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Unusual People Do Things Differently
Unusual people are ordinary people who strive hard to do extraordinary things. They are sensitive to nuances, look to provide lateral solutions, dare to think out of the box, and often end up changing the rules of the game.T.G.C. Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, from well-known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a chef, a masseuse and a service boy, with whom he has had meaningful interactions and who have inspired him. He includes people from a broad professional spectrum; CEOs, doctors, the director general of police, realtors, an attorney, a chartered accountant, a consultant and a sports coach are among those who make his list. Singling out a dominant factor from each person's story, he outlines the journeys these people undertook and the behaviours they exhibited, and shows how these link up to the results they achieved. Unusual People Do Things Differently is full of pithy everyday management lessons and offers valuable insights to everyone who aspires to grow, manage and lead.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2011
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203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 24, 2011
Very interesting and motivating book for all managers.
October 1, 2011
This book is so inspiring that it makes you sit up and do something about your life. True stories of real life people manage to keep us on the edge of our seats. Well written by TGC Prasad.
January 25, 2012
The author has recounted his experiences and wisdom gained through his interactions with a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life. These range from his kid's school founder, to an encounter with Mother Teresa, while he was a school kid, to a chartered accountant, to a person selling ad space in the classified section of the newspaper, to a tree lover who by setting up an innovative non-profit project is helping bring back the much needed oxygen on Planet Earth... the list goes on and on.
Prasad rightly points out that people are aligned to one of the six broad themes, viz: (i) Strategic and focused on value creation; (ii)Perspective and derive creative solutions; (iii) Driven by business excellence; (iv) Deploy professional skills to win; (v) Passionate and lead from the front (vi) Sensitive to people and are customer centric.
Even as it was difficult to zoom down to my favourite chapter, if I were to select I would say, I have two favourite chapters.
The brief encounter which the author had with Mother Teresa showed him that she has a large heart and is able to appreciate kindness. This story is captured in the chapter: Giving is important, not how much. Prasad was then in the second grade and he gallantly parted with half his money, which was given to him to buy candy, of just 50 paise. Mother Teresa did not laugh at him, but she embraced his gesture. At times many of us say, "Oh, what is the use of donating anything. There is too much poverty and whatever I do will not make a difference.". Actually it does make a difference. Giving is important and this chapter is truly a gem.
"Keeping Happy" is another favourite chapter of mine. Prasad's friend, an HR director in Microsoft learns how to be happy. The hazards of a spending society are clearly elucidated here. The key message is: Cut the strings that pull you down and then you can automatically soar.
I learnt a lot from this book and some key lessons that I learnt are:
1) In negotiation we must aim for a win-win story. A victory where the other party stands to lose is no victory at all.
2)If you have hesitated to mentor someone, just go ahead and do it. You can learn a lot from a mentee. Mentoring is bidirectional and an enriching learning experience for both.
3) Service is all about meeting commitments. Transparency is the key to healthy relationships with customers/clients.
4) Leadership is not about charisma or great speeches or designations. It is all about taking initiative and doing the right thing.
Unusual people do things differently, is a good read and I would recommend it. There is always something that we can learn from others. In fact, after reading this book, I've observed how much I have learnt from my parents, my family, my teachers, my friends, my bosses, my colleagues and all those whom I have come in contact with.
Prasad rightly points out that people are aligned to one of the six broad themes, viz: (i) Strategic and focused on value creation; (ii)Perspective and derive creative solutions; (iii) Driven by business excellence; (iv) Deploy professional skills to win; (v) Passionate and lead from the front (vi) Sensitive to people and are customer centric.
Even as it was difficult to zoom down to my favourite chapter, if I were to select I would say, I have two favourite chapters.
The brief encounter which the author had with Mother Teresa showed him that she has a large heart and is able to appreciate kindness. This story is captured in the chapter: Giving is important, not how much. Prasad was then in the second grade and he gallantly parted with half his money, which was given to him to buy candy, of just 50 paise. Mother Teresa did not laugh at him, but she embraced his gesture. At times many of us say, "Oh, what is the use of donating anything. There is too much poverty and whatever I do will not make a difference.". Actually it does make a difference. Giving is important and this chapter is truly a gem.
"Keeping Happy" is another favourite chapter of mine. Prasad's friend, an HR director in Microsoft learns how to be happy. The hazards of a spending society are clearly elucidated here. The key message is: Cut the strings that pull you down and then you can automatically soar.
I learnt a lot from this book and some key lessons that I learnt are:
1) In negotiation we must aim for a win-win story. A victory where the other party stands to lose is no victory at all.
2)If you have hesitated to mentor someone, just go ahead and do it. You can learn a lot from a mentee. Mentoring is bidirectional and an enriching learning experience for both.
3) Service is all about meeting commitments. Transparency is the key to healthy relationships with customers/clients.
4) Leadership is not about charisma or great speeches or designations. It is all about taking initiative and doing the right thing.
Unusual people do things differently, is a good read and I would recommend it. There is always something that we can learn from others. In fact, after reading this book, I've observed how much I have learnt from my parents, my family, my teachers, my friends, my bosses, my colleagues and all those whom I have come in contact with.
October 10, 2011
very insightful book on how to make the most of life in the most challenging situations. Never give up. Always be on your feet and stay fighting. This book has tales of people who have been through hell and have given an equal amount of hell to life. Must read.
September 19, 2012
By TGC Prasad. Grade: A
This is the first book that I have read which is related to management skills, something I plan to study once I am of suitable age. Since I have no knowledge whatsoever in the subject right now, apart from the little tit-bits that I have read here and there and pieces of information that I have gained due to my father, I expected this book to be hard to understand. So, I was pleasantly surprised when the author announced in the preface that the book wouldn’t have theory. Instead the book contains short stories, about unusual people who do things differently.
Unusual People are ordinary people who strive hard to do extraordinary things. They are sensitive to nuances, look to provide lateral solutions, dare to think out of the box and often end up changing the rules of the game.
TGC Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, from well known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a chef, a masseuse and a service boy, with whom he has had meaningful interactions and who have inspired him. He includes people from a broad professional spectrum: CEOs, doctors, the director general of police, realtors, an attorney, a chartered accountant, a consultant and a sports coach are among those who make his list. Singling out a dominant factor from each person’s story, he outlines the journeys that these people undertook and the behaviours they exhibited, and he shows how these link-up to the results these people achieved.
Unusual People Do Things Differently is full of pithy everyday management lessons and offers valuable insight to everyone who aspires to grow, manage and read. It will appeal to students, career oriented youngsters, business executives and professionals across industries and functions.
To begin with, I loved the title. It is a little thing, but most people do judge a book by its title and this one is totally apt. Brownie points for that, most definitely.
Another thing which I liked was the fact that the book was a collection of short stories which the author compiled, about many people, as opposed to a huge success story of just one person. This way, the author was able to present a variety of points before us. The stories were brief, concise and to the point. There were bullet points for all important things and it was easy to understand. The book was divided into six sections:
Strategic and focussed on value creation.
Perceptive and derive creative solutions
Driven by business excellence
Deploy professional skills to win
Passionate and lead from the front
Sensitive to people and customer centric
I loved this categorisation. A reader could look for exactly what he wanted and he would find it. The book was very motivational, and enlightening.
As Mr. Prasad mentions in the blurb, the book is universal. It will appeal to students, career oriented youngsters, business executives and professionals across industries and functions.
There was one story which I particularly liked. It was in the second section (Perceptive and derive creative solutions) and was titled Screenwriting. It told the story of Jaideep Sahni, whom many people will recognize as the script writer for Chak de India!. I liked it all the more because this was one story about which I knew. I mean, I had heard of many of the names mentioned in the book, but being as young as I am, I had never really known in detail about them. Chak de India!, however, is a movie that I have seen, and thus I knew many things about the background of the story.
Anyways, coming back to the point, there was this one conversation that Mr. Sahni had with his father that stuck with me long after closing the book for the day. The response which his father gives him when Jaideep tells his father that he does not want to undertake a government job as a profession because “what is the point of working in a government office, taking bribes and pushing files?” was exceedingly inspirational. At first Mr Sahni’s father asks him if he really believes that his own father would accept bribes. Realizing his mistake, Jaideep apologises. His father goes on:
Everyday, scores of students like you go to schools and colleges, because thousands of people like us, government servants, push files and keep the country moving. If you remove the machinery and the files and what we do, the country’s governance and democratic framework will collapse. People in this country have opportunities because somewhere in some dusty office, a government servant has dedicated his entire life to pushing files.
Admittedly, many people could feel that this quote was slightly off the topic and not relevant to management. I decided to include this quote, despite knowing that fact, because it tells us how no profession should be taken for granted, and how everyone plays their part by doing even the littlest of the little things. It was very motivational.
One other chapter that I liked was in the last unit (‘Sensitive to people and customer centric’). The chapter was named Indian Flag in Epson Garden and talked about how the author was treated by people from a Japanese company, and how hospitable they were. How an Indian flag was hoisted in his honour, how one of the key sponsors went out of his way to make sure there was vegetarian food in the dinner by downloading recipes of Indian dishes from the internet. What I liked in this chapter is hard to say. It taught a novice in the field, like me, how important customer satisfaction is, and how one can achieve it. I loved that.
To summarize it all, UPDTD is a great book, and provides an amazing learning experience. It is very informative, and since it does not have anything to do with theory, everybody can understand it. Also, it is inspirational, motivational and encouraging. Definitely worth a trip to the book store.
Originally reviewed at :www.vaultofbooks.com
This is the first book that I have read which is related to management skills, something I plan to study once I am of suitable age. Since I have no knowledge whatsoever in the subject right now, apart from the little tit-bits that I have read here and there and pieces of information that I have gained due to my father, I expected this book to be hard to understand. So, I was pleasantly surprised when the author announced in the preface that the book wouldn’t have theory. Instead the book contains short stories, about unusual people who do things differently.
Unusual People are ordinary people who strive hard to do extraordinary things. They are sensitive to nuances, look to provide lateral solutions, dare to think out of the box and often end up changing the rules of the game.
TGC Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, from well known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a chef, a masseuse and a service boy, with whom he has had meaningful interactions and who have inspired him. He includes people from a broad professional spectrum: CEOs, doctors, the director general of police, realtors, an attorney, a chartered accountant, a consultant and a sports coach are among those who make his list. Singling out a dominant factor from each person’s story, he outlines the journeys that these people undertook and the behaviours they exhibited, and he shows how these link-up to the results these people achieved.
Unusual People Do Things Differently is full of pithy everyday management lessons and offers valuable insight to everyone who aspires to grow, manage and read. It will appeal to students, career oriented youngsters, business executives and professionals across industries and functions.
To begin with, I loved the title. It is a little thing, but most people do judge a book by its title and this one is totally apt. Brownie points for that, most definitely.
Another thing which I liked was the fact that the book was a collection of short stories which the author compiled, about many people, as opposed to a huge success story of just one person. This way, the author was able to present a variety of points before us. The stories were brief, concise and to the point. There were bullet points for all important things and it was easy to understand. The book was divided into six sections:
Strategic and focussed on value creation.
Perceptive and derive creative solutions
Driven by business excellence
Deploy professional skills to win
Passionate and lead from the front
Sensitive to people and customer centric
I loved this categorisation. A reader could look for exactly what he wanted and he would find it. The book was very motivational, and enlightening.
As Mr. Prasad mentions in the blurb, the book is universal. It will appeal to students, career oriented youngsters, business executives and professionals across industries and functions.
There was one story which I particularly liked. It was in the second section (Perceptive and derive creative solutions) and was titled Screenwriting. It told the story of Jaideep Sahni, whom many people will recognize as the script writer for Chak de India!. I liked it all the more because this was one story about which I knew. I mean, I had heard of many of the names mentioned in the book, but being as young as I am, I had never really known in detail about them. Chak de India!, however, is a movie that I have seen, and thus I knew many things about the background of the story.
Anyways, coming back to the point, there was this one conversation that Mr. Sahni had with his father that stuck with me long after closing the book for the day. The response which his father gives him when Jaideep tells his father that he does not want to undertake a government job as a profession because “what is the point of working in a government office, taking bribes and pushing files?” was exceedingly inspirational. At first Mr Sahni’s father asks him if he really believes that his own father would accept bribes. Realizing his mistake, Jaideep apologises. His father goes on:
Everyday, scores of students like you go to schools and colleges, because thousands of people like us, government servants, push files and keep the country moving. If you remove the machinery and the files and what we do, the country’s governance and democratic framework will collapse. People in this country have opportunities because somewhere in some dusty office, a government servant has dedicated his entire life to pushing files.
Admittedly, many people could feel that this quote was slightly off the topic and not relevant to management. I decided to include this quote, despite knowing that fact, because it tells us how no profession should be taken for granted, and how everyone plays their part by doing even the littlest of the little things. It was very motivational.
One other chapter that I liked was in the last unit (‘Sensitive to people and customer centric’). The chapter was named Indian Flag in Epson Garden and talked about how the author was treated by people from a Japanese company, and how hospitable they were. How an Indian flag was hoisted in his honour, how one of the key sponsors went out of his way to make sure there was vegetarian food in the dinner by downloading recipes of Indian dishes from the internet. What I liked in this chapter is hard to say. It taught a novice in the field, like me, how important customer satisfaction is, and how one can achieve it. I loved that.
To summarize it all, UPDTD is a great book, and provides an amazing learning experience. It is very informative, and since it does not have anything to do with theory, everybody can understand it. Also, it is inspirational, motivational and encouraging. Definitely worth a trip to the book store.
Originally reviewed at :www.vaultofbooks.com
February 2, 2020
Through story telling, author TGC Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, with whom he had meaningful interactions. The author provides valuable management lessons that he had learnt from his interactions. The individuals discussed included well known names like Azim Premji, Mother Teresa to a homeopathic doctor, a cafe coffee day service person. This book will help those who are in leading roles within their organisation or who aspire to be in leadership roles.
April 20, 2018
Excellent book for budding entrepreneurs.
Rather tha theory thsi twlks about practical experinces which helped to easily relates what we dhould do in situation or how every situation demands different skills or appraoch.excelllent book for budding entrepreneurs.Currently I am practicing CA & this books is taught me how to go about my venture now.
Rather tha theory thsi twlks about practical experinces which helped to easily relates what we dhould do in situation or how every situation demands different skills or appraoch.excelllent book for budding entrepreneurs.Currently I am practicing CA & this books is taught me how to go about my venture now.
June 25, 2019
The book had a feeling that work is much more complicated than you think and only the most genius can do.
June 16, 2015
Unusual people are ordinary people who strive hard to do extraordinary things. They are sensitive to nuances, look to provide lateral solutions, dare to think out of the box, and often end up changing the rules of the game. The book mixes both the traditional and modern outlook for bringing changes in our lives by providing a sharp, concise way of dealing with tough situations.
T.G.C. Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, from well-known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a chef, a masseuse and a service boy, with whom he has had meaningful interactions and who have inspired him. He includes people from a broad professional spectrum; CEOs, doctors, the director general of police, realtors, an attorney, a chartered accountant; a consultant and a sports coach are among those who make his list. Singling out a dominant factor from each person’s story, he outlines the journeys these people undertook and the behaviours they exhibited, and shows how these links up to the results they achieved.
The book has been divided into six themes all dealing with lessons that one must learn from the business world. The author has given a number of examples in each of themes as each chapter talks about one of the individuals he met or worked with. The stories that have been jotted down are interesting and the book provides the dos and the don’ts while in it or planning to go in it!
The author does not fall into the trap where most non-fiction authors generally delve into; telling long boring corporate stories. Instead, the length of each chapter is kept to a minimum, crisply edited and does not hammer a view on the readers to the point of boredom. Essentially entrepreneurial in nature, the narrative even enjoys showing the human side of a few individuals. I particularly enjoyed the stories from the lower strata of society, they somehow makes more impact and are deftly dealt by the author.
Unusual People Do Things Differently is full of pithy everyday management lessons and offers valuable insights to everyone who aspires to grow manage and lead. Read the book in short bursts, looking for that kick-start to be inspired in your own field. Go for it!
T.G.C. Prasad presents the views and experiences of sixty-five individuals, from well-known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a chef, a masseuse and a service boy, with whom he has had meaningful interactions and who have inspired him. He includes people from a broad professional spectrum; CEOs, doctors, the director general of police, realtors, an attorney, a chartered accountant; a consultant and a sports coach are among those who make his list. Singling out a dominant factor from each person’s story, he outlines the journeys these people undertook and the behaviours they exhibited, and shows how these links up to the results they achieved.
The book has been divided into six themes all dealing with lessons that one must learn from the business world. The author has given a number of examples in each of themes as each chapter talks about one of the individuals he met or worked with. The stories that have been jotted down are interesting and the book provides the dos and the don’ts while in it or planning to go in it!
The author does not fall into the trap where most non-fiction authors generally delve into; telling long boring corporate stories. Instead, the length of each chapter is kept to a minimum, crisply edited and does not hammer a view on the readers to the point of boredom. Essentially entrepreneurial in nature, the narrative even enjoys showing the human side of a few individuals. I particularly enjoyed the stories from the lower strata of society, they somehow makes more impact and are deftly dealt by the author.
Unusual People Do Things Differently is full of pithy everyday management lessons and offers valuable insights to everyone who aspires to grow manage and lead. Read the book in short bursts, looking for that kick-start to be inspired in your own field. Go for it!
March 23, 2012
This book is going to get 4 or 5 stars wherever it is reviewed. One particular chapter "Keeping Happy" tottaly stood out not because of the enthralling way it was put out but also because of tottaly do-able kind of steps. Very very good for people who are interested in managing and controlling their own lives. Definitely for all those people who are out of the box thinkers!
November 6, 2011
65 stories. 65 angles. 65 joys.
February 4, 2015
Extremely engaging , intense , enriching , practical and inspiring . The book is so compelling that , you would sacrifice a Sunday meal for sure !
July 16, 2020
Though not a typical management book but this books in itself contains loads and loads of learnings.
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August 23, 2018I loved to read this book, I got the direction and courage to do challenging things.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews