What Young India Wants

"What Young India Wants" ... the title caught my attention. I haven't read Chetan Bhagat's books in the past. However, I have heard from my friends that he is a great writer. Recently, I learned that the super hit movie "3 Idiots" is based on his fiction novel. That increased my curiosity to read his latest book "What Young India Wants".

Chetan has done a fantastic job of covering all the issues that plague our society. He says that the situation in India today isn't a result of bad politicians but due to bad citizens. We are the ones who select bad politicians. The engineer in him tries to give objective solutions to all the problems - while many of them are practical... some of them were completely out of the charts. For ex., his recommendations for moving government establishments and government guest houses to the city outskirts will create more problems than solving them. I love his idea of having institutions that develop politicians. I think that is definitely the need of the day.

He tries to play it very neutral. On one side, he criticizes one family running the country generation after generation. On the other hand, he is appreciative of what Sonia Gandhi & Rahul has done / trying to do to India. He equally criticizes the top 2 political parties in our nation.

For people who think "India cannot be changed... the situation will continue to be like this forever"... you should read this book once. There are chapters in the book that are very inspiring. I personally like the two short fiction stories at the end. Very entertaining and at the same time hard hitting. 

Great job Chetan Bhagat ! 

Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great

"Good to Great and the Social Sectors" claim that the "Good to Great" concepts are applicable to social sectors too, with little or no modification. Jim compares and contrasts the difference in challenges between business sector & social sector. The amount of research done to substantiate the material is less when compared to the original "Good to Great". However, the facts presented are convincing enough.

Reading "Good to Great" is a pre-requisite for this book. You would not be able to fully appreciate the material without reading "Good to Great". This book compares the challenges of Social sector and business sector, in great detail. I would recommend this book for leaders of non-profit organizations.


Author's website: http://www.jimcollins.com/

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Are you interested to know how WalMart, IBM & HP became superior organizations? Jim & Jerry present their findings about these successful companies and many more. Some of the key take aways from this book are "Preserve the Core Ideology & Stimulate Progress", "Try a lot of stuff and keep that works", & "Companies built just for generating profits do not become superior".

Have you been postponing your entrepreneurial venture just because you couldn't find a 'niche'? The authors give a variety of examples where some of the great companies didn't start with just one particular idea or product. They tried a number of things before they found their 'magic formula' for success.

I still couldn't completely buy-in to the "Home Grown Management" concept. May be the authors didn't do a good job of convincing me enough.

The style and the tone of this book resembles "Good to Great". If I had to compare this book with "Good to Great", I'm honest that "Good to Great" was very valuable.

If you really wanted to know the strengths of the companies that are "Built to last", you should read this book.

Author's website: http://www.jimcollins.com/

Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It

Do you work hard but do not get the promotion that you deserve? Do you feel shy to talk about yourself? Are you unable to impress the interviewers when you look for job? Well, here is your magical guide.

Peggy Klaus explains how you should be prepared with 'bragologues' for different situations. The author gives you some techniques that you can start using right away.

The author gives several examples, most of them were involving (and for) women. I strongly believe the bragging problems that men have are different than what women have. I wish the author had some additional material to cover the 'bragging' problems & solutions that are specific to men.

Overall, this book was an interesting & quick read.

Author's website:  http://www.klausact.com/

The Relationship Edge in Business: Connecting with Customers and Colleagues When It Counts

Are you trying to find ways of building or extending your network? Are you interested in learning some techniques to improve your business relationships? Jerry Acuff gives the tool kit that you can carry with you.

This book talks about the different types of relationship levels that you can have with others ("The Relationship Pyramid"). This book highlights a number of techniques that includes questioning, caring, connecting, and setting up goals. The book not only helps you to develop relationships but also to maintain them.

If you have already read a few books about developing relationships or networking, this book will just be a review of the techniques that you previously learned in the other books.

The book gives a lot of real life situations & examples that makes it an interesting read.

Author's website: http://www.gottochange.com/

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Are you a sales person, professional trainer, fund raiser or a public speaker? Do you find it difficult to plant your ideas in people's mind? Are you looking for effective ways to share your thoughts with others? This is the book to read.

The book explains 6 principles that make ideas to stick - Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Credibility, Concreteness, Emotions & Stories (SUCCESs).

Key takeaways from the book are :

1. Six principles that make ideas stick - simplicity, unexpectedness, credibility, emotions, concreteness and stories
2. Naturally sticky ideas are full of concrete images - because our brains are wired to remember visuals
3. Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encountered that situation in the physical environment
4. Common sense is the enemy of sticky messages. When messages sound like common sense, they float gently in one ear and out the other
5. To get the facts, you tracked down the 5 Ws - Who, What, When, Why and Where
6. Abstractness makes it harder to understand an idea and remember it. Concreteness helps us to avoid these problems. 

When reading this book, you'll feel many a times "Ahaa... this is what I've been missing all these days". If you review some of the memorable speeches you've heard, you'll realize that these STICKY factors are present in them.

This book gives you techniques that you can use in your next speech or presentation.


Author's website: http://heathbrothers.com/

How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Savvy Socializing in Person and Online

Do you hesitate to approach strangers in a social gathering? Do you wonder how some people have good contacts and a solid network? Are you looking for tips to hone your networking skills? Susan's "How to work a room" capsule is the right medicine for your phobia.

Key takeaways from the book are:

1. Extending yourself to people feels risky, but the benefits are well worth the discomfort
2. Think about what you have in common with people at an event before you get there. Identifying the common ground can help you break the ice
3. The people who are the most successful at working a room are those who genuinely like, respect and trust other people
4. Have different self-introductions for different events
5. Eye contact and being in the moment are critical in building rapport
6. A sincere interest in people is the most important part of being a good conversationalist. 
7. Always introduce the “less important” person to the “more important” person
8. Talk to those different from you… as you would talk to those who are LIKE you

If this is your first book on "networking", you'll be able to appreciate the contents in its entirety. The book also highlights some techniques to adopt in the online/virtual world. If you've already read books or materials on this subject, you'll feel that portions of the book is boring. The book also gives some tips for public speakers to work the audience.

This book is worth a quick read.

Author's website: http://www.susanroane.com/