The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business
Eric Schmidt, Jared Cohen
(Hachette India/Hodder & Stoughton, Rs. 650)
What will the future of this connected world that we inhabit now be like? Technology changes every day and something new changes our lives.
Schmidt (of Google) and Cohen (formerly advisor to U.S. Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton), two leading thinkers of our time, through the pages of this book, describe a new, hugely connected world of the future, that will be full of new challenges and benefits which are ours to meet and harness.
Never before has the future been so vividly and transparently imagined. The writers talk of technologies that will change lives — from information systems, thought-controlled motion technology that can revolutionise medical procedures, near-perfect translation technology that allows us to have more diversified interactions) and considerations such as curating online identity to fighting those who would do harm with it and the political changes that will transform international relations. Schmidt and Cohen outline in great detail and scope all the promises and perils awaiting us in the coming decades. Somewhat intimidating, yet so interesting, here’s what the future could look like.
Global Tilt: Mastering the Inevitable Shift of Economic Power Shift
Ram Charan
(Random House Business, Rs. 699)
In recent years, growth in some economies is heading towards zero while countries such as China, Brazil, and India have grown ever stronger. This ‘tilt,’ says author Ram Charan, offers great opportunities to those savvy enough to grab them, and in this new book of his, he shows you how.
So what does he suggest? To begin with, his advice is to Unlearn Old Lessons and Get Ready for Strategic Bets. He also suggests ‘Fighting the Short-Term Beast’ and ‘Changing Psychology.’ Now, all this sounds easy. And but what are the steps required? That’s what Ram Charan explains in depth here.
In this age of rapid economic change, businesses have to be quick on their feet and keep up with changes at a rapid pace.
Legacy: Letters from Eminent Parents to Their Daughters
Sudha Menon
(Ebury Press / Random House India, Rs. 399)
They may be hotshot biz honchos, high profile bankers, celebrity artists and chefs and headline making sportsmen. But they are also parents. And it’s that side of some of India’s powerful and popular personalities that Sudha Menon exposes in this book.
A compilation of personal letters of people such as Narayana Murthy, Chanda Kochhar, Kishore Biyani, Zia Mody, K.V. Kamath, Ajay Piramal, Amit Chandra, Ganesh Natrajan, Renuka Ramnath, P.P. Chhabria, Pradeep Bhargava, Deep Anand, Capt. Gopinath, Mallika Sarabhai, Shaheen Mistri, Sanjeev Kapoor, Jatin Das and Prakash Padukone and the words of wisdom that they share with their daughter, who as they say, “may outgrow your lap, but will never outgrow your heart.”
This beautiful and poignant collection of letters talks of courage, compassion, culture and love, and gives tips on how to face life’s challenges and overcome obstacles.
Moving and thought-provoking, this is a remarkable collection of life lessons that is personal and, at the same time, universal.
