What the CEO Really Wants from You

by R. Gopalakrishnan

 There are many books on leadership. What the CEO Really Wants from You is one of the few to address the question that is uppermost in the mind of any What he should be doing to make his or her boss his partner rather than his opponent. We spend most of our lives at work or thinking about it. Starting from a young age, fired by boundless energy and optimism, we launch into our careers sure of our abilities. Yet, things do not always turn out as we expect they would. It is not our abilities alone. The business environment is one of change and ambiguity. It is no easy task for any manager to negotiate the journey to success. As Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, points out in his foreword, partnerships with others, but above all with your direct boss and organization, are more important than ever before. Not only that, a good boss has an instinct for the right people, and getting them to do better. A good manager, by eliciting his help, helps himself. Few people are better qualified to guide on this journey than R. Gopalakrishnan. He brings forty-five years of experience to this subject in some of the most challenging jobs. In this immensely practical book informed by the wisdom he has gleaned over the years, he offers the reader the benefit of all he has learnt, summarized in the four As - Accomplishment, Affability, Advocacy and Authenticity. This is a book that will be of immense use to any manager, and one that just might bring him the answers it takes years to find - what the CEO really expects from him. You can also buy from Online Buy from a nearby bookstore-      Flipkart.com Reliance Timeout Homeshop18.com DC books Infibeam.com Crossword Bookstore Uread.com Landmark Bookstore Indiaplaza.com Om Book Shop   Starmark Bookstore   Sapna Bookstore   Full Circle Bookstore   Bahri Sons Bookstore   Teksons Bookstore   Sankars Bookstore

Genres: Business, Management

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2012

About the author

R. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty years. He has a wealth of practical managerial experience, initially in Unilever and more recently in the Tata Group. He has lived and worked in India, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and has travelled extensively all over the world. He began his career in 1967 as a computer analyst with Hindustan Lever after studying physics at Kolkata and electronics engineering at IIT, Kharagpur. He worked in the marketing function before moving to general management. During his years with Unilever, he was based in Jeddah as CEO of the Arabia unit; later, he was managing director of Brooke Bond Lipton India and then vice-chairman with Hindustan Lever. He has been president of the All India Management Association. Currently, he is the executive director of Tata Sons based in Mumbai. He also serves on the boards of other companies.

Reviews

[Shailly Purohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and simple fundas explained in anecdotal and very simple style.
The content may not directly appear to be connected to the title of the book and goes diverse as a lecture at times on values and morals. Quite repetitive in the first few chapters but later becomes more weighted and interesting.
Overall a good book quite clearly coming from a very experienced person. Experience speaks.
Good take aways and tips.
Surely a one time read and later for reference as a reminder of workplace tips.

[Suresh Sankaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little book on being a good subordinate, not heavily focussed topic

[Tarun]

The book fundamentally revolves on the "to be a good leader, you should be a good subordinate first" philosophy. The author ties years of experience in Indian industry with leadership theories from the U.S. and boils them down into simple and practical anecdotes from different organisations around the world.

The book lays out the 4 "A"s one needs to keep in mind - Accomplishment, Affability, Advocacy and Authenticity. It also suggests how these 4 As vary in relative importance at each stage of one’s career journey.

The book is a must read for entry level managers and people beginning their careers. Personally, I learnt a lot of new words and came across many unheard thought provoking business stories.

About the author:

R. Gopalakrishnan has worked in international and Indian companies and has developed a global perspective about business and people.He has also been the Chairman of Unilever Saudi and the Director at Tata Sons. He has authored seventeen books including best sellers like The Case of the Bonsai Manager and When the Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught

[AMANDEEP SINGH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

[Abhishek · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you pick up a book to judge if it is worth the investment, most of us flip to backside of the book to see what's the book about. I read a line about the book, which said that this book explains how to be a great employee, who can later turn into great leaders!

My Father has always believed in the thought of First deserve then desire, which seems to be the underlying theme of this book. Amazingly simple style with equally convincing explanation given by the author to drive his point home. If you are the person, who believes in understanding logic before adapting any change, well in that case you will love this book.

A well spent money & Time for this book!!

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book as they say is hard to put down. I generally don't like business leadership books because they so quickly become absorbed into practice and common sense. In this book, Gopalkrishnan ties years of experience in Indian industry with leadership theories from the U.S. and boils them down to what matters:: how to be a good follower. It loosely ties to the servant leader concept with similar themes.

If you're struggling with someone on your executive team, it would definitely help to read this.

[Rajesh Sabapathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear. Simple. Practical. Full of anecdotes. Follows "to be a good leader, you should be a good subordintae first" philosophy. Would recommend it anyone who's starting off on a corporate career.

Gopalakrishnan lays out the 4 "A"s one needs to keep in mind - Accomplishment, Affability, Advocacy and Authenticity. MAde a lot of sense to me.

[Rejath Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very ordinary book...

[Shashi Ranjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for entry and mid level managers...

[Jalaj · Rating 1 out of 5]

U wont be able to draw any conclusions out of this book.

[Anbarasan Samandan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that clearly explains how a relationship between a boss and sub-ordinate must exist.

[Nilesh Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful read and keeps You engaged. I love some of the anecdote which explains situations very well and what could be done. simple examples to explain what needs to be done in specific situations.

[Rajiv Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth book of R Gopalakrishnan that I've completed and I still stick with my view that his books offer the best perspective to Indian management executives. While there are a barrage of books prescribing ways to be a good leader, this book provides guidance on how to be a good sub-ordinate ( an equally necessary skill in today's corporate world). That itself is the USP of this book. Highly recommend it.