BOOK REVIEW : IRRATIONALLY PASSIONATE BY JASON KOTHARI

The book - Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari is an account of his journey from being a teenage rebel to the well sought after turnaround business leader who is still in his thirties.

With “entrepreneurship” as the buzz word these days, this book becomes a must read for all budding youngsters who want to board the bandwagon of being “self boss”. We generally celebrate the success of a person and do not have an idea of the hard work, struggle and time spent behind the final outcome. This book shows all behind the scene anxieties, plannings, research, unimaginable hard work that has gone into the making of Jason Kothari of today. In his own words - - “No entrepreneur path is ever straight line. Setbacks are constant, disappointment guaranteed.” He has given a detailed account of the processes and planning in turning around three major companies. One of which was Valiant Entertainment which he had acquired as a teenage student of Wharton Business School in the USA. Housing.com and Snapdeal were the other two Indian majors besides his journeys in some of the companies of the Middle East ( EMaar & Noon.com). According to Jason, being an entrepreneur means - “Turning an idea into reality, creating meaningful jobs for others, working tirelessly with teammates to overcome obstacles and serving customers with impactful products or service.” He hoots for entrepreneurship with passion.

Jason has shared his success mantra and the hard work gone behind the curtains very openly. He has brought out in open the work frenzies and hard work put in by the management teams to resurrect a failing business. This book is not only about his journey as a professional “turnaround leader” but also how he had worked on his own personal growth which gives the reader a perspective of his personal journey along with professional. As a young negotiator, all of seven years in Agra, he clearly showed two strong qualities of a negotiator - evaluating the fair value and sticking to his own ground. Growing up in countries around the world and his experience as an outsider has also been expressed well. Jason has shared what he felt being a non local child and adolescent in these countries and how he had handled these racist comments and incidents. His efforts to always work on improving himself are commendable. His connection with his roots is a remarkable tradition which Gujaratis maintain with their native places. He had mentioned about exploring his roots by studying the principles of Jainism , Buddhism and Sai baba gives an insight about his personal beliefs. His writing style is simple, easy to comprehend and uncomplicated. It is not a literary masterpiece but the story has a flow which holds the reader. I would like to recommend it for all wannabe entrepreneurs in particular and young parents in general to have a picture of the thought process of children ( specially in a land not their own) in their growing years. Overall a good read. 4/5 To buy this book , click on the following link: