Title: Bond to Baba – Successful
Strategies
Author: Ninad Karpe, Chartered Accountant
James Bond, Formula 1 racing, Alexander the Great and Baba Ramdev – what do
these have in common? If I were asked this question two weeks ago, I would
admit that I don’t see anything in common. If, however, I were asked this
question today, I would say ‘Strategy lessons for business’. Bond to Baba is
the latest book on business strategy by Ninad Karpe, who is a Chartered
Accountant and has led Aptech, one of India’s largest education
companies.
Before you frown on the subject of ‘business
strategy’ due to its perception as a subject meant exclusively for thinkers,
senior executives and management gurus; Bond to Baba is one book that has
simplified strategy to make sense to a 12 year – old while exploring enough
depth to add value to a seasoned business executive. The book addresses success
stories from films, sports, history and politics; explores the causes of
success in each of these stories, bridges it to what businesses can learn from
them and summarises them into timeless lessons for business.
Bond to Baba has been published in 2018 by Popular
Prakashan, one of India’s leading publication houses, and retails at INR
250. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. As of
August 2018, this book has been rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by more than 66
reviewers and has swiftly made its way to the list of ‘Memorable business books
of 2018’ by Amazon.
The book begins with exploring the James
Bond movies and the factors that have caused the franchise to appeal to
generation after generation. If you think you are a Bond fanatic, think twice!
Ninad has picked up a surgeon’s knife to analyse scenes from Bond movies in
minute detail and linked them to lessons for business. He addresses how the
James Bond brand has been reinvented and represented through the past decades
to keep it updated to evolving expectations of the audience. I am browsing
through Netflix archives as I type this to watch Spectre and Skyfall once again
to experience Ninad’s observations.
The book then moves on to explore what
businesses can learn from Formula 1 races. Ninad is a Formula 1 enthusiast for
more that 20 years and amalgamates his depth in the sport as well as business
to produce business lessons. He explains that businesses can learn about
agility, efficiency and exploiting data from Formula 1. “If it takes less than
two seconds for a (pit stop) crew to change four tyres, can we justify a delay
beyond 24 hours in responding to an email?” This is a statement in the book
which is worth pasting on the walls of every office in the world.
The book has also elucidated lessons from
history which can be applied even in a contemporary business scenario. The
description of the Battle of Gaugamela, where Alexander’s forces go head to
head with King Darius, was so picturesque that I was transported to that
battlefield in 331 BC and forgot that I was reading a book on business
strategy. In this section, the reader learns that the right strategy, agility
and understanding the opponent can help win the war even with a deficiency in
resources.
Ninad has sought inspiration for this book
not just in James Bond, but also in movies like Bahubali and Sairat. In fact,
the lessons that this book presents from these moves are analogous but yet, in
sync. Bahubali can teach businesses to think big, quite literally; while Sairat
can teach businesses to think local. A large vision and local thinking are both
sine-qua-non for any business to flourish in the long run.
The book educates the reader about the art
of brand extension by exploring the story of none other than Baba Ramdev. He
maintains that companies must be clear about and enhance their core competency
which is yoga for Baba Ramdev while high quality beverages is the core
competency of Starbucks. This section deliberates on other tools like high
visibility and brand extension that helped Baba Ramdev and his pet company,
Patanjali touch revenues of INR 105,610 million.
After business lessons from movies, sports,
food, history, and godmen; perhaps the only gamut remaining untouched was
business lessons from politics. The readers will not be disappointed to find
that the book also dwells on the political stints of Hardik Patel and Arvind
Kejriwal. Ninad explains how Hardik did not evolve his strategy as he gained
more political mileage and hence faded into oblivion not soon after he rose.
Through Arvind Kejriwal’s rapid rise to popularity, he explains the important
and forgotten essence of simplicity. By focussing on something as simple and
relatable as ‘corruption’, Kejriwal could swing the masses in his favour and go
on to become the Chief Minister of Delhi.
I enjoyed the classic and contemporary
examples and every section provoked me to think how it is linked to business
lessons and strategy. As a reader, I was also looking forward to the author’s
experience in applying these business lessons in his professional life owing to
his rich experience of running an international company. I am hopeful that the
readers will have the opportunity to read about them in one of his future
books. This book, meanwhile, can be described as a fun to read, informative
document which will leave you thinking long after you have devoured it and
parked it on your shelf.
Today, books don’t command the monopoly they
once did for being the only sources of knowledge. They face competition for
attention from videos, audiobooks, podcasts and high quality blogs. Bond to
Baba delivers content in bite sized capsules with the right blend of stories
and analysis. It avoids unnecessary management jargon or excess beating around
the bush. In these aspects, it is one of the easiest to read books I have come
across and the kind of book we need today.
