Shailesh Rao: Team of Rivals & The Goal

This book highlighted the importance of the human side of managing organisations. It talked about how you construct a team with the right mix of skills, experience, leadership and conflict resolution, and the power and importance of communication. I learnt a tremendous amount from this book and think others can too. It is popularly believed that President Obama used the principles of this book to select his Cabinet.

I loved The Goal for two reasons. One, it taught me quite a bit about operations, specifically, how to design a process and ensure it’s smoothly implemented. Second, the delivery of substantive operational concepts through engaging fiction  really opened my eyes to the fact that one can make learning fun, if you are creative about delivery of your material.

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin and The Goal, by Eliah Goldratt.

(As told to Neelima Mahajan Bansal)