Reading Recommendations from Ram Charan and Yoky Matsuoka

An internationally acclaimed business advisor, author and speaker, Ram Charan has spent over three decades working and advising the board members of companies like Bank of America, Tata Group, GE, DuPont, Novartis, Aditya Birla Group, etc. To share his business expertise with the masses, Ram Charan chose to author over 25 books that have sold more than 2 million copies in over a dozen languages. A Wall Street Journal and New York Times Bestseller, Ram Charan is also a world-renowned speaker, helping the global business fraternity with his insights and invaluable advice.

A young technology professional, Yoky Matsuoka co-founded Google X in 2011 and then shifted to Google Nest as CTO. In between she worked with Apple on Apple’s HealthKit tracking software. Previously Matsuoka served as associate professor in University of Washington and was a MacArthur Fellow (popularly known as the Genius Award). Till date Matsuoka has had a stellar career, playing a crucial role in leading the tech-giants of the world.

Ram Charan and Matsuoka, both exceptional stalwarts in their fields, represent two distinct worlds. It will be interesting to find out if their reading choices too are equally different. Here’s a descriptive account of the books they are currently reading.

The Third Pillar: How markets and the state leave the community behind by Raghuram Rajan

“I am impressed [by the book]. I think every business leader must read this book, digest it, and test their strategic plan against it.” –Ram Charan

Author Raghuram Rajan is a distinguished economist currently serving as a professor in University of Chicago and former head of Reserve Bank of India and IMF chief economist. Shortlisted for the prestigious Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, Rajan’s book primarily focuses on balancing the power and scope of government, community and business – three forces of the global framework in which companies operate.

Rajan anchors his book in meticulously research and explores the interaction between these three forces to find out why things collapse and examines how to create a more stable and secure plane. Often markets and state are under scrutiny and analysis but here, Rajan shifts the focus to the community we live in as the “third pillar”. He talks about rethinking the market and civil society relationship and argues in favor of strengthening local communities as a solution to curb rising despair and unrest. The book is a masterpiece of explication and a classic in offering a humane understanding of the most important forces of the world we live in.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

“This book awakened me; it helped me let go of the past and future. I am more present— living for the here and now—and it’s inspired me to think deeply about how I might help more people live this way as well.” –Yoky Matsuoka

Often, we are in the know of powerful facts yet fall prey to out emotions. Sometimes an explanation can help us to wake up and avoid such mistakes. Author of the bestselling spiritual guide “The Power of Now”, Eckhart Tolle shows how to transcend an ego-based state of consciousness to attain personal contentment and end conflicts and suffering across the world. Tolle shares a marvelous explanation of how our attachment to ego leads to dysfunction that creates negative emotions like jealousy, anger and unhappiness and goes on to shed light on awakening a new state of consciousness that can lead to a truly happy and fulfilling existence.

Sources:

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/we-know-what-you-are-reading-this-summer/ram-charan

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/we-know-what-you-are-reading-this-summer/yoky-matsuoka

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566369/the-third-pillar-by-raghuram-rajan/

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291884/a-new-earth-oprah-61-by-eckhart-tolle/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoky_Matsuoka

http://www.ram-charan.com/about-ram/