The 60 Second Leader

Author:         Phil Dourado
Published:     2007
Publisher:     Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
Paperback:    180 pages
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Is it possible to compile quotes, concepts, references on leadership in a book without making it look like a dictionary or an encyclopedia ? Yes it is and that's what the author Phil Dourado a leadership consultant has precisely done.
He has dived into  oceans of books, theories and courses on leadership to extract 30 pearls of leadership wisdom and offers them to the readers in a very concise (less than 200 pages) book.


The book is divided into five sections, each having a chapter dedicated to one essential element of leadership.

1. Personal (Self) Leadership: 
• Failure, Intuition, Decision, Connection, Luck, Optimism.
2. Leading the Organization:   
• Strategy, Competition, Action, Execution, Management, Change.
3. Leading People:
• Questions, Attention, Stories, Motivation, Engagement, Targets.
4. Distributed Leadership: 
• Innovation, Culture, Leading from the middle, Customers, Frontline leadership.                                                     
5. Great Leadership:
• Ego, Humility, Fear, Love, Presence, Legacy 

Each chapter contains the gist of  the views of several leaders (mostly business leaders) regarding  the element discussed, recommendations for further reading and an appropriate leadership story. 

Most of the chapters also have a precise definitions of useful  concepts like - The Tripping Point, Thin Slicing, OODA Loops, Network Leadership,  System Dynamics,  Epiphany, The Attention Economy,  MBSA (Management by Storying Around), The Law of Great Expectations, Goodhart's Law, The 360 Degree Leader, Transformational Leadership, Presencing etc.

If you are too busy to read everything you need to read on leadership, this is the ONE BOOK which you should read !

To get a feel of what lies in store for you between the covers of this book, you can visit the following link maintained by the author at his website (www.phildourado.com):  Sample extracts from The 60 Second Leader  

I borrowed this book from a library but I intend to buy it at the earliest (at less than  Rs 200/- (about $4) it is a  real steal !) so that I can have a handy leadership advisor whom I can consult from time to time. 

Corporate Strategy

Authors:              Rob Dransfield
Published:           2005
Publisher:            Heinemann 
Paperback:         120 pages
Readers in India:
Contact raintreepublishing@vsnl.net  

This is a concise, introductory  undergraduate  level textbook on Corporate Strategy in the series Studies in Economics and Business.  It consists of  nine chapters.

Chapter 1 gives a brief outline of the nature of corporate strategy.

Chapter 2 shows how strategies need to be shaped by the past successes of an organization.

Chapter 3 outlines procedures involved in scanning the external environment of the organization to outline key changes in the wider political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental influences as well as in  the competitive environment (PESTLE analysis).

Chapter 4 explains the importance of identifying the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization and the external threats and opportunities facing the organization in helping to formulate strategies (SWOT analysis).

Chapter 5 outlines the importance of defining the purpose and objectives of the organization. 

Chapter 6 is concerned with identifying a range of generic and competitive strategies for the organization. It examines a range of major types of strategy which are typical of those being pursued by modern organizations.

Chapter 7 highlights ways in which the organization can implement its strategy and ways in which it can then monitor and evaluate ongoing strategies. It shows that, in a dynamic business environment, the strategy that emerges may be different from what was originally planned.

Chapter 8 examines ways in which managers can plan strategic change in an organization and overcome the barriers which exist.

Chapter 9 identifies globalization as a key strategy that is being pursued by many large organizations today - both as a means of expanding their sphere of interests and profits, and as a means of defending against the actions of competitors.

These chapters are followed by 11 short (one-page) case studies  with discussion points  focusing on  key learning points.

A good  short  book (just 120 pages !) to start with for a quick overview of what corporate strategy is all about.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Author:        Stieg Larsson

Translator:   Reg Keeland
Published:   2009
Publisher:   Maclehose Press 

Paperback: 649 pages
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Readers in India

This is the second book in the Millennium Trilogy of which the first book is  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the third is The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. All the three books are translations from Swedish and have been in Amazons' Top 100 Bestseller lists for several months.
A fast paced thriller featuring a rather unconventional heroine, which holds your interest almost till the end.
However hardly any re-read value and definitely not a must read. If you have not read it, you have not missed anything. If you are an avid crime fiction reader, you would have definitely read better books in this genre.
But it is quite a good book for light reading and passing time though. I won't mind reading the other two books in this trilogy, if I come across them, though I have no intention of buying them.
I suggest reading its prequel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first before you read this book, for this book gives away the twist in the prequel.

  

Beyond the Darkness

Author:     Shirley Du Boulay
Published: 1998
Publisher:  Rider Books
Hardback: 308 pages
Readers in India:



This is a biography of Father Bede Griffiths (1906-1993), a  British Benedectine  monk who assimilated  the tenets of  Indian philosophy , culture, way of worship yet remained true to the Catholic order he belonged to. 
Though he had predecessors in this endeavor like Roberto de Nobili,  Swami Abhishiktananda (Father Henri le Saux), he was perhaps the most well known. He came to India in 1955 and  established Kurusimala Ashram in 1958 along with Father Francis Acharya. Ten years later he was invited  to manage the Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanam) near Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), by  Swami Abhishiktanananda (its co-founder). Father Bede Griffiths remained for rest of his life in this Ashram and  took it to great spiritual heights.


It is a well written book however it is rather factual and fails to move you and strike a chord. I have read better biographies. But it was effective enough to generate an intent in me to read the books written by Father Bede Griffiths when I come across them , especially his autobiographies - The Golden String and its sequel The Marriage of East and West. I would also like to pay a visit to Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanam) if I happen to be in the neighbourhood of Trichy.


Extract
The following extract from this book based on author's discussion with Brother Martin, who succeeded Father Bede Griffiths in Saccidananda Ashram,  summarizes succintly the four stages in spiritual development of Father Bede Griffiths:


First was Bede's discovery of the love of Christ, so total that it led him to become a Benedictine monk. 
Then, in the 1930s, came a period when he began to discover other religions, though never doubting that, though all religions contains some elements of truth, 'there is only one absolutely true religion...Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and without him no man comes to the Father'.


By 1973, however, he found that this statement needed qualifying: 'Christ is the ultimate fulfilment of all religion, the final and definitive word of God, but the same cannot be said of Christianity. Christianity, as an organized religion seeking to express the mystery of Christ, the divine Word in human terms, suffers from the same defects as other religions.


Two years later he went further, writing: 'I am so tired of the childish pretence that Christianity is the only true religion and must be shown superior to others.' He was moving gradually to the third stage, a conviction that all religions are complementary.


In the early 1980s came a glimmering of the final stage, the idea that there is one reality beyond all, a reality found in all religions. Bede became more and more interested in advaitic experience.


The latest development in his own thought, Bede wrote to Nigel Bruce, was that he had become more and more 'advaitin':
It seems to me that we have ultimately to go beyond all forms of thought - even beyond the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Church etc. 
All these belong to the world of 'signs' - manifestations of God in human thought - but God himself, Truth itself, is beyond all forms of thought. 
All meditation should lead into silence, into the world of 'non-duality', when all the differences - and conflicts -in this world are transcended - not that they are simply annulled, but they are taken up into a deep unity of being in which all conflicts are resolved - rather like colours being absorbed into pure white light, which contains all the colours but resolves their differences.

The Secret Agent

Author:      Joseph Conrad
Published:  1907
Readers in India:

Read  Online:
http://www.online-literature.com/conrad/secret_agent/1/

In 1894 at Greenwich Park, London, an anarchist called Martial Bourdin was killed  when the explosives he was carrying prematurely detonated. His motives and the potential target of his bombing remained a mystery. It is this incident which inspired the author Joseph Conrad to write this novel which is perhaps one of the first spy novels written in English literature. The author spins out a simple imaginative story behind this bombing and its aftermath.
If you are expecting a plot and suspense on the lines of modern-day thrillers, you will be disappointed. However this book has  brilliant tragi-comic portrayals of  characters and situations in the plot, which are a delight to read if you have a taste for late nineteenth century/early twentieth century English literature. And this comes from a person (Conrad was of  Polish origin.) who did not speak English fluently till he was in twenties.
You can read the plot summary of this novel at
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Agent. 

From Edison to iPod:Protect Your Ideas And Make Money

Author:               Frederick Mostert
Published:           2007
Publisher:            Dorling Kindersley
Hardback:           288 pages
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If you want to protect your intellectual property (IP) rights but don't know how to go about it, this book is a perfect starting point.
The author Frederic Mostert a distinguished IP lawyer who can count celebrities and public figures like Nelson Mandela, Sylvestor Stallone, Boris Becker and Shaolin Monks among his clients, has explained the fundamentals of IPs in a very simple and interesting manner avoiding complicated and confusing legalese as far as possible. Also he has a great sense of humor which is very essential for explaining such a dry area.
The basic concepts of Trade marks, Copyright, Design rights, Trade secrets and Patents are dealt with in the Introduction. These topics are discussed in details in subsequent chapters that follow. The author also provides ample guidance on:

• How to prove that you were the first with your ideas?
• How and when should you register your ideas?
• What can you do if someone copies your ideas?
• How can you strategically build an intellectual property portfolio?

This well produced book with glossy pages (ala coffee table books) contains lots of examples and illustrations to demystify various categories of the IPs.
One drawback about this book is that it deals only with IP laws in UK. However I find from the website of this book www.fromedisontoipod.com that it is available in US and South African editions also, revised and updated to be in synch with the IP laws prevailing there. Hopefully we will have an Indian edition also soon, since I find that general awareness of IP rights in our country is rather low.
Overall a Must Read Book especially for creative people (designers,artists, musicians), entrepreneurs with unique concepts, and investors who are approached with new ideas.

The Secrets of Happiness

Author:       Richard Schoch
Published:   2006
Publisher:    Profile Books Ltd.

Paperback: 288 pages
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Readers in India



"Unhappy is the story of happiness". Thus begins the introduction of this book. Probably this explains why we have on the front cover of the book an illustration of a clown (a symbol of happiness and joy) looking glum and morose . 


The author, Richard Schoch a Professor of History and Culture, laments that the concept of  happiness which once,about two thousand years ago, was a lifelong endeavor for a good life, has degenerated today into quick-fix solutions like "swallow a pill, get happy; do yoga, find your bliss; hire a life-coach, regain your self-esteem." But happiness is much more than mere enjoying pleasure and avoiding pain. It is a lofty achievement which one should strive for and not an entitlement which one can take for granted.


This book ferrets out from the ancient philosophical and religious traditions, the secrets underlying the pursuit of happiness.
The introductory chapter discusses three lasting rules  governing the search for happiness.


1. Catch Big Fish - Happiness goes beyond from pleasing ourselves to please others, especially the ones we don't  know.
2.  Wrestle, Don't Dance - Happiness is not a state of passive enjoyment which comes on our way effortlessly. We must struggle for it with skill, focus and concentration.
3. Start at the Beginning -  Journey to happiness begins from the state of unhappiness - a feeling of a lacuna in one's life.


The author states that there is no single secret for happiness but several, differing from person to person separated by time, place and culture. However in every concept of happiness and good life, throughout the history of mankind there are only four fundamental themes - pleasure, desire, reason and suffering. The difference lies only in their interpretation and applying them in the daily life.
These themes are discussed in four parts with the help of  examples drawn from different philosophies and religions as follows:
Part I:   Living for Pleasure:      Utilitarianism and Epicureanism
Part II:  Conquering Desire:      Hinduism and Buddhism
Part III: Transcending Reason: Christianity and Islam
Part IV: Enduring Suffering:      Stoicism and Judaism


An interesting book, but nothing new for readers well acquainted with these ancient philosophies, other than the convenience of having key ideas about happiness well consolidated to serve as a quick reckoner. 
But a real eye-opener for those who believe happiness can be bought !


Key Takeaways:
In the concluding chapter the author summarizes the insights what it might mean to find happiness.
Some extracts from this chapter: 

• We do not have to become someone else to be happy. Whoever we are, and whatever circumstances we face the possibility of happiness always surrounds us. We are always in the right place, though we do our best to forget it. So let us cultivate a happiness that is authentically ours and let us be happy with the things that will make us so. To be authentically happy means to take possession of ourselves, to bring about the person we are in potential, to become more real. Action is the heart of an authentic existence because only in action do we attain fulfillment. Of course 'action' is not just striking out in the world but a directed realization of the kind of person we imagine ourselves to be. Through purposeful action, we become our future and find our contentment. We make happiness as best we can within life as it is,and do not import it from some magical elsewhere.
• To search for happiness is not to embark upon a voyage to an exotic distant land, but to return home.Happiness must feel like something that we once knew,perhaps only dimly, but now are finding again, although with a greater resolve and a surer purpose. In a way, we are discovering a part of ourselves we had never known.
• Becoming happy is not a kind of deliberate consumer choice. We do not appraise paths to happiness dispassionately,as if we were on the lookout for a bargain, ready to negotiate the best deal we can. In a way, the path finds us, for it must always fit the shape and size of life as we live it right here and right now. We end up with the only kind of happiness that we can: one that suits us, that feels right for us because it is 'in sync' with our life's rhythm and pace.
• We are born to be happy, for happiness is the perfection of our existence. And we can achieve it. Not easily, and perhaps not on our own. And maybe there is yet more happiness in the life to come. But we forge a happiness in this life.
• Happiness cannot take us entirely by surprise, cannot steal upon us, because it is an enterprise that requires our investment.  It must lie within our reach and fall within the span of our days.
• That we shall find happiness is not guaranteed. We are not entitled to be happy. We are entitled only to work for it.
• What matters is not that your pursuit of happiness is sanctioned by an authority figure (be it religious or secular) but that it works for you - that it actually makes you happy.
• We cannot find happiness in isolation. Finding happiness means not despising the world but wanting to create a better one within it. 
• It is profoundly human need to aspire to something more, and to be carried by that aspiration beyond horizon's edge. We want to envision something that surpasses our selfish desires, that outstrips merely personal goals; and then we want to attain it. Of course from time to time we shall fail in that attainment, but we shall have learned enough to know that we are stronger than our failures.
• Our life is an ever striving, and we call the striving happiness.