When The Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught by R. Gopalakrishnan
In Summary Vijay Ramachandran
When The Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught
By R. Gopalakrishnan
Published by Penguin India.
Rs 399
IN SUMMARY As Confucius noted, we learn wisdom by three methods: "First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." The redoubtable R. Gopalakrishnan concurs with the Chinese philosopher, and asks us to look within to figure how we can learn from our lives, our successes and our failures.
The Executive Director of Tata Sons, could have dipped into his own rich bank of experiential learning, but he chooses not to. Instead, he turns the spotlight on a number of lives-seemingly ordinary, but ripe with lessons for us to reflect upon; to learn from our slip-ups and to not get consumed by the routine. "Can this book substitute experience? Certainly not. That is not the intent. At best, it can advance by a few years the rate of learning of the practicing manager. With that limited goal, I offer this book to the reader," says Gopalakrishnan.
This is a book that made me pause; it made me go over the past two decades of my working life and beyond; it made me think about myself and why I do what I do; it made me resolve to change a few things about myself.
Read on for excerpts from reviews of this book from two of your peers who, like me, heartily recommend it:
CIO REVIEWS Expand all | Collapse all
Dr. Neena Pahuja CIO, Max Healthcare
This book can be a source of inspiration for all corporate leaders, since we are expected to be confident and open to change, based on dynamic business needs. The book also teaches one to not take drastic decisions, and cope with the storms instead.
It describes the barriers to success and continual learning, even as the author explores the worlds that managers inhabit—the inner world, the world of relationships and the world of getting things done. He also states that emotions are as vital to progress as is intellect.
I’m completely in sync with his approach on channelizing ambition as well as his mechanism to reduce errors and mistakes through constructive feedback.
My biggest learning from the book: “A manager can develop to his full potential by learning to be intuitive, inclusive and humane. When knowledge is integrated with intuition it becomes wisdom.”
Sanjay Malhotra VP-IT, BS and eBiz, Amway India
This is an outstanding book that explains quite simply the complex issues of leadership. While we have unique strengths, we also have some inherent behavioral weaknesses. It’s often difficult to discover these blind spots. Thus, it is critical that we find some one who can hold up a mirror for us. The key to success, the author states, is to be able to manage these “traps”, while leveraging our strengths. One of the chapters that I liked best, calls for transformational leaders to be both good engineers as well as architects. Given how critical CIOs are to an organization’s transformation, I believe that it’s vital to realize that great strategy will yield nothing if it is not executed well. For this, we need to play both roles in differing measure.
