4 minute read
, No 2(1) , August 2017, ISSN: 2348- 7666, pp
The book "Journey of a Corporate Mentor" is an international bestseller on Amazon, authored by Shobha G Rao, recreating true life experiences of being mentored by corporate professional Mr. Girish V Rao for decades that can really inspired in several unpredictable ways, a worthy read for every stage of life.
This book is an account more than proximity allows, in tracing the journey Girish V Rao, who after his Alloysius College days in Mangaluru, left the comforts of
home to make a glorious global career in Consumer Electronics and then Steel Industry; retired at 58 years as CEO of Essar Steel Middle East region and returned to Mangalore and now contributes tremendously as a corporate consultant. During 2020 lockdown, Girish ji reconnected with the different people that he had mentored at different stages of his career and this book gives a firsthand account of the win-win mentorship experiences during his eventful corporate journey in retrospect. Perhaps such deep mantras can be authored only by an all knowing 'better-half'.
An MBA post graduate degree was the platform of Girish V Rao to get his career started as a Sales Executive with BPL in the restrictive times of the 1980’s, literally scouting the streets to appoint dealers across the country. During the opening of the Indian economy in the 1990’s, he created effective bigger teams to tackle greater markets and in the millennium boom with multinationals, he achieved recognition and immense goodwill as Vice President of LG. In 2007, he took a leap of faith into the Steel Industry, introducing the unique concept of organized steel retail selling, catering to the small-scale consumers. After his last corporate posting at Dubai with international exposure in 2015, he continued making a difference as a trusted consultant, especially during the post pandemic times.
Girish ji attributes his rapid career
growth to the great support he received from his teams. About 31 of his many mentees recollect in this book how the guidance from Girish moulded and motivated them in their corporate life, and they in turn continued and passed on the cycle, by becoming great mentors themselves -success breeds success. It is said that a good mentor can surely have a positive impact on one’s professional learning and growth. The book is filled with simple examples of how a true demonstration of mentorship skills can lead to immense hard practical results.
The thrilling continuing thread of narration of the corporate journey is supplemented with interesting poems that depict different stages of any person’s career growth like the start, the adventure, the adapting, the additional responsibilities, the recognition, the decline, the culture change, the imbalance, the leap of faith, the business transformation, the new approach, the international impact and the contributory stage too. Striving for balance during the different stages of personal and professional life is also something that any reader can relate to really.
In the quest to try to master the 5 M’s of management -manpower, machines, material, method, and money, it is the art of 'people managing' that can play a huge role for accelerated career development. This striking book portrays the case study of Girish ji as a mentor, whose own career graph took a skyward path , even as he shaped the career path of his team members to greater success.
The true-life depiction of corporate life in this book is like a breath of fresh air in the present times of uncertainty and trust issues. The factual real examples of mentoring skills given in the book, could become an inspiration about how to use mentoring as an effective tool for all the stakeholders involved to rise above the heights of any cloud into the heavenly blue skies of success.
Reading this phenomenal Biography will get you, all the information used by the protagonist wonder personality Mr. Girish Rao.
The Foreword : By Dr.Deependra (Dipy) Nigam, an alumnus of of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of management studies and over 40 years of varied experience in Sales & Marketing with lofty contribution to organisations like VIP, American Express, HR organisations like Sinclair and Zodiac and much more. Since 2009 he has been a Managing Partner and Director with Horton International, a top organization. In his Foreword he expressly elaborates that Girish ji is a great Leader and very effective Mentor by any definition. After a lifetime of working together they were cofounders of 'Insalespro' a body dedicated to enhancing the interests of the sales community. Scores of their mutual contacts have expressed their admiration and have gained a lot personally and professionally. In this post-Covid arena, the challenges and targets are rare and merciless; here mentors like Girish Ji and their formulae are vital and will be in demand more than ever in times to come.
Brief on Author : Shobha Rao, is the better half of the protagonist of the book Mr. Girish Rao. If there is one good word to describe her role, it is "Smilemaker", the brand she
has adopted, and you will smile once you get the book! Her parents are Janaki and Vasudev Kanemar, well known author in the Kannada literary circles of India. Shobha’s grandfather Kanemar Venkappaiah was a visionary who pioneered the setting up of Udupi style hotels in Mumbai, a century ago. Their century plus year old paternal ancestral home 'Kanemar Compound' in Car Street Mangalore, counts as one of the heritage homes of Coastal Karnataka. In late 1990s, Shobha was a sought-after journalist for the 'Bombay Times' newspaper with her own column called "Ordinary People ''. Her first book was released in 2011, called "From Ordinary to Extraordinary".
