This book has a lot of scattered nuggets of information about a lot of things that are in themselves interesting and useful: stories of how new-age businesses (let us call them millennial businesses) came into being, novel business practices that they have invented and adopted, useful expositions of old and new management ideas and theories, and biz speak from millennial start-up stars on how they see this new world of theirs. As you read it, you are likely to think "Really? I didn't know this before" or "Why didn't it occur to me before" or "Thank you for explaining xyz theory to me". But you are equally likely to wonder why a book that talks of a radically different world of millennials, written by a millennial, is so 'yesterday' in structure and style!
As you wade through the myriad topics, you are also likely to check the title page wondering if you were mistaken in your expectation that it is a book about "exploring the world of the largest living generation". It could just as aptly have been titled 'Inside the world of 10 millennial start-ups' or "How HR practices must change in the new knowledge and digital economy". The frustration is that the book lays out a lot of stuff on each, but doesn't connect any of these themes deeply enough. The author's voice is sorely missed in this reportage of ideas and happenings. One wishes for some more analytical or editorial comments - for instance, when reporting the millennial entrepreneurs' talk "The main thing is purpose...to change the world and have impact?and profit will follow", some reflection on how it matches up to their short term, often expedient, valuation-driven walk. Or, for example, the story of Ola's vision - "back in 2010, the founding team (of Ola) identified a clear gap in value: thousands of cabs were lying idle as unused inventory across Mumbai?the team wanted to bridge this gap" - could have been accompanied by some editorial comment about the Uber model invented a year before, which Ola took further.
More than half of Indians are millennials. This age cohort is doubly discontinuous in India because it consists solely of liberalisation children, the first generation of Indians not raised in an isolated socialist India, but in a capitalist globally connected one. But a book that says it looks inside the world of millennials and is set in India must acknowledge that there are 'haves' and 'have-nots' millennials; the business advice offered in the book is based on the former. The book exhorts employers to design organisations that have world-changing impact and (purpose), and offer a lot of autonomy which, it says, is of paramount importance to millennials. But in the section that follows titled 'For Millennials', it says "working with a sense of autonomy may not come easily to everyone, especially to those who are not used to it: Don't be afraid to ask for guidance until you are comfortable". What was that again? HR managers in large Indian services business, of which we will see many more in future, have to deal with the 'have-nots' millennials who are a 'lost' generation - under-confident, unexposed, desperate for a job, and unable to cope with a work world that is impersonal and outcome-driven, and a personal world that requires so much daily struggle. Some advice for them would have been helpful.
There is a lot of very useful and informative discussion in the book, only it isn't often about the world of millennials. It is around design thinking, innovation, coaching, culture building, impact of technology in the workplace, what to do with knowledge specialists who don't want to be people managers, etc. There are of course interesting insights about the world of millennials, too, like their need for instant gratification fuelled by the digital world they are steeped in.
There are a lot of research-based books about millennials in America that provide deeper insights into their workplace behaviour by discussing the social dimension that made them the way they are. Their growing up years with parents who tell them that they can achieve anything they dream of; a growing-up culture where they got "medals for participation, medals for even coming last"; and the instant gratification digital world and how it impacts the way they cope with the workplace and adult life in which they struggle with a lot of stress and strains. I would have loved to read about this dimension in the context of Indian millennials.
The book, quite unambiguously, drives home the point that there is a new world of work that needs radically new ways in which organisations should function. The discussion around this is rich, and that's what makes it valuable to legacy companies and newbies, oldies and millennials alike. Were this presented as a collection of essays titled 'The new world of work', I would have felt more satiated and less disappointed, because my expectations would have been more appropriately set. ~
The reviewer is a market strategy consultant