Title: A Dance with the Corporate Ton : Reflections of a Worker Ant
Author: Lata Subramanian
Publisher: Lata Subramanian
ASIN: B01BYQ8LFY
Number of Pages: 263
Price [INR] : 136
Genre: Non-Fiction
Until the lion has his or her own storyteller, the hunter will always have the best part of the story. Stories are best told by the people living them. And Lata Subramanian in her debut book does just that.
A Dance with the Corporate Ton is a no holds barred chronicle of a woman’s professional saga in India. This book charts Lata’s journey in the corporate world from the position of Room Service Order Taker in a luxury hotel to senior management positions in the fields of Advertising and Marketing in India.
A Dance with the Corporate Ton is the author’s memoir where she shares her personal life during the growing up years, the choices she made and her experiences and the ups and downs in the corporate world in a career that spanned some 36 years.
A Dance with the Corporate Ton is a honest, realistic and witty memoir about the author’s journey in the corporate world. Laced with humour (and most of it self deprecating), satire, anecdotes, the book has interesting historical references to aristocratic behaviour displayed by the London Ton which has been related to the behaviour and practices followed in the corporate world and aptly termed as the Corporate Ton.
The author talks about the discrimination and prejudice at work because of the way one dresses or the fair & lovely fixation or meeting the requirement of looking the part. Though discrimination was a sad reality, but it didn’t let Lata hold back. She succeeded and moved up the corporate ladder due to her sheer hard work and commitment.
In her book, Lata has explained her personal journey with managerial lessons and insights, which was like revisiting the MBA days. It was interesting to read about program of management by objectives (MBOs) or usage of the Bell Curve or forced ranking in performance appraisals or the dreaded pink slips or the games that people played at Lintas and other corporates. Getting the inside dope on how the advertising agencies worked or the background stories and examples of some successful brand campaigns made for a fascinating read.
With clear thought process along with great observation and analytical skills, Lata has given a very precise and apt view of the way the senior management at the corporates thinks and functions.
The book has sketches which showcases some interesting then-and-now scenarios regarding the London Ton and Corporate Tons.
While, not sharing about personal life is a choice but I wish a glimpse of the same in the book would have given some insights about work life balance or how professional growth shapes personal life and vice versa.
This book would make for an insightful and practical read for the newbies who’d be joining the corporate world. And it would make for a compelling read for those in the Corporate Ton as they can relate to it and validate their own learnings and experiences.
A Dance with the Corporate Ton : Reflections of a Worker Ant is a fascinating read with liberal dose of humor and wit along with insights and inspiration. Go on and be a part of Lata’s delightful journey through the corporate world.
One Response
Corporate battles and politics, if the author has revealed them all, can be an interesting and compelling subject. Let me try and read this sometime. I wish there was an audio book or publisher releases the non-DRM version of the eBook.
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