Reading this reminded me of my first mock-interview with during my placements at IIM Bangalore. The interviewer appreciated how I had weaved a narrative of my journey, and it was then I realised that an interview is in-between the bullet points. Your career story needs to be fluid, seamlessly connecting those bullet points with an emotionally appealing narrative. Just as Steve Jobs famously said ‘Connecting the dots looking backwards’.
Although McKinsey Way and McKinsey Mind are touted pre-placement reads, this book should be added to the list. And if you were to select just one, you can skip the above two! As some of the relevant takeaways and principles from McKinsey have been indirectly mentioned in this book.
However, this book is not merely to improve your odds at landing your dream job; and just as the author says – stories propel civilisations. Your storytelling ability can help you crack hard nuts to land you that dream date, breakfast pitch with the angel investor, and closure with the difficult client. Unlike swimming, running, or playing a guitar, this skill is not only more important but also more frequently used; except for a Zombie Apocalypse, when we should run rather than reason!
Rather than summarising this book, I will make this a teaser that pushes you to read the book.
The overall narrative follows Sinek’s Golden Circle, beginning with the ‘Why’ and then proceeding to ‘How’ and ‘What’. Furthermore, the what focuses on corporate career and professional growth, ensuring that you do not try to author the next Harry Potter but rather try to imbibe storytelling skills and find practical utilisation to succeed in life.
The book begins with underscoring the importance of storytelling by implying its contribution in the survival our species, while describing the ways in which stories tickle our brains and stick to our minds. It then proceeds to describe storytelling in movies, fancy Hollywood thrillers as well as cliche Bollywood love stories, leveraging pop culture references to connect with the readers. This helps the reader understand the mechanics of storytelling and draft effective outlines.
The next two parts focus on leveraging these skills with your office work and personal growth. Although such applications can be practically endless, it addresses the most significant ones such as driving change, building brands, and closing sales for businesses; whereas, on personal growth frontier it addresses presentations, interviews, public speaking, and personal brand. Along side, the author also elaborates the nuances requiring discretion such as the limits of humour and sensitive topics, to avoid unwanted controversy or making a fool of yourself.
Throughout the book Sandeep has ensured that he practices what he preaches; whether using pop culture references early-on to connect with the audience or the Magic of 3! So, if you are a literature buff – it is worth reading this book twice to appreciate the manner in which the very concepts have been put into practice.
Overall it is an easy two-flight read; however, I recommend reading it through a longer duration over using short stints of evening tea. Personally, I loved reading this book and it nudged me enough to overcome the inertia and give a shot at starting a YouTube Channel.
As usual this is not a sponsored review; however, since the author and I are alumni of the same Management Institute, I will add this Amazon link here!
Feature Image Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 