The Professional: Defining the New Standard of Excellence at Work

In an era marked by corporate greed, job insecurity, and cultural confusion in global markets, what does it mean to be a professional? In spare, elegant essays, Bagchi (The High Performance Entrepreneur), vice chairman and cofounder of a global information technology powerhouse, MindTree Ltd., waxes on the baseline qualities that distinguish exceptional leaders and workers: the ability to work unsupervised, to certify the completion of a task, and to act with integrity at all times. Beyond these fundamentals are a long term, global view, and an ability to deal effectively with complexity and change. Concepts come to life through examples of real people at all levels in real companies across the globe: he illustrates how to balance private and professional lives with the story of how the former chairwoman of Thermax publicly handled the series of personal tragedies she was facing. He explores how individuals handle job changes and examines the futility of whining, acknowledging that while we may have very genuine problems at work, "when you whine about your workplace troubles, chances are two kinds of people listen: those who don't care and those who are happy that you are in trouble." An unexpectedly humorous and poignant primer to professional etiquette and purpose. (July)