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Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts

Book Review - The Doer

 


Title - The Doer
Author - Rekha Nair
Genre - Spirituality
Publisher - Olympia Publishers
ISBN - 978-1804394953

The book begins with a powerful note - "Everything we do is Spiritual". I couldn't agree more since most of us believe in GOD who is called by different names under different religions. We also believe that there is "Unseen Power" above us which decides our fate and Karma.

The book is divided into 12 chapters namely:

1. Have we forgotten? 

2. What have we forgotten? 

3. What is Love? 

4. What is the nature of the soul? 

5. God is? 

6. Why is freedom important? 

7. What is the relevance of cyclic events and things that exist in pairs? 

8. What is the toughest thing to overcome? 9. What is a choice, and does it exist? 

10. What does connecting mean? 

11. What do you value the most? 

12. You rather experience and know or do you want to know and then experience. Also, why?


Each of these has a powerful message to convey. Author focuses majorly on EGO which she explains beautifully "Act of cosmic energy that determines input and output and NOT the EGO".

Letting go of ego can bring lot of good results. How true are these lines.


Author amphasises on Path laid down by the cosmic force and we all travel in that.

What do you give and what do you get in return?


When there was a mention about handwritten letters, it was a Rewind of the past. “So, anytime a person walks into your life, understand the purpose they are here for”.

A purpose is a purpose. When I read statements like these, I felt I was reading a book which is not only spiritual but also a guide that reiterates aspects that were laid/preached by our ancestors.

Suffering is an indicator that someone’s life is going to change”. - This is a motivating factor and should be used in the right sense as it is intended to be.

Love and freedom are complimentary. If you love, you are free. If you are free, you love” - a statement one needs to be retrospect 

There is an interconnection between each chapter which you will realise when you read this book. These are universal concepts that will apply to one and all irrespective of race, religion, culture and place. 

What is ego?

Often ego is looked upon as the bad guy. If used and tamed properly, ego can be the biggest instrument to show you the depth of who you truly are. Realization is a relative process”. How true this statement is :)

Don’t seek validation which is also a form of divide. Use this at your workplace to see how it transforms your otherwise unpleasure work in a pleasure.

Right and Wrong - both are needed to progress in this strange process called Life. Agree?

Purpose was a thoughtful chapter. 

How life played across various stages of the author and how it shaped her up of what she is today. Though this book is a quick read, the message it conveys and the crux it has will travel with you for life.



This book is available on Amazon

Book Review - The Ideal Entrepreneur : An Idiot's Guide to Building a 300 Crore Company!

 


Title - The Ideal Entrepreneur : An Idiot's Guide to Building a 300 Crore Company!
Author - Rahul Agarwal
Genre - Autobiogaphy
Publisher - Future
ISBN - 978-9351201311


A truly inspiring autobiography whch would ignite the aprk in the minds of the entrepreneurs in the making. Rahul Agarwal had seen the ups and downs before he went on to establish himself as a force to reckon with in the insurance industry.

To start with, what I liked the most is this mention "Story more relatable, more believable and more doable". You could find out where this was used and in what context once you read the book.

The book emphasize on 

1. Team Building
2. Fund Raising
3. Focus
4. Networking 
5. Standrad Operating Procedures aka SOP and
6. Brand Building

There is no surprise that Rahul himself was the Founder of Kokata Chapter of BNI since he believes in Networking and is the pioneer in hosting the launch party in the Insurance sector which saw the presence of many industry stalwarts.

There is a saying/belief that business runs in the blood of Marwaris. Rahul is no exception to this.

Autor has mentioned his family members which includes his parents, wife, kid, siblings, uncle and cousin who stood thick and thin right from the start. 

As an Insurance agent myself(back in 90's), I should appreciate the fact that Rahul has made it to the prestigious MDRT just at the age of 20 in the Country for Max New York Life Insurance. It is not a mean fact to achieve this. His age wasn't a deterent to achieve this which got him the opportunity to be introduced by the then CEO himself among the 3,000+ MDRT's from across the globe. The fact is, there were only 25 of them from India and from Kolkata, he was one among three members who got qualified for this event.

How he achieved this is another interesting story which you can find out by reading the book.

Despite an intelligent student he is with a score of 99.23% in CAT, he could not get the placement in the IIM's he desired but still got offers from 2 IIMs and SPJIMR and he decided to join the later.

How the life in the Corporate works was portrayed vividly by the author where in the presentation he did for a top brass in Wipro did not give any mention nor credits to his name. This was a turning point in his life that made him to decide to venture into the business.

He has also done MFAB - Management of Family Business in Indian School of Business(ISB).

His golden tip to those who wanted to start a business is to float the company as a Private Limited Company.

Author emphasise on a good name and logo for the brand and details the process of how the name Ideal was arrived at and the date of registration - 13.1.2005.

He also goes ahead in saying not to trust anyone blindly and needs to have a back up. An agreement in writing and not oral is desired to avoid any consequences in the future.

There are few prominent names which has found the mention in this brilliant book which includes but not limited to:

a. Amit Agarwal
b. Saroj Sripathi
c. Goutam Dey
d. Ravi Kothari
e. Rahul Mohata
f. Arvind Kajaria( Founder of 123greetings.com)

He also mentions why PR is important for any firm.

There is a full dedicated chapter for BNI (BNI members would love it for sure).

What makes a company successful? This is where ESOPs comes into picture.

There are references of Allan Mullaly of Ford, Narayanamurthy of Infosys. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book since the content was compelling and motivating and would surely recommend this for those who want to venture into business.

I wish Rahul and his team a very best on their vision of achieveing Rs.1,000 crore business by 2025.


This book is available on Amazon


Book Review - JUUHHHUUUU

 



Title - Juuhhhuuuu

Author -Manoj Kumar Sharma

Genre - Fiction

Publisher - Notion Press

ISBN - 979-8888156131

This is a collection of 3 short stories. I loved the creativity and the approach of the author. If you have read his previous book MIRRRO, you would have realized that his writing is unique and captivating. The same has happened here. The previous book was a novel but this one isn't.

Each of the three stories was intriguing. The first story is all about an accident and how it connects all the characters in the story, the second one is tenser as it involves characters from Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan but happening in India. The third one was a unique love story that is not only terrifying but had a pleasant ending.

I do not recommend books usually but this one certainly needs to find its place in your shelves, if you love reading stories and stories with a difference.


This book is available on Amazon

Book Review - Leadership Chronicles: My Experiments With Globalizing Indian Thought


Title - Leadership Chronicles: My Experiments With Globalizing Indian Thought
Author - Debashis Chatterjee
Genre - Education, Analysis & Strategy
Publisher - Penguin Books
ISBN - 978-0670098651

This is certainly a book that anyone who wishes to make a difference in any sector, especially in education should read. More than anything else, the book has captured in great detail how IIM-Kozhikode has been steered to the path of prosperity and growth by Prof Debashis Chatterjee.

The author describes how he got admitted to St.Xaviers and how the spelling of CIRCUS played a vital role in one of the institutions. His meeting with Tenzing and getting an autograph is another memorable one. Though one may not use the Indian Rupee Note for any purpose other than tender, I too had the same thought when I was a kid, considered taking the autograph from a celebrity but then remembered and decided otherwise.

Prof clearly gives a description of what a Leader should be - to be both aspiring and desperate.

The half-boiled egg story that has found its mention is an eye-opener.

The connection between Management and Music is something unexpected but yes, no one can deny, it after going through this book.

It was really a great accomplishment to improve the corpus of the institution - IIM Kozhikode - from INR66.47 crores to a little over INR700 Crores which shows his ability, dedication, and skills. The accreditation of AMBA's to IMI, Tie-up with ICSI, and Proposed ITS(Indian Teaching Service) similar to that of IAS definitely needs applause.

The soft power of Education:
Drew Faust
Susan Hockfield &
Renu Khator

The accomplishments of the author is way too many to be documented in words. The change this has brought is beyond comprehension. IIMK has excelled in various programs which stands as a testimony to the Director’s dedication coupled with the collective work of all. EQUUS accreditation is a jewel in the crown. On mark to a third triple crown. 

It was heartening to see that one of the prominent writers of India, Shri Amish Tripathi was his student.

Arriving at Kunnamangalam in 2009 from Singapore in his early 40s, interviewed by Metroman E Sreedharan - Chairperson of the Selection Board

4 important qualities of a Leader:

Authenticity 

Productivity 

Connectivity &

Possibility 

Do not miss to read “The Voice of Hope”, a thought-provoking poem by the author on Page no.109

As against the national average of 26% of women in IIMs, IIMK had 54%. The faculty ratio improved from less than 5% in 2009 to 10 to 11% during his first term, to 26% in 2023. Programs specifically designed for women entrepreneurs, managers & leaders. 

The LIVE center, CESI is another accomplishment.


All I can say about this book is, that "Accomplishments of a great personality spread over few decades is given in a nutshell. Prof has put in a lot of hard work which cannot be described or captured in words. The one who accomplished it is sitting there silently without boasting but leaving his actions to speak"



This book is available on Amazon