Book Review by Giraj M Sharma
Edited by Harrish M Bhatia; Published by Sia Books; 157pages; INR 399/-; Also available on Kindle.
The pandemic took away so many people and did not distinguish the rich from the poor, the healthy from the weak, people of a race from another or from one country with those of another. As the world emerges from a collective grief and sadness with the hope that the ugly monster doesn’t raise its head again there is reason again to look ahead with optimism and hope. It is time to celebrate lives of those dear ones we lost by remembering their good deeds and the impact they had on us. One professional who the corporate world in India lost was none other than the poster boy of the consumer durable industry in India – Rajeev Karwal. It must have taken some effort by Harrish M Bhatia to lift himself from the lows of having lost a mentor, a friend and a guide with whom he shared a special bond to attempt a book that has tributes from people whose lives Rajeev touched. Harrish is not new to writing having written a hugely success book recently – Management and Life Lessons from Ground Zero but this effort of his is even more praiseworthy. Rajeev’s elder son, Saksham Karwal, too pulled his weight behind this great effort to get things going.
From a highly emotional piece by Richa Kapoor that gives the reader a glimpse of Rajeev’s engagement with the family to the other side’s view on his being a professional with terrific business acumen from B.A. Srinivas Reddy, Director of the South India based retail chain Viveks – the book is not just a walk down the memory lane but has lessons for one to learn and follow. There is this write up by Bakul Nath, the Director of IMT, Ghaziabad, Rajeev’s alma mater that talks of how Rajeev stood by the institution that shaped his professional thinking even when he was terribly occupied as head of the companies he worked for. The book also reveals on how Rajeev set up the bar high for people whom he led. A lot of his teammates – folks that Rajeev led have so much to share about how he treated each of them as individuals and invested in their development not just as professionals but as human beings too.
Vales Create Value is a book meant for everyone who wants to draw from the life an extremely successful professional who turned an equally successful entrepreneur. The impact that Rajeev had on the people he got associated with is reflected in an interesting reflection by Professor Jagdish N Sheth who says how he could not say no to him when Rajeev got to his entrepreneurial journey by setting up Milagrow. Prof Sheth writes about how Rajeev had a way to get things done and get these done ethically. Being ethically correct is that one value that Rajeev stood by and is remembered for. Values Create Value thus seems to be an appropriate title for a book on him. An extremely interesting anecdote that serves as a lesson on how to respect and treat shareholders is in the piece by Johan Font, the former CEO of Electrolux. And then there is Suhel Seth’s tribute to him that’s wonderfully summed up by the title of his piece – The Gentle Giant. That Rajeev was a man in a hurry was noticed very early by Dr Y V Verma who was Director HR at LG Electronics when Rajeev joined the chaebol as their head of sales and marketing. Not many knew then that he would leave the world in a hurry too!
