Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:July 23, 2007

Starting with my salute to J.K. Rowling…

I am a HUGE fan of Harry Potter! since 2001, that was when the first movie came out ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone ‘. The popularity of the movie even before its release intrigued me and the feedback I got from readers compelled me to read the first book before I saw the movie, since I am a firm believer that books are always better than the movie. The freedom of your own imagination is better than the directors time and ability confined imagination and portrayal of the story. Then started my journey with Harry Potter, his friends and adulation for J.K. Rowling.

This month, July 2007 can aptly be named “Harry Potter Month” with the 7th, final and most awaited Harry Potter book coming out after the well made 5th Harry Potter movie “Order of Phoenix”. I couldn’t wait to see the movie, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the book. and I am writing this post in the spirit of having completed the 7th and final version, not having slept the whole night before trying to finish the book.

Ofcourse it was a page turner but more importantly I wanted to do it before I stepped out of the house or browsed internet, accidentally landing on an article or news that would kill the suspence for me. I shut myself from media and outside world until I finished reading the book. I wanted to savor it and thoroughly enjoy my journey with Harry Potter on his final quest…

The feeling of ‘no more harry potter’ kept bothering me all the time … I was anxious to know what happens to Harry Potter at the same time was reluctant to complete it, since I knew once I am done with this book, no more Harry Potter suspense….. a suspense that has intrigued me and a million others over the last decade (six years for me).

According to Rowling, she spent 17 years on the 7 books and she has been contemplating the end over the 17 years…and I guess the book was a good reflection of her hard work, brilliance in imagination and perseverance…. she held up to my expectations. In fact even surpassed it.
With all the popularity of the book, crazy fan following and pressure from publishers, I am sure Rowling would have been forced into a direction for the ending of the story, neverthless, she did a fantastic job of making the 759 page book a page turner, gripping the reader with suspence at the end of each page, not letting the reader take a break or for that matter take their eyes off!!

Rowling had her usual turn of events and suspence in the book, yet unpredictable. She leads you through the jig saw puzzle of the mystery, letting you solve the mystery along side Harry yet not letting you solve until she reveals it herself….after reading seven books from the same author, you would think the turn of events can be predicted….but no. For Rowling, that is her cherished genius….you can never tell what the characters are going to do next or what is in store for them in the next page….

Although the fan base of Rowling over the internet was smart enough to put all the options she had for the end of the story out there, I thought she made the best use of her talent to keep the ending intriguing and kept me guessing.

I surprised myself when I was done with the book. I was thrilled because “Now I know what happened to Harry Potter and Voldermot” I was happy for myself…. I was as stressed as Harry Potter himself by the end of the book, my day and nights were as gloomy as his when I was reading it…

Harry Potter reminds me of my school days, teenage thoughts, hardships of growing up, struggle to understand the difference between right and wrong, identity quest….”who am I?” questions, and continues to make me think in directions I haven’t thought, imbibes in me the Gryffindor qualities and inspires me…..

Harry Potter is definitely one of the best thing that happened to people who grew up with him…I am one of them.

My favorite quote from the book, which I am sure changed my perspective about leadership for the rest of my life is by Dumbledore :

“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.”

Five dysfunctions of a Team: Oct 3, 2006

My latest book read was the book titled “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”- Patrick Lencioni. It is a really good read. You would want to read this if you are part of a team, if you sit in your team meetings feeling you dont belong there, or when you listen to your team mates argue about an issue over and over forever you think “what a bunch of loosers”, orrr If you are part of a team, where you admire and adore every individual for their potential, yet you cant see you team go anywhere with important decisions…the common issues which might seem endless and solution less are dealt with excellently in this book, and the author has done a great job of creating characters that would be close to real life people you might meet. as i was reading the book, i kept telling myself…’oh this person is sooo like the one i know…’ and sometimes i could even identify myself in situations described and i would have reacted very similar…

The thing is, all our school life there is so much stress on proving yourself to your teacher, your parents, your friends and your self that it is almost never stressed enough that being a Team Player is whats going to matter for the rest of your life…and that success is almost impossible if you cannot be a team player. Wanting to be a winner is not wrong…….but companies are all about team work….they dont care how good you personally are if they cannot use you to win the team games….

I guess it just makes a lot of sense when people in sports are given special privileges and have reservations when it comes to positions in companies and colleges, so are veterans from war…they all have been part of a team, and winning has always been about the team, never about thy self. That attitude can fetch great rewards for companies, whatever size, if combined with intellectual power…..defenitely recommended for a read…