Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution , Fred Vogelstein
(William Collins, Rs. 399)
This is the age of the Android and the iPad. Yes, with the advent of iPhones, smartphones and tablets, the world has undergone a dramatic change. And the two companies that have changed the way we think and communicate are, well, Apple and Google. Their philosophies, leaders and commercial acumen have steamrolled the competition. The corporations have locked horns for decades now, a battle that will play out not just in the marketplace but in the courts and on screens around the world.
Through this book, Fred reports on this legendary rivalry as he makes use of his rare access to the offices and boardrooms where company dogma translates into ruthless business decisions, and to personalities such as Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt. It also looks inside the deals, transactions, lawsuits and allegations that mould the way we use the Internet and communicate with one another.
This book that reads like a novel is vivid non-fiction with never-before-heard details about how the two companies poached employees, fought outside competition and much else. This is not just a story about what devices are going to replace our TVs, phones, laptops and music players. It's also about who will control the content on those devices and where that content will come from. In a larger sense, it’s a story about the future of media, entertainment, communication and information around the globe.
Ctrl+Shift+Enter: Mastering Excel Array Formulas , Mike Girvin & Bill Jelen
(Holy Macro Books, Rs. 1,512)
Designed with Excel gurus in mind, this handbook outlines how to create formulas that can be used to solve everyday problems with a series of data values that standard Excel formulas cannot or would be too arduous to attempt.
Beginning with an introduction to array formulas, this manual examines topics such as how they differ from ordinary formulas, the benefits and drawbacks of their use, functions that can and cannot handle array calculations, and array constants and functions.
Among the practical applications surveyed include how to extract data from tables and unique lists, how to get results that match any criteria, and how to utilise various methods for unique counts.
The Firm — The Story of McKinsey And Its Secret Influence on American Business , Duff McDonald
(Simon & Schuster, Rs. 599.00)
This is a revelatory history of McKinsey & Co., perhaps America’s most influential and controversial business consulting firm. Founded in 1926, McKinsey & Company has become one of the world’s leading management consulting firms, helping to invent American business and shaping its course for decades.
McKinsey re-mapped the power structure in the White House, helped create the bar code, revolutionised business schools, and introduced the idea of budgeting as a management tool. McKinsey consultants have created the corporate behaviour that shaped our world, reinventing our idea of American capitalism and exporting it across the globe.
At the same time, however, McKinsey can be associated with a list of striking failures. Its consultants were on the scene when General Motors drove itself into the ground, and they played a critical role in building the bomb known as Enron.
McKinsey employees are trusted and distrusted, loved and despised. And far from prying eyes, they are doing behind-the-scenes work for the most powerful people in the world. Financial journalist Duff McDonald uncovers how these high-powered business savants have ushered in waves of structural, financial, and technological shifts to the biggest and best American organisations.
