Hello Friends,
Over the years I have read plenty of books on leadership. One common feature I observed among all the successful leaders is their quest for learning something new. They strongly believe that it's their wisdom that has earned them all the respect and success in life & going ahead that's not going to change. It's their knowledge & eagerness to learn more every single day even from the smallest of the events brought them all the accolades. Successful leaders try to pass on their wisdom to the next generation. When it comes to learning they don't just limit themselves to their working domain. Instead they widen their boundary as much as possible so that they can help more people to grow. Recently I read about one such veteran leader who strongly believed that lifelong learning is key to all of one's aspirations. He never stopped learning new things. Hence he kept on succeeding in whatever ventures he got engaged with. In our last book review of 2025 we will talk about one such inspirational leader who seems to be on an endless journey of wisdom.
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| Just Aspire By Ajai Chowdhry |
Just Aspire written by Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder of eminent tech firm HCL is not just another autobiography or memoir, rather is an appropriate account of lifelong learning of new skills & utilising them for the betterment of mankind. From start to end one aspect of the author that amused me completely is his vast knowledge in different spheres of life. Apart from being a successful entrepreneur & an enthusiastic tech evangelist, he has been an obedient son, caring husband & father like many of his contemporaries. But what sets him apart is how he has contributed to various projects that he got involved with outside his domain of work. His never ending urge to learn brought several opportunities where he could contribute towards a real transformation.
Once you read the introduction chapter of this book you will realise why I have been emphasising so much on wisdom part. I was spellbound after reading that chapter & very well realised that the further chapters are going to be no different. Without elaborating too much on what the introductory chapter contains I would like to go ahead with further interesting aspects of the book. Initial chapters include Ajai's childhood, some very fond memories of school & college days, beginning of a professional as well as married life. Quite a few interesting narrations can be found about his personal life in the book. But as the narration progresses it majorly focuses on his professional achievements & major takeaways from an inspirational career which is still going strong.
This is also not a complete account of HCL's journey from scratch to top. Major proceedings in HCL's journey have found a place in the book along with several roadblocks that came in between & also the substantial success that HCL achieved. At the same time the author has tried to elaborate on various initiatives taken for the progress of the organization or industry and the rationale behind them. Throughout the chapters you will get to know in an illustrious career span of several decades he has been involved in so many projects, been a member of few government task forces & also contributed to the causes that he cared for.
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| Ajai Chowdhry Image Credit: Rejo-tmt1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons |
This book showcases the multifaceted leader that he is. His urge to contribute towards various industries or causes has drawn him towards working for different kind of projects be it building eminent institutions or developing essential pieces of medical equipment during covid 19 or being involved in sketching the road map for the future of semiconductors in India. He has been equally enthusiastic in all of those ventures. The book also includes his interactions with some of the prominent business figures like Microsoft co-founder & philanthropist Bill Gates, futurologist Ray Kurzweil, Kodak company CEO Antonio Perez & Intel CEO Craig Barrett. These were not mere encounters, in his own words some of these names were his heroes from whom he learnt several valuable life & business lessons.
Towards the end he has written a chapter on his personal interests too which include music, space research & technology, books as well as interesting topics like futurology. Along with a vast analysis on various industries you can find a few words of wisdom on people management & salesmanship too. As a leader & co founder of a tech organization both sales & people management have been important aspects of his portfolio. Some of his initial days experience with HCL showcases the prudent salesman in him.
Ajai Chowdhry in a celebrated career span has exhibited most of the prominent aspects of a successful leader. But as mentioned earlier the one that stands out is his hunger for lifelong learning. I am sure he would have instilled the leadership traits among several during his career. Even after his retirement from the full time position of HCL he is still going strong with his passion projects. That's one of the most important traits of a great leader who wants to contribute irrespective of the position he holds or field of work he is involved in. This book is not about a tech co-founder rather about a leader who did not limit his area of work to a particular sector. And undoubtedly he achieved substantial success in whatever he did so far. Just Aspire is definitely a must read for all the aspiring leaders who want to stand out in a group of many. Before concluding this post let's have a quick look on some of the significant recognitions Ajai received over the years
- In 2010 he was conferred the Honoris Causa, Doctorate of Science, by IIT Roorkee.
- In 2011 he was awarded with Padma Bhushan, by the Government of India, the third-highest civilian award.
- In 2014 he was honoured with the Cybermedia Business ICT Award 2013 for Lifetime Achievement in ICT.
- In 2009 he was adjudged among "India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs" by The Economic Times.
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