Tag Archives: Business

In My Hands Today…

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Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts – Santosh Nair

Lalchand Gupta takes you on an exciting journey through Dalal Street in this brief history of the Indian stock market post liberalization.

From tech booms and tax evasion to banks and money laundering; scams and crashes to fixers and investors, Lala has seen it all.

A comprehensive account of the stock market over the last 25 years, it tells you what to watch out for while investing. It also looks at policies that the government needs to revise if the country is to harness domestic capital more effectively.

This is a must-read for all interested in the financial health of the country as well as those who want to know about the sensational events that led up to the far more sterile stock-market operations of the present day.

In My Hands Today…

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The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge – Matt Ridley

The Evolution of Everything is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch—the endless fascination human beings have for design rather than evolution, for direction rather than emergence. Drawing on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley’s wide-ranging, highly opinionated opus demolishes conventional assumptions that major scientific and social imperatives are dictated by those on high, whether in government, business, academia, or morality. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. Patterns emerge, trends evolve. Just as skeins of geese form Vs in the sky without meaning to, and termites build mud cathedrals without architects, so brains take shape without brain-makers, learning can happen without teaching and morality changes without a plan.

Although we neglect, defy and ignore them, bottom-up trends shape the world. The growth of technology, the sanitation-driven health revolution, the quadrupling of farm yields so that more land can be released for nature—these were largely emergent phenomena, as were the Internet, the mobile phone revolution, and the rise of Asia. Ridley demolishes the arguments for design and effectively makes the case for evolution in the universe, morality, genes, the economy, culture, technology, the mind, personality, population, education, history, government, God, money, and the future.

In My Hands Today…

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A Little History of Economics – Niall Kishtainy

What causes poverty? Are economic crises inevitable under capitalism? Is government intervention in an economy a helpful approach or a disastrous idea? The answers to such basic economic questions matter to everyone, yet the unfamiliar jargon and math of economics can seem daunting. This clear, accessible, and even humorous book is ideal for young readers new to economics and for all readers who seek a better understanding of the full sweep of economic history and ideas.

Economic historian Niall Kishtainy organizes short, chronological chapters that center on big ideas and events. He recounts the contributions of key thinkers including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and others, while examining topics ranging from the invention of money and the rise of agrarianism to the Great Depression, entrepreneurship, environmental destruction, inequality, and behavioral economics. The result is a uniquely enjoyable volume that succeeds in illuminating the economic ideas and forces that shape our world.

In My Hands Today…

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Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life – Raoul Davis Jr., Paul Eder and Kathy Palokoff

What is the difference between those bold enough to pursue their dreams and others who never get comfortable enough to ignite their lives? The doers are “Firestarters” and, because of them, the world is a much different, and often, better place.

This motivational how-to book provides insights into the crucial difference between people who make things happen and those who only think about making an impact. Based on research from many disciplines and interviews with professionals at the top of their fields, Firestarters creates a complete roadmap to achieve personal success and make an impact in the world.

The heart of the book features stories about successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, organizational leaders, and forward-looking thinkers from a variety of professions. They describe the factors and conditions that ignited their lives and helped them become achievers. Some are known to the public; others will be completely new. But all the stories demonstrate how they became–and you can become–a Firestarter.

The authors provide pragmatic advice on how individual readers can ignite the qualities that will lead them toward pursuing and realizing their dreams. Self-assessment exercises, checklists, and other tools will help readers apply Firestarter insights to their own lives. Also included are group exercises and discussion guides so the book can be used in business and nonprofit settings to develop the skills that help companies grow.

Whether you’re an individual seeking ways to realize personal ambitions or a leader trying to motivate your team, you’ll benefit from the Firestarter methods featured in this inspirational book.

In My Hands Today…

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Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy – Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.”

Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build.

Option B combines Sheryl’s personal insights with Adam’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart—and her journal—to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl’s loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy.

Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B.

We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.