Ginni Rometty’s (former IBM Chairperson & CEO) book blends her memoir, leadership learnings, and actionable advice on how we use power for doing good and giving back, while creating a positive shift for people within organisations. The style of the book with experiences and small stories shared, makes it very relatable. In my more than two-decades stint at IBM I had some opportunity to interact and see her in action. This books demystifies a lot of her persona and inspires.

  • Before the Coffee gets Cold By Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This magical realist novel revolves around a unique cafe in Tokyo, with a special power - it allows customers to travel back in time. The emotional stories have been instrumental in fostering my understanding of human nature and empathetically grasp life narratives of others’ sans any judgments. It also throws light on the fact that if we had the power to go back in time, would we change people/ outcomes or change the way we dealt with the outcome. Possibly the latter, since that’s in our control.

  • When Breath becomes Air By Paul Kalanithi

A memoir by an American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi chronicles his journey as a doctor, patient, and a new father whilst facing terminal cancer. As he directly confronts death, he wants his readers to learn about “what really matters in life”, and how one can craft a purposeful existence.

  • A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman

This is a heartwarming and humorous novel that tells the story of Ove, a grumpy and solitary 59-year-old Swedish man. The versatile portrayal of ups and downs of his post-retirement life amazed me with learnings, how his growth becomes a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one has on countless other lives. And also how every phase of life we can still add value to others and hence have a purpose of life. Age is just a number.

R Seshasayee, Vice Chairman, Hinduja Group, Chairman, Asian Paints Ltd.
  • Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence By Max Tegmark

Tegmark points out that mankind has moved from the biological and cultural evolutions of the past to a technological revolution, which he calls Version 3.0, where mankind is able to edit both the hardware (DNA) and the software (institutions) through the explosive development of General Artificial Intelligence.

Starting with a brief fictional piece right up to the end where several ideas are presented to regulate AI to avoid a dystopian outcome, the book raises several profound questions, without being prescriptive on answers.

  • The Body: A Guide for Occupants By Bill Bryson

I am a diehard Bryson fan. Unsurprisingly, this is a number one bestseller. The book is compulsory reading for anyone who inhabits a human body, which is everyone. You will realise how wondrous our body is and how little we know about it. Of course, Bryson has this extraordinary skill of making the most mundane stuff sound most interesting.

  • Inside the Boardroom: How Behaviour Trumps Rationality By R.Gopalakrishnan & Tulsi Jayakumar

I could completely relate to the substance of this book’s message, based on my experience on many different corporate boards.

Rules, Regulations, Governance processes and such are necessary, but not sufficient condition for the successful functioning of a Board. The behavioural aspects of the individuals on the Board are critical factors that determine the quality of decisions. I was impressed by the nuanced understanding of many real events in recent corporate history.

  • The Covenant of Water By Abraham Verghese

This is a daunting book of 724 pages. The story spans three generations of a Syrian Christian family from Kerala and moves with the slow and majestic gait of an elephant. It is an interesting tapestry of love, grief, endurance and hope. The author being a doctor, there are medical events that are unobtrusively woven into the story.

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & Managing Director, Nestle India
  • Ikigai By Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles

Longevity of life and the quality of it that we lead is dependant not just on economic and physical wellbeing but on a deep sense of purpose and “doing what defines you rather than a job that pays you”. This core Japanese way of life that leads to longevity in many parts of Japan sets itself on purpose, diet, habits, discipline and living each day with equanimity and positiveness. Very interesting facts on parts of Japan, where to be a centenarian is common, and where you feel 90 years young at a party! Ikigai has made me a more sensitive human and I commend its reading irrespective of generations -- the young will find wisdom and the elder will get reassurance to mend their ways!

  • How will you measure your life? By Clayton Christensen

A book that began from the classroom lectures of one of the most celebrated Professors at Harvard Business School translated into a simple question: “Why do some of us seem to have a happier more fulfilled life compared to some in the same cohort who have more troubled, torn lives despite economic success and social prestige?

This book for me opened my eyes to how faith, values, purpose, principles and family play an indelible role in balancing our lives and how everything is not about success — seek happiness as your salvation.

  • From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, And Deep Purpose In the Second Half Of Life By Arthur Brooks

I am a great fan of Arthur Brooks, his Atlantic articles and NYT columns. I got my hands on one of his latest books From Strength to Strength. As a professional, it’s always about crossing a new rainbow, a new milestone, a new ambition, a new accomplishment each time that gets you and your company kudos. You forget your personal transition from young, enthusiastic seeker to a mature, sober yet enthusiastic leader.

Brooks beautifully describes how you plan “for your second innings by using the intelligence that best defines each stage”. The first phase of individual achievements, runs on the board is “technique and deep knowledge” and is called “fluid intelligence”. As you grow older and mature with experience, your ability “to connect the dots”, see meaning and connections in seemingly unrelated occurrences and the power of “judgement and gut feel” becomes more acute. That’s when leadership roles come and you excel! Seeking happiness is never an accident but deliberately syncing your role to your intelligence state.

  • The Rise and Fall of Nations: Ten Rules of Change in the Post-Crisis World By Ruchir Sharma

I am an avid fan of Ruchir’s columns, talks and analysis, because he has a unique way of simplifying complex economic algorithms. He seeks the diversity of different elements like economic growth, demography, income inequality, public policy, geo politics and politics in a nation along with the dash of leadership, its aptitude, attitude and preferences to cast a panorama of “connecting these dots”. These connections determines how, for example, the trajectory of a “billionaires list” has on social unrest and inequality in a country and the long term success countries that one can discern from broad principles! I like the sophistication of the fact-based analysis, deep dive into the economic and social realm, to understand the rationale for why things are the way they are and thereby to glean certain hypothesis and principles moored in pragmatism common sense.

Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive India
  • Think Again: The Power of Knowing what you don’t Know By Adam Grant

This from one of my favourite authors is based on a simple premise that it’s important for growth for leaders to be able to be wrong and admit they don’t know and therefore are able to “Think Again”. At a time, where change is the only constant, this ability, coupled with being able to navigate the unknown is perhaps a secret sauce for building high performing teams and organisations.

  • Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for Men By Caroline Criado Perez

In a world where Diversity, Equity & Inclusion are buzzwords and discussed endlessly, the author presents concrete data on how many things are designed solely keeping men in mind. This includes the simple things of answers to questions like: who was the first player to do some thing and we think only men’s records; or the more important ones like provision of sanitation facilities; or to the extremely serious like the extent of research

into women and various diseases. What I loved about the book is its tone is not accusatory, but more a provocation for more thought.

  • The Tattooist of Auschwitz By Heather Morris

This was my most recent of 2023, recommended by a friend and from the title I was expecting something quite grim. What I got instead was an uplifting tale of human resilience, hope and, most of all, love in the most dire of circumstances. The book is based on the real life story of Sokolov and Gita Furman. I could not put it down and highly recommend it.

  • Mid Wicket Tales: A Century and More of Cricket By S Giridhar & V Raghunath

An old book, originally released in 2014, it was updated and re-released this year. A gift from one of the author’s daughter, it fed my already existing love of the game. Beautiful writing about the game so many love. A collection of short stories, funny, informative and many stories worth repeating made it a great read.

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