How Will You Measure Your Life?

By: Clayton M. Christensen

About:

(a) Applying business thinking to manage the most important business- one’s life.

(b) Finding your own answers by management analogies.

Features:

Language: use of MBA terminologies (apt, as the article is published in HBR magazine). Nevertheless, easy to understand and imbibe.

Style: Questions have been asked and theories hinting at the answers are presented.

Plus Point:

(a) The happiness quotient, which everyone seeks ultimately, often remains a secondary in our careers. The article raises questions that revolve around this quotient.

(b) Theories used are the famous concepts that every MBA student, regardless of specialization, is familiar with. Use of relate-able literature gives a simple direction to thought-process.

Summary:

The article talks about spending time to understand and seek the purpose of life.

1. I relate it to going to bed-meditation, where I weigh the good and bad I did the whole day. The idea is to understand why I did what I did.
2. Another extension is this post itself. I enjoy reading and writing. This book reviewing website had been missing me since Sept, 2013 as I was chasing the tangibles- education and job. Undeniably the important things in life. But, this space on the web too holds a similar importance in my life, and I’m glad this article helped me realize this 🙂

Made In Japan

by Akio morita,Edwin M. Reingold & Mitsuko Shimomura      

MAKE.BELIEVE

About:

(a) Japan over the years

(b) the story of SONY

(c) running a business

Features:

Language: Simple

Style: Anecdotic

Plus Point: It’s from the man himself: the co-founder of the SONY Corporation

Summary:

The book talks about Japan in ancient times , during the World War and post that phase. It draws

parallels between the life in West and in the Land Of Rising Sun, in the East. Mostly, Morita tells us everything about running a business. It’s not just some B-School lesson, but the book encompasses all the ethics to become a leader in the market.

(i) The name of your company/product is the first and the most important feature . Preserve it. Fight for it. 

This spirit is shown by Morita as he tells how they decided upon the name SONY. Ingenious thinking led them into adopting the catchy phrase “sonny” (used for boys those days) and then uniquification of this name by dropping an “N” .  This infact helped them in winning a lawsuit! When a chocolate company started cashing in on the popular SONY brand name, Morita challenged them with the claim that SONY was their idea as the word means nothing in any language.

(ii) Money, contrary to popular belief, is not everything (certainly not everything to keep your employees secured and with an insatiable urge to perform)

What we in industry learned in dealing with people is that people do not work just for money and that if you are trying to motivate, money is not the most effective tool. To motivate people, you must bring them into the family and treat them like respected members of it. Granted, in our one race nation this might be easier to do than elsewhere, but it is still possible if you have an educated population.

(iii) Who do you “consult”, only the managers or the lawyers and consultancy firms? 

We learn a lot by listening to our employees, because, after all,wisdom is not the exclusive possesion of management.

(iv) Profit v/s investement 

To gain is important, but you must invest to build up assets that you can cash in in the future.

(v) Management?!?!

• In our labour relations, we have a kind of equality that does not exist elsewhere. We see no distinction at SONY between blue- and white collar workers.
• Man/woman who becomes very successful as a union leader is fit for managerial ranks
• Be persuasive, be able to make people cooperate with you.
• Management is NOT DICTATORSHIP. Manage people by leading them.
• Don’t rule people out if they lack certain school credentials

(vi) Many often ask “why one takes up engineering, only to do management in post graduation?” They say “if you want to be an MBA, why didn’t you just go to some commerce/economics graduate school, why take up science?”

Well, the answer is:

Managers who do not have the capability to judge from a technical standopint whether a product is feasible or not are at a tremendous disadvantage.

(vii) How the Japanese emerged as a nation outsourcing quality in products and building up their economy in such a short time after the huge mishap of the World War?

The land suffers from earthquakes everyday. There are no natural resources per se. So, the people have developed this stance of moving on quickly and reinforcing their responses and rebuilding mechanisms to avoid any regression in face of any calamity.

and they immediately went to work rebuilding , ingeniously fashioning cooking stoves from rubble and odd bits of shattered metal, patching together remnants of usuable material from among the charred ruins…

(viii) Lastly, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 

Morita inspires us all to take up sports. Sports as an activity holds age no bar. Play as much as you can. It improves your reflexes. Plus the heart. The adrenaline rush that one gets is a harmless and much needed kick to go on and perform to one’s fullest potential. Infact, regular exercise pushes our limits and inceases our “output”.

Also, games like tennis and golf are actually famous in making and breaking of business deals (but smart thinking ,rather than emotions while signing these ,is highly recommended 😀 ) One gets to meet the best of people and gets to see the best of places with this “sporty” and “never say die” attitude. Out-of-the-box thinking +appreciation for sports & art & food + perseverance is all is needed.

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull a story

by: Richard Bach

‘Richard Bach with this book

does two things.

He gives me Flight.

He makes me Young.

For both I am deeply grateful.’

RAY BRADBURY

About:

(a) Boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that one’s life is so short.

(b) We choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome.

(c) Heaven- A place where  there is as much to learn as there was in the previous life . But with a difference. Here are beings who think as one thinks. For each of them, the most important thing in living is to reach out and touch perfection in that which they most love to do.

(d) “We’re not ready!” said Henry Calvin Gull. “We’re not welcome! We’re Outcast! We can’t force ourselves to go where we’re not welcome, can we?” “We’re free to go where we wish and to be what we are,”Jonathan answered.

Features:

Style: Inspirational

Catchy add on: Photographs by Russell Munson

Favorite part of the story: 

Gradually, in the night, another circle formed around

the circle of students — a circle of curious gulls listening in the

darkness for hours on end, not wishing to see or be seen of

one another, fading away before daybreak

Summary:

A short story about breaking away norms and customs that stop you from learning and achieving your ambitions.

Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonour. But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve – slowing, slowing, and stalling once more – was no ordinary bird.

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