In Open House, Piyush Pandey takes the readers on a journey into his mind-his work, thoughts and experiences. He answers questions posed to him by people over the decades. Serious questions, incisive questions and frivolous questions. Is advertising a good career option? Should ad agencies work for political parties? Why does Ogilvy work for the BJP? Should citizens take the law into their own hands if they don't like the advertising? Is Ogilvy a lala company? What is the future of advertising? Is Piyush Pandey too old to be in this business? Honest, irreverent and informative, this is a roller-coaster ride with Piyush Pandey and Anant Rangaswami who has skilfully curated the book. With its practical wisdom and deep insights, Open House will both entertain and enlighten you.
Piyush Pandey is the Executive Chairman and Creative Director for Ogilvy & Mather India and South Asia, and the winner of over 600 awards for advertising from all over the world. Born in Jaipur, India,Pandey did his schooling from St. Xavier’s School, Jaipur, and obtained his master’s from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He is passionate about cricket, having played in the RanjiTrophy, India’s premier domestic cricket tourney, representing Rajasthan, the state where he was born. His first job was as a tea taster, before he joined Ogilvy in 1982 as Trainee Account Executive.
Why it was picked? Loved the autobiography - Pandeymonium. This can be considered a sequel.
What's it about? Conversations, essays on corporate life, focused on (but not limited to) advertising. Having spent 4 decades at Ogilvy, this book has his thought process on ideation of an advertisement. What it takes to be in this profession. Long term vs short term visions of a company. Nuggets on team building and management. Scouting talent. Importance of agencies, campaigns. CSR, ethics, rules and regulations.
Most of the lessons and case studies are compared with cricket examples. Something which Pandey ji is most passionate about.
What i loved: 1. Fast paced. Easy to grab thoughts.
What i didn't like: 1. Random topics. Even though the book is structured in three parts with 28 small chapters. 2. Post corona, WFH vs office... etc!
Overall: Fades in comparison to Pandeymonium. Most of the good examples are repeated. Not much in 6 years post Pandeymonium.
What a #legend. I urge every individual to pick up this book and read it. Not once, but every single time they get an opportunity to do so. For it continues to give and give, and give. My key takeaways from a first read:
➡️Be a student of life. It teaches you more than you can ever imagine.
➡️You often don’t have to look too far out for inspiration. It might be sitting right next to you at home. I found the chapter on his mother particularly inspiring.
➡️Never take any opportunity for granted. For you never know where it will lead you.
➡️While a single person may be publicly credited for work done, everything is ultimately a team effort. You can’t move mountains on your own.
➡️You don’t really need Social Media to gain visibility and fuel your career growth. Do the work you’re passionate about, and do it to the best of your ability. Whatever is meant to be thereafter, is meant to be.
➡️Make the effort to build long-term relationships.
Part brilliant. Part banal. There was no consistency of language, and thoughts. There are chapters ridden with grammatical mistakes. It was, as if the 'success' of the earlier book went to the author's head and he came up with this medicore work. I was at one point of time about to give up and declare this a DNF. It would have been a first for me.
Always, always a treat reading Piyush’s journey. Vast knowledge on his craft, a living institution. Thoroughly enjoyed his second book on advertising. Hope he writes more in future.
Read this book in one go! What a read! Must read for any advertising and marketing professional and at the same time filled with some amazing leadership nuggets that others can benefit from.