TAKE Solutions boss HR Srinivasan turns to 'The Art Of War' for its lucid clarity on strategy and tactics

Amidst the whole diversity row, when women are trying to find their place in the big, bad, corporate world, Sandberg's book comes handy. She just doesn't talk about the balancing act that every woman has to ace considering she has a home to look after and may also be a mother. She emphasises on how women should be able to negotiate for equal compensation as men, and underlines the importance of workplace flexibility. She also recommends to not lower expectations of what one can achieve. She advocates asking people, both senior and junior to you, for specific advice to solve a problem. She reiterates that women must talk about getting ahead and what it means to seek leadership roles.

An options trader of Lebanese descent, Taleb says that is is essential to seize any opportunity, or anything that looks like an opportunity. He asserts that you must always consider every opportunity as your first and last, and never let it go again. Three lessons that one may imbibe from the book, some people manage to dramatically change the world of those, who are not prepared for them, don't ever try to explain the future by looking at your past, it is a bad indicator and avoid trying to gauge real-world risks like you would in a game of cards, you are likely to make bad decisions.

The billionaire emphasises on eating your own cooking, noting the importance of combining ownership and partnership. He says, "Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre." He is a firm believer of putting all his eggs in one basket, and watching the basket carefully. As a new manager, one must be able to pay equal attention to all their reportees and avoid being biased.

Becoming a new manager means that you are in a state of transition that consequently throws up opportunities. Any wrong steps taken during the crucial first three months in a new role can jeopardise or hurt your growth as a manager. This book provides perfect strategies to help you go up the ladder, and a guide to taking charge quickly and effectively.

Although the book was published in 1937, some of its key teachings still hold true. The book encourages you to speak positively of others. All you need to do is to just think of a few positive things to say about each person you know and make a reference to those positive attributes when you can. Be genuinely interested in people, in what your team has to say. Smile more, it is harder than it sounds but it works wonders. Become a good conversationalist, but for that first become a good listener. Also, a surefire way to win hearts is to begin by complimenting them. These will definitely help you as a manager to be liked by everyone on the team.

What the book teaches you is to step out of your comfort zone in order to lead your team to greater heights. The author states that the key to become a good leader is to be able to completely immerse yourself in things, new experiences change the way you think and help you become a whole new person. She encourages you to make strategic contributions, expand your network, mingle with more people and thus learn from, a bigger range of stakeholders.