Book Review: The Case of the Bonsai Manager

The Case of the Bonsai Manager offers valuable suggestions on how managers can realize their full potential and avoid becoming stunted like the bonsai. The author, R Gopalakrishnan, is a well-respected Management veteran, well-traveled (during the first 30 years of his careers, he did not live in the same house for more than four years) and well-read (going by the diverse areas of knowledge he draws examples from). This qualifies him to be called a guru. It is fortunate for us that he sat down to write this very insightful book.

Drawing on science facts from Nature, business case-studies and anecdotes from his rich personal experience, the author builds powerful examples to reinforce his ideas for self-development. The writing is informal, light-hearted and entertaining. The key learnings of each chapter are neatly summarized at the end. This makes it easier to put the ideas into action. There are also some self-awareness exercises that can be used to help personalize the information for your own context.

This book will especially appeal to Indian sensibilities as a lot of the stories mentioned are set in India. The book is multi-layered because while it discusses the main theme, we also learn about other things like India's contemporary business history. As a trivia buff, it was interesting to me that Unilever in India ran seven companies as separate entities: Hindustan Lever, Lipton India, Brooke Bond, Tea Estates, Doom Dooma Tea Company, Ponds India, and Stepan Chemicals.

As a software project manager, I found numerous thought-provoking ideas in the book that have provided food for thought and left me inspired. 

The paperback version of the book retails for Rs 399 (it often sells for much lesser on Flipkart and Amazon) but the management advice in it is priceless.

Update 10-Oct-2014: Possibly because of Amazon.in's Diwali promotion, this book is currently selling for Rs 159, lesser than the price of the Kindle version.

Also see: Nature stories from the book "The Case of the Bonsai Manager"