Congratulations, T.G.C.Prasad!

I first met T.G.C. Prasad more than twenty years ago when I was responsible for Corporate Human Resource Development in Wipro Corporation. It was my responsibility to manage the recruitment of freshly minted MBAs from the different graduate schools of business in India. He joined us as a topper from Mumbai’s prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences. I was delighted to read his book ” Unusual People Do Things Differently.”  A disclaimer. No, he didn’t send me a copy for old times sake. I bought a copy like anyone else!After that start in Wipro, Prasad went on to work with considerable success in other reputed organizations such as Coopers& Lybrand, PWC, IBM, MindTree, Alcatel-Lucent and Misys India.

The book is built around six themes with roughly 12-15 stories in each theme. They make for very interesting reading and I would strongly recommend Prasad’s book. It’s all the more creditable that he wrote this while carrying out his many corporate responsibilities. This, in my view, speaks volumes of his dedication and passion for sharing what he knows.

I thought it was a very well-written book which would be extremely useful to both students and practitioners of management. I enjoyed the writing style with key points coming out of his many reminiscences and personal experiences which lend great credibility to the story and its meaning. Prasad not only learned his lessons in corporate life so well but he has the rare ability to pass on his experience to others in such an interesting way through his stories.

I would have preferred the single “unusual” fish on the cover to face the same direction as the rest of the shoal, perhaps flying higher and leading the pack. The way it is represented is usually widely used to show dysfunctional team members. The use of  the consultant’s favourite tool, the four box-grid, helps articulate concepts very effectively. The copy editing could have been improved. It came as a disappointment for two reasons. One, when the book is about excellence and excellent people, one would naturally expect excellence in all aspects. Secondly, I thought Penguin would be very strong in its editing department.

These are small areas for improvement in what is otherwise an exceedingly well-written book. It is highly readable and leaves the reader quite charged up, as it did me. Go out and buy a copy. It’s well worth the time you will invest in reading it.