| The CEO of Bajaj Allianz can read 'em and leave 'em.
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| “My newspaper reading happens primarily in the bathroom,” laughs Kamesh Goyal, CEO, Bajaj Allianz Insurance, with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. From reading Lotpot comics as a child, Goyal has now graduated to reading biographies and autobiographies.
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| “They narrate the experiences of a person from college to business, there is so much drama, excitement and challenge that it’s as exciting as anything can be,” he reasons.
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| Pure fiction is a strict no-no, unless we’re talking John Grisham or Malcolm Gladwells’ Tipping Point and Blink. Not an avid reader till a decade ago, Goyal’s relationship with books began developing when work travel increased. Airplanes, hotel rooms and cars became his ideal reading spots.
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| Among his favourite reads are recently read King of Capital by Sandy Weill, CEO of Citigroup, and Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity. Others on his list are The Art of War by Samuel B Griffith and Maverick by Ricardo Semler.
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| He says he can relate to Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner, and The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman.
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| Despite picking up books regularly and 99 per cent of the times from the airport, Goyal can’t boast of a library or even a bookshelf.
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| “I pass on all my books to others who want to read them. I don’t even write my name on my books.” Literally marching ahead, he claims to never returning to a book; “it’s very unlikely that I read a book again”.
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| And in the course of the conversation he lets out a secret, “I don’t pick up books from a red light anymore,” he grins. “I have realised the importance of buying originals to encourage authors to write more.” |
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