SBenegaL

Category: book reviews

  • The Alchemy of Growth

    Written by Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley and David White; this book describes a new framework which for managing growth in any company. The concept of classifying the projects into three horizons and then explaining using Staircases how to create an environment by which the management of these ideas are easily accomplishable is very innovative and helps not just understand the challenge a company faces better but also helps a start up plan how to go about doing something it.

    I wouldnt go ahead explaining much about the book, its definitely a must read if you are searching for a source which will help you manage your company’s growth better.

  • The greatness guide – Robin Sharma

    There definitely something interesting in what he says… He repeats the same message, and keeps me going.

    The greatness guide is a nice book, very small – similar to the book who will cry when you die. There are 101 chapters in this book, which remind me of the habit of journaling that he has. I picked up this habit from him from this book. I now write a journal daily, some thoughts that I value, something new that I learn.

    A nice books to get back to the basic lessons, can be read in very quickly and get the summary of the route greatness which every individual wants to reach. As I would put it…its the basics that are very important to stick to; stick to the basics and you have a lot to achieve…

    If you are searching for the book which would guide u to gr8ness, then this is one of them…

  • Go Kiss the World – Subroto Bagchi

    Subroto Bagchi – the co-founder of Mindtree has written this book which is basically his autobiography. After the initial success of his earlier book – the high performace entrepernuer, this is his second book.

    The title is very interesting, and he make a special mention of the reason why this book is named so; there is definitely an IIMB link to this naming as well… thatz what he told when he had comedown to give a orientation lectuer in our college for the fresh batch.

    Bagchi can be see in a very philosophical mood in this book, he has given away a lot of philosophical perspective/gyaan to us. I would like to recommend this book for the philosophical insight that I was able to gain from the book…makes me look at the points which I have learnt in life in a greater detail.

    One this that impressed me the most of his messages was – “You need to learn to receive…” very true…this one thing can change the whole perspective of life.

  • Family Wisdom from the monk who sold his ferrari – Robin Sharma

    After who will cry when you die, the monk who sold his ferrari, this is the third book I have read by Robin Sharma. Why do I read his books? well not that it totally inspires me to do something that he says….but as I told you, he just helps me recollect and understand my own thoughts better.
    This book is about personal leadership, how to transform the personal leadership into action and help the family grow better as a whole, through this 5 principles of family mastery he has tried to communicate simple yet profound messages. I second that the use of these principles would help us live a more fulfilling and complete life than we are leading now.
    I would say, there is a message for everyone who wants to live a more complete life; if you are one of them, then go ahead have a read.

  • The three mistakes of my life – Chetan Bhagat

    This is one of the three books by Chentan, I have read all three and must agree…this is not one of this best…Five Point Some One, One night at a Call Center and now The 3 mistakes of my life…
    His narration is good, but some where I feel there is no great strength in the story that he says…I personally believe the story has to be thought provoking giving the reader a completely different perspective…making him reflect on himself, see new avenues for growth or atleast some improvements….In none of the three books do I find such a thought provoking issue or agenda….Its only the narration that interests the readers… if coupled with the strong thought provoking story line I see a huge area for improvement….
    I would say not all that great book to read…. My rating would be 2.5/5 for the book…

  • The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – Robin Sharma

    I read this book after reading “Who will cry…” by Robin Sharma. In many aspects it was like reading the executive summary before the actual book…blessed me (I surely think its so!!!)… I knew exactly what I can take out….(then I sure did miss some other aspects… may be as I reflect on what I read through when I decide to would derive some other aspects as well).

    The story is about a very successful lawyer finding his life’s purpose!!! I would like to put up the memory pegs, so that we can gain the maximum out of this review… so here are the pegs along with what they stand for-

    1. The Magnificent Garden -> Master your mind
    2. The Towering Lighthouse -> Follow your purpose
    3. The Sumo Wrestler -> Practice Kaizen
    4. The Pink Wire Cable -> Live with Discipline
    5. The Gold Stopwatch -> Respect your time
    6. The Fragrant Roses -> Selflessly serve others
    7. The Path of Diamonds -> Embrace the present

    This is a memory aid which helps us live our life more fully and gain the maximum out of it…after all isn’t it that we actually want…our full utilization of our time and resources will give a un-explainable and strange solace in our life…
    This book is really a good one to read… thats my personal feeling… but may be the perspective you need to look at would be a bit different. You need to be in the state of mind to actually be able to appreciate what the yogi Julian needs to say… the context change would not let you appreciate the book with the same intensity as mentioned in the book…
    The very creative fable is another point of appreciation… I am writing a book on similar lines and think there is definitely something I would take from this read of mine :). So it was all the more advantageous to read it now…

  • The Greatest Salesman in the World – OG Mandino

    I had purchased this book long back…almost 2 yrs earlier…hadnt read the book till just a couple of days back.
    During my internship at Quetzal, Bhushan had mentioned about the book and I recalled I had the book in my shelf…so this was on my “to read list” when I got back to Bangalore…
    OG Mandiono has been regarded by many as one of the most widely read inspirational author. His books have been aclaimed to have changed the life of many…There is also a sequel to this book which I havent got my hands on… and am waiting to read…lets see when I get hold of it…
    The book is about a world greatest salesman of his age and the principle he followed to reach the height he actually reached….the lessons to the salesmen are in the form of chapters in the book…each having one of which inspires us to give more to the work we do…
    In brief these are the take aways…

    1. Today I begin a new Life
    2. I will greet this day with love in my heart
    3. I will persist until I succeed
    4. I am nature’s greatest miracle
    5. I will live this day as if it is my last
    6. Today I will be the master of my emotion
    7. I will laugh at the world
    8. Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold
    9. I will act now
    10. Believe in your strengths and ask for guidance

    Read the book if you are in a low phase and am sure each of these 10 lessons will help you transform your life.

  • Who Will Cry When You Die – Robin Sharma

    Seems like the summary of my learnings till now…that is exactly how I felt when I read this book….I would definitely put is on my must read books….
    The way the book has been presented – a very simple and elegant fashion… I dont have to read through tons of pages to get this summary… 101 points to note…and each point not having more than 3 pages of illustration!!! awesome… To know what these points are read this book.
    The lessons are so simple…yet powerful…follow them and see yourself transform…reveal the true potential that you possess into the daily acts….

  • Freakonomics-Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner

    Some books are different from others, some books try to imitate others….this is one in the first category…A completely different perspective this books gives to its readers.

    Is there any relation between
    the school teachers and sumo wrestlers?
    the ku-klux-klan and a real-estate agent?

    Why do drug-dealers stay with their moms?
    Which is more dangerous – the gun or the swimming pool?
    Do parents really matter?

    Some of these questions are absurd…some look illogical…this book breaks these boundaries which we have self-imposed. Kindles in us the spark ok questioning…what we think may not be related may be related…

    Another interesting way of looking at the book can be through the lens of causality and the correlation. Causality is hard to prove…I doubt sometime and feel there is no causality…a high correlation is what makes us feel causality…Interesting… I let others ponder over this for some time…am sure this will give an interesting insight…

    An interesting read…Go ahead and read when you think the world is only the way you think it can be…

    link:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakonomics
    http://freakonomicsbook.com/

  • The Elephant, the Tiger, & the Cell Phone – Shashi Tharoor

    The title…. “The Elephant, The Tiger and the cellphone” is the indicator of his thoughts of how to India has transformed over the decade after independence. This is my first book I am reading of Shashi Tharoor…its been a different experience… Lot my friends said he is an awesome writer puts his thought in a very different way…I accept this to a certain extent, there are some areas in which I have difference of opinions…well its absolutely ok…its after all an opinion…if I had no different opinion my existence would be redundant isn’t it?

    I loved the starting part where he makes a mention of India transforming from the Elephant, in its jungle directing the right and the wrong, to a tiger getting more people into its territory. He later goes on to give his views on a lot of topics…rt from his child hood, the cities he spent his life in, his experiences on various changes in India, the diaspora, the common mans life, the way Indian thoughts have changed over….

    He goes on to praise Kerala for a lot of developments….some arguments I do buy but not all…I dont agree with him completely…there are also other areas where it needs improvements… he is a bit over optimistic in that sense…I got to know a lot about kerala from the book but my practical input from my surroundings is not always the same as he has tried to portray in the book… definitely it can be cause of the attachment he has to his home place….

    I loved the description about Ajanta and Ellora that he has given towards the end of the book…I was on my plans to go there when I started reading the book…helped me get some idea of how I can plan the schedule of my tour… will go there soon… thanks for those valuable inputs…

    Overall a very insightful book on his thought process and his hopes about India…Definitely improves the Indian Pride and shows the future is promising.

    The most closest to my heart was his identification of the diversity of Indian Existence – both the prayer and the technology blended so well in the example of a software engineer coming to Putparthi…Awesome!!!

    Read it at leisure when you have a lot of time at hand…definitely not a must read…but surely a worth read…