hi,

I am reading a book ‘From Kindergarten to Corporation’ by Kalyan Sagar Nippani and published by Viva Books Private Limited. The book was published in the year 2015. This 116 page management book has an interesting sub-title below the title, which says ‘Leadership Lessons That Children Can Teach Us’.

I picked it up as an airport read and the page that caught my eye was the contents page. I really took a fancy to the 12 chapter titles which actually are traits of toddlers and primary students . Each chapter title clearly conveys – what to expect from the chapters and  it shows how smartly the author has picked and compared leadership skills from children with CEO. The first chapter – Curiosity, Questioning and the Power of Wonder – highlights one of the wonderful characteristics of children which we tend to loose as we grow older.

Chapter 1 is spiced up with lot of real life examples where the CEO s of Spencer, Dell and a few other fortune 500 business firms are open minded enough to ask questions; so they were instrumental in succeeding in their businesses. The  chapter highlights the fact that curiosity and creativity go together – especially that leads entrepreneurs to identify the right business opportunity. Though the first chapter of the book is an ode to the curious mindset of all children – it stops at that. So, it kind of meets your expectations and the author has nothing more to offer.

I moved on to Chapter 2 of this book – which has an equally interesting title like the first one – Breaking to Build: The art of disruption – I love this chapter. This chapter talks about a unique characteristic of children which we adults always find it annoying – breaking a toy and fixing it again. The author has beautifully compared it to the emergence of Big Bazaar and revamping of BSNL. I particularly liked the use of a public sector organization like BSNL which had to undergo a major transformation to survive the cut-throat competition in the telecom sector.  Certain phrases that caught my eye – Learn, Unlearn and relearn, constructively dismantle – brilliant phrases that sum up what an organization and sometimes individuals should do when they come to a crossroad in life. The author gives a wonderful finish to the chapter by quoting Dantes, “In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place.” A wonderful chapter where we get more than what the title suggests.

Chapter 3 of this book is about – Dreaming big and creating Sandcastles – It is on the predictable lines of any self-help books, one reads. The good thing about this book is – it is spruced up with lots of examples of entrepreneurs who travelled the path less trodden and achieved remarkable success. For a change, the author has quoted examples from FMCG industry and Food Processing industry in India. The author has managed to squeeze in two poems – Invictus by Ernest Hathway and of course, ‘The Road Less taken’ by Robert Frost – making a difference to the chapter.Though the chapter begans with dreaming and believing like children to make breakthroughs in achievements – it does not rely only on that.

Chapter 4 – Rules – Playing by them and With Them : As the title suggests this is a pretty interesting chapter as it addresses both parts of the title. The author quotes many examples from personal life which explains how children re-write the rules of the game- most of the time so as to win the game. The usual style of the author prevails wherein he throws in a lot of examples of businessmen starting from the late Dhirubhai Ambani, Donald Trump to Steve Jobs who questioned conventions are reset the rules of the running businesses. The author has picked up right quotes from Ratan Tata and Satya Nadella that points out how the leaders operate in crisis situations or make quick decisions that takes them to the Next Level. Best story is the one about FEDEX and how Fred Smith took a bold decision to use the last funds in his treasury to  gamble in Las Vegas, and  returned with the required finance to bail his business  out of bankruptcy.  Worthy read.

Chapter 5- Forgiving, Forgetting and Letting Go: One of the best chapters of the book as it highlights the most important and noticeable trait in children which is clearing missing in any adult – The Art of Forgiving. The author has quoted appropriate personal examples of this trait of children from his neighbourhood. The best statement in this chapter is ‘Never be ashamed of tears.’ As usually the author has picked up a best example of how Adnani CEO forgave one of his employees who caused a loss to his firm and retained him in his firm.

Chapter 6 – From Stand-alone looser to team leader – again another interesting chapter as the name suggests. It talks about team players from a very different approach. The author points out that children make friends easily – how they fight one moment and gel with each other the next moment; how, inspite of differences they work together as a team. The author shows a good example of the flipkart founders. He highlights that children have best friends and best of best friends to get valuable feedback about important things in life like games and school; similarly business organizations too have core team on whom they rely for their long-term visions. A simple chapter with a very strong message  about team players and core team.

Chapter 7 – Leading by humility and trust. Again a wonderful chapter that is spread out with quotes of Indian Entrepreneurs who are down-to-earth and humble – a quality you often find in children. The author talks about the approach of Narayana Murthy, Infosys chairman towards his sub-ordinate – his driver. He begins with a beautiful personal example of how is daughter wanted him to be himself during his book launch and not make a fool of himself. The author links this trait of children – straightforwardness to one of the traits of a leader. Another interesting example is the Aravind Eye Hospital example – Dr. Venkataswamy and the best part of the book was the 5 Leadership traits. Not to miss this chapter.

chapter 8 : Passion Quotient : Flying with the feet on the ground. This chapter deals with the fact that children and entrepreneurs alike follow their heart. They donot conform to norms of the society. The chapter touches on leadership theories gently. It is an ode to Ms. Kiran Bedi. The author talks about Indian bureaucrats for leadership lesson – Mr.Sreedharan of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The best quote from the book is “Being authentic makes room for uncoventional. At times unconventional answers resolve complicated problems.”

Chapter 9 ‘Are we there yet? – Rationed Restlessness’:  This chapter identifies a leadership trait shared by leaders and children alike – the restlessness to reach a destination. Destination in the case of leaders is their goal. The chapter has detailed analysis of how Microsoft under Balmer (a leader without any iota of restlessness) was heading towards disaster whereas the same firm under Nadella and his restlessness is moving towards success. The author beautifully closes off with poem which appeals to high school students to CEOs- ‘Climb till your dreams come true’.

Chapter 10 – ‘Having it and giving it’: This chapter highlights the child-like attitude of successful people to chare the resources wealth they have through corporate social responsibility. Though strewn with really good examples from Warren Buffet to the entrepreneur in our how turf Dilip Sanghvi- it does not come out strongly and it sounds very preachy. The best piece in the entire chapter is the expansion of ARK – Noah’s Ark which means Acts of Random Kindness.

Chapter 11 – ‘Living and leading: Here and Now’ the focal point in this chapter is how children and leaders alike live the moment and make the best use of it. The author makes wonderful reference to Zen stories, how Best Buy emerged and the birth of Suzlon energy.

Chapter 12 – ‘Dancing in the Rain’ – This chapter reiterates a leadership trait – adaptability to change. Children and leaders alike carry on a leadership trait – Laughter and sense of humour. The book has strong reference to the impact of the sense of humour in the workplace through the use of examples – like Patch Adam movie and the act of Richard Branson as a cabin crew member in Air Asia. The best is the story of a beggar king who brings about a change in his kingdom by his laughter and free spirit. Though, the chapter is lengthy and has a drawling tone – the last story makes a difference.