BusinessWeek Logo

The Latest Book from MindTree's Gardner

Posted by: Steve Hamm on July 07

Subroto Bagchi and I are on the same rhythm, authoring-wise. His first book, The High Performance Entrepreneur, was published in late 2006, as was my first one, Bangalore Tiger. Now his new book, Go Kiss the World, has been published in India. My new book, The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer, is coming out in Sept./Oct. He and I talk every now and then because he’s a co-founder and executive at MindTree, a medium-size Indian outsourcing firm. So when I heard he had a new book, I was anxious to talk to him about it. Bagchi isn’t your normal corporate executive. He feels and cares for people more than most. And his new book, which I have not read yet (coming in the mail from India), is all about inspiring young Indians to seek leadership positions and convincing them they can do the job. I know there are a lot of young Indians who read this blog, so I want them to know about Bagchi’s book.

Bagchi was the long time COO at MindTree, but a few months ago he shifted roles and became the company's Gardner. Basically, he's a leadership coach for the top 100 managers in the company. He has coined the term "servant leadership" to describe his approach. The way a gardner serves plants, Bagchi serves his management colleagues at MindTree.

The first thing you should know about Go Kiss the World is that those were the last words spoken to Bagchi by his mother. She was blind and on her death bed, and he gave her a last kiss. She said, "Why kiss me? Go kiss the world." In 2004, when he was asked to give a commencement speech at one of the Indian Institute of Management campuses, he used the phrase as the title of his speech, which explored what he considers to be one of the biggest challenges for the budding Indian management professional: thinking globally but still keeping their family values.

His editors at Penguin India were urging him to write another book, and they liked the kiss title. He decided that the most useful book he could write would be addressed to young Indians at the early steps of the management career ladder. "For the first time, India's future will be substantially defined and influenced by professionals, not the bureaucrat or the politician," he told me on the phone a couple of days ago. "A lot of those professionals are now coming from India's hinterlands. They're going to be part of globalization. But there are challenges ahead. They come from small-town India, and the divide is huge. They come with unsure steps. Sometimes they don't have confidence." With his book, Bagchi offers to be their kindly uncle, helping them find their way.

Bagchi knows what he's talking about. He grew up in village India. He father was a low-level government bureaucrat who moved the family every two years from one small village to the next in the tribal areas of the state of Orissa. Bagchi's early homes had no electricity and no running water. He made it out into the big world based on talent and hard work. Bagchi recounts his own story in the book. He thinks that people like him, from the country, can bring a lot of value to global organizations. "The young people coming from the hinterlands, the Other India, bring the power of innocence and intimacy, which a lot of the city folks don't have. They need not discount themselves. They can be what they want to be," he told me.

The essential message of the book, Bagchi says, is that "ordinary people can do extraordinary things." That's a concept that Americans find familiar, but in India, which is still shadowed by its colonial past, people still have to prove it to themselves before they'll believe it.


TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/

Reader Comments

Praveen Karadiguddi

July 7, 2008 08:01 PM

Hi Steve,

I was avid follower of Bagchi's column in times of india...one thing i can say that he writes in a simple language but makes lots of sense. Also way he corelates his incidents onto giving entreprenerial tips are commendable.

I am eager to read the book !

Ram

July 8, 2008 09:04 AM

Can't find this book in US yet! No website currently ships it to US either.

Sri - Washington DC

July 8, 2008 10:09 AM

I will be visiting India in August. Looking forward to picking up a copy then. Thanks for the tip.

Arun

July 13, 2008 09:50 AM

Mr Baghchi is an amazing writer and would be looking forward to read his book. I was an avid follower of his articles in Businessworld.He keeps it succinct and simple with emphasis on human values.

Lubna Kably

September 13, 2008 12:20 PM

Hi Steve,
You are so right, Subroto does feel and care for people, more than most. I have read and re-read this book and hope that I am now wiser. The most important takeaway for me, from this book was: The power to receive. I have learnt to be humble and more receptive. I hope it hits the bookshelves in USA soon.

Ashok varma

September 22, 2008 06:42 AM

Dear All
I feel Iam a better person after reading `Go kiss the world`.If only, all of us in India could read this book.Subroto is extraordinary in his writings.
Ashok

Sajag Banerjee

September 29, 2008 11:02 AM


The Book is worth a read. And being an Indian, worth the money too!

I loved the first chapter very much where he talks of displacement and progress. I have seen in certain pockets of India where regional fanaticism based on language, culture etc are at its worst! People, as Swami Vivekananda has put it once - live as frogs in their holes and think that it is the world!

Forget the Black-White divide which existed in the US, in certain regions of India the hatred is so intense that if you think about it - it may break your nerves. And the same people talk of national integrity when they are in foreign shores!

Thank you Sir for the book. A must read for professionals - as you have said it lets you build ingenuity to survive and who knows some day you will end up at the top of the pyramid.

J. A.

October 3, 2008 07:27 PM

I agree. The book is good, especially for someone who has been into many parts of India. India is not a simple country. As one reader pointed out, in certain pockets, language based division is so intense (and it is totally unnecessary and useless) that it can actually make you feel sick. A must read for moving professionals.

Dr Bikram Das

October 11, 2008 01:19 AM

"Go Kiss the World" is a remarkable book, which becomes even more meaningful if you have been lucky enough to meet the author. The world would be full of love and kisses if we had more people like Subroto

YK

October 13, 2008 11:03 AM

As I have come across Subroto Bagchi's articles so far on the web (yes, couldn't wait to get a hold of his books yet!)... they are truly remarkable and inspiring! Would love to get to read his books as soon as I can get them. (for the record, I had worked with Subroto in Wipro, under his leadership stints in the US in 1992 & 93). He is really an inspiring leader, indeed!

By the way, Steve, just to set the record straight on your blog post about the term "servant leadership"... from some of the books I had read earlier, this term actually originates from Robert Greenleaf. If you might Google, you will find for example: http://www.greenleaf.org/whatissl/index.html

Thanks for your blog posts on IT.

PB Mishra

November 9, 2008 08:22 AM

One of the person i really got inspired in my carrier. I use to read the articles of Mr.Bagchi since he use to write in Times Of India. Again reading this new book"Go Kiss The World" where he shares & corelaites his learnings from his carrer is really great. this is definitely great things needed for all young professional. Thanks a lot Sir!Kindly keep writing and do sharing with us.

Anupam

November 25, 2008 07:21 AM

Hello Steve,
Thanks for this wonderful article. You are so right! I had an opportunity to work in the great organisation he founded. I have met him and truly have felt insipired by his mere presence [In the new year of 2007, he had come personally to my cubicle and greeted me! At that time I was in the lowest of the ranks in the organisational ladder]

I have read both his books and was an avid follower of his articles in Times of India.I would say that he is one of the most sincere and honest writer of our generation. But there is something more - he is a great human being!

Thanks,
Anupam

Vivek Shukla

January 12, 2009 02:08 AM

What an amazing book this has been. It seems like a novel from a Bengali author with great management lessons . I could not put down the book once i started reading.

Jyoti Kamal

February 8, 2009 12:48 PM

Both his books are amazing. Simply written, they reach straight for your heart. Even as High Performance Entrepreneurship is bang on practical advice, Go Kiss the World is just so touching. It makes the eyes water up as he describes his early days, the adversities of life, the simple joys...and then going on to be what he now is. Life is a journey, for sure, and Subroto Bagchi's is one that will forever leave a mark on others. Seriously, read the book.

Jayesh

March 31, 2009 08:00 AM

It was an excellent book and thanks for letting me know about it Steve. I have been very lucky in terms of books. I am trying to get my hands on Happionaire's Cash The Crash - Yogesh Chabria, I hear it is an awesome book, has anyone read it yet?

TANDY

May 30, 2009 11:25 PM

'Go Kiss the World ' is more than an inspiration.I just got glued once i started. Thank you so much.

Post a comment

 

About

The Race for Perfect Book

Innovation is happening everywhere these days. Companies operate without borders to find the best talent and the best ideas wherever they may be. Meanwhile, new business models are arising that just might make it possible to turn large swaths of this contentious world into something approximating a true global village. Tune in for Senior Writer Steve Hamm's dispatches from the intersection of globalization, innovation, and leadership.

The Race for Perfect is available at Barnes&Noble, Amazon, and Borders. Selected chapters are available online. bangalore tiger book

Bangalore Tiger is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

RSS Feed: GlobeSpotting with Steve Hamm

BW Mall - Sponsored Links