A Book That Helped Rashesh Shah When He Started Edelweiss
Edelweiss’ Rashesh Shah on why he places so much importance on emotional intelligence.
Evolution of British society that’s grappling with Brexit. Importance of emotional intelligence in running a successful organisation. How ‘good’ companies make the leap towards ‘great’ companies. These are some of the themes that stayed with Rashesh Shah.
Besides books on business, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss Group told BloombergQuint why John le Carré and Julian Barnes are his favourite authors.
Here’s a look at his reading list...
The Tipping Point, By Malcom Gladwell
“I loved this book and the concept of ‘the tipping point’, that explains a lot of things we have seen, but found hard to understand,” Shah said. This book looks at how trends evolve, and how things take off. There are useful ideas not only for business but also for understanding things in everyday life.
The Effective Executive, By Peter F. Drucker
Drucker is the evergreen and quintessential management guru. And there is wisdom on every page.
“His books are my go to place for clarifying the common sense behind management.”
This book demystifies the role and substance of an effective executive; it is someone who is very practical with an ability to “get the right things done”.
I love Drucker’s idea that no one is born effective; all the effective ones learnt to be effective, starting with their time.
Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap... And Others Don’t, By Jim C. Collins
This book asks some basic questions in terms of what makes great companies. How ‘good’ companies make the leap towards ‘great’ companies. By comparing companies in same industries, Collins has removed the industry bias behind great companies, and has done thorough background for many years by which he identifies some of the traits that make companies great.
“I found the concept of Level 5 leadership very impactful,” Shah said.
Emotional Intelligence, By Daniel Goleman
“This is the book I have re-read many times and liberally recommended to many people. I read this book in 1995 — just when we started Edelweiss — and came across the concept of Emotional Intelligence or for the first time,” Shah said. “The key point that IQ and emotional intelligence work separately and we have two minds — a thinking mind and a feeling mind.”
Goleman’s highlight of the book is that being smart is not enough to be successful in life. You need to have empathy, self-awareness, ability to control emotional impulses to be a good leader – and a good human being.
Agent Running In The Field, By John le Carré
“I have been a big fan of John Le Carré, and in this recent book — written at the age of 88 — he has outdone himself.”
Le Carré remains not only a master storyteller, but also someone so contemporary to the world affairs, especially when it comes to Britain.
“This book is about the evolution of British society that is grappling with the Brexit — A first-hand account, from ground zero, for men like me who have been monitoring the progress of the Brexit and other happenings in British society.”
The Sense Of An Ending, By Julian Barnes
This book is storytelling and English writing at its best. “Our memories are, at best, broad approximations of the past and the human brain works in mysterious ways in dealing with the past.”
This concept, coupled with some outstanding prose makes this one of the best fiction books. “I like the intrigue and the suspense and the gradual unfolding of events. Barnes’ portrayal of Tony’s psychological and emotional agony is outstanding.”
