Between the Covers

Coverpage of 'Contagious'

Lean in: Women,

Work and The Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

(WH Allen, Rs. 499)

Here’s an inspiring book from one of the most powerful businesswoman who happens to be the COO of Facebook, and was once Chief of Staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton And who better to tell women how to tackle anxieties at the workplace and fight preconceptions which often stop them from reaching the top.

Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding ‘yes.’ But are these women confident about asking for a raise, a promotion or equal pay? No. Some reticence creeps in.

Here are some statistics. Of the 197 Heads of State, only 22 are women. Similarly, women hold just 20 per cent of seats in Parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, just 18 are in list of Fortune 500 CEOs. Now, that will surely set women thinking.

In this book, Sheryl draws from her own experience to take a look at how women can help themselves, by making the small changes in their life. She also uses research data to provide practical answers to many of the problems that women face in the workplace, across the globe.

Contagious

Jonah Berger

(Simon & Schuster, Rs. 499)

How to make products, ideas and behaviours really catch on? That’s the premise of this book which tackles questions such as why are some products and ideas more talked about than others or, why do some YouTube videos go viral?

More often than not, the answer is simple … word of mouth! Whether through conversations, emails or online product reviews, the information and opinions we get from others have a strong impact on our own choices and behaviour. Indeed, word-of-mouth generates more than two times the sales of paid advertising and is the primary factor behind 20-50 per cent of all purchasing decisions.

But want to know the best thing about word-of-mouth? It's available to everyone. Whether you're a Fortune 500 company trying to increase sales, a corner restaurant trying to raise awareness or a non-profit organisation trying to fight an illness, word-of-mouth can work magic. What’s more, all this advertising costs practically nothing. You just have to get people to talk. The challenge, though, is how to do that. This book will show you how.

How Stella Saved the Farm:

A Tale About Making Innovation

Happen

Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble

(Pan Macmillan, Rs. 399)

A business parable about managing change and making innovation happen, this book is inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm and the bestseller Our Iceberg is Melting . Based on academic research, Vijay’s book works well for organisations of different types — be they MNCs or entrepreneurial enterprises which are looking to make major changes. With eight lessons to guide new initiatives to success, the book helps readers avoid some of innovation’s toxic myths, how to build the right kind of team, and how to take a business to the next level in a fast-changing world.