Books, movies, biz & life lessons: a look at how top bosses spend their ‘me’ time

FAVOURITE BOOK: ‘Raavan:Enemy of Aryavarta’ by AmishTripathi.

FAVOURITE MOVIE: ‘Uri: TheSurgical Strike’. I was happy toknow about the intelligence we have in our army.

FAVOURITE SERIES: ‘The Haunting of Hill House’. Itis a very well-directed series.

BIGGEST BUSINESSLESSON: It was actual-ly something I alwaysknew, but that businessmantra of mine got reaf-firmed this year — busi-nesses should never bebuilt on borrowed money.

BIGGEST LIFELESSON: Never be flexi-ble with your goals. Ifyour plan doesn’t work,

change your plan. Butnever change your goal.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: Banning plastic bottlesfrom my house and from all Dabur and Lite Bite

offices. Also, we have initiated a programmewhere we are encouraging every employee to col-lect 10 kg of plastic waste, which is picked up byour team and sent for recycling.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: I have always led a disci-plined lifestyle, but one change I introduced this

year was: ‘Do not touch iPad/phoneonce home.’

MILLENNIAL LINGO YOU PICKED UP:There are actually two new words I learnt from

my kids. The first is ‘bruh’, which, I was told, isthe shorter form of brother orbro. The second, which is moreof an SMS lingo, is NAC — short

for ‘not a chance’.

MEMORABLE MEAL:Wild boar pasta at LaGiostra in Florence, Italy.

RESOLUTION FOR2020: Volunteer and

give more to charity.While I have been supporting some charities, Iintend to take some time out and volunteer in

some of the community development initiativesthat are undertaken by Dabur.

ANITA DONGREFOUNDER, HOUSE OF ANITA DONGRE

FAVOURITE BOOK: Measuring WhatCounts by Joseph Stiglitz, Jean-PaulFitoussi & Martine Durand strengthens mybelief that companies and countries mustfocus on sustainability and the environ-ment, not just on profits.

BIGGEST BUSINESS LESSON: Edit. Edit.Edit! Whether it is the buying we do for ourstores or the unnecessary things we allow ourselves toget dragged into — edit! Keep life simple and focus on the

things that matter.

FAVOURITE SERIES: The only show Iwatch regularly is ‘Young Sheldon’. I lovehis character. Another brilliant show was

‘Made in Heaven’. It was well-writtenand styled, but more importantly, it

reflected India in all its 21st centuryjuxtapositions.

BIGGEST LIFE LESSON: Cut out the clutter. Right fromyour wardrobe to what you do, watch or engage in,choose mindfully. I made a conscious attempt to useevery minute doing what I like and it has been a prettygood year so far.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: We have built partnershipsthat make sure we use sustainable fabrics, especially forAND and Global Desi. We have opened a fifth training cen-tre to contribute to an economy led by financially inde-pendent women. What we are most proud of, though, issubstituting all our plastic packaging with biodegradableplastic.

MEMORABLE MEAL: Benaisha, my daughter-in-law,made me a home-cooked Sindhi meal from scratch. Shetook the trouble to selecting my favourite dishes, learntto make them and then presented me with a full meal allthe way in New York. And she is a Parsi —this wasn’t the food she grew up with.

MEMORABLE DESTINATION: Weshot in the Rann of Kutch and itwas breathtakingly beautiful.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: I’m goodat early bedtime and dinner at5:30 pm and exercising regular-ly. This year, though, I made it apoint to spend more timewith loved ones.

MILLENNIAL LINGOYOU PICKED UP: Earlyin the year, Benaishasaw I was delightedwhen an eveningevent got cancelledand she said I haveJOMO (joy of missingout).

RESOLUTION FOR2020: Do more of whatmakes me happy.

Big Shots &Their Big Likes

FAVOURITE BOOK: ‘Chocolates on the PillowAren’t Enough’ by Jonathan Tisch. Jonathan is thechairman of Loews Hotels & Co and one of the

most respected leaders in travel andhospitality in the US. This is a quin-tessential read for anyone working ina consumer-facing business.

BIGGEST BUSINESS LESSON: Forany business, it is a core learning thatgrowth should always be optimised through themeans of sustainability. At Oyo, it has and willalways be about growing right versus growing fast.We are tirelessly working towards building a busi-

ness that has strong business economics and financial health.

BIGGEST LIFE LESSON: There will never be a substitute forperseverance and hard work and you should continue to solvethe problem. It might look like a tough journey ahead but thisis also the best ride you will steer to reach your ultimate goal.Be fearless.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: Across Oyo buildings in India, wefollow many environment-friendly practices. In SilverKey andTownhouse buildings, we use fixed, large soap and lotion dis-pensers instead of small plastic bottles. In our flagship build-ings, we use glass bottles instead of plastic ones. In CollectionO, we use key cards to automatically turn off electrical deviceswhen not in use.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: Last year, I ensured I started my day

early and went through emails and WhatsApp messagesfrom teams from across India, the US, China and

Europe. This helped me in assisting them withstrategic decisions and led to effective timemanagement. I also started doing yoga to beatthe pains of travel.

MEMORABLE MEAL: At Dakshin in New Delhi. Itwas keerai kootu and elaneer payasam.

MEMORABLE DESTINATION: I got the opportunityto visit Thiruvananthapuram and Kovalam and it was anenthralling experience.

RESOLUTION FOR 2020: To dream! Plan and focus on doinga few things and do them well to achieve the best results.

RITESH AGARWALGROUP CEO, OYO HOTELS & HOMES

FAVOURITE BOOK: ‘Red Rising’, a sci-fiseries on humans setting up a new typeof society in Mars and the repercussions

of that.

FAVOURITE MOVIE: ‘What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali’.

BIGGEST BUSINESS LESSON: It’s easy to miss the for-est for the trees, even if you are constantly aware.Designing a map for yourself, every year, can help orientyourself in the forest. Going between big picture andeveryday life is a science and an art. The mostimportant lesson I learnt was how to do this.

BIGGEST LIFE LESSON: Recognising that mygreatest strength is the people I bring in to mylife, both at work and at home.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: I grew a terracegarden. I have stopped using plastic bottlesand utensils at home and work. At Vue.ai, wehave had a fantastic year working withbrands across the globe, which use ourproducts and our data platform to

make their businessesmore sustainable.

MEMORABLEMEAL: Atour very

own EastCoast Road in

Chennai. It was

the only weekend off we took in 2019 — with thekids. The chai and molaga (chilli) bajji there werethe real bomb I needed to break a series ofexhausting weeks.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: We have filled ourhome with board games and strategygames. We play every day, with kids, withcousins, office folks. It rewires the brain ininteresting ways.

RESOLUTION FOR 2020: Enjoy theprocess of unmaking and makingmyself, my team, my company, my

family. In 2020, I’m going tobe focusing on version 2.0

and what that looks likefor the next phase — thenext five-year marathon

we are aiming for.

MILLENNIAL LINGOYOU PICKEDUP: IssaMood.

AMIT BURMANCHAIRMAN, DABUR INDIA

FAVOURITE BOOK: ‘Creative Selection’ by KenKocienda. It’s an eye-opener.

FAVOURITE MOVIE: I liked ‘Ford v Ferrari.’I like cinema where people are forced to find

ways out of corners.

FAVOURITE SERIES: I can’t commit myself to a fullseries of anything, but I enjoyed ‘Our Planet’ and I dipinto Zomato Originals now and then.

BIGGEST BUSINESS LESSON: To keep trying and theanswer does emerge. Sometimes in small steps that lead to afundamental lesson. As we learnt through small but additivesteps to cut costs, we learnt to grow impactfully as well. This isnow a part of our everyday culture.

BIGGEST LIFE LESSON: Stay open to all sorts of perspectivesaround you and keep learning.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: I try my best to avoid plastic usage.More than two years ago, Zomato was the first food app in Indiato actively introduce the no-cutlery option and we have beenconstantly pushing to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2019, weintroduced biodegradable packaging options to our restaurantpartners to encourage less plastic waste.

MEMORABLE MEAL: It is really aboutenjoying my favourites — butter chick-en, a good naan, some biryani.

MEMORABLE DESTINATION: I love Prague. I have a favouritehotel and a favourite room that overlooks cobbledstreets. It feels like home away from home.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: Compared with 2018, I am lead-ing a more balanced lifestyle — I’vebeen reading more, eatinghealthier, doing things I loveand have been more focusedthan ever before. A good lead-

ership team lets me have that balance.

MILLENNIAL LINGO YOU PICKEDUP: Although I hear it all around me, Irarely use them. Call me old school butI prefer more traditional usage. I stilltype out full messages and writelong emails.

RESOLUTION FOR 2020: Tofundamentally commit to doingeverything Zomato and I can doto get as close to our carbonneutral goals as possible.

FAVOURITE BOOK: ‘Educated’ by TaraWestover. It is a testament to the raw,transformative power of the human spiritand instinctive intelligence.

FAVOURITE MOVIE: ‘The Two Popes’. It isjust brilliant.

FAVOURITE SERIES: ‘Chernobyl’. Itwas history and it was the future.

BIGGEST BUSINESS LESSON: If youhave good people working with you, yourbusiness will thrive and your work will bemeaningful.

BIGGEST LIFE LESSON: Life is unpre-dictable. Respect every moment.

MEMORABLE DESTINATION: Lodi Gardens, New Delhi.

SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: We stoppedusing plastic bottles in our office, andPenguin Random House India moved toprinting on recycled paper.

LIFESTYLE CHANGE: This year, I resolvedto adopt a healthier lifestyle. I cut down onsugar and carbs, ate smaller meals, exer-cised more and regularly.Overall, tried to be fit-ter.

MEMORABLE MEAL:Rumble Tumble scram-bled eggs for breakfastat a gorgeous

homestay called Abbotsford,Nainital.

MILLENNIAL LINGO YOU PICKEDUP: “Peng”, which means some-thing is great. That girl is “peng”, likegood-looking; or thatpizza is“peng”, as init tastesdelicious.

DEEPINDER GOYALCEO, ZOMATO

MERU GOKHALEPUBLISHER, THE PENGUIN PRESS GROUP

ET Sunday

ASHWINI ASOKANCEO, MAD STREET DEN

SOURCE: ET PANACHE

06 Books! Books! Books! There is no end to knowledge. All youneed to do is flip through the pages to get that extra dose ofinfotainment. So simply read on... SUCCESS