Business (53)

  • Marketing 101

    By: Don Sexton   

    Pages: 297

    Business, Sales

    My recommendation: 5 / 10

    Date read: 6th Nov'17

    Brief review: It's a book on marketing. It has some useful tips on promoting your products and services but it misses the punch. There is too much of theory and technical stuff filled in the book. Could be used, at best, as a reference book by big marketing heads of top companies. Nothing much for the rest. A lot of example of Donald Trump and his organisation is used. A few take away from the book - (1) marketing could be effective only if the product itself is good, (2) Understand your customers well and (3) Identify target segment for effective marketing. 

  • Made in America

    By: Sam Walton   

    Pages: 334

    Biography, Business, Sales

    My recommendation: 10 / 10

    Date read: 25th Oct'17

    Brief review: Walmart is the largest retailer in the world having over 11,000 stores spreading over more than 25 countries. It's sales were over US$485 billion in 2016. It all started with a single store in 1962 and within 25 years, Sam Walton became the richest American. How did he do it? What were the core philosophies, regrets and high points in the life of Sam Walton?  The book is the inside story of Walmart and Sam Walton himself. It is rich, engaging and inspirational. I would recommend this book to everyone - from CEO of a fortune 500 company to someone considering a startup and from a seasoned business person to young adults. 

  • I Do What I Do

    By: Raghuram G Rajan   

    Pages: 312

    Business

    My recommendation: 7 / 10

    Date read: 6th Oct'17

    Brief review: Raghuram Rajan almost had a celebrity status as the governor of RBI during 2013-16. Young, articulative and bold, Rajan is credited with taking several steps to streamline the Indian economy. After a one year silence (after his term got over as RBI), in this book Rajan gives his account of the affairs during his term, the challenges he faced and the difficult decisions he took, the pressure of the bureaucrats and handling the perspective of media which was always a double edged sword. The book incorporates many of his verbatim speeches he gave as the governor of RBI. It's the inside story of Indian economy, the power of top business houses/loan defaulters over the banking system in the matter of NPAs and the challenge to push banks to go deep inside the rural demography of India. He also breaks his silence on the issue of demonetization in India in 2016, his role and views. If you have interest in the Indian banking system and also the economy of a country, you can read this book.

  • Zero To One

    By: Peter Thiel   

    Pages: 210

    Business, Investments

    My recommendation: 8 / 10

    Date read: 14th Sep'17

    Brief review: Peter Thiel was one of the co-founder of Paypal which was sold to eBay for 1.50 billion dollars in 2002. In this book, Peter shares his insights on startups and how to build the future. He discusses about founders paradox, mistakes startups do, the 2nd mover advantage, the importance of marketing, the power of initial feedback, and many other useful insights. He argues that the next set of innovations would be completely different from the ones we see today. We need to ignore a preconceived notion and pattern of previous ideas and inventions. Not only this; he elaborates on what should you look in a startup before considering an investment into it and what should be the expected payoff for the risk taken. Brilliant examples and wisdom from someone who has done it all. I definitely got a few ideas from this book. I loved reading this one.

  • The Art of Profitability

    By: Adrian Slywotzky   

    Pages: 272

    Business, Sales

    My recommendation: 8 / 10

    Date read: 11th Sep, 2017

    Brief review: What do Barbie dolls, Nokia phones and American Express cards have in common? Well, you will be surprised to know when you read this book. It's a book on 'how companies can generate greater profits'. It gives an insight on what strategies are used by companies to increase profitability and what are the mistakes many do. All in all, the author discusses 23 ideas on profit enhancement by giving easy to understand examples. I was apprehensive to read this book as I thought it to be purely mechanical and commercial. However, I am glad I read it as I can now co-relate strategies several multi-nationals use to increase their sales and profits. You must read this book if you are a CEO, a marketing head or running your own business.

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