Emma by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a fun to read! Jane Austen has a way of connecting with readers through her timeless story-telling of a plot that has been loved by readers through generations!
As compared to current day conversations and the length of novels, this can seem tiresome but funny and entertaining nonetheless. The goodwill and vanity of the protagonist and the ensuing admonition from Mr. Knightley, guileless Harriet Smith, comedic Miss Bates and her incessant exaltation, reserve of Jane Fairfax, flamboyance of Frank Churchill, kindhearted Mrs. Weston and the tiresome ostentation of Mrs. Elton - this novel promises thorough amusement!
And as always, I’d recommend reading the book before watching the movie! :)
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Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Satya Nadella has always been an inspiration to me in addition to millions around the world. Not just for the tremendous change he’s brought at Microsoft but from the time he assumed the role of CEO of Microsoft in 2014. Personally, that was the first time I found hope that even non-IITians can become leaders of large, influential corporations. However misplaced and false my belief had been until that point of time, it’d been difficult to believe otherwise. Unsurprisingly I’ve always wanted to learn more about his journey. Ever since it’s release, I’ve wanted to soak in this book and try to understand what drives Satya, what are his values, how does his approach life and work, etc.
This book has its ups and downs depending on who’s reading it. For me the best reads were the chapters about his formative years and his endeavors at Microsoft. That gave a definite picture of his rise in the company. Sure enough, he was not just what he worked on at Microsoft. It was very interesting to read about his values and beliefs and how all that shaped his life. The constant discussion about culture, the great emphasis on having the growth mindset, the willingness to partner with competitors, making public debacle to gracefully accepting it, responsibilities of being a leader of such a multi-national corporation with such sweeping presence across the world and also wielding the power to influence scores of people, companies, government, et al - this book is all encompassing.
A high-level stream of messages expounded in this book - be good and do the right things for customers, partner with all those involved (even if they are your competitors), have a growth mindset, embracing and working to advance technologies like mixed reality, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, importance of privacy, security and freedom of speech, being socially responsible, being mindful of ethical implications of AI, machines and humans working together and working towards to an equitable world by creating opportunities for everyone by getting all parties including society, government, business leaders involved to a common goal of advancing the world to a better future.
While this book might seem to champion all things good, it’s really this constant simple message delivered repeatedly over time is what ingrains it deeply into the minds of everyone who works at or with Microsoft or even simply reads about Microsoft. This book is not going to talk about the dust which is swept under the rug which is typically the consequence of being such a large corporation. Overall, it felt like it was about Satya’s values and views and not just about Microsoft’s. But I believe it’s simply by the virtue of being a CEO. The difference is a very thin line because what he believes in has resonated with his senior leadership team and permeated across the organization today.
There’s something to take away for everyone be it a student or a CEO from the book. There’d be tide and ebb moments but a good read nonetheless.
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