Novice to Strider: A Good Guide for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Review by Ronica Wahi
By Harish C Rijhwani
Edition Reviewed: May, 2020, Independently
Published, Kindle.
Pages: 132.
ISBN: 9781234567890
The cover by Mansi Shah is arresting and quite
revealing. It makes an impactful visual impression, driving home the idea that
the path linking the world of technology and the world of business has a gap
substantial enough to make one fall straight down if one fails to be aware of
it. This failure is quite possible because this gap, as the cover indicates and
the title – Technology to Business: The
Invisible Gap - asserts, is invisible. The job Harish C Rijhwani has taken
up is to attempt to make it visible – this is the intent and the achievement of
this book.
For a person who lacks a degree or any formal
training in technology and/or business, there is not infrequently a certain
hesitation in picking up a book that delves into these domains and then actually
reading through that book. Rijhwani makes a smart move in structuring and
writing the book in such a way that once the reader starts on it, the conceived
challenge of understanding technology and business-related concepts as a novice
dissipates quickly enough and actual learning can take place.
All over the world, the technique of story-telling as
instruction - narrating the tale of an individual to deliver a lesson or
message being among the key plots herein - is a time-tested one. It has been in
place since the ancient ages and continues to be used in varied ways and
contexts, starting right from the stories we listen to as children. In view of the
subject that Technology to Business: The
Invisible Gap has, using this technique makes the book unusual, intriguing,
and simple to follow. The individual whose story Rijhwani fits into this
time-tested model is he himself.
More than substantiating through a real-life example,
this factor of putting himself as the one whose story the reader learns from lends
authenticity and weight to what he says. Rijhwani’s own formal learning during
his final semester of engineering and then MBA, his years of professional
involvement in IT with practical lessons, and his experience of teaching
management students at a number of reputed institutions enable him to elucidate
principal concepts and offer insights.
Rijhwani categorizes all that he wishes to discuss
in terms of fundamental lessons. While the first chapter, as he aptly tells
through its title, is “The Turning Point” that helps him realize some principal
aspects he needs to learn, the next nine chapters take cues from what were the
discussion points in his “Integrated Marketing” lectures during his MBA to
offer his own discussions before signing off each chapter the way a teacher
would sign off a session, and the eleventh chapter brings together a
comprehensive picture plus a pointer list.
This strategy of structuring the book thus works well on multiple
levels: it helps him to organize ideas well, to classify and then share his
experiences together with case studies more effectively, to simulate a teaching
paradigm, and to connect well with the readers through evoking their memories
of their own learning experiences in classrooms.
As mentioned, Rijhwani blends personal experiences,
explanation of concepts, case studies, and interesting anecdotes in a manner
that there is an educative experience sans
the oft-encountered obstacle of venturing on new ground. He relates
episodes and information that go beyond the topic, but aid in understanding the
topic. Crisp editing could have prevented a couple of factual inaccuracies
though – he writes that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the
14th century, but this was actually in the 15th century,
and that the First World War broke out in 1912, but the correct year is 1914,
and prevented also the few grammatical errors and typos. Of course the absence
of oversights makes better the overall offering, but here, the oversights do
not really take away the essential credit due to the book as they do not
interfere with its intent and effect.
Technology to
Business: The Invisible Gap stresses that focussing
on technology alone is insufficient; the writer reveals that focussing thus was
what he too did in the initial years of his career. To fill the gap, one must
be able to think and work strategically, and to understand market dynamics. In
the Foreword, Jagan Nathan Chittam
establishes how important the creation of a need, the impact of a product, and
the relevance of a product are to achieving success in business. Rijhwani
discusses, among other key concepts, strategically approaching business needs
or problems, different facets and tactics for marketing, different sorts of
campaigns, and customer mindset. He relates stories of many popular brands and
other relevant stories that are quite fascinating such as the one about how the
Customer Loyalty Program started more than two centuries ago!
The language flows smooth and lucid, and the style
is light and conversational. Addressing the reader directly with “you” is also
a good way of making the work conversational, simulating a teaching-learning
model, and connecting. Graphs, pie charts, tables, and diagrams for explaining
business and marketing concepts, and photographs of technology products, marketing
campaigns and advertisements, loved items having nostalgic value, places, and
other stuff help grasp conveyed ideas and keep the reader engaged. With the
feel of the classroom and associated memories are evoked other remembrances
through some of the images such as those of Frooti, Little Hearts, swings, and
Rubik’s Cubes, as well as through some of his remarks or asides such as his
reference to having cucumber from a small vendor with his friends while
returning home from class.
In Chapter 12 entitled “Fond Memories”, Rijhwani
takes adding the personal touch a step further and in a sense, invites the
reader into the MBA classroom that for him as well as his reader is the focal
ground where the gap between technology and business is sought to be filled. He
shares photographs of his MBA class taken during a session and the review comments
of his teacher on his “Reflective Journal” submitted after his training. The
comments of his teacher furthers the connect and also puts a stamp on
Rijhwani’s hold on the concepts, just in case that stamp is still required after
having read the text through.
The takeaways from this text extend to the
characteristics of the writer such as his willingness to take up challenges,
his eagerness for growth, and his inclination towards self-reflection. In the Preface itself and other parts of the
book, he is frank about where he did well and where he didn’t – and so he tells
about his positive attitude and the lessons he imbibed on his journey.
Since the book talks about the essentials of
business, it speaks to a reader who may not necessarily be aiming to sell
technology. Thus, any aspiring entrepreneur can use it as a good guide. Rijhwani
has made understanding technology and business-related ideas easy and enjoyable
for the reader but it goes without saying that writing this book in such a
style would not have been easy. This too
is part of why this work is a triumph.
Certainly recommended!
Amazon link for Technology
to Business: The Invisible Gap (paperback):
Amazon link for Technology
to Business: The Invisible Gap (Kindle Edition):
Read my review on Rijhwani’s Master the Mystic Arts: The Journey Begins, a book on demystifying
the world of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence here:
Learning
Data Science can be Fun!
To know more about Rijhwani’s writing journey and
works, and his tips for writers, do watch his interview:
Interview
- Harish Rijhwani, Healthcare IT Professional and Writer of a Unique Book on
Data Science
DISCLAIMER:
Ronica Wahi is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate
advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising
fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If you make a purchase through any
of the Amazon links provided by Ronica here, she may receive a small
commission, without any extra cost to you.
Thank for your wonderful review Ma'am !!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sir! Glad you liked it :)
DeleteThe review is very well written and insightful. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
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