Lessons in corporate leadership (IANS Books This Weekend)

Whether you want to launch a new business or product, or are keen to know how to climb up the corporate ladder, the IANS bookshelf this week has experts sharing many facets of the big bad corporate world. Take a look.

1. Book: Launch: The Critical 90 Days From Idea to Market; Author: Scott Duffy; Publisher: Piatkus; Pages: 218; Price: Rs. 299

Ninety-seven percent of a rocket's fuel is used in the first three feet of its launch. The same is true of a new business, product or service. These first few

steps are absolutely critical and help determine which ventures will take off and which will fail.

The author has developed a practical approach for turning your big idea into a thriving venture by focusing on the crucial 90-day period immediately before, during and after starting your business. Based on his own experiences as a successful serial entrepreneur who has worked with Richard Branson and Tony Robbins - and true stories of other big names in business - the author has collected all the

lessons you need for launching a successful new venture.

2. Book: Success Recipe; Author: Brian Tracy and Surendran J; Publisher: Pan Macmillan; Pages: 210; Price: Rs. 299

Many people live their lives like a dog chasing a rabbit in a summer field. As the dog runs after the rabbit, another rabbit suddenly pops up and the dog veers to pursue it. Just as the dog almost catches the second rabbit, a third rabbit pops up and off goes the dog again in a different direction. At the end of the day, the dog is exhausted and has not caught a single rabbit. This is the story of too many lives and careers.

This book is for ambitious men and women who are serious about achieving as much as possible in the shortest period of time, from practical, proven, simple and easily actionable ideas to methods and strategies that you can use to go from where you are to where you want to reach.

3. Book: Alice in Corporate Land; Author: Tulika Tripathi; Publisher: Portfolio; Pages: 128; Price: Rs. 299

This book is a fairy tale, but with a twist. A nervous and confused young girl is trying to get a good night's rest before her first day at work. Alice's rabbit leads her on a magical journey where she meets Pinocchio, Rapunzel, Cinderella and the Seven Dwarfs who coach her by imparting important career lessons in their own inimitable style.

4.Book: Give Up to Get On; Author: Peg Streep and Alan B. Bernstein; Publisher: Piatkus; Pages: 262; Price: Rs. 299

We all have a natural tendency to see the best things, to put a positive spin on situations and to err on the side of optimism. We are a nation of wishful thinkers -

hard-wired to believe that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. But hanging in there at all costs, and persisting, no matter how many setbacks you face, is actually unhealthy and unbalanced.

This books explains why knowing when to quit can be an act of self-assertion, a source of potential empowerment and a doorway to new possibilities. The most satisfied people know both how to persist and how to give up. They are flexible and adaptive to change. They know when to give up on unattainable goals and move on.

And when they do give up, they do so decisively, and set new goals without looking back.