The Corner Office

by Anand Rao

It’s always good to know who is running the show!
Kevin, The CEO of a fast growing Technology company waited in The Corner Office, admiring the magnificent views and contemplating what lay ahead. His Chief Technology Officer had alerted him to a seemingly unsolvable problem that plagued their most profitable software application and was on his way over to discuss the situation. If not resolved soon enough, this issue could dampen company’s bright future and affect the livelihood of thousands of its employees. As always, Kevin assembled his best people and left no stone un-turned to figure out a solution. This time around though, something was different. Despite their efforts, things went from bad to worse. What were they up against? Could they pull through? Was Kevin the man for the job this time around and who was really in charge?

Genres: Ebooks

158 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2014

About the author

An Indian author based in Seattle who enjoys the life of adventure and travel, and a burgeoning corporate career. His personal and professional endeavors have connected him to people across the world providing a unique perspective on their aspirations and interactions. Interested in communicating ideas and narrating stories, he published his first book 'The Corner Office' in July 2014. The book examines the interaction of executives in a fast growing technology company confronted with a never seen before crisis. Author draws upon his corporate experience working with top executives but adds flavor and philosophy to the story. He aspires to continue writing stories that examine human behavior and potential.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

PIT Technologies - Perception, Interpretation and Thought.

We all know those ads that appear on websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and most places that you visit on the web. You do a search for something, visit a site, play a game and soon your seeing ads for them. The Corner Office is about a company that provides companies with the ability to target those ads to you, the consumer.

Problem is they have all their eggs in one basket. If it's not successful they're bankrupt! So when hackers gain access to some of the core software and infrastructure and are allowed to do as they pleased it sends the management of PIT Technologies into crisis mode. If they don't want become a not-for-profit company they have to figure out a way to correct it! Even if they can, will they be able to restore their reputation?

The story-line which takes unexpected twists is a new and refreshing change of pace which I thoroughly enjoyed. The content of The Corner Office is well written and fluid. I look forward to finding out what happens next.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Corner Office, debut novel from promising writer Anand Rao, was a very different read for me. I am into murder and mayhem primarily, but I was immediately drawn to this book because of its cool cover and intriguing title. I am also very open to expanding my reading horizons. I therefore entered a giveaway for a free copy and was lucky enough to win. I want to thank Mr. Rao for picking me.

This story centers around a corporate crisis in a technology company. I found this rather fascinating as my job was not in a corporate setting, and I was up to seeing how things work in that world. The book is conversation-driven for the most part, so one needs to pay attention. There was no skimming or multitasking for me while reading this book as I am neither a business person nor a techie, and I wanted to understand the nuances of the crisis and the maneuvering of the team to investigate and solve the problem. For the most part I enjoyed the set up, which took the first 50% of the book, though this section dragged a bit at times. I really enjoyed the interplay of the company team members and found this to be a real strong point of the book.

The energy of the story ramped up significantly after the team thought it had conquered the problem when in fact their "corrective process" had actually triggered a significant worsening of the situation. The chill factor went up when It was determined that a company insider, identity unknown, was involved in the crime. The last 20% of the novel moved quickly. With about 5% left, it was starting to look like a particular member of the team was the criminal; at that point I was congratulating Mr. Rao in my head for a terrific twist that I never saw coming! And then the book ended.

Mr. Rao, how could you do that to me??!! The dreaded cliffhanger. To make things worse, there was no way to one-click my way to the answer, as the sequel (I sure hope there will be a sequel) does not exist, at least not yet. I have to say that was a big letdown, and I had to knock off a star for that.

Overall though The Corner Office was an entertaining and enlightening read for me. I am just not a fan of cliffhangers and would have enjoyed the book more if there had been a conventional wrapup. Despite that, I honestly think Mr. Rao is an excellent writer and has a bright future as an author. I do plan to check out the sequel if one is forthcoming.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love suspense novels I never thought that corporate suspense is something that could get me interested. Anand Rao proved that I was wrong though it probably helps that my day job consists of working in IT with multiple businesses.

This isn't a book I would recommend for everyone but if you love IT, digital marketing, and corporate intrigue in the financial world you might just want to pick this one up! In the novel we see a company called PIT Technologies that is built completely around targeted advertising in the digital age and things are going great for them! That is, until a hacker gets into the system and suddenly a slew of inconsistencies start cropping up.

Things aren't what they seem as the CEO tries to save his company only to find out that there is more at stake than we are initially led to believe. Not only that but as they begin to solve things in earnest they are thrown a huge curve ball that no one sees coming! Perfectly executed to keep the pages turning as you want to find out what is going to happen next.

If you are looking for a nice and tidy conclusion though I do have to warn you that isn't what you are going to get. While answers are given, there are still questions that are left up in the air. Clearly a sequel is almost guaranteed from the way the novel comes to a close.

Again this is not a novel for everyone but if your interests or work fall into the IT world of finances or digital advertising you'll easily be able to keep up with what is going on and get sucked in by the characters. Its a quick read with fleshed out characters and, if you are into the subject matter, an interesting premise.

[Deborah Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure what I think about The Corner Office by Anand Rao. It is not the type of story that I usually read. I can say that I really liked the story and was surprised by the content. This book goes to show how some companies will pull together when their systems are attacked by hackers. They put in long hours and there is always the chance the attack originated from the inside.
I loved the twist at the end of the book. I think I have it figured out on who was behind the attack, but since the book does not say, I can only guess. Now I will have to wait to see if there is a sequel to this book…lol.
I give this book 4 stars**** and tell the author thank you for being different. I cannot think of another story that I have read that was like this one. That makes you unique. I like that a lot.

[Julie Baswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the executives at PIT Technologies are made aware of inconsistencies with their core moneymaking platform, they go into crisis mode to find out what is wrong to correct it. They discover that the app has indeed been hacked. Working around the clock, they nip it in the bud, but little do they know, they now have bigger problems.

I enjoyed reading this as if I were in the middle of the brainstorming and executive meetings, although they lost me a couple of times technology-wise. The efficiency of their team was impressive to me. I felt sorry for Kevin, the CEO, but thought he did a great service to his company.

When it was all over, I still felt like there was more to uncover, and the ending confirmed it. I’m looking forward to the continuation of this story.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Corner Office by Anand Rao was quite an interesting read. It is written like a drama tv series. Kevin, our main character has quite a time managing this PIT the technology giant corporation. The story begins and ends in the corner office; Rao gives the reader quite a plot on what the office represents besides being four walls with an incredible view. For me the novel overall presented a great story on how tragedy can strike a successful company; the mystery in this story is why the tragedy struck and who orchestrated the plans. Pretty decent short read.

[Meryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.It gave me a little trouble because it's about a technology company,and I'm not very tech savy,lol.Besides that it was a good story about someone getting into thier computer and putting a virus in it that causes a lot of damage and they have to try to figure a way out of it before they lose everything,but can they do it in time?

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work at a social media company in Seattle as a developer so I found this book quite entertaining to read. Personally I like that Mr Rao told the story from the perspective of the management team and board members. This should be on the reading list of any technology leader for both fun and management insight.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming soon...

[Karen Komarinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was not sure, I kept putting it down a couple of days went by picked it back up today and finished it in under two hours. I was pleasantly surprised how a team of people who did not see eye to eye came together & put aside their difference to solve the problem. The story also pointed out that be careful for every action you take for good can come with a impact on others that is not good. Hoping for another book, I don’t think Kevin and the rest of the teams story is done!
Thank you Anand Rao

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining short story from a promising new author. Not being in the tech or corporate world, it was really fun to experience the inner workings from the inside as the reader. The novella starts out in the middle of a crisis--my favorite place to be with a book in my hand! I'm from Seattle and I really enjoyed the city and geographical references to the area as well. The cliffhanger ending clues us in to the fact that we can expect more good reads from Rao in the future!

[Ankita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I started reading, I could not put this book down. So engaging, so interesting. The narration is such that you feel like you are a part of Kevin's team and really wish you could contribute to solving the problem at hand. One need not be tech savvy to understand this book. I can't wait to read what the author has to offer in his next book.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was interesting if you like the technology world, an easy read, but i don't know much about technology, therefore i did not enjoy it as much as others i am sure.