Indra Nooyi recounts her life from her childhood to the present in this book. The book is a frank recollection of various events throughout her life, with some corporate jargon and pitches mixed in.
She is someone whom I have admired for a long time, mainly because she’s also an engineer who went on to get a degree in management and then lead a global corporation. PepsiCo has seen unprecedented growth under her leadership. As a management student myself, the business challenges that she solved fascinated me.
Indra talks about her family and the hardships that they went through in getting her to where she is today. There is also a fair bit about how every family risks going bankrupt without proper government or private support. Health insurance cover in India is still shallow, and so when a family member falls sick most of the population chooses to pay out of pocket, and the costs can spiral out of control very quickly.
The financial costs of accidents and expensive hospital visits can ripple through generations. It’s absolutely annoying that such tragic events still occur to many families despite humanity making so much progress. As I said before, universal basic income is a concept whose time has come.
“Then we walked to a restaurant and, as we finished dinner, decided to get married.” Indra makes it sound so simple and seamless. I wonder if it was really that clear and straightforward in reality. From what I’m told, marriage is a big step in one’s life. Maybe she just decided to go, “we’ll see what happens!” It turned out pretty well for her. Good for her.
No business can ever truly succeed in a society that fails. So many companies fail to get that point. The point about companies and communities co-existing looks pretty far-fetched to some friends. In fact, I would try to convince them that most business practices are not friendly to the society or people of a particular locality. Most businesses seek to exploit others in some way and make profits. I don’t think that is sustainable in the long term, and it is not the right thing to do!
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.”
The book also talks about how she tried to navigate her way through two countries - India and the US, each very rich in its cultural diversity. The shared sense of pride when a person of Indian origin becomes the CEO of a global corporation is all very common. Indra concludes the book by shedding light on India and the vast potential of its young population.
I received a hardcover copy of the book, thanks to IIMA. The book definitely would find a spot on the shelves when I build my personal library someday. I would recommend that you read the book, even though you might not agree with all the business practices/solutions that she talks about in the book.
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