The book tries to answer a simple question: Why do only some people reach CXO level while most remain stuck in "middle management?"

Young talent shows great promise in early years–passion, intelligence, subject matter expertise. But then they suddenly hit a glass ceiling. While they continue to be valuable at their current levels, there is hesitation in promoting them. They fail to make the cut for serious leadership roles. Usually it is either because of some "missing skills" or some "bad habits."

Over two decades of management life, the author has personally mentored more than a hundred careers and seen some succeed but many remain stuck. He gave feedback to them on their "bad habits" or "missing skills", and seen some blossom and develop, but most not being able to change. It was as if something was holding them back, as if a part of them was not willing to improve. After all, how do you let go of the style that has made you successful thus far?

So, in a large, listed company, the author designed and delivered a workshop around this theme—how do we make our middle managers more effective. This was very well received, scoring a Net Promoter Score of 94 percent (a good training generally received 80 percent), and becoming their highest rated workshop. Someone told Penguin and they commissioned to write a book on these "timeless skills."

What's inside:

• Personal anecdotes from author's own CEO level experience (50 real life case-lets)
• Curated wisdom from '99 books to make us wise' (author's decade long blog with a million hits)
• Some powerful but underrated skills (e.g. Balance as a skill)
• Customized for an Indian audience (just see the vast difference in Hofstede scores between India/Asia and West in dimensions like Power Distance, Individualism and Indulgence, how can identical success models work)
• Engaging prose—actionable insights but without boring young adults to sleep!
• Playbook—exercises and implementation guide (the actual workshop was conducted last friday of every month for 6 months).

The manuscript was sent to IIM Directors and CEOs and got some glowing testimonials (below). The first few pages are also attached.

Welcome then to the Timeless Skills. An agglomeration of proven success drivers. A framework for true effectiveness. A path to career and life enrichment. We have nothing to lose but our blind spots. The true seeker shall not be disappointed!