About the Author - Ram Charan has a D.B.A. and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and has taught at Harvard and Northwestern. Being one of the foremost consultants to corporate leaders in the world today, he is a highly sought adviser to CEOs and senior executives in companies. Dr. Charan has written numerous articles for Harvard Business Review and is the author of Boards That Work and the coauthor of Every Business Is a Grwoth Business and E-board Strategies.

About the Book -

If you're feeling trapped in an executive suite and wanna really get down to buiding blocks of money along with developing the right business acumen; this book is for you. How different is it to run a big company than to sell fruit from a cart or run a small shop in a village? In essence, according to Ram Charan money making in business has three basic parts - cash generation, return on assets (combination of margin and velocity) and growth.The author, who makes a daily living advising many of the world's best CEOs, opines that there are a few fundamentals which are common to every business.

What the CEO Wants You To Know very lucidly draws a few differentiating lines between a street vendor and a CEO of a million dollar company. Getting down to the basics, Dr. Charan cites the examples of some of the best managers like Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Computers, Dick Brown, CEO of EDS and Norbuyuki Idei, CEO of Sony among others with a street smart purveyor. He makes one convincingly believe that every business needs the same strategy of setting sales forecast and ultimate aim being to earn profits irrespective of the size of the business. Every one has to decide on how to utilize his or her resources, cash generation, margin, velocity, return on assets, growth and customers, then what's the difference.

The moot point that comes across that most of the successfull CEOs have the acumen to cut through the complexity and offer simple solutions. Also, they have the ability to scan the business environment and identify the significant trends and patterns. So, if you're a marketing manager, your aim should ideally be to develop business acumen. If you're handling four products in a consumer goods company like laundry soaps, dish detergents, toothpaste and household cleansers - you should probaly ask yourself a few of these quesitons - which one of these products lines make money? and which makes the least Which one consume cash and which ones don't?

The moment you find answers for these, let the excitement begin ! And the cash will come rolling in.....

About the Author - Anand Bhaskar Halve has over 25 years of experience in advertising and is a founder member of chlorophyll brand and communications consultancy, Mumbai. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), he also conducts advertising workshops there, and has been a visiting faculty a the Mudra Institute of Commnciations, Ahmedabad (MICA)

About the BookWith more than 50 million mobile phones beeping around the country, mushrooming brands at the supermarkets, and sprawling shopping malls all over, the challenge clearly for advertisers is to create powerful advertising that helps brands stand out in the crowd.

The book is step-by-step guide to producing a sound foundation for advertising : one that will serve as the springboard to inspire powerful creative expressions. Rich in cases from the living Indian context, Planning for Power advertising offers an understanding of how strategic advertising is created. It takes the reader through cases and analyses of what worked or did not work in the marketplace.

Anand Halve involves the reader throughout in exercises with Action Points at the end of most chapters - an approach that brings alive the concepts within, and helps readers discover the theory in practice.

Participatory and pragmatic in its approach, the key issues discussed are competition and the changing nature of the markets. Understanding differentiator and motivators - discovering what changes the consumer's mind. How to look, bend positioning and identify what can make your brand unique.

With a robust advertising brief, for students of advertising and marketing, planning for power advertising is a stimulation exercise from which they will learn how to apply the principles that will help them in their future careers.

After a remarkably successful career in the advertising industry, as CEO, Pratibha Advertising, Senior Vice President (South), Mudra, and Executive Director R K Swamy/BBDO, in 1998, Sridhar went on to launch brand.comm. But apart his advertising acumen, many in the industry have also been exposed to Sridhar's writings by way of his popular column `third umpire' (in the Business Line) which talks about the game of media and advertising

Here, in an interview to Exec Life, Sridhar talks about his first book - One Land, A billion Minds. Written in a light and engaging style, the book is a first person account of the writer's experiences with different brands along with insights into the country's vibrant market.

After a career in marketing and advertising, you went on to launch brand.comm, and now you've written a book. Is this your second labour of love?
When I realised that there's far more to life than a 30 second TV commercial, I launched brand.comm. Then, I got hooked onto 'total branding' i.e a mix of brand consulting, advertising and public relations. And now, with this book I wanted to share my observations, about consumers, advertising, communication and life with people. Also, I love to write.

Is One land, One Billion minds an inspirational outcome?
This book as such has not been inspired, but yes, the idea of writing on something like this came to my mind by just looking around me. India lacks skills and this book has been written with a motive of sharpening the claws of individuals in different fields.

Tell us a little about the book? "One land, A billion minds - Insights on branding in India?
This book gives an overall and in-depth view about the Indian market and the consumer. I've tried to look at brands from a consumer point of view. Afterall, the consumer is not a moron, she is your wife. The book is full of examples like how a brand like Mohun's benefit from the advertising prowess of Kellogg's. I've also illustrated with the help of anectodes and experiences.

Who can relate to your book?
This book has been written to cater the needs of three slots of people. First of all, for Management schools because there is hardly anything Indian that is taught to the students today. The second target readers are going to be sales and marketing professionals to give them a broader perspective. And thirdly for, advertising individuals.

Are you working on any other writing projects?
Yes, I am working on a book which basically deals with small brands which are good but have not been recognized so far.

What do you prefer to read, fiction or non-fiction?
I don't read any self- help books but yes, management books help a lot.

Who is your favourite author?
I don't read much but my favourite author remains, David Archer.

What kind of research have you done for the book?
For everything materialistic there has to be a base and research helps build a strong base. So, I did study the demands of the consumers before writing this book.

How did you find time to write the book?
With the kind of schedule I keep, it took me around three years to complete the book. I had to manage my office, along with my teaching assigments, so it was difficult. Also, it took me quite some time to research and write.

What made you choose such an unusual title?
The title very well fits the book, as I have talked about those one billion Indians staying in one nation and that is India.

By: Chikita Kukreja

About the authors

Simply Selling has been written by distinguished people who have vast experience in their own field. This book is an outcome of 20 years of experience and extensive hard work of a team of sales professionals from various nationalities.

Book Review

Are you looking for `simple selling' techniques for your business? Do you need sales training for you or your staff? Are you ready to make more money? Then this book is a must read for you.

Like a true sales manual, Simply Selling takes the reader through a detailed process of selling in a very simplified manner. Along with tried and tested exercises for sales professionals, the author also provides practical tips with factual examples from the author's' personal experiences.

The authors' question the often stated concept 'a sales person is a pushy low-life whomakes you buy things you don't want or need.' They put forth their point by making a clear statement that if you don't want it then why are you looking at it or listening to what a sales person has to say.

Simply Selling weaves in experiences from the lives of established sales professionals with a number of dos and don'ts. Agreeing to the fact that it's really tough out there in the market, the authors empathize by saying, `none of us say that selling is easy but we all definitely feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction in our sales careers.'
The author says selling is all about understanding the market, knowing your product, and couple this with the right attitude and working habits.

The little snippets that the author offers help one understand the industry better. As the chapters advance, there is a lot to learn about making sales calls, understanding the consumers mind, sales process and to top it all; how to keep your clients happy.
The authors talk about the importance of meeting deadlines and time management techniques. They portray examples to prove the significance of networking and the ways of getting to know more people who can be useful in near future.

Simply put, Simply Selling is a jargon free manual which describes the process of selling a product in this tough competitive world. It provides great deal of practical assistance to any sales person.

About the author - Jagdish N. Sheth is a renowned scholar and world authority in the field of marketing. His insights on global competition, strategic thinking, consumer behavior, and relationship management are considered revolutionary.
Rajendra S. Sisodia is Professor of Marketing and the Founding Director of the Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley College, Waltham. An electrical engineer from BITS, Pilani, Dr. Sisodia has a Ph.D. in Marketing and Business Policy from Columbia University.

About the Book

Tectonic Shift represents a continuation of the journey started by Commanding Heights, Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw's masterful recounting of the economic history of the 20th century. The book offers a plausible scenario on how the global economy is likely to evolve in the first few decades of the 21st century. So, in short it looks at global economies in view of the emerging geopolitical forces.

The book focuses on the future of different nations of the globe taking into consideration their economic and political state. The political system of a nation directly influences its economic balance. Sheth and Sisodia have divided the world's developmental process into three basic growth engines - Western Europe in 1800s, United States in 1900s and Large Emerging Nations in the 21st century. Of all the countries in the world, United States has the highest economic output according to the World Bank.

According to the authors, `the surest and the farthest way to benefit the largest number of people is to create true synergy by speeding integration between advanced and less developed countries.'

The authors, take case studies from across Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, Africa, Australia, and India to discuss the challenges faced from a historical perspective. Taking a futuristic view they also attempt to put forth the threats of tomorrow. They believe that by 2025, most countries of the world would be loosely or tightly aligned by the three trade blocs which are America, Europe and Asia.

The chapter wise description of the book makes the process of learning extremely interesting. The first few chapters explain in detail the 'magic of Ricardo' (read David Ricardo's theory of comaprative advantage) showing how free trade will prove to be beneficial in the future. Later, the authors focus on what each trade bloc must do to make itself globally competitive providing an overview of the needed change against the challenges to be faced.

"My father is a writer. And his collection of books is what I was exposed to from my early years. Besides what he used to write, I also read virtually all the books he had in his library! The books in his library were really different from what my peers used to read in school! So, while my friends grew up on Hardy Boys and Famous five, I was trying to understand The Outsider by Albert Camus. Reading this particular book at a young age definitely made a great difference to my life and thinking. I would definitely recommend it to everyone I know.

I like a lot of fiction, particularly from different literary traditions - from Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Albert Camus and Gunter Grass. I do try and catch up with some of the classics as much as possible, but somehow because of my work schedule it takes a lot of time to finish a book! I particularly like some Latin American authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Time is a big problem. A bigger problem is ones' state of mind.One has too many choices and pulls to be able to sit back and read. Also, finding time to read can be particularly challenging when you have a young kid. Yet, I still try and take some time out to catch up on my reading.

My favourite books
I recently finished re-reading, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I find this Latin American authors' writing truly 'gripping'. And the fact that the cultural root it emanates from is so very different from the predictable stuff that comes out of European or American authors. Marquez is perhaps the world's best storyteller!

If I had to name my all-time favourite they would be One Hundred Years of Solitude and Ulysses by James Joyce..

I dislike
I don't like reading marketing, advertising, and self help or motivational books. Just to cite an example, I find authors like Edward De Bono quite boring and stretched though some of his ideas may be exciting. Somehow, I haven't been able to pull myself to read that genre of books; call them self help books or plain management and marketing jargon.