a very relatable way) to point out the consequences.

That also made me understand why the mindset topic was so important to him: he wants us to become aware that we have to react to more and more changes (at ever shorter intervals) and constantly adapt. We have to be open to this and try to use it positively for ourselves.

Frank Thelen doesn't leave us readers alone, because he helps us with easy introductions to the various subject areas, gives many practical examples and complements them with visualizations.

The book is not aimed at readers who want to fully understand technologies like blockchain or even program them themselves. For that, the altitude is far too high. You would be disappointed if you expected completely new information about certain technologies.

The book is rather aimed at people who have already heard certain buzzwords but haven't quite grasped what they mean. Here, with 10xDNA, Frank Thelen provides a good introduction to the most important technology fields of the coming years. Using many examples, he describes possible and already existing fields of application.

I really liked getting additional background information on individual topics. Even if you already come into contact with some of these topics a lot at work, I really enjoyed refreshing some of them. Frank Thelen manages to describe complex things as simply as possible - I thought that was great.

Before I engage with the content of a book, I hold it in my hands (at least with a physical edition) and (subconsciously) form a first impression: with 10xDNA, the great, high-quality layout catches your eye immediately! I immediately thought, "if they put as much effort into the content as into the appearance, it has to be good"..I wasn't disappointed.

Many clear illustrations round off the information in the text and make for a very high-quality overall result. Kudos at this point to Michaela Vargas Coronado.

Once again, I was able to take away how important the topic of change+speed is. I was also able to consolidate my knowledge of technologies once more and, in part, expand it. Above all, the end of the book with very concrete method suggestions thrilled me. I always think it's important that the reader* can take away something they can apply in practice right away.

For my part, I'll now keep working on my serendipity (an insider from the book).