Author: Sourav Raina

6 Leadership Books of 2019

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We all have a common resolution for every new year: to read. Yet a few of us able to keep the consistency and commitment it requires. Once addicted, books are better than anything you may need to be high in life.

To help it out, here is my list of most anticipated books of 2019. Buckle up, make a wish list and read them one at a time:

Loonshots by Safi Bahcall

In “Loonshots,” physicist and biotech entrepreneur Safi Bahcall analyzes the ways groups will suddenly shift from embracing radical change to resisting it, whether that’s on a corporate project, in politics, or even a traffic jam.

The book has already earned high praise, including from Nobel laureate economist Daniel Kahneman, who said its “convincing analysis” makes it a can’t-miss read.

FROM THE GROUND UP by Howard Schultz

From the longtime CEO and chairman of Starbucks, a bold, dramatic work about the new responsibilities that leaders, businesses, and citizens share in American society today—as viewed through the intimate lens of one man’s life and work. 

TRILLION DOLLAR COACH by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle:

Silicon Valley’s best-kept secret is… a former football coach named Bill Campbell, who became so indispensable that Steve Jobs went on a weekly Sunday walk with him and the Google founders said they wouldn’t have made it without him

POSSIBLE MINDS: TWENTY FIVE WAYS OF LOOKING AT AI by John Brockman

Science world luminary John Brockman assembles twenty-five of the most important scientific minds, people who have been thinking about the field artificial intelligence for most of their careers, for an unparalleled round-table examination about mind, thinking, intelligence and what it means to be human.

THE INFINITE GAME by Simon Sinek

In The Infinite Game, Sinek applies game theory to explore how great businesses achieve long-lasting success. He finds that building long-term value and healthy, enduring growth – that playing the infinite game – is the only thing that matters to your business.

NINE LIES ABOUT WORK by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

“This is one of the most provocative, lucidly written books I’ve read on work,” says Adam Grant, Professor at Warton. “Be prepared to throw your strategic plan out the window and become well-lopsided instead of well-rounded.”

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The authenticity of organisational culture in the age of #millennials

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Oh No! the culture is not what you advertise on the career section of your website. Neither artificial intelligence is intelligent enough to define what millennials are exceedingly demanding in their jobs. Free meals are okay as long as you have the right people to grab lunch in the campus cafeteria. By saying, right people, I mean those who are passionate about their work, respect the diligence of authority and love to explore the blessing of diversity.

“Conscious consumers” was one of the hottest trends in 2018. As per Euromonitor: Millennials are not just worried about plastics. Welcome to the age of the #woke consumer, when companies are evaluated by their treatment of animals and working conditions across the supply chain.

In this spring of ‘consciousness,’ organisations should give heed what they stand for when it comes to employees. Like really what the stand for, not just the bullsh*t they are feeding since the age of exploitation.

The hottest interview question that HR managers should ask the potential employees in 2019:

“What kind of organisation would you like to work for?”

Meditation of The Day

S

Passion over despair

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In the early eighteenth century, a young man in London aspired to be a writer. But everything seemed to be against him. He had never been able to attend school for more than four years. His father had been flung in jail because he couldn’t pay his debts, and this young man often knew the pangs of hunger. Finally, he got a job pasting labels on bottles of blacking in a rat-infested warehouse, and he slept at night in a dismal attic room with two other boys– guttersnipes from the slums of London. He had so little confidence in his ability to write that he sneaked out and mailed his first manuscript in the dead of night so nobody would laugh at him. Story after story was refused. But he continued to write in as hope in despair without much anticipating that someday, somehow, someone will recognise his efforts. Sometimes all we need is to put every burden aside and follow our passion. It is soothing to every hardship that we go through every day in our lives and help us to prepare for the next hour.

And there came a day when an editor agreed to recognise his work without paying him. He was so thrilled that he wandered aimlessly around the streets with tears rolling down his cheeks. You may have heard of that boy. His name was Charles Dickens.

The longer you endure

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There was a man whose house was haunted by evil spirits, He did everything to drive them out, but he failed. Then he decided to leave his house, packed all things on a wagon and started driving away to settle somewhere else.

Along the way, he met a friend and the friend asked, “where are you going?”

Before he answered, a voice came out of wagon, ” we are trekking, we are leaving our house.”

Moral: Problems cannot be sorted out by running away from them. Face them instead, the longer you endure, higher the probability to attain a solution. 

The last of the human freedoms

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“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

It is not the critic who counts

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“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” 

Excerpt from the famous speech of Franklin D Roosevelt, “Citizenship In A Republic”. Delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April 1910. 

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“A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.”

– Marcus Aurelius

Starting off in good earnest

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A lazy tramp sauntering along the road saw an old man sitting at the door of his house and stopped to inquire of him the whereabouts of a certain place. “How far is such and such a village?” he asked.

The old man remained silent.

The man repeated his query several times. Still, there was no answer. Disgusted at this, the traveller turned to go away. The old man then stood up and said, “The village of __ is only a mile from here.”

“What!” said the tramp, “Why did you not speak when I asked you before?”

“Because then“, said the old man. “you seemed so halting and careless about proceeding, but now you are starting off in good earnest, and you have a right to an answer.”

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

– Marcus Aurelius


1 Minute Read: Want to be well perceived?

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Have you ever thought that saying “thank you” can help you to build new relationships? A study conducted by the University of New South Wales has shown for the first time that thanking a new acquaintance for their help makes them more likely to seek an ongoing social relationship with you.

Expressing gratitude changes how others perceive you. “Saying thank you provides a valuable signal that you are someone with whom a high-quality relationship could be formed,” says UNSW psychologist Dr Lisa Williams, who conducted the research with Dr Monica Bartlett of Gonzaga University in the US.


Old-fashioned good manners and a simple thank you are among the best ways to establish new relationships, UNSW research shows

If you can make it memorable, for instance, to write a handwritten thank-note, it can be miraculous. It makes others feel important to perceive you as someone who should be reciprocated with the equally generous intent.

Thank you for taking time to read it! 🙂


Before You Choose a Workplace

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Choose a career instead of a company


See what your career goals and learning objectives, whether you aspire to work in a multinational organisation or in a startup are. If it is not a good match of your career goals, you are in oblivion. 

Explore the soul of an organisation, see if you can marry her

Choosing an organisation is like choosing a bride, wisest choice you ever make. 

Seek what inspires you


There is no scientific process, no algorithm, to inspire you to do something extraordinary unless you do what you feel like doing.

PEOPLE

People make organisations. Do not fall into the trap of tags, look for empathetic, hardworking and inspiring people.

Money is short-term, Career is long-term

Money is a temporary solution to  a permanent problem. 

The Eight Factors of Persistence

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DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE: Knowing what one wants is the first and, perhaps, the most important step towards the development of persistence. 

DESIRE: One has to desire something with all the heart and mind, to put the action in place. 

SELF-BELIEVE: Know thyself.

DEFINITENESS OF PLANS: Plan what you can conceive, and compare it with what you have achieved. Make corrections, additions and subtractions. 

ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE: Do not guess, know it. Search for reliable information, analyse it. Talk to mentors, have their point of view. 

COOPERATION: Sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence. 

WILL POWER: Nothing is possible if you have enough will to make it happen. Minimize noise, maximise concentration. Visualise your goal to keep yourself focused. 

HABIT: Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experiences upon which it feeds. Repetition is mighty.