Book Release by IIMB Faculty & Alumni

“Each new book is a tremendous challenge”

–  Peter Straub

Suman Ghose, class of PGP 1996, holds an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur. Suman is the co-founder of Inroads Leadership Development, which equips organizations to achieve great performance and meaningful growth by building critical leadership skills. He has very recently launched a book named-‘From Command to Empathy: Using EQ in the Age of Disruption’.

When asked about the brief overview of the book in terms of context and genre, Suman replied, “The book examines how the approach taken by industry leaders shape the culture and ethos of their companies. Emerging strongly is the need for an organisational culture, which actually demonstrates what it preaches, by fostering trust as compared to command-centre style respect, and focusing on employee empowerment, not merely authority. The book draws from the rich well of Indian philosophical experience, including yoga and meditative practices. In terms of genre, the book cover from HarperCollins mentions Business/Self-help”.

What made you to write this book?

While we’ve made great advances in Science and Technology, the disruption is so huge that organisations and individuals often struggle to keep pace. I firmly believe that in order to do so, we need not less but more of the human element although it may sound paradoxical. It requires a new mindset – for each of us, we need more of compassion, purpose and empathy for more fulfilling relationships and better outcomes. Organisations need to move away from the traditional command-and-control style of leadership which is again more mindset than tactical. I wanted to share all these views and more through this book.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I get a lot of ideas when I read the newspaper – I would read an article and think how it would have played out differently if there was more compassion and empathy from both sides. I do the same for my previous experiences both personal and professional by reflecting on them and then quickly write out a small story for the book.

How long did it take to write this book?

It took one and a half years to write this book.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

I have no specific work-schedule for writing – but when I do, I try to keep distractions aside in order to get into the flow.

From where did you get your ideas for your book?

I run a Leadership Development Company (www.inroads.co.in) and a lot of the ideas came from my interactions with participants in our workshops and coaching sessions. Another big source of ideas was books, articles, journals and periodicals I read as part of the online research for the book. Having a coauthor also helped in discussing both our ideas, building consensus and gaining clarity in the process.

Has the IIMB education helped you in any way as an author?

For me, becoming an author was a culmination of various skills and traits such as – a high-level view of global trends, ability to reflect, ability to connect the dots, to be able to articulate views and work collaboratively with my coauthor and publisher. The IIMB education helped me sharpen many of those skills and has shaped me as a person that I am today.

Find the version of this eBook on Amazon.

Seema Gupta, Associate Professor, of IIMB has very recently launched a book named – ‘Digital Marketing’. 

The book blends theory with practice and encompasses all important topics covered under the purview of digital and e-marketing.

It provides a detailed explanation to different marketing platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. It also discusses the varying nature of different platforms and imparts know-how and suitability of different marketing tools with respect to customer needs, tastes and behavioral patterns. The book starts from the very basics of the subject area and extends the discussion to advanced topics such as optimizing user experience, advanced SEO, optimizing campaigns, webmercials, e- and m-marketing, etc. Supplemented with actual screenshots, cut-outs, case-studies and real-life examples, the book makes the learning journey interactive and engaging, thereby offering value to marketing students and working professionals.

An educator, trainer and consultant in the field of digital marketing, Prof. Seema Gupta has published papers in Public Relations Review, Corporate Reputation Review, Management Review and Decision. She has written cases on digital marketing and marketing strategy on The Park Hotels, Bosch, Volkswagen, Nielsen and Dainik Bhaskar, among others. Her cases have been published on Harvard Business School’s publishing portal and her articles have appeared in national media such as Economic Times and Financial Express.

Find the version of this eBook on Amazon.