Entrepreneur, sportsman, salesman, engineer, educationist, jazz aficionado and investor-meet Ajai Chowdhry, the HCL cofounder who dons many hats, all with equal ease. Growing up in the sleepy town of Jabalpur in a family that had migrated from Abbottabad post India’s Independence, Ajai’s life was set for a linear trajectory-engineering, a well-paying job and a comfortable life-but for the year 1975.
This was the year when Ajai quit his job at DCM Data Products and jumped into the uncharted waters of entrepreneurship, founding HCL with Shiv Nadar, Arjun Malhotra, Yogesh Vaidya, Subhash Arora and D.S. Puri. In the 1970s, leaving a stable job with one of India’s leading brands was nothing short of crazy. To add to that, not many Indians knew what a computer was. The word ‘start-up’ was decades away from its use in common parlance.
Over the next four decades, HCL would go on to become one of the largest IT companies in India and a household brand. In Just Aspire, Ajai not only shares the story of a successful business behemoth but also of dreams, aspirations, hope and achievements from the eyes of a small-town boy. Along this journey, he shares timeless lessons on entrepreneurship, technology and the future. For all dreamers and doers, this book is a treasure trove of inspiration.
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"In an era in which hubris is not just a leitmotif but is openly rewarded in business and society, it is not surprising that when we talk about leadership, humility is the last adjective that comes to mind. Commonly, leadership is associated with charisma, aggression and often naked ambition. Is there a relation between humility and high achievement? Are leaders born with humility or is it an acquired trait? Can humble leaders inspire employees to perform better? Is humility a sign of weakness or a strength in leaders?
For over three decades, Dr PV Ramana Murthy has been a curious student of leadership. In The Power of Humility, he explores this subject in detail. A result of over five years of rigorous first-hand research and numerous interviews with business leaders, the book provides a fresh perspective on how humble high achievers are rewriting the rules of leadership. In the process, it not only addresses the importance of humility, as a cognitive and affective skill for leaders, but also builds a unique framework-a powerful manual of sorts-which current and future leaders can use to emulate in their professional careers."
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"Executive fellow at Harvard Business School, Guest Shark on Shark Tank, and famed angel investor Matt Higgins reveals the counterintuitive formula for a life of perpetual growth that has been practiced for thousands of years by military leaders and serial entrepreneurs alike—forget the Plan B and burn the boats.
From Sun Tzu to Julius Caesar, the ancient Israelites to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, there’s a bold and highly effective tactic seen throughout history—when leaders want to motivate their troops for success, they destroy all opportunities for retreat, and go all-in on the mission. They burn their boats; it’s win or perish, and the clarity of sheer desperation propels them to victory.
Serial entrepreneur, brilliant investor, and television ..."
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