Ganesh Kumar, COO, Raymond Lifestyle, is a voracious reader. But, what sets him apart is his ability to read two or even three books parallelly. He effortlessly switches from an intense one like Naseem Nicholas Talebs The Black Swan to a Jeffery Archer fiction or even life-lessons from the Upanishads. Kumar has read almost every book on management and leadership stories of industry captains. Books, he says, are from where he gets the best learning.
"As a human being, its not that I should learn only from my experiences. I can learn from experiences of others as well. Thats why I read a lot." He read The Black Swan during the pandemic. The book, he says, taught him the importance of reinventing oneself against all odds and finding opportunities in adversity. "Whatever be the situation, the three critical pillars of building a sustainable business are integrity, humility and passion."
Just before the pandemic, Raymond had announced plans to reinvent its business. His lockdown read of Microsoft Chairman Satya Nadellas book on how he transformed Microsoft, he says, has been the most appropriate. "I read the book the second time and it made more sense, as Raymond is also going through a transformation. Though the degree of legacy may be different, we are also talking about transforming a legacy business into an agile, customer-focussed organisation," he explains.
Kumar is currently reading Adam Grants Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach To Success. "The book tells you about thinking collectively and not individually. Thats so important to shape up your team..."