Author: Ravi SubramanianPublisher: Rupa & Co
Pages: 163
Price: Rs 195
Reviewed by Eisha Sarkar
Posted On Mumbai Mirror on Monday, February 08, 2010 at 07:38:25 PM
After his pacy first novel on the trials and tribulations of retail bankers in a super-competitive sector, banker Ravi Subramanian tells you how to get a Ferrari in his second book, I Bought the Monk's Ferrari. The obvious reference to Robin Sharma's bestseller, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari gives you a hint that this book by Subramanian is going to be very different from the first. And thankfully, it is.
Like his debut book, this one also starts with a nervous IIM graduate who takes his first career flight from Bangalore to Delhi. He peeps out of the window and sees on the road below, an immaculate bright red Ferrari that soon fades out of his vision. Thus begins, the fresher's quest for his own Ferrari.
However, it's not the luxury car the author's talking about. It's about the Fortune for Every Right Rigorous and Resourceful Individual (FERRARI). Taking off from the young management trainee, the author delves into the lives of corporate leaders who have crossed several hurdles to own their own Ferrari (in some cases, even the car). He writes about how a sixteen-year-old girl aspired to be a successful businesswoman when her father refused to give her the swivel chair in his office. It was her grit and determination that made the young girl HSBC CEO Naina Lal Kidwai. Subramanian gives examples of Laxmi Mittal, Sourav Ganguly, Bill Gates to drive home the point that you need to aspire high to grow big.
The author enlists Ten Commandments that can help you pave your way to success and even get a Ferrari. In short, they are:
1. You need to aspire and when you do, don't go for anything short of the best
2. Be optimistic
3. Don't whine about work-life balance. Be the winner, not the wimp
4. If you are high on integrity, people will respect you and value you
5. Value time, yours as well as others'
6. Nobody's perfect so upgrade your skills regularly or you will be redundant
7. If you are in the company of successful people, their success will rub off on you. But you need to back it up with stellar performance
8. Share your success with others
9. Work hard, exercise harder, build stamina and keep illness at bay
10. If you've followed the above, it's time to build your profile. Target your audience and talk about your achievements
By the time you finish the Ten Commandments, you wonder what this book is about. The management fresher dwells on your mind and you hope this book will take off like If God was a Banker did but it doesn't. Though the author has done well to keep the chapters short, and his language lucid, they don't make much of an impact. Probably because the stories of the achievers are well-known. In his bid to cater to the society's elites, the book doesn't draw in experiences from the broader cross-section of the society.
However, in spite of its shortcomings, the book is worth a read. Subramanian's interactions with his daughter are delightful to read about. Only in these parts does he evoke an emotional response from the reader. You wish for more, but he doesn't offer any. Read this book like you would read a self-help management textbook and it might work for you. Anything more than that will be expecting too much. This book's not a Ferrari!
Pages: 163
Price: Rs 195
Reviewed by Eisha Sarkar
Posted On Mumbai Mirror on Monday, February 08, 2010 at 07:38:25 PM
After his pacy first novel on the trials and tribulations of retail bankers in a super-competitive sector, banker Ravi Subramanian tells you how to get a Ferrari in his second book, I Bought the Monk's Ferrari. The obvious reference to Robin Sharma's bestseller, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari gives you a hint that this book by Subramanian is going to be very different from the first. And thankfully, it is.
Like his debut book, this one also starts with a nervous IIM graduate who takes his first career flight from Bangalore to Delhi. He peeps out of the window and sees on the road below, an immaculate bright red Ferrari that soon fades out of his vision. Thus begins, the fresher's quest for his own Ferrari.
However, it's not the luxury car the author's talking about. It's about the Fortune for Every Right Rigorous and Resourceful Individual (FERRARI). Taking off from the young management trainee, the author delves into the lives of corporate leaders who have crossed several hurdles to own their own Ferrari (in some cases, even the car). He writes about how a sixteen-year-old girl aspired to be a successful businesswoman when her father refused to give her the swivel chair in his office. It was her grit and determination that made the young girl HSBC CEO Naina Lal Kidwai. Subramanian gives examples of Laxmi Mittal, Sourav Ganguly, Bill Gates to drive home the point that you need to aspire high to grow big.
The author enlists Ten Commandments that can help you pave your way to success and even get a Ferrari. In short, they are:
1. You need to aspire and when you do, don't go for anything short of the best
2. Be optimistic
3. Don't whine about work-life balance. Be the winner, not the wimp
4. If you are high on integrity, people will respect you and value you
5. Value time, yours as well as others'
6. Nobody's perfect so upgrade your skills regularly or you will be redundant
7. If you are in the company of successful people, their success will rub off on you. But you need to back it up with stellar performance
8. Share your success with others
9. Work hard, exercise harder, build stamina and keep illness at bay
10. If you've followed the above, it's time to build your profile. Target your audience and talk about your achievements
By the time you finish the Ten Commandments, you wonder what this book is about. The management fresher dwells on your mind and you hope this book will take off like If God was a Banker did but it doesn't. Though the author has done well to keep the chapters short, and his language lucid, they don't make much of an impact. Probably because the stories of the achievers are well-known. In his bid to cater to the society's elites, the book doesn't draw in experiences from the broader cross-section of the society.
However, in spite of its shortcomings, the book is worth a read. Subramanian's interactions with his daughter are delightful to read about. Only in these parts does he evoke an emotional response from the reader. You wish for more, but he doesn't offer any. Read this book like you would read a self-help management textbook and it might work for you. Anything more than that will be expecting too much. This book's not a Ferrari!
1 comment:
:) ... little bit of mixed bag.. read my next one..Devil in Pinstripes
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