Post mid term assignment.
Pick a book from the library to read.
a) Mention the book that you have chosen along with the author and also post the cover page in your post. ( Post mid semester, for your second evaluation you will be writing Book Review of this book in your own words.)
b)Copy and Post the 'Book Review ' of any book book that you have previously read. ( this is for you to understand, how Book Review is written)
( to be done before Thursday)
Pick a book from the library to read.
a) Mention the book that you have chosen along with the author and also post the cover page in your post. ( Post mid semester, for your second evaluation you will be writing Book Review of this book in your own words.)
b)Copy and Post the 'Book Review ' of any book book that you have previously read. ( this is for you to understand, how Book Review is written)
( to be done before Thursday)
I am waiting for the students to post the book they have chosen for Book Review along with the author AsAP.
ReplyDeletethe OLIVER TWIST
DeleteAUTHOR-CHARLES DICKENS
JAIVEER MALHAN
ReplyDeleteBOOK- THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
AUTHOR- P.M.BAKSHI
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTHE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
DeleteEIGHTH EDITION 2008
P. M. BAKSHI
UNIVERSAL LAW PUBLISHING CO.
ABOUT BOOK The book is about most sacred and important document of our country i.e. “constitution of India”. Book contains the original codified document of Indian constitution along with the developments that took place in it through various amendments and judicial interpretations which became part of our constitution over time. The book not only contains all 22 chapters , 12 schedules along with detailed articles therein but also extensively analyze , evaluate and interpret the articles enshrined in our constitution.
ABOUT AUTHOR The author of book P.M.Bakshi need no introduction as academician as had been former director of prestigious Indian law institute and also held position of member to law commission of India. His career record is evident of his unmatched knowledge of subject and his experience par excellence with understanding of the subject.
REVIEW OF BOOK
Description , analysis , and evaluation have a dilemmic relationship . Overtly relying on any one of these may jeopardize the credibility and efficiency of an academic work. Avoiding such a tragedy in an academic work require comprehensive and analytical description accompanied by deep evaluation with a clear perspective. Extent to which an academic work could do justice to an academic work depend on nature of discipline , quantum of materials , the time of authorship and above all purpose of author in his mind.
The author clearly shows his frame of mind while writing the book. The writing style clearly envisages on describing the original constitution document in crude legal language without being simplistic but while analyzing and evaluating the author change his style and focus on readers perspective where he uses comparatively simpler language which is easier for reader to understand whom the author consider a layman. This clearly brings out the author’s focus i.e. making layman understand the complexity of subject in simplest possible manner. When we look at detailed analysis pattern in which book is written , we find that book which contained such a complicated document is written in form of a normal text book comprising of systematic division of book in contents , an introductory commentary on constitution and then a detailed description and analysis of all chapters , schedules and articles in a systematic conventional way. The book also highlights the various important sections and sub-sections in form of tables , charts and ready reference data in a convenient way with easy accessibility.
TO BE CONTINUED.......
CONTINUED.....
DeleteAfter analyzing and evaluating perception , writing style , focus and authenticity of his work the next step is to evaluate the strengths of book in comparison to other treatises in same field. The various strength are as follows – Firstly , comprehensive description of originally codified constitutional document framed by our constituent assembly without being simplistic and ambiguous. Secondly , book contains all the amendments in constitution brought through various constitutional amendment acts by parliament till date. Thirdly , book also describes and evaluates more than 1400 cases where our judicial system has made considerable interpretation of various articles along with formal verdicts given for same with special comments on prevailing status of amended articles. Fourthly, the author used best possible understandable language with unique blend of complicated technical terminologies and simple analytical language without compromising the true expression of the subject which helps the reader in comparatively easy understanding of the subject. Fifthly , the book contains a separate section named “Constitution of India in nutshell” for beginners where this section act as base ground for layman before going for deep study of any part of any topic. This section is specially written in a very simple and lucid language and make reader easy to understand constitution as whole in broad terms. Lastly ,the treatise contains list of all constitutional amendments statutes judicial interpretations and formal conventions developed over time since the inception of constitution in form of tables, charts and ready reference data for better understanding of reader.
Further , no book review is complete without its critical evaluation i.e. every academic work can’t be evaluated with one sided approach especially when we are doing it in context of such an important and dynamic subject. At , present biggest contribution of book lie in it being obsolete for many parts which means the book only cover the developments and additions to constitution up till 2008 but in last 5 years constitution underwent tremendous changes through amendments and judicial interpretations . This book by no means could overcome this criticism but we must appreciate the fact that this shortcoming is more due to dynamic nature of subject itself because constitution amendments and interpretations are a continuous process and no book can overcome this and apart from this author extensively included events up till time of publish very convincingly . Moreover , book is often charged of using very difficult and complex technical language which readers usually find quite difficult to understand but matter of fact is that author can’t simplify all aspects especially when he is dealing with legally codified constitution document. Apart from this book is also called to be very lengthy to read but here I wish to clarify that we are talking about Indian constitution which is longest constitution of world with 22 chapters , 12 schedules , 444 articles with its sub-clauses which underwent amendments and interpretations in last 63 years. This document took 2 years 11 months 18 days to be drafted so it is quite illogical if one wishes to understand in limited time.
TO BE CONTINUED....
CONTINUED......
DeleteWHY BOOK IS A MUST READ ?
This is most important question from readers perspective and my simple answer in this question is “because this is constitution of our country”. Now question arise so what , to support my view I will just explain definition of our constitution as “ Constitution is organic and supreme law of land having a special legal sanctity”. In simple expression , “supreme law of land” means that all laws and statutes should abide by constitution and in no case they over go constitutional guidelines ; “organic law” implies that constitution decides the conception and character of state and administrative machinery ; and lastly “special legal sanctity” means it derived its powers from us i.e. we the people of India. Getting more simplistic in explaining I quote an example as – I have often seen people commenting and mostly criticizing our government , political system , administrative machinery , social system , regional issues , corruption , communal issues , economic discrepancies and other similar end number of issues with a big “ why “ , well my answer is read your constitution and I assure you will get answer to all your questions when you will complete reading , understanding and interpreting our constitution. In this context I remember Philip Kotler who said “ future is already made” , the statement is very apt for constitution as the day constitution came into force destiny of our nation was sealed in its provisions. But we raised only one side of issue as second question people usually ask is “ what can be done”, well again answer lies in constitutional provisions, despite remedies our constitution has ways to bring modifications and amendments according to needs , for example why Anna Hazare want constitutional status to lokpal , why office of CAG , ELECTION COMMISSION is constitutional and many more. In this contest I remember Paul Samuelson who said “ we create future” which means constitution has ways to bring change. In nutshell , constitution is answer to two basic questions of every Indian i.e. “why” and “what to do”. So , I think it’s a must read.
WHAT I LEARNED?
Although I am not very assured about extent of justice I served in review but I am very clear about what I learned from this book. After reading this book my perception and thinking underwent a substantial change in terms of viewing , evaluating and interpreting things. The book answered my end number of questions to which I was seeking answers for very long. To conclude I can say that thrust of book lies in thirst it generates in minds of readers regarding the overall conditions prevailing in country. Further book ignited unstoppable urge to know more about subject. At last I can say that book transformed me from “jaiveer” to "Citizen Jaiveer”.
RATINGS : 10/10
ANCHAL KATHPAL
ReplyDeleteBOOK -WHO MOVED MY CHEESE
DR SPENSOR JOHNSON
GAURI GROVER
ReplyDeleteBOOK-MANY LIVES,MANY MASTERS
AUTHOR-DR. BRIAN WEISS
I recommend a few books:
ReplyDeleteSeven Habits of Highly Effective People- Steven Covey
The New Earth- Eckhart Tolle
Kite Runner - Khalid Hosseni
Illusions by Richard Bach
Lean by Sherlyn Sandberg
Biography of Steve Jobbs by Walter Issacson
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
thanks Monica for suggesting the books to students
DeleteRACHIT VALECHA
ReplyDeleteBOOK-What Young India Wants
AUTHOR-Chetan Bhagat
BOOK - THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR- KEN BLANCHARD AND SPENCER JOHNSON
BOOK - I AM THE MESSENGER
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - MARKUS ZUSAK
BOOK- LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR MANAGERS
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - MARLENE CAROSELLI
BOOK- THE SECRET
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - RHONDE BYRNE
Book- Connecting The Dots
ReplyDeleteAuthor- Rashmi Bansal
BOOK- POOR LITTLE RICH SLUM
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR- RASHMI BANSAL, DEEPAK GANDHI
BOOK - RICH DAD POOR DAD
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR-ROBERT KIYOSKI
NAME- GAURAV CHOPRA
ReplyDeleteBOOK selected- Chanakya's chant
author- Ashwin Sanghi
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNAME- PANKAJ DHIMAN
ReplyDeleteBOOK- FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATIONS FOR CLARITY AND IMPACT
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PRESS
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS
Book- What the CEO wants you to know
ReplyDeleteAuthor-Ram Charan
Book- rich dad poor dad
ReplyDeleteAuthor -robert kiyoski
BOOK - SIX THINKING HATS
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - EDWARD DE BONO
NAME: RAHUL CHHABRA
ReplyDeleteBOOK: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
NAME: VAISHALI RAHEJA
ReplyDeleteBOOK: THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA
Author: AMISH
NAME:MANSI GUPTA
ReplyDeleteBOOK:MARKETING SECRETS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A STAR(STEAL THESE IDEAS)
AUTHOR:STEVE CONES
Book - THE SECRET OF THE NAGAS (SHIVA TRILOGY 2)
ReplyDeleteAuthor - AMISH
Book - How to WOW
ReplyDeleteAuthor - Frances Cole Jones
Book: The New Earth
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Eckhart Tolle
book name:the spirit of india
ReplyDeleteauthor:ramin jahanbegloo
Book-The Power of Postive Thinking
ReplyDeleteAuthor- Norman Vincent Peale
Shivangi Sharma
ReplyDeletebook: Five Point Someone
Author: Chetan Bhagat
Vidushi Mishra
ReplyDeletebook:THE ALCHEMIST
AUTHOR:Paulo Coelho
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBOOK - The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - Stephen R. Covey
book- who moved my cheese
ReplyDeleteauthor-spencer johnsons
i just want you to remind though u must have read the above blogs that the book u r planning to read is already opted by me .
DeleteIt's alright as long as the review is not the same.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBook- The Canterville Ghost
ReplyDeleteAuthor - Oscar Wilde
[BOOK REVIEW - THE CANTERVILLE GHOST ]
The book I read is a ghost story and it is about an american family who buys a house in England but this house has been haunted for centuries !
I like this story because the people who read the canterville ghost can be frightened but they can also laugh because its a very funny story .
I also want to underline that the author of this book , OSCAR WILDE , is a genious and so i think it is important to read it ....
ANKIT RATHI
13BSP1660 ( "G" )
BOOK- THE GO GETTER
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR- PETER B. KYNE
Kindly mail the details of your book to Aditi Tuli for compilation as per the attendance list. This will help me to know who has still not posted over here. Also please keep a hard copy of the Book review assignment besides uploading
ReplyDeleteBOOK- Fish!a remarkable way to boost morale and improve results
ReplyDeleteauthor - Stephen C.Lundin , Harry Paul and John Chritensen
book- dealing with people you cant stand
ReplyDeleteauthor- Dr. Rick Brinhkman and Dr. Rick kirschner
CHANAKYA'S CHANT BY ASHWIN SANGHI
ReplyDeleteThe story dwells around India at around 340 BC when Chanakya's father is killed cold blooded by Dhananada's guards for inciting the masses against the tyranny of the ruler of Magadh who has no respect for morals and lives lavishly with concubines,so Chanakya vows to take revenge for this-throwing out Dhananda from Magadh and placing his protege Chandragupta as the ruler and uniting the entire Bharat by reconciling three huge kingdoms at that time-Magadh the most powerful in the universe, Kaikeyi the second most powerful and Kalinga, keeping at bay threats of Macedonian invaders, led by Alexander the Great.Here Chanakya executes a brilliant strategy, he mentors chandragupta to ally with Paurus ,the king of kaikeyi and at the same time prevents Alexender from expanding his footprints into East Indian kingdoms of Magadh and Kalinga by getting killed his Commander in chief-Philipos Sasigupta,horse tribe leader of Afghan region for marrying a woman of their tribe.By allying with Sasigupta ,chankaya keepsa close watch on Ambhi,ruler of Gandhar Kingdom in far west,to counter attack both Dhananada and Paurus. One ponders at the mindset of chanakya's, in way that he advocates Chandragupta to perform Gandharva vivah with the daughter of Alaxender's right hand man Saleucus ,using the poor woman as a bait to backoff the Macedonaians.Cunningly, he even uses his own love Suvasini to get Dhananada killed as the ruler himself loved her.In the end, the battle of Magadha is won by Chandragupta and so is Kaikeyi as Paurus is found poisoned. It's surprising to think how cold,calculating and cruel can one be with complete absence of accepted morals,that chanakya's father himself bestowed upon him.
Modern day India is no different from 340BC India.The story revolves around the city of Kanpur where Gangaprasad,the historian professor floats a party to contest municipal elections with the support of Agrawalji and Ikram sheikh,the mafia don.Gangaprasad,the modern day chankaya has a dream, to project ABNS(their political party) as single largest party of India and placing Chandni the adopted hindu girl of ikram, and the way they make this is shocking.From defaming and forcing the Prime Minister to quit,through an expose of minister bearing a lovechild,who is actually a sadhvi preaching spiritual lessons,from whom the PM took guidance, to sacking the foreign minister and defence minister through exposing their scams and banami dealings,Gangasagar is successful in making chandni as the external affairs minister,who beams on the glory of her successful trips to China and wins allocades for it.The ABNS government is even depicted indulging in border skirmishes with China and inciting Uyghur movement there by using Makhmud , a double agent for RAW and Islamic militant group,so as to tense relations between China and Pakistan .One will be amused to study the political calculations Gangasagar undertakes,allowing the second single largest party to elect a PM candidate and securing all cabinet positions for ABNS, so that a new government could be floated without any outside support,by manufacturing a crisis of bad governance and policy paralysis.He even wrests his money power and riggs elections by investing hugely in an IT firm that manufactures chipsets used in EVMs.It is shocking that Gangasagar even uses chandni as a bait to win UP state elections on emotional appeal,firing a gunshot at her at a party rally, and advertising this image publicly ,hailing her as an incarnation of BHARAT MAA who sacrifices her life for her children's sake.In the end his dream is fulfilled ,chandni becomes the new PM but soon despises her mentor after discovering that he was responsible for getting killed her boyfriend geoffrey in London, where she completed her graduation,with whom she even bore a love child ,who later reunites with her mother.
Vidushi Mishra
ReplyDeleteTHE ALCHEMIST
THE ALCHEMIST is a wonderfully simple story of a young shepherd who follows his dreams of treasure and encounters many experiences and people,learning wisdom and life lessons along the way.Paulo Coelho has skilfully woven many bits of truth and wisdom about life into this masterpiece,and it is a true delight to read.just like it teaches,it is not the destination,but the journey with this book,that counts.
If you are searching for a buried treasure,or for love,or for the secret of turning lead into gold.It doesn't matter if you die trying,never reaching your goal.it deoesn't matter if you don't find what you're looking for,once you get there.What matters is what you've brought with you on the way,and what you've learned along the way.The people you meet,the hardships and heartaches you go through,the lessons your experiences has taught you the alchemist tells you how to turn lead into gold.It tells you of the wonder and uncertainity of change and evolution,the secret of enjoying the beauty of life without becoming hardened by the harshness of reality,the art of living in the moment without worrying about the past or the future,and most importantly,the ultimate secret of the universe,that we are all interconnected we are all one.
What I like about the book is that it teaches you to live your life well. live every moment in the moment.Let go of anything that is an encumberance.Follow your dreams, have fun and enjoy everything life has to offer,but don't forget the things that really matter.Let go of things that are not within your control.
There is so much wisdom contained within the pages of this little book,but for me,the most important one,is to enjoy every minute of your life.We all have goals in life,we have dreams to fulfill and sucess to achieve.We need to remember to stop once in a while,and smell each rose and count each star in the sky.It is not the destination,but the journey,that counts.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“THE SECRET “ BY RHONDA BYRNE : A BOOK THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
ReplyDeleteThe Secret is a best-selling self-help spiritual book written by Rhonda Byrne, based on the earlier film of the same name. The book is published in English (available in 44 languages) which contains 198 pages priced for Rs625. First English edition was published on 26 november2006. Publisher is Atria Books, Beyond Words Publishing.
Almost everyone has heard the phrase: “It’s all in the mind,” but how many have ever tried to understand its importance and implication? I was also a part of this crowd until a few days ago, till I was gifted “The Secret” by my friend. This book by Rhonda Byrne changed my way of life, renewed me and taught me how to live a peaceful and contented life In this book, the author unveils a ‘secret’ which she claims to have been known for centuries.
In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.
The essence of the book is the power of our minds, which if identified and unleashed properly, can create waves of positive changes in our life. A person can own anything he wants, he just have to choose from the catalogue of universe and place his order by saying “I want …”.The universe is listening to our thoughts, and thus it will revert back in the same manner. Thus our thoughts are magnetic and each thought has frequency which is sent to the universe which will attract the like things. In words of author “our thoughts become things”, which means everything that happens with us is directly or indirectly the result of our own thought process.
The importance and need of feelings and emotions, the need to sometimes give in to things that our hearts desire for, the need to prematurely ‘feel’ the things we want to happen, the need to take good care of our health, the need to treat ourselves with love and respect, the ways to make our relationships with others work, the need and ways of expressing our gratitude have been discussed intricately in a detailed manner in the book.
The best part of the book is the theory mentioned in it is nothing new. Each and everything mentioned in the book is consciously or subconsciously experienced by us. Even before reading the book I have made certain things happen by just thinking strongly about them. For instance, a class test being cancelled when I strongly wanted it. The book is full with the illustrations of reality where many people have applied SECRET in their life and as a result their whole life changed. ‘The Secret’ has been realized by many great men like Plato, Galileo, Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, Edison, Carnegie, Einstein, Gautam Buddha and many great men.
A documentary movie has been made on ‘The Secret’ to showcase the importance and methods of implementation of this concept, but I feel there is a great difference between reading and viewing something. The impact created when we read something attentively is far more than any form of visual representation of the same.
The SECRET is followed by “THE POWER “and “THE MAGIC”. The author wants the reader to be optimistic and should carry a positive attitude towards life, determined to what they want and last but not the least, keep a feeling of gratitude always. Good feelings will attract good things; on the other hand Bad feelings will attract bad things.
The book teaches various techniques and shortcuts to understand and implement this concept in our lives. Throughout the period when I was reading the book, I was unconsciously nodding my head in approval of the theories discussed, realizing how true and appropriate each one of them is. All in all, it is a must read in order to discover oneself, understand one’s true needs and desires, improve one’s life in every possible aspect and make the most of the power which resides within oneself.
Leadership Skills for Managers
ReplyDeleteBy Dr. Marlene Caroselli
It’s a 169 page book published in year 2002 costing Rs 185. Dr. Marlene Caroselli is a facilitator, keynote speaker and workshop leader, who has written more than 40 books. She is a frequent contributor to Stephen Covey’s Excellence magazine, as well as several other publications.
Leadership Skills for Managers written by her is an in-depth exploration of the abilities and qualities of a leader (as opposed to just a manager). Leadership attributes such as problem-solving, team-building, and communication are analyzed. Tools, techniques, and real-life examples help the reader develop a plan of action for transforming a vision of leadership into an implementable reality.
The 10 chapters of the book focuses on who a leader is? and what traits a leader should prohibit as in a leader as Visionary, Problem-Solver, Team-Builder, Manager, Communicator, Power-Distributor, Liaison, Planner and last but not the least as Leader.
Though Author Marlene Caroselli accompanies her valuable handbook on the basics of leadership with insightful quotations and anecdotes. "Basic" is the operative word here. The book makes no pretense, for example, of delving into the theoretical side of leadership development. Nor does it prepare managers for specific business tasks that they’re more likely to encounter as leaders, such as budgeting and strategic planning. Rather, this book is specifically tailored for current managers who have leadership ambitions, and for newly minted leaders who need a little expertise to seize control of their new roles. It is recommended as a solid menu option with lots of good advice for that eager-to-lead audience. The book is thoroughly crafted to achieve its purpose.
So it is a good book for current managers helping them to cater to specific needs and expertise to mould their ambitions into reality.
BOOk : "The power of Positive thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale
ReplyDeleteThe book is written to help people to live a better and positive life. Various real life examples has been given which has helped the people feel fulfillment in their lives . The techniques taught in the book will help you reach points in your life you didn’t know were reachable.
Out of all the lessons taught out of this book the best one is the power to think positive your whole life no matter what comes your way.
And the major theme the book is to always use God. In every chapter author talks about praying to God and putting your trust in him no matter what the situation is good or bad. Another main theme seen throughout every chapter and lesson is "being positive in every situation is brought upon you". The following teachings has been taught in the book :
1. Believe in yourself (develop creative faith in yourself, the faith that is justified)
2. Peaceful mind generates Power
3. How to have constant Energy (The god is the source of all Energy)
4. Try Prayer Power (It is a manifestation of Energy and is greatest of all)
5. Create your own Happiness (Say to yourself that things are going nicely, life is good and I choose happiness)
6. Stop fuming and fretting ( Practice Regular peaceful thoughts and Serenity)
7. Expect the Best and Get It (learn to expect not to doubt)
8. Break the worry habit ( Aggressive direct action is essential to eliminate worry)
9. Power to solve personal problems (Practice believing that God is real and actual as people around us.)
10. How to get people to like you ( Avoid egotism, be comfortable with people, easy going nature etc..)
11. Draw Higher power (God is the highest power that can do everything)
Thus this book is good for anyone who would like to learn how to improve and make it better by simple ways and teachings of how we think.
Summary of "The Canterville Ghost"
ReplyDeleteAuthor:(Oscar Wilde)..
This book is about an american family who moved to canterville chase , an old manor house which was haunted by the ghost of LORD SIMON the canterville . the ghost tried to frighten the family but they weren't afraid of anything so the ghost failed every time . only VIRGINIA , Mr & Mrs OTIS daughter helped him .
One day VIRGINIA met the ghost in his secret room , they spoke about his death , & VIRGINIA decided to go to angel of death to ask him if he could forgive the ghost .
At the end the ghost died and the american family lived the normal and happy life .
I like this book very much because its sometimes humorous and sometimes frightening . I have loved ghost stories since i was a child and i think that this is very nice . But if i read them in the evening or at night , i cannot sleep very well so I prefer reading them in the afternoon when there aren't strange noises in the house .
[BOOK REVIEW - THE CANTERVILLE GHOST ]
The book I read is a ghost story and it is about an american family who buys a house in England but this house has been haunted for centuries !
I like this story because the people who read the canterville ghost can be frightened but they can also laugh because its a very funny story .
I also want to underline that the author of this book , OSCAR WILDE , is a genious and so i think it is important to read it ....
ANKIT RATHI
13BSP1660 ( "G" )
"POOR LITTLE RICH SLUM" BY RASHMI BANSAL AND DEEPAK GANDHI
ReplyDeleteThe book, ‘Poor Little Rich Slum’ is a great valiant effort in bringing to the forefront what urban dwellers in cities would rather hastily sweep under the carpet. The book writes about not just any slum but a place where “….a cauldron is bubbling with enterprise, with a never-say-die attitude. Thus, it is indeed a challenge to tell a tale about Dharavi that has never been told before. Authors Rashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi accept this challenge with this book. Dee Gandhi helps illustrates the story by his selection of vivid, telling, beautiful photographs.
The book is assorted with stories of people born here and choose not to leave this place. The author describe this place as, ‘A space from where you cannot see the skies.’ I guess this lone statement describes what Dharavi is to people who live here. People in the pages of this book are real living characters who suffer, slog but survive only because of their determination to make it in life, come what may. We may not expect this from them because of the background that they come from. But it is a fact, that Dharavi shows time and again that life can be lived and made a success of (of course, the definition of success varies everywhere!) if only one aspires for more with the little that one has. The so called uneducated poor of Dharavi are hungry and enterprising. For example, Mustaqueem Bhai is an entrepreneur from the slums with the yearly turnover of 12 Billion. His only wish as a young child trying to make a living in this slum was that to get so much work so that he can stay awake 24 hours a day. If each one of us think this way then there would be no poverty left.
The author take the reader on a guided tour into the lives of people living here and trying to make a living, until you get lost in the by lanes,the puzzle that is Dharavi. There are amazing, perplexing and inspired stories about Dharavi, a place often dismissed by us as a dirty, clustered, chaotic, ugly, black hole of a city.
The book helps us to understand that there is no difference between the thoughts of people living in slums and those living in the high multistoried buildings. The only difference between them is the way of living. The book does not glorify their troubles or trivialize their situation in any way. The book reinforces the spirit of humanity that pervades in small village like communities that defines Dharavi, That of caring and taking responsibility of other people and the world around you. The book is an attempt to share the expansive experience that the authors had during their visits to Dharavi - the biggest slum in Asia today. However what lies deep inside these stories is the fact message that - "We can be happy, we can be hopeful, we can be enterprising - no matter where we are. The question is - are you? If Dharavi can , So can I" .
SIX THINKING HATS BY EDWARD DE BONO
ReplyDeleteSix Thinking Hats, this bestseller teaches how to run meetings and take crucial decisions. It helps us to deliver quick ,decisive results in a meeting.
It is a technique which helps to evaluate a decision from different perspectives .
In fact the entire premise of the book is that problems are best solved by thinking about them in an orderly fashion. This orderly fashion is the thinking hats – each one tied to a certain way of thinking about a situation.
How to use hats
The “six hats” is a kind of metaphor and is intended to indicate six different ways of looking at a problem. This book suggests a bunch of different ways to use the hats: individually or in groups . The real key is to realize that when you run into a roadblock in solving a problem, putting on a different “hat” might help you to take a decision correctly and efficiently .
The White Hat
The white hat refers to just gathering of facts and information.
Example - If I’m doing intense reading to get information, the white hat is usually on.
The Red Hat
Red hat thinking is the emotional side of thinking process.
Example - What is your emotional response to the situation?
The Black Hat
The black hat is a stage to find the flaws in thinking and reviewing new ideas to poke holes in it .
Example - The critic wears the black hat constantly.
The Yellow Hat
The yellow hat is the positive thinking hat , looking at the best possible outcome of the situation.
The Green Hat
The green hat is the brainstorming hat, where you just pull out ideas and throw them on the table. It doesn’t matter whether they’re good or not (black hat will work on that) or whether they’re supported (white hat, please!). The purpose is simply to get some fresh ideas out there.
The Blue Hat
The blue hat is all about organizing and planning.
Example – Questioning like are things in a sensible order?
The key methodology of Six Thinking Hats was to rectify the problem , develop a solution set for the problem and then selecting the solution for the problem by using each of the six hats , so as to select the best solution for the problem.
The solution which is critically examined from all angles .
For example – A meeting may start with everyone assuming the Blue hat to discuss how the meeting will be conducted and to develop the goals and objectives. The discussion may then move to Red hat thinking in order to collect opinions and reactions to the problem. This phase may also be used to develop constraints for the actual solution such as who will be affected by the problem and/or solutions. Next the discussion may move to the Yellow then Green hat in order to generate ideas and possible solutions. Next the discussion may move between White hat thinking as part of developing information and Black hat thinking to develop criticisms of the solution set.
Because everyone is focused on a particular approach at any one time, the group tends to be more collaborative than if one person is reacting emotionally (Red hat) while another person is trying to be objective (White hat) and still another person is being critical of the points which emerge from the discussion
(Black hat).
Book Name: Connect The Dots by Rashmi Bansal
ReplyDeleteAfter the sale of ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’, the author Rashmi Bansal launched a new book named ‘Connect the Dots’ written in an upside down manner on the front page. The title of the book seems to be influenced from the speech of Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005 “You cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust… in something—your guts, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life”.
A 304 pages book reveals the successful story of 20 entrepreneurs who didn’t have any robust plan, education and experience before commencing the business. It explains 3 business fundamentals applicable to the Indian Business Environment: “Jugaad, Junoon and Zubaan” that have been used by these businessmen to win the situation according to the dynamic circumstances. The business range of this book comprises of a restaurateur, an educationist, an industrialist (manufacturing), an electric car maker, a beautician, an agriculturist, a wildlife photographer and many more.
Rashmi Bansal has covered the real life stories of these entrepreneurs and mentioned in an informal manner about their ups and downs while running their company. The portrayal, though is in third person, has explained the first person experience. She has enlightened that without any post school qualification these popular names have successfully managed to pace their firms with huge profits. They have also effectively handled their enterprise in a varying situation where there was massive competition and less branding. They found out the ways to promote themselves in different states with their own experience and through the consultants support.
An interesting part about this book is that it keeps the reader intensively dedicated to the book as it includes the original sayings of these entrepreneurs in “Hindi” language. One more aspect is that after every story it provides a quick learning to the reader by offering Advice to Young Entrepreneurs which helps the growing entrepreneurs to follow these principles whenever possible.
In my opinion this book is great and everyone should go for it either online or by purchasing it. As the book is categorized into three sections of Jugaad, Junoon and Zubaan; it gives an in depth knowledge of business principles developed through experience.
Book Name: Inside Steve's Brain by Leander Kahney
ReplyDeleteInside Steve's Brain is a book about Steve Jobs-CEO of APPLE, written by Leander Kahney. It is a fascinating look at the thought and inspiration behind Apple's products. It has a particular and much focus on the current era - iPod/iTunes, the latest iMacs, the Apple Store and more.
It is a 304 page book published in way back 2008 costing Rs 399. This is a book which gives you a different perspective about a man’s life who revolutionized four industries and also gives a new perspective towards management. Most of CEOs roar about their subjects, playing up their management strengths while wholly ignoring any personal weaknesses or quirks but that is not the case with Steve jobs. Inside Steve’s Brain is a book that is part biography and part management. Leander Kahney offers a fascinating view into the mind of No.1 CEO "Steve Jobs".
The book describes how Steve went about simplifying Apple's brand and focusing in on the key products that consumers wanted.Kahney focused on different elements of Steve's personality and management strategy in each chapter, and shows evidence of those personality traits.One chapter, for instance, is titled “Despotism: Apple’s One-Man Focus Group.” In it, Kahney describes how Jobs is intimately involved in every aspect of Apple’s design process. He is relentless in his insistence on simplicity. It’s all about pleasing Steve-if he likes it, he assumes the public will too like that.
Leander Kahney knows his stuff when it comes to Apple. He is a news editor for Wired.com and the main author of the Cult of Mac blog. He previously wrote two other Apple books, The Cult of Mac and The Cult of iPod.
The result is, it is a unique book about Steve Jobs that is part biography and part leadership read and with a great vocabulary and interesting as well.This book has a lot of business lessons in it for budding startup entrepreneurs. It is a memorable book for the apple users and also others so I highly recommend to read Inside Steve's brain to all the readers and non readers as well.
THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA BY AMISH
ReplyDeleteThe Immortals of Meluha reimagines Lord Shiva, one of the Holy Trinity of Hindu Gods, as a mortal champion designed for greatness, a change which is quite astounding in its implications since Lord Shiva is a part of the core Hinduism beliefs and a major of the religion’s mythology is built around him and his actions and his favours towards gods, mortals and demons.. He came into his own after facing numerous adventures and trials which tested his faith to its very limits. The level of exploration of the internal mythology is splendid. The novel seeks to turn some gender, societal and cultural norms on their head and present a modern Indian epic that can appeal to people who believe and support gender equality and presenting these norms in their proper context.
There is a level of pure excitement and energy in the way that Amish Tripathi directs the entire mystery and purpose of the “Neelkanth”. He blends the mythic clans of the Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis, descendants of the Sun and Moon respectively, into this mystery represented by the people of the Kingdoms of Meluha and Swadweep. He also goes on to put the Nagas, a species of human snakes, as the antagonists and so sets the phase for an epic conflict that has some interesting and far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. Shiva, the Neelkanth (or the man with ‘blue throat’) is the catalyst for these changes is another highlight of the novel and it is an element that I feel Amish Tripathi captured really well.
The author has taken essential concepts of Hindu mythology, done his own unique spin on them and then told a fascinating and involved epic that feels true to the epic fantasy genre. Sati is definitely a standout character in several aspects and is a damsel in distress. She is a daughter of warriors and her beliefs and attitudes are true to that legacy. She stands along with Shiva as an equal rather than someone used to move along his story. As a reader, that has immense value to me. There are certain flaws although. For instance, the Suryavanshis worship Lord Rama highly and celebrate his victory over the evil King Ravana, which is how it is in Hindu mythology, but the fact is that Ravana was blessed by Lord Shiva himself with great knowledge and Ravana was a great devotee of the Destroyer. This is never spoken in the novel. Shiva (the protagonist) is said to be the latest reincarnation of the Neelkanth, the Mahadev who will give the Suryavanshis their long-desired victories over the Chandravanshis. So the novel does make a remote mention of this cycle of birth and rebirth but it never deals with it in more than a passing manner. This is one of the biggest flaws of the novel.
The author has used our Classical legends as the foundation of his story. The legends like Shiva, Sati, Nandi, Virbhadra, Daksha - all roam around a certain structure as true human beings of flesh and blood. The divinity is seen from a benevolent perspective where ‘Karma’ or Achievements are the only yardstick. The Unity of Time, Place and Action is observed accurately though some reliable distractions have lent it a different layer to our ‘willing suspension of disbelief’.
The Immortals of Meluha is a ground-breaking novel that has set a new bar for Indian-themed fantasy, and thus it is of immense value in that respect alone. It shows that what Western mainstream fantasy has been doing for decades, Indian fantasy can do as well. I look on at it as an important milestone that has already put Indian fantasy on the world-map, given the huge success of the book in India and the fact that UK publisher Jo Fletcher picked it up the English rights to it.
BOOK-MANY LIVES MANY MASTERS BOOK REVIEW
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR:DR BRIAN WEISS
This is the first book I have encountered of this type. It is a true story of a psychiatrist, his young patient and the past life therapy that changed both their lives. First published on 23 June 1994 by Piatkus Books and contains 224 pages. Dr Weiss book has sold over 1.5 million copies .
This book is about reincarnation that is when the soul is reborn into new lives. But is it is difficult to believe this concept of reincarnation without having personal experience. Catherine was able to recall everything about her past life
Many Lives, Many Masters is about a young patient named Catherine who was troubled with many fears, phobias and anxiety. She seeks psychiatric concern and Dr. Brian Weiss, a psychiatrist assists her in her therapy. When his traditional method of therapy failed, he turned to hypnosis and was astonished and sceptical when Catherine began recalling past life incidences. However his scepticism is eroded when Catherine began to channel messages from the 'THE SPACE BETWEEN LIVES' which contained remarkable revelations about his own life .She revealed many secrets of Life and Death.
This fascinating case dramatically altered the lives of Catherine and Dr Weiss and provides information on continuation of life after death and influences of past life experiences on our present behaviour.
This book has a strong connection & similarity to the Indian concept of reincarnation, theory of karma, death, different planes of existence. Karma meaning ‘action’ at one level, it also means the ‘fruits of action’. Theory of Karma says that we will reap the fruits of all our actions. When we take birth, we determine which of the fruits of our past life action we want to experience in this life. And once this is determined by us, the soul takes birth in the family it believes best serves the purpose, chooses the parents, chooses the surroundings and goes through the experiences – good & bad.
Few things that I came across after reading this book:-
1.About theory of reincarnation
2.About Life -that is not something that ‘starts’ at birth and ‘ends’ at death.
3.Meditation
• helps us to remove mental stress and
• cures us of our psychological disorders without taking drugs
Although Dr. Weiss offered no verifiable scientific proof of what he presented because of which many people do not people believe in such theories. Although it was necessary to have the skills and resources to have conduct his "investigation" properly and scientifically. But still he was successful in his hypnosis which is just a state of focused concentration and it cured many other patients after treatment of Catherine. Though I do not believe in traditional methods used for treatment but have a strong belief in meditation as it can really help a person to come out of mental stress.
Though I was interested in reading about the concept of past lives but I don't know if I really believe in it or not, but many Chinese believe that what you do in this life, will affect your next life.
e.g. if you do a lot of good deeds in this life, then you will have a good next life. If you have really bad luck in this life, it's probably because you did a lot of bad things in your past life.
Catherine was able to recall everything about her past life .
But I think it is difficult to believe this concept of reincarnation without having personal experience .But the best way to overcome the memories of past life is through meditation or some methods suggested by psychiatrist and not exactly by medicine treatment.
VERDICT: At Rs. 300,it is a must buy if you are a person who believes in reincarnation.
Lines taken from the book MANY LIVES MANY MASTERS
Some Information gathered From Wikipedia
The One Minute Manager – Book Review
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR
• Ken Blanchard,
Spencer Johnson
APPROX READING TIME
CLOSE TO 1 AND HALF HOURS
Blanchard has co authored over 30 best-selling books, including The One Minute Manager which has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into more than 37 languages. Kenneth T. Derr, former Chairman & CEO of the Chevron Corporation, once said of this book that "If you haven't read it, do . . . if you have, read it again." Spencer Johnson is known for the Value Tales series of children's books, and for his 1998 motivational book Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list. Johnson is chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners. Well, I recently read it and was introduced of its simple yet powerful messages.
The One Minute Manager is a quick read that covers the basics of managing people. It tries to demonstrate that managing people does not have to be a time consuming part of our jobs if done right. The emphasis is on setting goals and establishing clear expectations, praising people by catching them doing something right and correcting poor performance. The book is unlike any other book of its genre, it is written in story format.
The story begins with a young man searching out for an effective manager. His search leads him across the world and he keeps meeting managers who he categorizes into two types. – Autocratic who define themselves as hard-nosed, realistic, profit minded and who like to be on top of every situation. And Democratic who define themselves as participative, supportive, considerate and humanistic. – Both the breeds pride themselves in their result minded focus and people oriented focus respectively and this bemused him. Why? Because the autocratic ones predictably had their companies prosper but also had higher turnover; while the democratic ones had happy employees around but company suffered. It was as if managers of the world were primarily interested either in results or in people. The young man defined Effective managers as those who manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence. He was at loss since he couldn't find them easily. He finally stumbles across one who is willing to share his secret. This one called himself the ONE MINUTE MANAGER and he was quite a character. The One Minute Manager listens while his people review and analyze what they've accomplished, the problems they had, and what still needs to be accomplished. Yet he doesn't believe in participating in any of his people’s decision-making. He is neither results-oriented, nor people oriented. He cares about people and results equally. The man is an admired leader that is highly spoken of by his employees, his three secrets being the key to his success. These secrets to productive and efficient managing are revealed to the young man and they are as follows.
One Minute Goals: The basic idea is to set goals and identify what good results look like. They should be done on paper in 250 words or less. Both the manager and employee should individually review the goals and progress regularly to see whether the result matches the expectation.
The overall idea of this part is that there should be no surprises because everyone involved should clearly understand the expectation.
One Minute Praising: Managers should be trying to catch people doing something right. Managers should tell people in advance that you are going to let them know how they are doing. People should be praised immediately on being caught doing it right. The manager needs to be specific in the praise and tell the person how good it makes you feel and how it helps the organization and other co workers.
The point of one minute praising is to reinforce positive behavior.
One Minute Reprimands: This is not a formal heavyweight reprimand. It is supposed to be a gentle correction for poor performance. Once again the manager needs to make sure employees know that you are going to be honest about how they are doing. Just as with praising, people need to be reprimanded immediately. It’s important to be specific and tell the person how you feel and how it impacts the organization and co-workers. After the reprimand the person should be told how much they are valued and reminded that the manager things well of them, just not about this one performance issue. Finally, when the reprimand is over, it’s over and it won’t continually be held over the person as long as there is no repeat.
ReplyDeleteThe one minute reprimand focuses on the performance rather than the person. The performance issue needs to be corrected, but the person still needs to feel valued.
So, in summary, how can you give yourself and others "the gift" of getting greater results in less time? 1) Set goals 2) Praise and reprimand behaviours 3) Encourage people 4) Speak the truth 5) Laugh, work, enjoy!
"Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers...don't let their appearance fool you."
Verdict: Go grab it, even if you don’t implement its techniques, at least you will understand why this book sold 13 million copies!
Book Name-WHAT YOUNG INDIA WANTS
ReplyDeleteAuthor - Chetan Bhagat
Genre - Non-fiction/Current Affairs/Essays
Pages - 181
The book I choose to review is “What Young India Wants”. This is the first non-fictional attempt by one of the most famous fiction-book author of India, Chetan Bhagat .This book was first published in 2012 by Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
“What Young India Wants” is a collection of Chetan Bhagat’s selected essays, speeches, columns and articles published in various newspapers and some are fresh pieces too. The book precisely focuses on three aspects of India i.e. Society, Politics and Youth. Through a catchy title and flashy cover, the author will surely be successful in grabbing the attention of the readers.
Chetan Bhagat’s essays are informative and an easy-read. Be it farmer suicides, Losses faced by Kingfisher airline, vote bank politics or essay on stressed Indian Women etc. , he has touched upon wide areas of concerns.
The book tries to ask many questions. It asks us about what should an average Indian live, work and strive for in his/her life, what’s a citizen life worth, What exactly do we want from our country, How capable are we and why still are we helpless.,
Chetan Bhagat answers and gives solutions to these questions in his own unique style without targeting anyone.
The opening quotes in the beginning of each chapter are also quite interesting. For E.g., “What India needs is a course of antibiotics; Crocin is just not working” or “Setting off a bomb in class is a temporary solution, we need to do our homework” etc. These kind of quotes will surely generate interests among the readers towards that respective issue .
Chetan Bhagat has dedicated first ten pages of the book to his life and his journey from childhood to his college days and from a Engineer to Investment banker to Policy Maker to, finally, become an Author and the reason why he decided to write this book, which is quite good to read.
First section of the book is ‘Our Society’ where he compares Indian Society with Western Society. It covers many aspects such as religion, casteism, terrorism, corruption etc. This section also focuses on problems faced by Indian farmers, Kingfisher Airlines Losses and terrorist attack at German Bakery, Pune.
Second Section of book covers ‘Politics’. In this the author covers topics such as -vote bank politics played by our politicians, Different Scams, Increasing Fuel Prices, Lokpal Bill agitation etc. In this section he tries to give a flavour of what it is like to be a part of the largest democracy in the world.
Third and the best section of the book is ‘Our Youth’. All articles in youth section are fun to read. Targeted to 70% of the country’s population, the author address issues such as Indian Education System, educational pressures leading to suicides, importance of good English etc.
This section has 2 letters which the author assumes our youth will write; (1) to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, who he thinks at this point is the most powerful person in India and (2) to Mahatma Gandhi. These letters are quite fun to read.
This section also has the famous “Spark lecture” delivered by him in Symbiosis College. The speech was quite motivational and had some really sensible tips. Here the author says that every Young person has a “spark” and how they should nurture it guard it against the storms.
This section also has two fictional short stories at the end. Stories are very good, and bring out issues and concepts with much more clarity and ease.
Verdict:
Even though the book ‘What Young India Wants’ insulates great knowledge in wide range of areas, but still it fails to inspire me, because many of solutions given by the author even though are logical but are far from reality, especially in a country like India.
But, at Rs. 140/- , this book is quite a buy as after reading this book you will surely learn about the problems faced by our country and the sectors where we lack, even though you might not agree with some of the solutions given by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRICH DAD POOR DAD
ReplyDeleteBy:- ROBERT T. KIYOSAKI
Release date :- 1, APRIL,2000
Pages :- 207
Genre:- Novel
ISBN 0446677450
Personal finance author and lecturer Robert T. Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective from two very different influences - his two fathers. This text lays out Kiyosaki's philosophy and his relationship with money.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is the story of a person who has two fathers: the first was his biological father – the poor dad and the other was the father of his childhood best friend, Mike – the rich dad. Both fathers taught the author how to achieve success but with very disparate approaches. It became evident to the author which father's approach made more financial sense.
The book gives you the basic education about money that you should have received in school. Robert Kiyosaki teaches in the simplest way possible about the differences of assets and liabilities and how a balance sheet works. He also teaches the basics of real estate and investing.
It is very educational and fun to read as he tells it like a story and it is definitely not like reading a book in school. He explains financial concepts in a way full of life and excitement by replacing the numbers with pictures and metaphors.
Throughout the book, the author compares both fathers – their principles, ideas, financial practices, and degree of dynamism and how his real father, the poor and struggling but highly educated man, paled against his rich dad in terms of asset building and business acumen.
He learned from both the fathers but he is sharing the struggle he had as a kid to choose between two very different ways of dealing with money. He chose to learn from the “Rich Dad” and it is his teachings and principles Robert Kiyosaki is passing on to us. His “Rich Dad” became one of the richest men in Hawaii by building up his own company.
The author compares his poor dad to the millions of fathers who encourage their sons to do well in school so they could get a good job with a good company. Poor dad believed in the traditional principles of working hard, saving money, and not buying material things that one cannot afford
The author points out that poor dad was preoccupied with things like job tenure and security, Social Security, vacation and sick leaves, company insurance and salary raises and promotions. The author felt that his poor dad was more interested in these factors rather than on the job itself. This is what the author calls being trapped in the Rat Race
His rich dad, by contrast, represents the independently wealthy core of society who deliberately takes advantage of the power of corporations and their personal knowledge of tax and accounting which they manipulate to their advantage. It was from rich dad that the author learned not to say, “I can’t afford it”, but instead to ask, “how can I afford it?”
The book’s theme reduces to two fundamental concepts: a can-do attitude and fearless entrepreneurship. The author highlights these two concepts and focused on the need for financial literacy, how the power of corporations contribute to making the wealthy even wealthier and recognizing the characteristics of humans and how their preconceived notions and upbringing hamper their financial freedom goals.
This book is not just about money. It's about how we are taught to think; how we are programmed by schools, family, and friends to look at the rich as greedy. It is an attempt to reprogram minds to look at why we do, what we do, why do we buy all these shoes, clothes, cars, jewelry, have we earned it or are we just trying to maintain an image?
To me the most important thing it teaches is that being educated is the key, educated in our motives, in money, in the world around us. Educated does not always mean a degree lessons can be learned anywhere at any time.
FISH ! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
ReplyDeleteBy Stephen C. Lundin,
Harry Paul,
John Christensen
About The Author
Stephen C . Lundin Ph.D. is a filmmaker , graduate business school professor and professional speaker . He runs a corporate membership seminar series as the part of the institute for management studies and led the institute creativity and innovation at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis
Harry Paul is currently a senior vice president with The Ken Blanchard Companies, where he coordinates special projects and manages their internal speaker bureau. He lives in California
John Christensen, an award winning filmmaker lives in Minneapolis. He is now CEO of ChartHouse Learning Corporation, the leading producer of corporate learning films, including Fish! , the video , which has been adopted by thousands of corporation
About The Book
The book is not about fish , it’s about bringing the energy, passion and positive attitude to the job every day. In today’s most hectic work scenario, Fish! Taught how to bring fun and enjoyment in the organizational. This book is inspired by world famous video on Pike Place Fish market in Seattle produced by John Christensen and his company, Charthouse. We spend 75% time in a day at work waiting for weekend to come; what if we enjoy our every moment of work, and it will not only increase employee retention but also motivate the employees.
The story is about a women name by Mary Jane. After death of her husband she was facing the responsibility of her two children and hospital bills of her husband. She was working as a supervisor in the financial organization at Seattle. One day she got promoted as a operation manager at third floor of the organization which was famous for word like unresponsive, unpleasant, slow, waste land and use to called as a toxic energy dump. Although the employees on the third floor were good people but they use to hate their jobs and reflect poor performances and bad attitude towards the customers. Mary Jane wanted to change the environment of the third floor department but had no idea to do that. Then one day she caught by the energy of Pike Place Market of fish at Seattle.
She observed that how people do their work in that market with full of energy and fun. She interacted with an employee there, named Lonnie. He taught her that how they converted their boring work place into a workplace of fun and energy. He told her about four main points of Pike Place Philosophy of doing work
ReplyDelete1) Choose your attitude- daily you should choose your attitude and bring that attitude into your job.
2) Play – bringing fun and energy in your jobs
3) Make their day – do something special for your customers every day
4) Be Present – focus on your customers at the time of dealing with them
Initially she was not sure about that department would be able adapt the changes or not but then she finds that employees are eager to know the whole concept and ready to bring the changes in the organization. Employees changed their attitude towards work positively. She divided the department into four teams to present a presentation after collecting the information through surveys. First team was ‘The play team ‘ they showed benefits of play that how a happy people treat others , fun leads to creativity , having a good time is healthy and also showed that how they can implement to their work like they can add more color to the environment , add life with plants and aquarium . Second was ‘Make their day team’ they did customer survey. In that survey they found that they have bad customer relationship and they realize that serving customer will give satisfaction to them only. Third was ‘The present moment’, they showed that it is the art of making some one feel important while engaging with them. Fourth was ‘the choose your attitude team’ they create a menu one side of which was a frowning face and other side was a smiling face and at the top it said choice is yours. These activities changed the whole environment of the department leads to the job satisfaction.
VERDICT
Imagine a work place where everyone choose to bring energy, passion and true connection with the job. I recommend this book to anyone, on any level, who wants to make difference at work
Book name :face to face communication for clarity and impact
ReplyDeleteIn face to face communication for clarity and impact, the Harvard business school press shares effective techniques for personal communication by leaders.
The impact of rapidly advancing technology on human communication well documented. Yet due to the complexity of many issues that organizational leaders must face, little attention has been given to the effectiveness of personal communication techniques.
In the book, the editor explores four major themes: using the spoken word effectively, using nonverbal communication, reading other signals and communicating under pressure. Each chapter describes different sections with summary of each section.
In the section of “using the spoken word effectively” we are told as a manager we should focus on ways to use the spoken word skillfully during face to face communication with others at the work place. It gives the five suggestions
1: connect emotionally with others by demonstrating our own commitment to your position and adjust the tone.
2: the audience listening carefully at common ground shared by you.
3: use vivid language in delivering your message.
4: making commitments trusting relationship both within and beyond your organization.
5: become a effective team leader.
In section of nonverbal organization told about the facial expressions, gestures, body language, actions- conveys as much information as the spoken word during a face to face encounter.
In skillful face to face communicators not only control the spoken and nonverbal message they are sending, they also work diligently to interpret other message as accurately as possible.
The article of communicating under pressure teaches how to managing your own stress so that you communicate more effectively, as well as handling different and difficult situations.
The suggestions explored in the book are appropriate for business leaders. face to face communication can provide the leader with a sense of confidence in working under such conditions.
BOOK - RICH DAD POOR DAD
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR - ROBERT KIYOSAKI
The focus of this book to put light on the loopholes of our education system. It teaches us that education system prepare students to become better employees, to follow rules and regulations, to follow norms. In school those subjects are taught have become obsolete and are not relevant in current scenario, because we are living in the information age things that are relevant now may become obsolete tomorrow, we have to be updated with right information at the right time. School teaches us to follow others decision but in life we decide for ourselves we take decision on our own not influenced by external factors in school external factors have more influence on our decision making and thus it hampers creativity and innovation. In school we follow school curriculum, in life we study those subjects we love and we are passionate about. In life learning is fun but in school learning is imposed.
In this book author has made an attempt to explain that money is not the solution to long term problem, it’s a short term measure, you can be a millionaire after a few years you can become bankrupt, if you don’t understand how to maintain and multiply wealth. Financial intelligence provides the solution to our long term problems, you may go broke, but with financial intelligence you can earn money back, the world is full of talented, skiLlful but poor individuals because the subject of money is not taught in schools, how to build assets, to maintain steady cash flow and build businesses are not taught in schools. Schools prepare us to become good employees, to develop better resumes where as financial intelligence teaches us to develop business plans, investing & creating wealth. It is not that how much you earn, it is that how you maintain your wealth through financial intelligence. This is a wonderful book for everyone, it gives new perspective towards learning and how financial intelligence can solve our money problems. It provide us the valuable lessons and provide light on how we are trapped in working for money, instead it teaches us that money should work for us. It teaches us to mind your own business, by keeping our day job and focusing on creating assets and cash flows. In early stages of life we should work for learning instead of fat pay checks and no to be attached to specialization, instead we should have knowledge of diverse fields because we are living in the world of constant change, things that are working now may become obsolete tomorrow in such a scenario specialization becomes redundant. Author has made an attempt to promote entrepreneurship, investing and inspiring people to take charge of their lives, instead of depending on any corporation or government.
BOOK: Five point someone by CHETAN BHAGAT
ReplyDeleteThis novel narrates the story of three IIT graduates and their life at India's Premier Technology Institute. The story is all about their friendship and differences, study and enjoyment, career and ambition, parental pressure and peer pressure, love and sex. And as the subtitle of the novel – 'What not to do at IIT'– suggests, This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don't think straight.
The author Chetan Bhagat himself is an IIT and IIM graduate. He worked in Hong Kong and then relocated to India and working in an investment bank apart from writing books and screen plays. He is author of three novels Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the call center (2005) and recently The 3 Mistakes of my Life (2008). The New York Times quoted him as the “biggest selling English author in India’s history”.
Title of the novel “Five point some one” is taken form GPA system used in IIT. In the ranking system in III five points are considered average rank.
Hari, Alok and Ryan are three main characters. They are roommates and studding in the same department at IIT. These three strange students became close friends after a ranging session by seniors and they stand up for each other’s during the four years at IIT on every occasion, despite their personal conflicts several issues. They are far from the image of an IIT graduate is generally perceived to be and more like an average middle class youth.
In the novel Hari narrates the story. He is an average in study, seems confused but he keeps all three fiends together, always taking the easy way out, fall in love with the daughter of his head of the department.
Ryan is son of rich parents, a born rebellion. He hates his parents, as he feels neglected by them. He wants to be innovator and he thinks that the IIT system puts hurdle in one’s innovation.
Alok belongs to a typical lower Indian middle class family, burdened with lots of expectations and responsibility. He wants to get good GPA so that he can get a good job and support his family. This makes him some times selfish.
They found themselves stuck in IIT system. They get bored with study, assignments and projects and wanted to enjoy the life and have fun to its fullest. This leads to their lower GPA in class quiz and exams. They managed to secure hardly 5 points GPA at a scale of 10, ranking near the end of their class. And this means the end of their bright career.
The story describes the ups and downs of their life in campus. Their reaction on scoring lowest GPA in the class, how they are perceived by students and professors on the basis of their GPA, their affection, their conflicts, their drinking habit and their strategy to beat the system.
Meanwhile Hari fell into an affair with Neha, daughter of his head of department, Professor Cherian. When these three friends were in a great trouble, they found another professor Veera. He keeps confidence on his student and inspires them to think and act differently. He become the mentor of the three friends and supports them when they needed most.
When the three friends realized that their future is at the stake they make a plan to steal the paper from his professor’s office. What happened to their plan? What happened to their career and dream? Would Hari able to get married with Neha? Would Ryan succeed in his innovation? Would Alok lived up to the expectations of his family?
If you have never read any English novel, I strongly recommend you to start with this one. The novel is of only 270 pages and written in very simple English. The book is written in conversational style, which gives a feeling that events are happening in front of you. Characters and story seems very real, except some points like appearing in viva after taking a glass of vodka, but its ok since it is a work of fiction.
At the end author Chetan Bhagat wonderfully conveys the message of the novel in the form of convocation speech.
BOOK – WHAT THE CEO WANTS YOU TO KNOW
ReplyDeleteBY:RAM CHARAN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more than thirty years, Ram Charan has been coaching and advising some of the world’s most successful business leaders on a range of business issues, from strategy to leadership development. Among senior executives at many Fortune 500 companies, he is highly sought for his practical, real-world advice. he holds DBA and MBA degrees from Harvard Business School, is on the board of directors of Austin industries, and is a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. He is based in Dallas, Texas.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The universal laws of business success….. No matter whether you are selling fruit from a stand or running a Fortune 500 company.
According to Ram Charan there is very little difference between a big company than to sell fruit from a cart or run a small shop in a village. From his childhood in India, where he worked in his family's shoe shop, to his education at Harvard Business School and his daily work advising many of the world's best CEOs. The best CEOs have a knack for bringing the most complex business down to the fundamentals -- the same fundamentals of the family shoe shop. They have business acumen -- the ability to focus on the basics and make money for the company.
The focus is to put light on:
1.The UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS
2.BUSINESS ACUMEN IN THE REAL WORLD
3.GETTING THING DONE
4.PERSONAL AGENDA
Cash generation – The difference between all the cash that flows into or out of the business in a given time period.
Growth – A company’s growth is the increase in a company’s size in terms of employees. The author argues that with a lack of sustainable, profitable growth, a company may not be able to attract the type of employees that the company needs to succeed in the marketplace. If a company stagnates, the amount of money it can afford to spend on research and development decreases, the opportunities for promotion within the company begin to dry up, and the ambitious employees move on for greener pastures. Even more dangerous is unnecessary growth, where the company expands at a rate which is not consistent with the return on the investment in the new employees/stores etc.
Customers – A company must listen to its customers in order to succeed. In terms of e-business, neglecting user feedback to your software or website is detrimental. The prevalence of the internet means it is possible to promote your business globally, and if you don’t cater to the tastes of your customers they have little need to stay. The cost of attracting customers is relatively high, but in most cases the cost of switching for a customer is very low.
NUTSHEEL
What the CEO Wants You to Know captures these insights and explains in clear, simple language how to do what great CEOs do instinctively and persistently:
* Understand the basic building blocks of a business and use them to figure out how your company makes money and operates as a total business.
* Decide what to do, despite the clutter of day-to-day business and the complexity of the real world.
Many people spend more than a hundred thousand dollars on an MBA without learning to pull these pieces of the puzzle together. Many others lack a formal business education and feel shut out from the executive suite. What the CEO Wants You to Know takes the mystery out of business and shows the secrets of success used by business legends.
SUMMARY of “Dealing with People you cant Stand”
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR: Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner
In order to distinguish oneself from others in a business you need work effectively and efficiently with people around you. Throughout the whole business you are bound to entertain and cope with those people who make productivity difficult. The key to success is communicating properly with these kind of people. In this book “Dealing With People you Cant Stand” the main features of difficult people and key strategies to deal with ten difficult behaviours is highlighted.
People you cant stand are those people who don’t do what you want them to do , or do what you don’t want them to do and you don’t know what to do about them. This book describes we can communicate with such difficult people in such a way that they change themselves. It’s a matter of knowing how you get through to them when they are behaving badly.
We can direct our attention to the following key areas for solving our problem-
1. We should examine the forces that compel people to be difficult in such a variety of ways. Where one person starts yelling, another shuts down and says nothing, while yet another starts sniping. These fascinating differences are indicators of differing behavioural intentions that have been thwarted.
2. Then we should examine essential communication skills that turn conflict into cooperation, emotion into reason and hidden agendas into honest dialogue. The good news is that you use these essential skills already in your dealings with people that you get along with. The bad news that when dealing with problem people, the failure to use these skills is a big part of the problem.
3. We should focus on specific strategies for dealing with the 10 most difficult behaviours of the people you cant stand You cant stand. You’ll learn exactly what you can do to get people to stop whinning , attacking, blowing up and breaking promises.
According to the authors, two of the most essential communication skills for dealing with difficult people are “blending” and “redirecting.” Blending is when you alter your behavior to reduce the differences between you and the difficult person in order move towards more common ground. Redirecting is when you use rapport to change the direction of the interaction towards more common ground.By using both of these communication skills when dealing with difficult people you avoid conflict and create a cooperative atmosphere.
For example, if you are dealing with someone with a focus on getting the task done you need to first blend with the individual by using words that communicate your understanding of this intent (“I realize the importance of getting this project finished and I have some ideas on how to get it done quickly”). Then keep all communication with this individual brief and to the point in order to model his hurried behavior. Finally, in order to redirect the interaction from hurried and sloppy to quick and correct interject facts and details into your communications that prove that you can also get the task right as you move quickly to get it done.
if you are dealing with an individual who is focused on getting appreciation from people you will need to use your blending efforts to let them know you value their ideas .
Dealing with a person who is trying to please everyone else in order to get approval can be difficult because it is easy to let them handle the work load but you need assurances that they will actually get the task done.
If you are dealing with an individual who’s main focus is on getting first, use your communication efforts to let him know that you care about him with personal questions .
This book tells Focusing on the task at hand can be tough in the presence of difficult people, especially if you meet their worst behavior with bad behavior of your own. By opting to the techniques for dealing with people you can’t stand you can bring out the best in your team or the people around you.
THE SECRET OF THE NAGAS (Shiva Trilogy 2)
ReplyDeleteBy AMISH
It isn't often one comes across a book by an Indian author, with a sequel. It is even rarer when the said sequel exceeds the expectations of the audience.
The Secret of the Nagas is the second novel of the Shiva trilogy series by the Indian author Amish Tripathi. The book released on August 12, 2011, published by Westland Press, contains 398 pages and costs ₹195. The book is a gripping mythological fiction story which is preceded by The Immortals Of Meluha and succeeded by The Oath Of The Vayuputras.
Having grown up hearing stories about Gods like Shiva, Rama, Krishna etc, it was curiosity that drew me towards the first book in the series. Author delves into Indian mythology and takes an Indian God like Shiva with multiple facets to his persona and spins a fascinating tale by taking a different kind of imagination. Amish discreetly, without offending anyone, touches various sensitive topics of Hinduism – the principles of Rama, the caste system, the multiple Gods and Goddesses. Very cleverly he brings in mythical characters of Nandi, Kali, Ganesha, Sati, Karthik, and many more playing important roles in the plot. Shiva trilogy interprets the rich mythological heritage of ancient India by blending fiction with historical facts.
As Tripathi himself states in the preface, this series is a tribute to Lord Shiva and the lesson that his life teaches us. A lesson lost in the depths of time and ignorance, that all of us can rise to be better people and that there exists a potential god in every single human being.
Along with mythology and fiction, the philosophical aspect and the author’s underlying beliefs such as the function of government and nature of evil, karma, and ethics are brought out as well, in fact better than the earlier book. There are umpteen events in the book which says that evil is just another side of the coin. In the story Shiva uncovers the truth of why people do what they do and why one should never judge a person.
Last left as in the previous book, Shiva, the Tibetan warrior, was about to launch an attack on the dreaded Nagas to avenge Brahaspathi's death. In this book Shiva finds himself confident enough to own the responsibility that people's faith have given him, to question the accepted conventions of the society, and to think, decide and lead. Though he is not prepared to assume the divine aura of Neelkanth that legend attributes him, he no longer refutes it if he believes that it will empower the people, and strengthens the common cause of finding and destroying the evil. This book sees Shiva with his wife and friends, chase mysteriously hooded Nagas all across ancient India to find their secret. During this journey, more revelations and realizations dawn on them, and many more characters and events from mythology are weaved into the narrative. The characters are well and clearly formed. You even get to see the same story from each protagonist’s point of view. The story unfolds in a realistic way rather than a religious one. It relates sub-stories of several other characters, and does justice to them. Amish true to his style leaves his readers with a cliffhanger but it’s still an anticipated one. Though the secret is revealed, the intelligence of author makes us wait for the next book at the end.
However, there are many issues that are brought up and never addressed again or explained properly. Also, although Amish have made some changes from his earlier work and language is much improved over its predecessor it still uses everyday language. The language at some places, especially the dialogues, could have been much better. Since story is about ancient world I expected the tone and diction to be close to ancient times. His style misses the authenticity and grandness of the ancient world.
continued....
According to me, with good conceptualization, clear thinking, straight writing and lucid style, the book is definitely worth a read. It has all collaborated into one- Love, devotion, philosophy, mythology, legacy and history. With its breathless pace of action, there is always an irresistible urge to keep on turning the pages. One cannot but admire the creative drive that impels a finance professional to embark on such an ambitious odyssey on uncharted seas. It’s an enjoyable ride which keeps your attention despite its flaws. The readers come out happy, satisfied and still wanting for more.
ReplyDeleteThis book is focusing on personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Covey points out that private victories precede public victories.Habit 1 discusses the importance of being proactive. Covey states that we are responsible for our own lives; therefore, we possess the initiative to make things happen. He also points out that proactive people so not blame various circumstances for their behaviors but they realize behavior comes from one's conscious.He also explains that all problems that are experienced by individuals fall into one of three categories, which are direct control, indirect control, or no control. The problems that are classified under direct control are the problems that involve our own behavior. The problems classified as indirect control encompasses problems that we can do nothing about. The problems classified as no control are those that we can do nothing about.Habit 2 focuses on beginning with the end in mind. Covey wants the reader to envision his/her funeral. This may sound disheartening but his goal is to help you think about the words that you wish to be said about you; it can help the individual visualize what you value the most. To begin with the end simply means to start with your destination in mind. That gives an individual a sense of where he/she presently is in their life. One has to know where they are going to make sure that they are headed in the right direction. Habit 3 is the practical fulfillment of Habits 1 and 2. Covey accentuates that Habits 1 and 2 are prerequisite to Habit 3. He states that an individual cannot become principle centered developing their own proactive nature; or without being aware of your paradigms; or the capability of envisioning the contribution that is yours to make.Habit 4 deals with the six paradigms of interaction, which are win/win, win/lose, lose/win, lose/lose, win, and win/win or no deal. Win/win is a situation in which everyone benefits something. It is not your way or my way; it is a better way. Win/lose declares that if I win then you lose. Simply put, I get my way; you don't get yours. Win/lose people usually use position, power, possessions, or personality to get their way. The win/lose type of person is the person that feels that if I lose; you win. People who feel this way are usually easy to please and find the strength of others intimidating. When two win/lose people get together both will lose resulting in a lose/lose situation. Both will try to get the upper end of the stick but in the end, neither gets anything.
ReplyDeleteHabit 5 deals with seeking means of effective communication. This habit deals with seeking first to understand Most people to not listen with the intent to understand but with the intent to reply. The act of listening to understand is referred to as empathic listening.Habit 6 discuses combining all of the other habits to prepare us for the habit of synergy. Synergy means that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Habit 7 involves surrounds the other habits because it is the habit that makes all of the others possible. It is amplifying the greatest asset you have which is yourself. It is renewing your physical, emotional, mental, and social nature
WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR- DR SPENCER JOHNSON
ISBN : 0-399-14446-3
Maximum reading time : approx. one and half hour
Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, published in 1998, is a motivational book by Spencer Johnson written in the style of a parable or business fable. It describes change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to said change by two mice and two "little people", during their hunt for cheese.
A New York Times business bestseller since release, Who Moved My Cheese? Remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. It has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains to be one of the best-selling business books.
Cheese is the Metaphor : Cheese is what you want in life – Whether it is good job or A loving relationship or Money or a Possession or Health or spiritual peace of mind
The story begins with - A group of old school friends are gathered for dinner and the topic of conversation gets on to change - in career, relationships and family life. One of those person said that change no longer bothers him after having heard 'a funny little story' called Who Moved My Cheese? In this artful way, Spencer Johnson introduces the reader to his fable on how to cope positively with change.
The story involves four characters who live in a maze: the mice Scurry and Sniff, and two 'littlepeople', Hem and Haw. All is going well because they have found a huge stock of their favourite food, cheese. Hem and Haw have even moved their houses near it and it has becomes the center of their lives. But they do not notice that it is getting smaller day by day , and are shocked when they arrive at the site one morning and find that all cheese is gone.
This is where the story splits in two. Scurry and Sniff quickly accept the loss of the cheese and go off into the maze in search of other sources. The littlepeople, because they have built their lives around the big cheese, feel they are the victim of some kind of fraud or theft. Yet this only makes things worse. Meanwhile, the mice move on and find new cheese.
The fable captures well that moment after we have lost a job or a relationship and we believe it is the end of the world. All the good things were in the previous situation, and all the future holds is fear. Yet Johnson's message is, instead of seeing change as the end of something, we must learn to see it as a beginning. We have all been told this, but sometimes motivation is lacking. To make him accept reality, Haw writes this on the wall of the maze: "If you do not change, you can become extinct."
For life not to be wasted, it demands a level of risk and adventure. If you are willing to live this way, change loses its horror. In fact, the advancing person purposely creates change because the world is not currently how one would like it. What the Little men, Haw, discover is that breaking through your fears makes you free from your worries. Those who continuously seek for security, are more prone to the possibility that they may lose it.
Some managers distribute copies of the book to employees, some of whom see this as an insult, or an attempt to characterize dissent as not "moving with the cheese".
Verdict :While the book addresses the fact of change in all aspects of our lives, given how many offices it circulates in it would be fair to say that its main message relates to work. Most employees are employees because they prefer the security of a fixed wage under the protection of large enterprise. For others, the chief benefit may be that for most of the day they do not have to really think; they 'complete tasks'. But such dependence restricts personal growth and achievements.
“If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of. ”
ReplyDelete~ I am the Messenger.
Marcus Zusak is a creative artist who has the ability to write his characters with a heart inserted into each one. They are palpable and real in every sense, because it is quite believable that these are genuine people, people who undergo pain and heartbreak and the loneliness of life in general. What makes the story different from a regular mystery novel is its beautiful plot and prose with its unique Zusak humour. It has Zusak’s trademark writing style, inherently quotable, not just in the occasional profound sentence but in the descriptions and asides as well. Often humorous, it is ,at times, bittersweet, sad and uplifting.
If there is one thing I found unsatisfactory about I am the Messenger, it is the conclusion. Those who have read this book might agree that perhaps it is what is needed to occur for one of the characters to heal. Still, the story begins beautifully, humorously, flawlessly but ends quite abruptly, as if loose ends are being tied and not without some difficulty.
Even saying that, what sets the book apart is that, I Am the Messenger captures the directionless dilemma of today’s youth, their frustrations and their insecurities. Not just that, but also their hopes and unfulfilled wants, genuine friendship, kindness and generosity that humans are capable of, all with a gentle honesty. Significantly, just as The Book Thief, Zusak’s masterpiece, it was the simple tasks that his protagonist, the ordinary Ed had to accomplish that would touch any reader: an ice cream, some companionship and honesty. More than anything, this book restores faith, faith in the ability of people to be better, to do better than what is expected of them.
TITLE : The Go Getter
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR: Peter B. Kyne
ISBN : 0-8050-6562-8
INTRODUCTION:
The Go Getter is a powerful book that gives us a boost in our spirit and motivates us. It’s written as a short story, with some excellent principles embedded in it. Though we can knock this book out in just one sitting, its lessons will stay with us throughout our career.
It is updated for the modern reader by bestselling business author Alan Axelrod Ever since its first printing by William Randolph Hearst in 1921, The Go-Getter has inspired employees and entrepreneurs to take initiative, increase their productivity, and excel against the odds. After more than half a million copies sold out worldwide, Alan Axelrod, bestselling author of Patton on Leadership and Elizabeth I, CEO, updated the tale to address today's most pressing work issues.
Pertaining to the language used at that time when this book was published establishes a certain level of difficulty in the comprehension from the reader’s point of view, only initially. However it does become more readable in the second half when the task of acquiring the vase comes into play. This is where we really see the story elements of rising action, struggle, climax, and falling action.
THEME:
Being relentless, earning the trust of others by figuring out a way, seeing the silver lining in every situation - being a go-getter!
SUMMARY:
This classic motivational parable shows us how to make our own opportunities in life and throws light on the contrasting role of a manager who only attempts at doing what is required at the job and on the other hand another man who makes improvisations on the job and aims at excelling, by figuring out alternatives to a problem, in the face of adversity upon adversity.
It tells the story of war veteran William "Bill" Peck and his efforts to get a job at a Logging & Lumber Company. The company is owned by "Cappy" Ricks but Cappy has delegated out normal management roles to two vice presidents. The book was written and is set in the time immediately following World War One.
The young character in the book, Bill Peck, has just returned from the war and is determined to get a job with the leading lumber company. He displays confidence, and that's the first lesson in the book. He refuses to take no for an answer when rejected by two of the top executives of the company. He takes his case directly to the founder of the company, who is impressed by his determination..There are other details as well but the short of it is that Cappy is highly intrigued by Peck and gives him a chance. However, at the same time, he makes the job as difficult as possible by giving Peck what is considered the worst sales assignment of selling skunk wood in odd lengths in the company. Peck continues to impress Cappy and goes on to impress the other vice presidents. At which point, Cappy gives him "the test of the blue vase." The test is a simple personal task that Cappy asks Peck to do, namely to go and purchase a blue vase from a shop window and bring it to Cappy. However Cappy throws all sorts of obstacles in the way to test Peck's ingenuity and resolve. Drawing on such classic values as honesty, determination, passion, and responsibility, Peck overcomes nearly insurmountable obstacles to find the vase and launch his career as a successful manager.
RELEVANCE OF THE BOOK IN PRACTICAL WORLD :
ReplyDeleteIn a time when jobs are tight and managers are too busy for mentoring, it becomes difficult to maintain positive energy, take control of our career, and prepare ourselves to ace the tests that come our way. By applying the timeless lessons in this compulsively readable parable, employees at all levels can learn to rekindle the go-getter in themselves.
The motto- "It shall be done" -sums up Kyne's point i.e. even if you're unsure, say you can do it. Then figure out how to do it and make sure you succeed. Go above and beyond.
It has inspired employees and entrepreneurs to take initiatives, increase their productivity, have strong work ethics, a positive attitude, ask the right questions, facilitate relationship building and excel against the odds.
It is a tale of things needed to strengthen our homes and society. It is an easy and delightful read that broadens the mind and provokes the thoghts.Peter Kyne uses vocabulary that is prestine and developed providing a much needed break from mundane words. The book is well organized, clear and conscience.
Book: Management Mantras
ReplyDeleteAuthor: H.H.SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
BOOK-"WHO MOVED MY CHEESE"
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR-SPENCER JOHNSON
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Spencer Johnson is known for the Value Tales series of children's books, and for his 1998 motivational book "Who Moved My Cheese"?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life.
International best seller book 10 million copies sold not exceeds 21 million copies...
"WHO MOVED MY CHEESE"
The story is about of two mice SNIFF and SCURRY and two little person HEM and HAW. Both the team mice and little person always ran away to find a new cheese. One day both group found a cheese filled in "cheese station C"one day sniff and scurry found no cheese in cheese station c. so they decided to move and started to search a new cheese side. Another side little person went to cheese station found no cheese they both angered and worried about a cheese .Next day again hem and haw went again cheese station they did not found any cheese remain same situation.Another side sniff and scurry found new " cheese station N" little person frustrated with among themselves not found any cheese they feel hungry.hem and haw yet not started to found a new cheese area or station .according to the author to help him/her with a difficult change in a life it showed him/her how to take his changing situation seriously ,but not take so seriously.
In this author used 13 different phrases like Having cheese makes you happy,The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold on to it,Smell the cheese often so you when it is getting old mean you upgrading your knowledge or not
In the story cheese used as a metaphor what you want in your life like family ,relationship,money, power etc
MAZE use like" the place where you spend time going after what you want "
LET me explain the story with example how you can apply this story in daily life like 2 businessmen Mr gupta and Mr goel .They cooperate each other and to manage the foodstuff business and profit was cheese. And earning lot of profit and money .One day company sales decline day by day and company went to bankrupt facing lot of problem by both the member goel and gupta .After that gupta frustrated with self behave like 2 little person and goel decide move on and behave like 2 mace and goel adapt to the changes quickly without fear .And gupta could not adapt changes and dig himself into a hole.
AUTHOR convey a message change are good or bad and try to break the difficulties in your mind and changes, we can taste blood our new fresh cheese.......
TITLE -How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Presenting Your Ideas, Persuading Your Audience, and Perfecting Your Image.
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR -by Frances Cole Jones
About the book
In today’s fast-paced world, where an elevator ride with your CEO can turn into an impromptu meeting, your lunch date can become a job interview, and your conversation at a cocktail party may be a preamble to a potential business merger, knowing how to market yourself in any situation is vital. Corporate coach Frances Cole Jones has helped numerous CEOs, celebrities, and public personalities present their best selves on camera and onstage, in boardrooms and in person; now in her new book, How to Wow, she shares her strategies for making your mark in business and in life.
Every encounter, Jones believes, provides you with an opportunity to positively influence colleagues, employers and even competitors. Not only your words, but your tone of voice and your body language speak volume.
Inside, I have learnt how to:
-Leave a lasting impression with a simple introduction.
-Effectively employ the twelve most persuasive words in the English language and -command the stage, boardroom,or lunch table.
-Read nonverbal responses accurately–and shift negative ones immediately.
-Why the simplest elevator speech and introduction is the most powerful.
-Fluidly shifting negative responses to the positive.
-Motivate your team under deadline.
-Interview fearlessly and flawlessly.
-Write the perfect pitch, resume, cover letter, or e-mail.
-Deliver speeches that bring people to their feet.
-Transform a PowerPoint presentation into a powerful success.
-Important interview phrasings and postures that empower.
-Keys to motivating and persuading others.
-Verbal finesse and why it matters.
With easy-to-follow advice and immediately employable hints, Jones’s guidelines can help me in keeping myself cool (even in hot water). From asking the right questions to giving the right answers, How to Wow had provided me the confidence to be calm and to wow anyone anywhere anytime.
Book-The Power of Postive Thinking
ReplyDeleteAuthor-Norman Vincent Peale
The precursor to The Secret, The Power of Positive Thinking has helped millions of men and women to achieve fulfillment in their lives. In this phenomenal bestseller, Dr. Peale demonstrates the power of faith in action. With the practical techniques outlined in this book, you can energize your life -- and give yourself the initiative needed to carry out your ambitions and hopes. You'll learn how to:
Expect the best and get it
Believe in yourself and in everything you do
Develop the power to reach your goals
Break the worry habit and achieve a relaxed life
Improve your personal and professional relationships
Assume control over your circumstances
Be kind to yourself
The book’s principles are easily moved from its original time and place and applied to life. It is refreshing because there are no gimmicky techniques. Expect to find only a bag of well-worn tools for chiselling away cynicism and hopelessness.
Although the book contains things like a ‘prayer for salesmen’, it is something more than a hotchpotch of Christian and capitalist morals. Consistent with most of the self-help classics, it says the highest morality is fulfilment of potential: to give up is to deny yourself all the spiritual and material rewards that are rightfully yours. Peale said we do not have to depend on ourselves as there are incredible sources of power open to us if we only believe in their existence. We make life hard, but an appreciation of the universe’s ability to make good and provide would lead us to see life as flowing and abundant. To gain personal power and peace, we have to be willing to go beyond the personal to something greater than ourselves.
THE Oliver Twist
ReplyDeleteAuthor-CHARLES DICKENS
Oliver Twist is a well-known story, but the book is not as widely read as one would imagine. The novel has all the vivid storytelling and unimpeachable literary skill that Dickens brings to all his novels, but there's also a raw, gritty quality.
Oliver Twist was enormously influential in bringing to light the atrocious treatment of paupers and orphans in Dickens's time. The novel is not only a brilliant work of art but also a tremendously important document in social history.
Oliver Twist: Overview
Oliver is born in a workhouse in the first half of the nineteenth century. His mother dies during his birth, and he is sent to an orphanage (where he is poorly treated). Along with the other orphans, Oliver is regularly beaten and poorly fed. In a famous episode, he walks up to the the stern authoritarian, Mr. Bumble, and asks for more. For this impertinence, he is put out of the workhouse. He then runs away from the family who take him in. He wants to find his fortune in London. Instead, he falls in with a boy called Jack Dawkins, who is part of a child gang of thieves--run by Fagin.
Oliver is brought into the gang and trained as a pickpocket. When he goes out on his first job, he runs away and is nearly sent to prison. However, the kindness of the person who was robbed, saves him from the terrors of the city gaol, and instead he is taken into the philanthropic gentleman's home. However, as soon as he thinks he is settled, Bill Sikes and Nancy (two members of the gang) takes him back. Oliver is once more sent out on a job--this time assisting Sikes on a burglary.
The job goes wrong and Oliver is shot and left behind. Once more he is taken in (this time by the Maylies, the family he was sent to rob), and he spends a wonderful time with them. However, once more Fagin's gang comes after him. Nancy, who is worried about Oliver, tells the Maylies what is happening. When the gang find out about Nancy's treachery, they murder her.
Meanwhile, the Maylies reunite Oliver with the gentleman who helped him out earlier and who (in true Victorian-novel style) turns out to be Oliver's uncle. Fagin has been arrested and hanged for his crimes; and Oliver settles down to a pampered life (re-united--happily--with his family).
The Psychology of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist is probably not the most brilliantly delving psychological novel, but then it's not supposed to be. Rather, Oliver Twist gives us an impression of the social situation at the time it was written, and is does so with a Hogarthian gusto. Mr. Bumble, the beadle, is an excellent example of Dickens' broad characterization at work. Bumble is a overlarge, terrifying figure: a tin-pot Hitler, who is both frightening to the boys under his control, and also slightly pathetic in his need to maintain his power over them.
Fagin, too, is a wonderful example of Dickens ability to draw a caricature and place it in a story that moves quickly and always keeps our attention. Less the pantomime villain that is portrayed in a number of its adaptations, there is a streak of cruelty in Dickens' Fagin, with a sly charisma that has makes him such a lasting archetype.
The Importance of Oliver Twist
Equally, the importance of Oliver Twist as a crusading work of art (hoping to show the difficult circumstances with which the poor in Dickens’s time had to live) should not be underestimated. It is certainly an excellent work of art, but it is also a testament to the hopes for a better, more enlightened age.
A delightful story--peopled with larger than life, very human characters--Dickens' Oliver Twist is a considerable achievement. Funny and incredibly sad, the novel is complete in all its aspects. Oliver Twist is a powerful indictment of the times in which the novel was written.
THE KITE RUNNER
ReplyDeleteby KHALED HOSSEINI
Khaled Hosseini's first novel is beautifully written and riveting. It is one of the best books I have read in years. This is a page turner with complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, and redemption. It is intense and contains some graphic scenes; however, it is not gratuitous. A great book by many measures.
Set in Afghanistan during the 1970′s, ‘The Kite Runner’ is an insightful novel that spans three decades of the life and customs of people and a country that have tragically becomes synonymous with terrorism. The story opens on an Afghanistan very few of us know or even care to remember; at a time when its streets and people were not ravaged by the mania of religious extremism and war; when it was (believe it or not) a country of prosperity and liberal thought.
Growing up in the midst of this is our narrator Amir with his odd family made up of his father Togfan Aga, a bear-like man who is among the wealthiest and most respected public figure in Kabul. With them live their faithful servants, Ali and his young son Hassan, who have served the family for many generations as well as Tog fan Aga’s business partner and closest friend, Rahim Khan.
This is the tale of Amir and his friendship with Hassan. Amir, who is constantly struggling to earn his father's love, finally succeeds by winning a kite-flying competition.
“FOR YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER” these are the words that moved me to tears while reading the book. You discover the significance of these words as the story progresses. Hassan said these words to Amir when he helped Amir to run for his kite in kite fighting tournament in their hometown, Kabul.
The story then talks about how the tragic events of one fateful day drive these two motherless boys apart. Guilt-ridden Amir is destined from that day forth to carry immense burden of his betrayal, all because he did not have the courage to stop the things he saw happening in a dirty alleyway.
"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek… Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years."
In the midst of this, Afghan¬istan is invaded by Russia, ¬separating Amir and Hassan completely. Amir starts over in America, his secret still haunting him. One phone call from Afghanistan takes him back to his home country where he learns a shocking secret about his past and tries to make things right.
Husseini skilfully paints a picture of Afghanistan and its rich culture, a beautiful country torn apart by war, with scenes of a couple being stoned to death, a man selling his fake leg to feed his children, and a boy forced to dance like a monkey to entertain others. The prose is elegant and rich with detail that gives us insight into Afghan ¬culture and traditions.
The story does not focus as much on politics and war as it does on the lives of those affected. It is a tale of family and friendship, loyalty and salvation amid the horrors of war. The characters are so realistic that long after finishing the book, you will be thinking of sensitive Amir with his insecurities, his father, and Hassan, who is my favourite. You heart goes out to him. The twist at the end is what makes the experience of reading the book even more beautiful. While reading this powerful book, you will feel many emotions, crying your eyes out at parts, but in the end, you will cry tears of happiness.
This book is a must-read, ¬regardless of age, gender, or nationality. It delivers a universal message that will move even the coldest heart.
Book:Five Point Someone
ReplyDeleteAuthor:Chetan Bhagat
The story is about the college days of three students from IIT Delhi. Indian Institute of Technology or IIT is one of the premier institutes for Engineering and science in India, equivalent of MIT or Princeton. Only the best and the brilliant get in. A few 100s are chosen each year out of thousands of applicants. It is not only hard to get in but even harder to cope with the curriculum. Every IITian inspires awe and admiration from the student community. There are a few words you never associate with an IITian like losers, under performers, failures etc. This story is about just this kind of IITans who are at the bottom of their class and in the bad books of all their professors.
Let me introduce you to the protagonists of the story – The handsome, rich and brilliant, Ryan who is disillusioned with IIT system of education. He feels it offers no scope for innovation and judges people just on the basis of their ability of mug and conform. The fat and not-so-bright, Hari who is the narrator of the story. All he wants to do is be like Ryan and can never say “no” to him. The poor Alok who has a crippled father and a unmarried sister to support. He wanted to be an artist but decides to join the IIT because that is the only way he can get a good job and support his family.
Are you wondering about the title of the book? IIT uses a unique method of scoring students called Grade Point Average or GPA. The score one gets is based on the performance of the entire class (it is not an absolute score). The top performer would get somewhere in high 9 point something and the bottom performers would be in 5 point something. Such people are disdainfully referred to as 5pointers and thus the title of the book, Five Point Someone.
The story describes the ups and downs of their college life. Their low scores, the way they are perceived by students and professors on the account of their scores, their drinking habit, their strategy to beat the system and finally being caught stealing from their HODs cabin. What I liked about the book is that it does not try to justify or give excuses for all the wrong doings of the protagonist. They are far less than perfect people, yet you come to like them and there in I think, lies the greatness of the author. It is a very different kind of “coming of age” book; may not be in the same league as classics in this genre but definitely worth reading.
The convocation speech at the end effectively summarizes the message of this book –
“This is my message to all the students as you find your future. One, believe in yourself, and don’t let a GPA or a performance review or promotion define you. There is more to life than these things – Your family, your friends, your internal desires and goals. And the grades you get in dealing with each of these areas will define you as a person.”
“Two, don’t judge people too quickly. It is great to get into IIT, but it is not the end of the world if you don’t. All of you should be proud of your IIT tag, but never ever judge anyone who is not from this institute-that alone can define the greatness of this institute”
“And lastly, don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is too short, enjoy yourself to the fullest. One of the best part of campus life is the friends you make. And make sure you make them for life. Yes, I have heard the stories. Sometimes I wish I had had a friend even if it meant lesser GPA”
Management Mantras: Keys to Effective Management and Leadership
ReplyDeleteby H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
About the Author: H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spiritual leader and humanitarian, was born in 1956 in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu. He established The Art of Living, an international educational and humanitarian NGO with UNESCO consultative status that aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence. Founded in 1982, with a presence in over 151 countries today, The Art of Living is one of the largest voluntary organisations in the world.
In 1997, he also established a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values, an NGO that engages in relief work and rural development and aims to foster shared global values.
About the book:
All over the world organizations today are paying more attention on how to prevent their workforce from getting burnt out due to an unrelenting pace of work. Views are radically changing on practices to ensure the employees performance consistently well over the years. In the book Management Mantras – Key to Effective Management and Leadership H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar offers valuable tips for managers and leaders to become more effective in their roles and also on how to develop a conducive work environment so that both the employees and the organizations add value to each other.
The first learning from the book which is the key to manage anything and solve any problem be it within the organisation or outside the organisation, in personal life or in professional life is to manage our own mind. Once the mind manages itself better it can manage anything moreover logical and rational decisions can be made.
Further it is said that “A true leader lets go of control…he creates leaders, not followers.” A leader leads by examples and teaches others how to do things by first doing them himself.
The book is full of such valuable knowledge which has the power to change anyone’s life .
BOOK NAME – How to Win Friends & Influence People
ReplyDeleteAUTHOR – DALE CARNEGIE
ABOUT THE BOOK
How to Win Friends and Influence People is a book written by Dale Carnegie. The book was first published in 1937 and became one of the bestselling books of all time. How to Win Friends and Influence People has been reprinted many times. It touched a nerve and filled a human need that was more than a faddish phenomenon of post- depression days. The book aims to teach two secrets that have eluded man for ages: how to get people to like you and how to get them to do what you want them to. The book consists of certain principles which are further categorized into parts -
FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN HANDLING PEOPLE
Don’t criticize, condemn or complain. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
SIX WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU
Become genuinely interested in other people, Smile. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests, make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
HOW WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING
The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. Show respect for the other person’s opinions, never say “you’re wrong”. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically, Begin in a friendly way. Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.
Let the other person do a great deal of the talking, let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view, be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
Appeal to the nobler motives, dramatize your ideas.
BE A LEADER: How to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment
Begin with praise and honest appreciation, Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders, let the other person save face
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement, be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. Use encouragement, make the fault seem easy to correct, make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest
VERDICT
I feel this book is really helpful and can change the ways of communicating with others. I have used some of the techniques and they really work. Practically this could be one of the best books for Managers as they have to get things done by others. It creates a sense of positivity. I would suggest all my friends to read the book; the book will help personally and professionally.
Book: The New Earth
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Eckhart Tolle
About the Author-
Best-selling author and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle has been inspiring readers since he wrote the number one New York Times best-seller The Power of Now. Before class begins, get to know the man who will be guiding you toward spiritual awakening.
About the book-
Eckhart Tolle begins with an extensive description of our principal barrier to the awakened state: ego. He indicts the word "I" as being a terrible feat of reductionism, as it infinitely minimizes who we truly are by allowing us to identify ourselves with our mind, our gender, our accumulated possessions, our social roles, and so on. He then informs us that the only way to diminish ego is by seeking the fullness of life in the present moment, that by making friends with the Now, we can destroy our time-bound state of consciousness and therefore destroy ego. Focus on the Now is focus on Being q rather than Doing, on presence rather than form:
"People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness, that is to say, dependent on form. They don't realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn't have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that is always already here, that lies beyond what is happening or not happening, beyond form."
Tolle goes on to assert that awakening to the abundance that is already in one's life is the foundation for all abundance available, that abundance and scarcity are actually inner states. He cites examples from varying traditions - Christian, Zen, and Hindu - to assert the perfection of the Now, a concept that is as thematically central to this book as it was in The Power of Now.
Tolle presents A New Earth as a vehicle to bring about a shift in consciousness, though he repeatedly admits that he can only awaken those who are ready for such a transformation. He tells his readers that if they indeed find something within his book that resonates with them, then the shift has already begun, and they are on the path.
BOOK NAME:- a thousand splendid suns
ReplyDeleteA Thousand Splendid Suns is a story of two women, Mariam and Laila in Afganistan. Set between 1979 and 2003, the phase of political turmoil in Afganistan, ranging from the Soviet rule to Taliban taking reigns in its hand; it is a heart-wrenching tale revolving around the worlds of two Afghani women, whose destinies or rather the misfortune, filled with sufferings, unbearable pain and miseries, brought them under one roof. It is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love, a stunning accomplishment.It is a journey through the lives of two Afghan women as they live out their individual destinies. The hardships experienced by the two central characters connected by the misery and cruelty that surrounds that time period, offers a unique insight into another culture and serves to remind us that suffering and oppression of women is like a disease that infects the future and breaks entire societies into warring tribal factions.
What I found most impressive about Hosseini’s story telling is the absence of excessive sentimentality and pity for these women who are navigating through the norms of their cultures and the wars of the men of their country, Afghanistan. It is a story of the unconquerable spirit of people and individuals seen through the eyes of two indomitable women.. Life as a woman in Afghanistan or for that fact all over the world has never been easy, religion, culture and politics have ensured this. Women like Mariam manage to overcome these obstacles, making the world a better place for those around them. With heart-wrenching power Mariam shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love and duty, and being generous of spirit that makes one a great human being. She is a character who becomes a role model for the reader because of her devotion to the people whom she comes to love.
What I also found fascinating was how little people really know about Afghanistan and the political turmoil it has endured. Although we see and read in the news how oppressive the Taliban regime is, Hosseini demonstrates how previous ruling governments were no strangers to brutality and the sheer magnitude of political instability in the region . The end of the Soviet occupation was welcomed by the Afghans who saw the victorious mujahideen as freedom fighters; and how how quickly infighting spread and the country was once again a war zone.
The novel centers around the friendship between Mariam and Lail which is split into four parts, with a focus on Mariam in the first part, continuing with Laila in the second and fourth, and the relationship between the two women in the third part. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny seen from the perspectives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age fifteen into marrying Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal when she fails to produce a child. Eighteen years later, Rasheed takes another wife, fourteen year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Mariam and Laila become allies in a battle with Rasheed, whose violent abuse is endorsed by custom and law. The author gives a forceful portrait of despotism where women are dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their only path to an accepted social status. Each woman in the end is forced to accept a path that will never be completely happy for them: Mariam will have to sacrifice her life to save Laila after she murders their husband while Laila, even though marrying her childhood love, must find a way to keep the sacrifice Mariam has made from not becoming an act done in vain.
ReplyDeleteThe novel is written in third person point of view from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. It follows a pattern of descriptive narration.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
ReplyDeleteby Daniel H. Pink
Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people—at work, at school, at home. It's wrong. As Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others) explains in his paradigm-shattering book Drive, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it's precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today's challenges. In Drive, he reveals the three elements of true motivation:
*Autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives
*Mastery—the urge to get better and better at something that matters
*Purpose—the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves
Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward.
Drive is bursting with big ideas—the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.
• Hardcover: 198 pages
ReplyDelete• First Edition (November 28, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 1582701709
• ISBN-13: 978-1582701707
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book written by Rhonda Byrne, based on the earlier film of the same name. It is based on the law of attraction and claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness. The book has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 46 languages, but has nevertheless attracted a great deal of controversy, as well as being parodied in several TV programs. The tenet of the film and book is that the universe is governed by a natural law called the law of attraction which is said to work by attracting into a person's life the experiences, situations, events, and people that "match the frequency" of the person's thoughts and feelings. Therefore, positive thinking and feeling positive are claimed to create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness.
The book is very much influenced by Wallace Wattles' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich,which Byrne received from her daughter during a time of personal trauma in 2004. Byrne read and synthesized several classic books and the words of modern-day teachers who spoke about ancient wisdom and the ways for people to attract what they desire into their lives. The book includes many quotes from these people.
Rhonda Byrnes intention behind writing the book is to bring joy to billions. She through her book teaches the reader how to apply the life changing knowledge in their everyday life that can transform every part of their life into joy. Through this book she motivates people to achieve everything they desire in their life. It inspires people to think positive in life so that they can acquire everything they dream to achieve in life.
The essence of the book is the power of our minds, which if identified and unleashed properly, can create waves of positive changes in our life. It deals with tuning our thought process which has the capability of making things happen; things that we otherwise would have never have imagined occurring. Everything that happens to us is directly or indirectly the doing of our own thoughts, which if modeled properly, can change everything in our lives. The book deals with the above mentioned theory scientifically, saying that our thoughts are magnetic and a frequency is associated with each one of them and when they are sent out into the universe, they attract like objects which are reflected back to us. In short, our thoughts become things.
This book answers questions like why are we asked to culture good and healthy feelings right from our childhood. As a matter of fact, these are the things that decide the course our lives take. The importance and need of feelings and emotions, things we want to happen, the need to take good care of our health, the need to treat ourselves with love and respect, the ways to make our relationships with others work, the need and ways of expressing our gratitude to the Maker as well as everyone and everything that have touched our lives-all these have been discussed intricately in a detailed manner in the book.
Rhonda Byrne has used statements and theories by many eminent personalities to illustrate and fortify the concept of ‘The Secret’, who are the co-authors of the book. They include Bob Procter, philosopher, coach and personal coach, Dr. Joe Vitale, metaphysician, marketing specialist and author, John Assaraf, entrepreneur and money making expert, Dr. John Demartini, philosopher, chiropractor, healer and personal transformation specialist, Dr. Denis Waitley, psychologist and trainer in the field of mind potential, Michael Bernard Beckwith, visionary and founder of Agape International Spiritual Center, and last but not the least, Jack Canfield, author, teacher, life coach and motivational speaker.
ReplyDeleteThe book teaches various techniques and shortcuts to understand and implement this concept in our lives. Throughout the period when I was reading the book, I was unconsciously nodding my head in approval of the theories discussed, realizing how true and appropriate each one of them is. All in all, it is a must read in order to discover oneself, understand one’s true needs and desires, improve one’s life in every possible aspect and make the most of the power which resides within oneself.
The best part is that the theories mentioned in this book are nothing new. It is just an organized representation of what we have already experienced either consciously or subconsciously. Even before reading the book I have made certain things happen by just thinking strongly about them. A class test being cancelled when I strongly wanted it, my mother calling me when I wanted to badly talk to her, my fever vanishing when I convinced myself that I was perfectly fine are a few situations that have actually happened in my life. ‘The Secret’ has been realized by many great men like Plato, Galileo, Beethoven, Edison, Carnegie, Einstein and many other inventors, theologians, scientists and great thinkers and this realization has gone a long way in achieving success and helping them carve a space in people’s minds and hearts, to be remembered and talked about incessantly for generations to come.
Book: The Secret
ReplyDeleteAuthor:Rhonda Byrne
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.
In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.
The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.
Rhonda Byrne has used statements and theories by many eminent personalities to illustrate and fortify the concept of ‘The Secret’, who are the co-authors of the book. They include Bob Procter, philosopher, coach and personal coach, Dr. Joe Vitale, metaphysician, marketing specialist and author, John Assaraf, entrepreneur and money making expert, Dr. John Demartini, philosopher, chiropractor, healer and personal transformation specialist, Dr. Denis Waitley, psychologist and trainer in the field of mind potential, Michael Bernard Beckwith, visionary and founder of Agape International Spiritual Center, and last but not the least, Jack Canfield, author, teacher, life coach and motivational speaker.
The book teaches various techniques and shortcuts to understand and implement this concept in our lives. Throughout the period when I was reading the book, I was unconsciously nodding my head in approval of the theories discussed, realizing how true and appropriate each one of them is. All in all, it is a must read in order to discover oneself, understand one’s true needs and desires, improve one’s life in every possible aspect and make the most of the power which resides within oneself.
Beginner’s Guide To The World Economy
ReplyDeleteBy: Randy Charles Epping
As the title suggests, this book is a guide for those who are not familiar with the economic and financial terms which they come across in economics textbooks or newspapers. For example, a layperson might not clearly understand the happenings in the Indian economy- falling rupee, widening current account deficit, GDP etc. This book can save one’s neck. The author has explained almost all the terms related to world economy. Starting with what is world trade, he goes on explaining what is trade surplus and deficit, currencies, GDP/GNP, inflation etc. He has even shed some light on financial terms like what is balance sheet, net worth , equity, stock index etc. While reading this book you will get to know about some interesting things like The Great Depression of 1929, Third World Economies, European Union, Swiss Account etc.
The tone is informal and the author has explained everything keeping in mind the LAYPERSON. The best thing about the writing style is that each topic starts with a simple example related to routine activities, so that the reader can form a base and easily connect with the term. For example, the author explains world economy like this- ‘when we drink our imported coffee, when we use a foreign CD Player or when we travel abroad, we are participating in growing international trade. The world economy consists of all those interactions among people or businesses that cross international borders’. For future references and reader’s convenience, a glossary has been provided at the end of the book. This shows that the author has constantly kept in mind that the READER is a BEGINNER which justifies the title.
The author has used maps and block diagrams to show the share of each country in world population and purchasing power which is quite interesting and informative.
This book is really helpful for those who are not familiar with the subject. After reading this book, you will not find reading an economics textbook or an economic daily difficult to understand.
THE SPIRIT OF INDIA
ReplyDeleteThe essential and enduring consciousness that animates the Indian nation has for long eluded definition. In this fascinating exposition, eminent Iranian political philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo elucidates his understanding of this enigmatic ‘spirit of India’. To him, the vital principle inspiring Indian thought and action is the spirit of dialogue and cross-cultural debate, deeply rooted in the daily practices of different communities. In contrast to many cultures that have, through history, feared diversity as being destructive, India’s plural and polyphonic forces have been a source of creative power. The significant question that encapsulates the spirit of the nation has always been: What should our behaviour towards others be to achieve harmony and solidarity? Dogmatism and fundamentalism have therefore not been the final victors in India’s functioning pluralistic society.
To illustrate his viewpoint, Ramin Jahanbegloo examines the thinking of Indians who shaped and exemplified the Indian credo—Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Vinoba Bhave, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Sri Aurobindo, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Satyajit Ray. It is their sustained faith in peaceful diversity that impassioned leaders like Sarojini Naidu, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and many others, and continues to be indispensable to the future of a humanity threatened by ever-widening schisms.
The spirit of India not only inspires dialogue and clemency between divergent—and occasionally hostile—cultural and religious units, but also counteracts all forms of political and cultural homogenization. This book illuminates why and how, in order to manage our plural world, we need to acknowledge and nurture the redoubtable vitality of India.
Book Review
ReplyDeleteGood to Great (jim collins)
This book is the outcome of the 15 year research of author on some companies which at a point of time suffering from dismal phases that is they are on the verge of bankruptcy but after applying evolutionary concept.They outperform the giant companies like G$E,P$G,and other notch companies few concept are first who then what,confront the brutal facts,hedgehog concept
culture of discipline,technolgy accelerators.If you read this book properly can help the people to develop new schy of how to deal with the hindrances of life and help to outpreform others and achieve a notch with simple and brutal concept.If we explain first who then what take example of kimberly clark a paper based product company who's transition started when darwin smith a level 5 leader lead the company then he candourly told the people of the company that,this company is not going to be work like this so if those who not work according is free to leave .
This concept help kimberly clark when general market perform at certain rate then kimberly clark outperform 7 time the general market (GM-96,KC-471).The Hedgehog concept (know thyself)this concept evolves around three variable -what you are deeply passionate about,what you can be the best in the world at,what drives your economic engine-these three concept applied by burrough corporation the first defines that the person who lead these company are meant for these company are deeply engaged in there work and take these companies to the new heights .So these examples is a benchmark for all those ordinary company which have the potential to result extraordinarly .This review conclude that true passion and dedication leads to unmatch success.
Thank you
Kartik Chaudhary
Book Review
ReplyDeleteGood to Great (jim collins)
This book is the outcome of the 15 year research of author on some companies which at a point of time suffering from dismal phases that is they are on the verge of bankruptcy but after applying evolutionary concept.They outperform the giant companies like G$E,P$G,and other notch companies few concept are first who then what,confront the brutal facts,hedgehog concept
culture of discipline,technolgy accelerators.If you read this book properly can help the people to develop new schy of how to deal with the hindrances of life and help to outpreform others and achieve a notch with simple and brutal concept.If we explain first who then what take example of kimberly clark a paper based product company who's transition started when darwin smith a level 5 leader lead the company then he candourly told the people of the company that,this company is not going to be work like this so if those who not work according is free to leave .
This concept help kimberly clark when general market perform at certain rate then kimberly clark outperform 7 time the general market (GM-96,KC-471).The Hedgehog concept (know thyself)this concept evolves around three variable -what you are deeply passionate about,what you can be the best in the world at,what drives your economic engine-these three concept applied by burrough corporation the first defines that the person who lead these company are meant for these company are deeply engaged in there work and take these companies to the new heights .So these examples is a benchmark for all those ordinary company which have the potential to result extraordinarly .This review conclude that true passion and dedication leads to unmatch success.
Thank you
Kartik Chaudhary
Book Review
ReplyDeleteAlexander the Great by Louise Chipley Slavicek
The book deals about the character of Alexander and Debate on whether he is a hero or a villain.Different people have different opinion about him, regarding work done by him, during his life time when he wasn't the king and when he was.
Alexander was born in 356 B.C.But the brief reign of Alexander the Great lasted just over a dozen years(336-323 B.C).He was born in Macedon to a king name Philip II who was very powerful of his time and had conquered many territory of Greek and Persia.His mother was Queen Olympians who was third wife of king Philip. At the age of seven Alexander had started getting military training by Leonidas and at the age of thirteen from Aristotle. Achilles who is considered to be worlds greatest warrior was his role model and he always dreams to be like him,fighting for the glory and getting death on war field.
According to most historians,Alexander and his mother were devoted to each other and in contrast young prince relationship with his father was often strained.Alexander was fiercely competitive and ambitious nature and from his childhood he was competing with his father for glory as people use to say Alexander can't be like his father.However at the very young period Alexander became the King of Macedon after death of king Philip.After becoming king Alexander prime motive was conquering all over the world and fight for glory.During his tenure ,he first was abeled to maintain the control over the countries which was conquered by his father. Then he moved to acquire Persia which was also his father dream.This battle is known as battle at the Granicus river.In this battle Alexander has himself prepared the fight plan and this plan was highly successful.For this battle he prepared tough soldier by giving proper training and shaping them as best fighter of that era. Alexander and his army men slaughtered every men,women and children exempting priests. After this battle he became tough and moved towards Asia Minor.There many greek speaking country scurried to open the gates to his force. But at the port of Miletus, serious resistance was offered by Persian defenders,who fought bravely was suppressed. Conquering all over Asia he finally moved to Egypt were he was again welcomed despite some resistance over certain parts.During this period he was married to Roxanne. The most important thing about Alexander was that he respects other religion and respects other god and after conquering he used to offer prayer at their temples which makes him popular world wide.After conquering West to east he moved to modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan.And finally to India in the 327 B.C.Here also he acquired many countries without much resistance but during this period army of Alexander was fighting rigorously for nine years and they were exhausted and was putting demand to return to Macedon but Alexander was firm to conquer India.But when they reached the banks of Hyphasis river,Alexander and his troops had endured torrential rain and oppressive heat which took a heavy toll of the army and also many of them gets suffered from malaria,fever and dysentery. During this period soldiers openly revolted against their kings order because of which Alexander has finally have to give order to march back.After returning to Gedrosian city a mass marriage was organised by Alexander for his officers and for himself.After spending some years finally in 323 B.C. Alexander finally decided to conquer Arabia and for this they arrived at Babylon.During this period Alexander has started drinking heavily and he was also having chest injury in multan which led to his death.During his last time when his commander asked him to name his successor he replied "The best man".
After the death of Alexander The Great his new successor was unable to keep control over wide range of countries from east to west and north to south and finally they liberated as independant countries.
Book: Eleven Minutes
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Paulo Coelho
Genre:
Original Title: Onze Minutos (Portuguese) - 2003
This is a book about a young girl, Maria from Brazilian village, whose first crush love leaves her into a heartbroken. At a younger age of life, she becomes convinced that she will never find a true love, instead believing that "Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer only..." In search of adventure and money she got a chance meeting with Rio who takes her to Geneva. Instead, she ends up working as a prostitute.
Coelho uses Maria to write a saga of sex and love-making, explores the difference between the two and in the process questions various precincts of societal codes of morality and righteous living.
In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love as she develops a fascination with sex. Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake, or risking everything to find her own "inner light" and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.
In this gripping and daring new novel, Paulo Coelho sensitively explores the sacred nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudices and demons and embrace our own "inner light."
Book: Eleven Minutes
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Paulo Coelho
Genre:
Original Title: Onze Minutos (Portuguese) - 2003
This is a book about a young girl, Maria from Brazilian village, whose first crush love leaves her into a heartbroken. At a younger age of life, she becomes convinced that she will never find a true love, instead believing that "Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer only..." In search of adventure and money she got a chance meeting with Rio who takes her to Geneva. Instead, she ends up working as a prostitute.
Coelho uses Maria to write a saga of sex and love-making, explores the difference between the two and in the process questions various precincts of societal codes of morality and righteous living.
In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love as she develops a fascination with sex. Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake, or risking everything to find her own "inner light" and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.
In this gripping and daring new novel, Paulo Coelho sensitively explores the sacred nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudices and demons and embrace our own "inner light."