Haruto Iwata, from left, Shivani Poddar, and Sanjeev Mohanty share what's on their shelves.
Nish Bhatt, founder, Millwood Kane International, said the lockdown gave him the opportunity to focus on reading books for leisure, not just work. “Dedicating time to read daily has helped me to distract myself from stressors that are present during this lockdown period,” he told ET Panache.
And he’s not the only one. A number of CEOs and top bosses have turned to reading to destress, seek wisdom or alleviate boredom. ET Panache asked a few of them what they would recommend:
Sanjeev Mohanty, Managing Director - South Asia, Middle East & North Africa, has always tried to stay positive and in a high state of vibration. And his reading list reflects that.
“(Recently) I have read some amazing books like Mindset by Carol S Dweck, The 10X Rule, and Boundless by Ben Greenfield. The latter got me into biohacking,” he said.
For Sandeep Gulati, MD, Egis India, the book he turns to is Indranil Chakraborty’s Stories at Work. “I like his style and videos. Business storytelling is an art and helps greatly in communication,” he said.
'Shape of this Country' by Ryotaro Shiba At any given point in time, Haruto Iwata, Fujifilm India MD, is reading three books - one on finance or the economy, one written by a Nobel prize author and a cartoon or comic book.
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But when the lockdown hit, Iwata used it as an opportunity to revisit his roots by reading books on Japanese history. “I have started reading books on history and culture. Lately I am reading - 'Kono Kuni no Katachi' – ('Shape of this Country') by Shiba Ryotaro,” he shared.
By his own admission, Matrimony.com founder Murugavel Janakiraman likes to read a lot. “Currently, I’m enjoying 'Indistractable' by Nir Eyal. It talks about techniques to manage your time better and control your attention,” he told ET Panache.
Shivani Poddar, cofounder of High Street Essentials Pvt. Ltd., has been reading a lot of biographies during the pandemic. “I’ve recently put down 'The Ride of a Lifetime', in which Robert Iger talks about his learnings from being the CEO of Walt Disney Company. His is a fascinating journey that has truly inspired me,” she said.
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Earlier this year, Bill Gates also recommended reading Iger’s book. “Iger does a great job explaining what it is like to be a CEO,” wrote Gates. “He is able to take you inside the workings of a massive media company and show how he thought about building on its strengths and shoring up its weaknesses.”
