Jeffrey Zeldman has a thought provoking
post on writing.
The New York times has published this years
100 notable books.
Ohran Pamuk on the inevitable question every writer is asked – “Why do you write?”
I write because I have an innate need to write! I write because I can’t do normal work like other people. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at all of you, angry at everyone. I write because I love sitting in a room all day writing. I write because I can only partake in real life by changing it. I write because I want others, all of us, the whole world, to know what sort of life we lived, and continue to live, in Istanbul, in Turkey. I write because I love the smell of paper, pen, and ink. I write because I believe in literature, in the art of the novel, more than I believe in anything else. I write because it is a habit, a passion. I write because I am afraid of being forgotten. I write because I like the glory and interest that writing brings. I write to be alone. Perhaps I write because I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at all of you, so very, very angry at everyone. I write because I like to be read. I write because once I have begun a novel, an essay, a page, I want to finish it. I write because everyone expects me to write. I write because I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries, and in the way my books sit on the shelf. I write because it is exciting to turn all of life’s beauties and riches into words. I write not to tell a story, but to compose a story. I write because I wish to escape from the foreboding that there is a place I must go but – just as in a dream – I can’t quite get there. I write because I have never managed to be happy. I write to be happy.
hat tip – the ever so spiteful one!
Imagine a company that gave you absolute freedom to do what you want – you determine your salary, your boss, what you wear to work and also your work timings. There are no fancy titles like General Managers, Vice Presidents, etc. Sounds too good to be true? Well thats what SEMCO SA is all about.
Ricardo Semler is the CEO and majority stake holder of SEMCO SA, a Brazilian organization known for its radical management structure and industrial democracy. SEMCO religiously follows a democratic work atmosphere with very few management levels. Its not surprising then, that SEMCO is one of the most profitable and admired companies in Brazil today and Ricardo is often considered to be amongst the top management thinkers in the world. Semler’s book – Maverick tells you about all this and more.
The basic premise of the book is about empowerment. When you empower people to take their own decisions and give them absolute freedom and responsibility for their work, they will almost always deliver the best. One of the best lines from the book, that captures its essence is as follows -
To survive in modern times, a company must have an organizational structure that accepts change as its basic premise, lets tribal customs thrive, and fosters a power that is derived from respect, not rules. In other words, the successful companies will be the ones that put quality of life first. Do this and the rest – quality of product, productivity of workers, profits for all – will follow.
A truly inspiring read and one that I would recommend to all the “bosses” out there.
I’ve just finished reading Shantaram on the recommendation of a friend and its by far one of the most compassionate stories I’ve read.
This lucidly written book is a true story of the author Gregory David Roberts. His addiction to heroin after the collapse of his marriage, lures him to commit armed robberies that gets him convicted and imprisoned in New Zealand. He manages to escape from New Zealand and travels half way across the globe to arrive in Bombay which becomes the backdrop of this thriller.
Shantaram is a story on how he begins a life anew in Bombay. He learns to speak Marathi and Hindi, runs a clinic for the poor in the slums, works for the Mumbai mafia, falls in love, acts in Bollywood movies, fights with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, etc. Its a book that got me hooked right from page 1 and if I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be : Brilliant!
Actually, one of the other reasons that triggered me to get this book was while watching Jaan-e-mann. In the penultimate song sequence, Preity Zinta is seen sitting on a couch with a copy of Shantaram. Thats when a eureka moment happened with a friend sitting close by and suggested that this was one book that I shouldn’t miss reading. He was right.
The Last Song of Dusk – Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
