Synopsis:
Every year graduating engineers are told that they are destined for success. But what are the habits and behaviours that actually lead to success? In What I did not learn at IIT, Rajeev Agarwal, founder and CEO of MAQ Software, has istilled decades of life experience into one accessible and informative guide. In simple language, he explains the success techniques he applied and what worked for him. Encouraging graduates to look at their careers over a fortyyear span, Rajeev explains that successful people choose to be passionate about every job they have. Using a skillful combination of personal stories and checklists, What I did not learn at IIT provides students-young and old-with a roadmap for success.
From the Author:
Why did I write the book?A few years ago, I had finished my company update to the new graduates. I was optimistic about the prospects of the company (the 2008 economic crisis had not hit yet). Many of the new graduates were eager, motivated, and excited to hear from me.After my discussion, one of the graduates cornered me and asked, "What is the secret to your success?" I was speechless. I had never thought about that question. MAQ Software was a young company trying to survive in a very competitive market. Although we were a successful company, I did not have a ready answer for such a naïve graduate with such large expectations. She was serious and expected something like a really thoughtful "mantra." The problem was that success is more than one tip.Not answering wasn't an option, so I gave her a boring answer about discipline and hard work. But her question stayed with me. The answer required explaining many ideas. In fact, to answer the question, I had to write an entire book.I regularly interact with students, educators, and industry leaders. All three groups blame one another for industry shortfalls. Students say that they lack qualified teachers and college doesn't prepare them for real work. Educators say that students do not study. Industry leaders are disappointed by the quality of graduates produced by our education system. It's a vicious cycle.Great students are able to learn despite their teachers. Great institutes see potential and turn average students into superior graduates. Great companies set up great systems to utilize the raw potential of their workforce and deliver great results. Any teacher can turn a high IQ student into a genius. Any student can learn from great teachers. Any company can take IIT graduates and get them to over-deliver. The problem is great teachers and great students and great companies are rare. We never have and we never will have enough of each. As a nation and as a society, our challenge is to take what we have and turn it into what we wish we had.Instead of facing the issues, we divert our attention to a foreign hand or extend our hand to a foreign land. By sharing my own examples, I hope that in a small way, this book helps end the blame game.The reason this book is not titled "What IIT did not teach me" is that all universities do offer great learning opportunities to all students. Opportunities present themselves in student leadership, academics, sports, music, and many other areas. The river of knowledge is flowing in all academic institutes. It was up to me to recognize and take advantage of these opportunities to grow myself.I have learned not to give advice. Most people are not looking for advice. Therefore, "You should" appears only once in this book, and that is right here on this page. I simply share my experiences so that the readers can draw their own conclusions. Most of my recent experience is related to the software industry. However, some of the ideas may be relevant for other industries.This book is different in that I wrote it as the active CEO of MAQ Software. This is not a memoir or a reflection of someone long retired. I think that many leaders can share their experiences to serve as positive role models."How long have you been working on the book?" a college student recently asked me when I handed him a printed copy. Earnestly, I answered "all my life." While it took me only three months to write the book, it's taken a lot longer to learn and practice the ideas inside.Many years ago Benjamin Franklin said, "Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing." I hope that you do both.
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