My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future

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Are you diverse? On what metrics are you diverse? Do you have ethnic diversity? Gender diversity? Racial diversity? All that stuff. But inclusiveness is a state of mind. It’s an emotion. Are you going to make In the single most valuable corporate benefit I received in my early career, the head of BCG's Chicago office, Carl Stern, called to tell me to take up to six months off—with pay—to help care for my father. (Alok - Amazing examples of EMPATHY from employers) Nooyi’s memoir humanizes her in a way that former news headlines on her executive business presence did not. Readers witness firsthand the flair that her family, her thatha included, saw in the first woman of color and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company. Mine is not an immigrant story of hardship—of fighting my way to America to escape poverty, persecution, or war. … Still, I do feel connected to everyone who streams into America, whatever their circumstances, determined to work hard and to set in motion a more prosperous life for themselves and their families. … I still have that fear—an immigrant’s fear—that presses me to try to do well and to belong.” Nooyi takes us through the events that shaped her, from her childhood and early education in 1960s India, to the Yale School of Management, to her rise as a corporate consultant and strategist who soon ascended into the most senior executive ranks. The book offers an inside look at PepsiCo, and Nooyi’s thinking as she steered the iconic American company toward healthier products and reinvented its environmental profile, despite resistance at every turn.

Bottom line is, in this book you won't find any major revelation, as very less REAL life is disclosed. As a reader you hardly have any professional take away from such a successful person, apart from "working passionately/hard can be key to success" . This is a very difficult discussion that needs to be had because as the world has gotten more complex, as companies have gotten bigger, boards have remained small and are still meeting on the same agenda. Typically, companies appoint a D&I head and say, “OK, it’s done. I’ve appointed a D&I head. Nobody can question me now, because I can point to the fact that I have a head of D&I.” But what people forget is that diversity is a mathematical number.

Success!

What a ride. First of all, Nooyi's work ethic and discipline will put any CEO, manager, and policymaker to shame. My jaw dropped. This is a must-read guide-book for anyone interested in management, policymaking, and resource allocation. Nooyi brilliantly highlights the importance of connections between private and public sectors, governments (and their agencies), academia, science, community groups, and philanthropic organizations. These entities are not mutually exclusive and decisions must be made utilizing the interconnectedness between them.

I chose Indra Nooyi's recent book, My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future, to read this January. She is one of a few immigrant women of color who ran a Fortune 50 company. I enjoyed her book very much as she wrote about her struggles with Kids, parents, married life, and her demanding career. Her memoir is quite honest and down to earth as she spoke frankly about her privileges and limitations. When a successful person writes an auto-b, are they obliged to present their life experiences as advice or lessons for others? Maybe, I don’t know. The book seems to be average on that front as well. The later chapters about her post retirement phase are filled with her thoughts & recos on issues like support for women at work, elderly care, saving the environment etc. Which again is nothing new. I’ve been a huge fan of Indra Nooyi. As an Indian born immigrant who lived in the US and started his career in management consulting, Indra Nooyi’s journey and meteoric rise through her career was hugely inspiring and something worth learning about and emulating. women. Women are a potent force in the economy. As somebody said, they represent the biggest emerging market opportunity in the United States.I am now more appreciative of efforts put in to ensure employee welfare such as paid leaves, encouraging diversity and inclusion, pay disparity and level-playing fields for women. My knowledge about these issues only touched the surface but through this book, I could wade into these topics. everybody feel welcome and included? That requires deep involvement by all people in power to make sure that you identify bad behavior that’s not inclusive, nip it in the bud, and model the right behavior. A D&I officer can’t do it. It has to be a responsibility and a tone at the top. And boards have to ask CEOs, “Why are your metrics not trending in the right way? Are you really looking for the right When I was doing it, I did it because I was clueless about that topic and I wanted to learn more about it. The first step is to get into the details. Don’t sign something unless you understand it. And if you’re confronted with a problem, really get into the details before going to the big picture. Zoom in and then zoom out. And third, have humility. If you don’t know something, feel free to reach out and talk to people. Because what happens is typically you say, “God, if I brought in an expert to help me, then I’d realize how little I know about the subject.” Big deal. You can’t know everything about everything. Bring in the expert. Let them coach you. Sitting in your office, you might be able to ask more questions than you could in a bigger meeting. I honestly believe that getting the experts in, sitting down one-on-one, and learning everything there is to learn is a good thing. I am writing this as a cultural anthropologist and Indologist, as well as alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and retired member of the Indian Administrative Service. An extraordinary window into the life, career, and family of a brilliant business strategist. A terrific addition to the story of American business.”

I also had no regrets about leaving my job and was sure I wouldn’t miss my role as PepsiCo’s chair either, when I stepped down in a few months.” Gritty, joyous, and visionary, Nooyi tells the story of an everyday person living an extraordinary life, leading beautifully and confidently from the front. A must-read for all.” That’s why I use the term work juggle. Work–life juggling. Are you constantly trading off priorities? It’s when you’ve constantly got multiple balls in the air and you hope nothing drops. It’s not easy for a stay-at-home mom who’s juggling so many home priorities. It’s not easy for a working woman without a family who’s also juggling other priorities—it could be an aging parent or a relative she’s looking after or a work environment that’s hostile. Everybody’s juggling all the time. If you really are in a war for talent, you should want these women to come into your company. If that’s the case, let’s find a way to make all of the family responsibilities equal between men and women. Let’s find a way to make it easier for women to come into the workplace and retain their jobs as opposed to dropping out in large numbers. So men in power have to start discussing these issues with a lot more heart than just saying, “Oh god, it’s a feminist issue.” This is an issue that has to be approached like an economist. It’s a resource that has to be allocated in the economy to improve the GDP of the country. Second, while you’re early in your career, especially if you’re ascending, create a digital record of your entire life: every speech, every photograph, every piece of tape that’s available on awards you might’ve received. Collect all of that. Whether you write a book or not, collect all of that information because you never know when you’re going to use it.An astonishing story of absolute grit, perseverance and bone-chilling sacrifice. Books like these establish the fact that leaders are made, not born. quite often when I made suggestions, someone would jump in and say, “Oh no, Indra. That’s too theoretical.” A few minutes later, a man would suggest the exact same thing, using the same words, and be congratulated for his terrific, insightful idea. We never shared fears or hopes and dreams with our elders. They just were not the kind to have those conversations. Any effort might be cut off with the words Pray harder. God will help you find a way. After finishing the book, I listened to Guy Raz's interview with her, which provides additional insight into Indra's personality and how she sees this world.