Celebrate authentic failures
In his new book ‘A Biography of Innovations’ R Gopalakrishnan, former Tata Sons executive director, talks about learning from mistakes and the importance of intellectual curiosity, collective ingenuity and storytelling
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner
Advent International
Shivakumar is Operating Partner at Advent International. Before this, he was President (Corporate Strategy and Business Development) at Aditya Birla Group. Earlier assignments include: Chairman & CEO at Pepsico India and prior to that, Managing Director at Nokia India. Before joining Nokia, he worked with consumer electronics maker Philips and top consumer goods firm Hindustan Unilever. He is an engineer from IIT Chennai and an MBA from IIM Calcutta.
Shivakumar has written three books: Reflections - a collection of Shivs articles; The Right Choice - Resolving Ten Career Dilemmas; and The Art of Management. The latter two are business bestsellers.
My contributions
71 articles written
Get Smart: Making effective decisions
Think long term, plan for success based on real facts, and have clear goals, says Brian Tracy in his book ‘Get Smart!: How to Think and Act Like the Most Successful and Highest-Paid People in Every Field’
‘Playing boldly is a philosophy’: Life lessons from golf legend Arnold Palmer
Nicknamed The King, Arnold Palmer played a big role in making golf popular and not just a game for the elite. His rivalry with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus is legendary. In his memoir ‘A Life Well Played’, he shares his experiences
How Nokia rewrote its story
In his book ‘Against All Odds’, Nokia’s former CEO Jorma Ollila chronicles how a troubled conglomerate engaged in rubber, cable, forestry, electronics and power generation businesses became a global mobile phone behemoth, but lost out to the iPhone
Making tough calls in business and life
In his book ‘Managing in the Gray’, HBS ethics professor Joseph L Badaracco presents a framework to arrive at the best possible decisions in a hard situation
When growth leads to a slowdown, how do you tackle the paradox?
In their book ‘The Founder’s Mentality’, Chris Zook and James Allen, partners in Bain & Company, talk about what leaders can do for sustainable and profitable growth
Ask these questions to make your coaching and leadership effective
Coaching is an essential leadership skill. And questions are a good way to open doors, says Michael Bungay Stanier in his book ‘The Coaching Habit’
When Nike just did it
Quick takes from the book ‘Shoe Dog’, Phil Knight’s account of creating Nike
The secret of power: Not ruthlessness, but empathy
American psychologist Dacher Keltner says, those who gain power are the ones who work for the good of others. But paradoxically, power can lead to selfishness—and loss of power
Building a business in complicated times
Dynamic times call for dynamic leadership. Here are some insights from the book ‘The Hard Thing About Hard Things’ by Ben Horowitz, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz