Subir Chowdhury has helped numerous corporations to climb up the ladder of success in the course of his career. However, he has observed that while some companies benefit only marginally from the training others do exponentially well.
Chowdhury credits ‘a caring mindset’ as the difference in the performance of the two companies. Furthermore, he states that a caring mindset contains four facets.
The four facets make up a useful and memorable acronym: STAR. Here’s what it stands for:
Do you agree with Subir Chowdhury?
Tag: management
Subir Chowdhury – A Bio
Subir Chowdhury is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and consultants, who works with Fortune 500 companies to improve their processes, operations, quality and performance. His clients have saved billions of dollars by deploying his process of improvement methodologies. His client list includes industry leaders such as Bosch, General Motors, Hyundai Motor Company, KIA Motors, and many more. He established ASI Consulting Group, LLC in 2003 and became its Chairman and CEO. In 2011, along with his wife Malini, Subir began a foundation that has been instrumental in starting educational programmes at major universities of India, U.K. and the U.S.
In the course of his career, he has written 15 books and is noted for his knowledge about strategic initiatives, quality consulting, and training. He is the bestselling author of The Power of Six Sigma and The Ice Cream Maker. In The Ice Cream Maker, Chowdhury used storytelling to make complex topics like quality management. His books have sold more than a million copies and have been translated into over twenty languages.
Subir is included in the illustrious list of 50 Most Influential Management Thinkers in the World by Thinkers 50 of London. He is also revered by the New York Times as a “leading quality expert”. He is an eminent member of the World Innovation Foundation. He has also been conferred with the Outstanding American by Choice Award by The United States Department of Homeland Security.
Subir’s 15th book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough, guides individuals to develop a caring mindset. In this inspiring book, he says that a caring mindset is one that includes the qualities of being straightforward, thoughtful, accountable and having resolve (or STAR). The book has already garnered advance praise from stalwarts such as Narayana N.R. Murthy, and R.C. Bhargava.
The book has also received appreciation from professors of eminent institutions such as Scripps Research Institute and Columbia Business School. About the book, professor at Columbia Business School, Rita Gunther McGrath said, “Myths about how we should live our lives abound. But they are just that, myths. And too often they lead us to lesser and poorer lives.”
In this straightforward and inspiring book, Subir Chowdhury distills a lifetime of experience, rising from impoverished beginnings in Bangladesh, to his decades of consulting work with CEOs of many of the top Fortune 500 companies, to becoming one of our leading thinkers on workplace culture and organizational values. His STAR model for making a difference at work and in our personal lives is seemingly simple but surprisingly nuanced and profound. This short but powerful book could change your life.”
Subir says that the insights given in the book can be instrumental in bringing change in any industry or person. He further adds, “All four elements of STAR are critical. I find poorest of poor may have STAR qualities and richest of the richest may not have these qualities. Financial Success does NOT define a person has a quality mindset or not. You know, how many ‘so called financially successful people’ did crooked stuff? That’s why in the final chapter I talked about my grandfather who is a simple man (elementary school teacher) and a deeply caring person had a huge impact on my life. And now, 40 years later I am teaching world’s top CEOs and business leaders about my grandfather’s teaching which is STAR. In social media generation and money hungry youths in India are losing values and a caring mindset is missing in most of their lives. They should spend more face to face time with their grandparents, parents, families and friends who deeply care for them.”
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Introduction to Aanvikshiki – An Excerpt
Let me begin with a story.
There was once a child. Whenever he did something wrong, others used to tell him, ‘Why are you making so many mistakes? Why can’t you understand things well? Can’t you think properly?’
When the child went to school, he was brought up in an examination system instead of an education system. When he did not do well in his exams, his parents and teachers used to say, ‘Why can’t you study properly? Think about what we tell you, otherwise you will not only fail in your exams but also fail in life.’
As a teenager, he fell in love and had his heart broken. His friends told him, ‘We had told you not to go after that girl. Why did you not take our advice?’
When he got out of college and worked in various companies, his bosses would say, ‘Your effort is important in work—but what matters more is the result. Think about it and you will succeed in your career.’
When he got married, had children and was bestowed with the responsibilities of a householder, the elders in the house would advise him. They said, ‘Remember and understand your duties. No one can run away from it. It is part and parcel of life.’
Then came a stage in his life when his children were settled and he was close to retirement. His friend asked him, ‘Have you thought about what you are going to do post-retirement? Do you have a plan?’ He did not.
Finally, he was old and alone. His wife had passed away, his children and grandchildren were busy with their own lives, and he had nothing much to do. He had all the time in the world to look back and ponder over his life.
While reflecting upon every stage of his life—as a child, student, teenager, professional, homemaker, he was constantly advised by others to ‘think’, to succeed in life and to avoid making mistakes.
He hadn’t really got a chance to do an in-depth reflection on the word ‘think’ at all.
Now, for the first time in his life, he was ‘thinking about thinking’.
But was it too late?
All his life, he had been told by others to think. But no one actually taught him ‘how to think’.
Does the story tell you something? Does it ring a bell inside your head?
Do you think this story has a connection to your life?
If you really ‘think’, you will understand that this is a story about all of us. This is a story of every man and woman, every child, every teenager, every professional, the young and the old, the married and the unmarried.
This is the story of you and me.
Strange but true, one can lead one’s whole life without thinking.
What a tragedy.
Now let us reverse this story.
Imagine if you were taught how to think from the very beginning, the moment your thinking faculties develop. Instead of loading the child with information, if one taught the child the right methods of thinking—analysis, decision-making, prioritizing, planning, structuring, critical evaluation, logic—things would be different. You would question when questions are required. Accept others’ views where it is necessary. Think through all the consequences. Take calculated risks and, without doubt, you will be far more successful. You will be successful not only at the very end, but also at every stage of your life.
In this book, we present something very interesting: Some methods and techniques of thinking, the philosophy of thinking and alternative ways of thinking. This book is simple yet profound. It will lead you to something that will ignite your mind and intellect.
In a sure yet subtle way, it will change your thinking. It will add a new dimension to your views about life in general. I hope the book becomes a silent killer. It will kill various misassumptions you had in the past. It will kill your ignorance and make you happier. If understood from the right perspective, it will kill your ego. You may die internally once, only to live a full life again.
Most importantly, you will enjoy this journey—it is fun. It will help you discover yourself all over again.
Let us call this process an adventure in thinking.
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10 Tips for Smart Managers for Success in an Information Age
Steve Jobs, one of the most successful technology entrepreneurs and executives, did not have a degree or background in computer science or programming. Steve is not alone; this is also true of many other “digital immigrants” who have made significant contributions to IT. If people without a technology background can be technology pioneers, such success should encourage everyone to embrace digital intelligence and use technology intelligently in business and life.
Sunil Mithas’ book is intended for general managers and students who want to improve their digital IQ. The book espouses the belief that digital intelligence is an important competence that global leaders need to have in today’s economy.
Here are ten tips from the book that pave the way for managers in our Information Age:
Synchronise IT and Business Strategies
Govern IT Effectively
Manage IT with Discipline
Grab your copy of Digital Intelligence here and get hold of the most basic competencies and skill sets for thinking about IT and IT-enabled changes that all managers should have.
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