Book Review : “THE 59 MINUTE GUIDE TO SUCCESS”

by Arindam Chaudhuri of Indian Institute of Planning Management (IIPM).
(2009 Edition. www.vikaspublishing.com Price: INR 150.00)

This is a book for everybody. The author deals with the principles of success without any management theories. The written content in the book runs into just 59 small pages with 1.5 line-spacing, and each page could be completed in one minute. That’s the reasoning behind the book’s title.

The author used ‘DIAMOND’ as a metaphor for ‘HUMAN BEINGS’. A diamond is graded on four parameters viz. its Carat, its Cut, its Colour and its Clarity. He drew an analogy between these parameters and the qualities of a successful person, as follows:

Carat:
Passion (P1)
Positive Energy (P2)

Cut:
Performance (P3)
Perseverence (P4)

Colour:
Personality (P5)
People Skills (P6)

Clarity:
Perspective (P7)
Principles (P8)
Patriotism (P9)

When a person acquires these nine principles and applies it in his life, he can discover the DIAMOND in him. That’s the gist of the book.

A brief note on the nine principles are listed below. But, do read the book for the excellent examples used and to enjoy Arindam’s lucid writing style.

Passion. The most important quality a person must have. All other principles basically support this quality.

Positive Energy is referred to the enthusiasm and the motivation. This has two sources --- external and internal. External is when someone motivates us; that’s easy. It’s the internal energy (read ‘self motivation’) in a person that matters most.

Performance. No plan or dream or … is fruitful unless we ‘ACT’ on it. Here, the author dwells on the ‘DO IT NOW’ quality in successful people.

Perseverance refers to the quality of resilience. Never give up when we fail. The only people who never fail are those who never try, says the author.

Personality is more important than technical expertise in a leader, says the author. The ‘LAW’ of personality building is important to note. Eg: Dr Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai, … of NDTV, Amitabh Bachchan, ….

‘LAW’ stands for ‘Looks, Action and Words’ . ‘Looks’ refers to the first impression that we give of ourselves to others. The way we present ourselves.

‘Action’ refers to our body language. The way we gesticulate while speaking. The eye contact, the mannerisms, the walk, the gesture, the poise, … all go into this aspect.

‘Word’ stands for what we speak. The clarity, tone, depth, choice of words, knowledge, content, maturity, … in our conversation or speech.

People skills. To be a team-member as well as a team-leader. ‘The job of the leader is not to create followers. It is to create more leaders. Fearlessly.”, quotes the author. That quality in a person wherein his subordinates, his peers as well as his superiors accept him and are comfortable with him. Indeed, a very important quality that a leader must have.

Perspective. To have a broad Vision. For example, “A PC on every desk in every home” propelled Microsoft in the right direction for many years. Similarly, the reasoning behind the Infosys team’s decision in 1990 (after nine years of toiling hard) to ‘not to sell their company’ (when they got an offer of US$ 1 million to sell Infosys) exemplifies their broad perspective.

Principles and ethics in successful persons. The Karma theory. That, the Journey is the Reward. To be known like J.R.D. TATA; not like the Rajus’ of SATYAM or the ENRON top men.

Patriotism. The final P that makes the human diamond perfect. The number one selling car or mobile or Cola or designer wear in China are manufactured in China; not from the West.

The foreword to ‘The 59 Minute Guide To Success’ is by Shah Rukh Khan, the Superstar (who belonged to a lower-middle class family).

The nine principles stated above are explained lucidly with appropriate examples in the book. It is a good buy.

Few quotes the author used in his book are:
‘Success occurs twice in life: Once in your mind and once in reality.”
‘Sustained Sincerity: The two most important words that make an achiever.”
‘Failure is not when you don’t reach your goals. It is when you don’t have any goal to reach’.
‘The only people who never fail are those who never try.’
‘The result of your journey is not the reward. The journey is the reward.’
‘There has never been a great leader without a great personality’.
‘The job of the leader is not to create followers. It is to create more leaders. Fearlessly.’
‘In trying times, never stop trying.’

References:
Log on to the author’s blog arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.com to read his weekly thoughts.

To interact with him on facebook, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/Arindam-Chaudhuri/76429890015

To invite the author or his team for inspiring sessions in your organization, call +91 9811270918 or e-mail to chanda.mehra@planmanconsulting.com

Other Books of Arindam Chaudhuri:
Planning India
Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch
The Great Indian Dream (Co-Author).

Jaikishan
23rd Jan 2010