Abhijit Bhaduri’s Blog
I write about careers in the AI Economy and about the world of work. The sketchnotes are my own.
Set goals, stay motivated & what to do IF you achieve the goals
Book Review: Get it Done
Setting goals is a science. You may be doing it wrong
and no it is not about SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) hashtag#goals. We all know that.
This is about the hashtag#science of hashtag#motivation.
Do you know which goals hashtag#work better
a) When you say you will DO something
b) When you say you will NOT DO something
What does reframing have to do with hashtag#success?
My hashtag#bookreview of Ayelet Fishbach book Get It Done
Book Review: Money Wise by Deepak Shenoy
Money Wise is a book aimed at the people who don’t know how to invest and don’t know how to start.
Book Review: What The Heck Do I Do With My Life
Book Review: What the Heck Do I Do with My Life
A number of you have asked me to add book reviews in the newsletter. Here is a review of Ravi Venkatesan's new book. Check out the hashtag#sketchnote on the entrepreneur's mindset.
Ravi is the first guest on Season 4 of my weekly LinkedIn Live called Dreamers and Unicorns. Do let me know the questions you have about tech and talent.
Alphabetica - a Book Review
This allegorical tale features the letters of the alphabet as ‘characters’ living on the planet ‘Typewriter’ and in a country called ‘Alphabetica’. With the consonants being the majority and vowels the minority, the book takes a deep dive into the majoritarianism of the world.
Business Standard Reviews Dreamers & Unicorns
Book Review - Dreamers and Unicorns: How Leadership, Talent and Culture are the New Growth Drivers - Pavan Lall
Book Review: Alchemy
In this book Rory Sutherland builds a case for magic and alchemy. In science, everything has one correct answer. Human behavior and choices are guided by context. Pain killers are more effective when they are effective. Savlon launched an antiseptic liquid that did not “burn” like their competitor Dettol. The consumer complained that Savlon was ineffective because there was no burning sensation. Read my review about Alchemy - a book I really enjoyed.
Earners-learners & rejection
Most people underestimate the value of likability in their career. When you make a mistake, people are likely to give you a second chance if they like you. Else they will pull out a rule book and tell you why you have not done what you must.
Talent, mentors & 'No Rules Rules'
Can you find a virtual mentor even as you are locked up at home? That is what elite universities provide - great teachers and great mentors. Does that justify the premium they are paid? If you are NOT from an elite institute, is there any way you can compete? Yes, and it is something you can do today.
Book Review: Introduction to People Analytics
People Analytics will undergo a big shift. How do we build a people function that is relevant for the post-Covid world? HR will need to offer measures of productivity, engagement and skills. Analytics can be a great conversation starter, because it is hard to argue with insights that are data-driven. This book can be a good read for everyone in HR. The line that stayed with me was, “HR will not be replaced by data analytics. But HR people who do not use data and analytics will be replaced by people who do.”
Book Review: Saying No To Jugaad
“Saying No to Jugaad” is the story of Bigbasket’s business strategy, culture and its desire to build a culture that puts the customer at the center. There are some interesting questions posed. Is is better to be tech-driven or tech-enabled. Most start-ups fall into one of two categories: a) those that are tech-first, where one of the co-founders is also the CTO. The perspective in these start-ups is often, ‘How can we leverage technology to build new businesses?’; and b) those that are tech-enabled, where the CTO is almost always not a founder. The perspective here is, ‘How can technology enhance the effectiveness of our business?’
Book Review: Looking for Miss Sargam
The settings are varied. What goes on behind the scenes when two star musicians from India and Pakistan share the stage in a concert for peace? A small-town music teacher and a big-city businessman team up. They plan a hunt for India’s best new classical talent—and make a few crores in the process? How does it end? Shubha Mudgal writes about these from the point of view of an insider. That is why each story is so true. The tone is funny but there is a tinge of sadness I felt right through even as I laughed. The stories have a wicked humor that comes from someone who has seen these characters at close quarters.
Book Review: The Secret Life of Organizations
The Secret Life of Organizations written by Shalini Lal and Pradnya Parasher is that map that tells the young Indian professional how to make sense of the chaos in organizations. The authors use their own experience of working across a variety of organizations and their expertise in Organizational Psychology to tell the novice how to decode what they see. They do so with short cases and examples.
Book Review: Demystifying Digital Transformation
The 5 E model begins with Exploration. This is where businesses must re-evaluate their value-proposition in view of the recent technology trends and shifts in the consumer’s behavior. This where the organization must generate options to deliver the value-proposition in the new world. Phase 2 is called Experimentation with all possible ways to deliver the new value-proposition. Evaluate its potential to develop and scale. Check if the new options cannibalize the existing product lines or augment it. Read more ...
Book Review: Great at Work
The way to do this is to redesign your work so as to focus on value, not goals. Looking at your work in terms of the impact you are creating for others helps you discover your passion and purpose. Spending just 15 minutes a day of “deliberate practice”. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance – like Jiro crafting each piece of sushi.
Book Review: Just Start
The authors of the book "Just Start – take action, embrace uncertainty", create the future says just that. That’s what serial entrepreneurs do. They don’t wait for the fog to clear. They start moving as soon as they have an idea. They try to stay within what they would define as an “acceptable loss”. They create a prototype and wait for the reaction of the consumer or potential consumer.
Book Review: Barking Up The Wrong Tree
Success is not the result of one single quality. It is also about having the right skill and being in the right role where that skill (and your weaknesses) can be an advantage. A job that leverages your natural extraversion or introversion plus a network of people ready to help will take you further than going solo. When you have a story that connects you to the world, you are motivated to work hard at your goal.
Your Happiness Was Hacked: Book Review
The deluge of information pouring in constantly causes technostress and blurs the line between work and home. Tech makes it convenient to connect and its ease of use has changed how we work. No one speaks enough about the way tech runs our lives.Not just adults, children are impacted very deeply. Children are spending fifty percent less time playing outdoors than their parents. The children spend less time playing with other children and more time with screens. This book tells you how to take back control of your life from tech.