Serendipity and Learning

Here is a list of books I enjoyed in this year. Most of the books I liked are here. I generally read non-fiction and do a lot of reading in the course of my work - in fact it is one component where my work and my passion intersects. I read fiction when it is recommended by a few people on whom I rely. So, a shortish list of the books I read in 2020. Note to myself (need to do a better job of tracking this list) To start with, Loonshots is a fantastic read on what it takes to create something truly innovative.  From the Beginning of Time - is a brilliant attempt to decode ancient Indian stories (Puranas) and map them to current day science. The Great Mental Models and Superthinking - something I read when I had to speed up my knowledge on mental models.  On Writing well - a book on writing that lives up to its promise.  Creative Selection - a fantastic book on designing a product/s.  Banaras - the city of Light - a book that makes me want to go back to Varanasi someti...

Non Violent Communication - Rosenberg. I dipped into this book and dipped out of it. But is a promising read for sure, coming from a communicating with empathy standpoint. Trillion Dollar Coach - Eric Schmidt. A breezy read -the story of Bill Campbell who has mentored many in Silicon valley. Read it to know more about different coaching styles. Alchemy - Rory Sutherland This is a great read on market and customer insights and how much of customer behaviour is psychological. The Era of Baji Rao - Uday Kulkarni. A historical read on one of the lesser told and known stories of India. And of course, leadership. Banaras- City of Light by Diane Eck. This one is the best written book on one of the worlds oldest living cities. Written lovingly - I have never read any book on any city in India with such a comprehensive history. Blitzscaling - Reid Hoffmann. I picked this up with great expectations, but I did not find anything that stood out in particular. Atomic Habits - James Clear. Thi...

This bright green book with a yellow title has always caught my attention, but I had never read it.  Imagine my surprise that when I finally picked it up as part of a preparation for a workshop that it was such a fantastic book. Playing to win by Alan Lafley and Roger Martin is one of those books that is up there when it comes to learning about how strategy can be crafted and implemented in real business. There is much in the book - and unlike other books - this book is really a leaf out of P&G, but with frameworks and models that can be applied anywhere. Image from here . It is these 5 questions played in a loop (well, iteratively) that are the juiciest part of the book and as simple and obvious as they are, it is this place where the strategy play happens. So, yes, simply put a great book to be read by anyone who is anywhere close to strategy...