“Access to data empowers people, leading to rapid innovation.”

And this quote from the book very much gives an idea to the readers, who are interested in economics, business and technology for the future, about the book’s content, ideas of the author and purpose as well. Ashok P Singh, the author of this book, comes with an experience that extends beyond two centuries in the USA, working with leading companies and consulting on business, growth, business models and crafting success stories, observing the same along with keen and sharp analysis of a few failures that could be avoided had the companies responded to the changes in the world strongly, timely and convincingly. Ashok’s book is short, precise I must say, point by point dealing with the items on the list. Agile in the Age of New Economy is about inspiring people indulged in business to be prepared to take the call and accept, implement and navigate through newly invented and trusted technologies that ease the actual process of a business – mostly in terms of digital infrastructure and technical innovations.

Ashok Singh, the author, has tried to profile the rise and fall of businesses with almost perfect examples that will make the readers very alert about what they see around them. Ashok takes two brilliant examples – one about Kodak and one about AMD, the company that makes processors.

“Kodak, an iconic company in its heyday, fell by the wayside with the emergence of the digital camera invented in its laboratory.”

“The most recent impact of shifts in technology is Intel’s floundering, while AMD has risen like a phoenix from what seemed like its ashes not so long ago.”

It’s not only about having the largest company or having the oldest brand name. What matters the most today is how a company responds to the changes that are happening in the lives of the people, in technology, in people’s psychology and mentality, or everything that happens around, globally. For example, people in India could not have believed if someone had said to them in the 1990s that customers could order things by using their mobile phones, in a remote village… But, do remember that what has to happen and what’s destined to happen, does happen… whether you want to go with the change or not, change happens.

Ashok’s debut book, as impressive as it is, tries to communicate to the readers – intended to be and should be business leaders, entrepreneurs, strategists and students of management courses – how a business should maximise its reach, use modern technologies like Big Data, Robotic thinking, AI, Blockchain, shared mind or Cloud-based servers giving access to everyone, anywhere in the hierarchy… Ashok has done his best in communication and conveying his messages to the readers in a compact, orderly, properly precise and interesting manner as well. So, anyone who reads the book will surely respond to the triggers and inputs very enthusiastically. I am not a businessman or so. However, I do agree that I can use many ideas and suggestions from the book that I read to manage my contacts, get to the authors I have worked with, convey my opinions to them, suggest to them the best ways I can help them reach their audience and so on… So, just imagine how helpful can the book be for those who are into business professionally, full-time and invest their time and efforts and money as well.

I would recommend Agile in the New Economy to the readers who want to understand how to succeed in this competitive world where everyone has access to data, technology and tools for the business. Many new ideas are there in the book and I am sure the readers will be forced to think, consider and, perhaps, mend their ways to ensure a smooth transition in the times when technology is rising vertically…

You can get a copy of this book from Amazon India by clicking the link below:

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Review by Gunjan for Indian Book Critics