The library of business literature is replete with several treatises on how one should mould one’s life and be successful. These transformational expositions have various experts telling us what to do. Normally they are written keeping in mind the leader or CEO who can lead the team to greater heights by following a set of well deigned principles. They are meant to be inspirational, with the caveat being that while knowing what to do is good, it may not be adequate if we are not willing to change. That is where the challenge lies, because often the advice given appears to be pure common sense that we find difficult to apply. Either we think we are already doing the right things or are not willing to accept our shortcomings.
Sud and Narayan have written a very insightful book titled ‘Leap Frog’, which is a prescription about how to be successful in life by taking a leap of faith.
They talk of six practices to follow that can be game-changers. How is the book different from similar books of inspiration? The authors’ point is that when we want to go in for a transformation, we can liken the situation to a start-up. And the start-up in this case is ‘I’.
To begin with, their six steps are quite different from what we normally read about, as these have more to do with our minds. The authors say changing mindsets, though difficult, is fully under our control. For instance, they talk of showing grit and being steadfast in achieving goals. While one does experiment during the journey of life, there comes a time when we should know what to do and create a pathway. We need to define this goal or else we will never know what we are chasing.
Once we have this in mind, it is essential to nudge ourselves all the time. It seems quite logical that we need to see the goal and persevere wholeheartedly.
The third practice is very important for all of us, especially in our careers. We need to be intellectually humble. This is a trait to develop if we don’t have it. We cannot be right all the time and it is essential to also accept that others have a view that is relevant and pertinent. This is the way to grow or else we will be stuck in silos where the mindset could get outdated. Though this has been written from the point of view of individuals, we have seen several corporate failures due to the absence of this humility. Since companies are run by people, if leaders are not humble they could be prone to failure.
Then the authors talk of dancing with disciplines and here we may get confused with the first practice of showing grit. The authors talk of diversification in interests and knowledge. This makes a lot of sense not just from the point of view of connecting the dots but also providing a wider spectrum of knowledge.
Following from the fourth practice they talk of ‘curating the chaos’, which is where we really take our decisions as we move closer to our goals. Finally they talk of thinking like an entrepreneur and this is where they also encourage people to keep ‘asking’ because if one does not ask we will not be heard and hence will not have our requirements fulfilled.
One may say that these practices are very good on paper. But how do we go about it? As said earlier, recognising shortcomings in ourselves is the biggest challenge. Even if one does, sticking to a regimen is always difficult because one tends to forget to stop and introspect. Here they do provide a detailed tool kit to be pursued. We need to fill in the blanks and then move over to a calendar where we set goals for the future.
Where this book stands out is the approach of the narrative. The authors adopt the route of telling stories to explain each of these practices. It hence becomes easier for the reader to understand as to ‘what is a nudge’ or ‘how does one curate the chaos’. The book is based on a lot of research and the book of 250-odd pages has almost 20% space dedicated to these references.
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