The Comeback: A Modern HR Novel

by Annissa Deshpande

“Engaging read that highlights many of the behaviors that derail leaders. I appreciate the real-world issues and examples of how to coach through complicated complex issues. I wish I had this book twenty years ago.” —Teuila Hanson, Chief People Officer, LinkedIn

CEOs, entrepreneurs, and HR professionals will enjoy this fast-paced fictional adventure through the fundamentals of modern HR.

Dominal Industries is battling a fierce new competitor and losing. With pressure building, CEO Mark Francis thinks his executive team can turn things around...with one his Chief Human Resources Officer Jen Schmidt and her team are struggling to fill critical positions and reduce turnover. With her career in the balance, Jen starts working with a quirky, slinky-wielding consultant named Meg Beecham, who challenges Jen to reimagine her approach.

You’ll be cheering on Jen as she shakes up her department and turns HR into a secret weapon that drives business success. Whether you want to reduce turnover, increase revenue, or simply create a place where people love to work, The Comeback is an engaging corporate novel that inspires new respect for the competitive advantage modern HR offers.

Genres: Contemporary

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2021

Reviews

[mesal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley as well as BooksGoSocial for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What this novel was was a self-help (company-help?) book creatively disguised as a narrative about Dominal Industries' HR department and its struggle to reduce turnover in the face of a very competitive market.

It really is amazing how the author managed to make something as traditionally boring as a company's HR department something actually absorbing and engaging to a person like me, who would normally have no interest in such matters. While reading, I found myself invested in Jen's storyline, watching as problems were thrown her way and rooting for her as she and Meg found various ways to tackle them. Baseball fans may also enjoy the several references to baseball that Deshpande made – although you may not be too keen on it if you aren't a Cubs fan, since that's the team Chicago-based Jen supports!

The novel does tend to lean heavily on the "As you know, Bob" trope of having a character ask a confused question like "Hey, Meg, I didn't get your point, could you please elaborate?" and getting a response like "Of course, Jen, let me go over this topic with you in more detail..." for the sake of audience understanding. It detracts from the "fictional" writing style, drawing the reader suddenly out of their immersion in the story and reminding them that this novel isn't entirely just a fun read.

My rating reflects my own personal opinion of the novel. Although pleasurable overall, its target audience most certainly did not include me, which meant I could not understand or enjoy everything that was mentioned (though I did learn a lot). However, that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it to others: it's written well, and if you have experience working in or with HR, this book is meant for your amusement.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some good HR strategy ideas in here. That said, I realized I do not like the genre of "business parable" - where the ideas and insights are baked into the context of a story. I'd much rather read a straight to the point book/article/essay with the ideas and insights.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't really say it's a novel - it's corporate cleverly disguised as storytelling. The author however managed to make it all rather compelling. If you're invested in what happens to the company, you'll want to read on and know more despite the rather thick writing peppered with dialogue