Page 38 - november 2021
P. 38

goodreads  LESSONS LEARNT FROM INDRA NOOYI
                                                              MADHURI’S MUSINGS








                                                                       HONOR YOUR ROOTS

                                                                       Ms Nooyi ‘s pride in her roots
                                                                       shines  through her life  story. I
                                                                       was delighted to read about her
                                                                       childhood in Chennai which
                                                                       happens to  be  my hometown  as
                                                                       well. Like many of us, she is a
                                                                       product of a multigenerational
                                                                       household. Her role model was
                                                                       her grandfather and she credits
                                                                       her family for nurturing in her the
                                                                       seeds of hard work, determination
                                                                       and a desire to excel. Her higher
                                                                       education was strongly supported
                                                                       by her family. At IIM Calcutta,
                                                                       Indra  Nooyi’s 1976  batch  had
                                                                       only 5 girls  out of 100. She was
                                                                       already starting to blaze the trail.
                                                                       Years later, she was also amongst
                                                                       the first to wear a saree in a male-
                                                                       dominated global boardroom,
                                                                       honoring her roots and breaking
                                                                       norms yet again.
     Indra Nooyi, former CEO and Chairman of Pepsi        IT’S OKAY TO BE A WORKAHOLIC
     is an iconic role model and trailblazer. As the first   AND A MOM
     woman of color and immigrant who rose to become
     the CEO of a Fortune 50 company, her success is      Ms Nooyi’s deep-rooted passion for her work,
     extra-ordinary. I enjoyed every chapter and page     in every one of her roles whether as consultant,
     in her book, ”My Life in Full, Work, Family and      strategist or CEO has been one of the strongest
     Our Future” narrated in her distinctive voice. I also   drivers of her success. What I loved about her
     attended a virtual fireside chat with her. Her energy   candid  disclosure was that  even though she
     was very strong and palpable even in an online       cherished her role as a mom, her love for her
     setting. Her striking smile, intelligence and warm   work was also very strong.  Ms. Nooyi  does
     personality are evident from her conversations.      acknowledge her sense of guilt when work took
                                                          away time with her daughters, but at the same
     Her story is sprinkled with gratitude to all who were   time, makes no apology for her ambition.  Ms.
     part of her success. Here are a few themes that      Nooyi spent endless hours, days, and nights
     stood out to me from her book:
                                                          working, along with being a mom to two



     DesiPages                                                    DFW | November 2021 VOL 33 |  38
   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43