12 Habits of Smart Skill-Building
A code for the reskilling of you
(Penguin Random House, 2021)
About the book
Human improvements have always been the backbone of inventions that advanced mankind. These were based on both knowledge and skills that we gained from time to time. Never before in the past decades has the topic of skills received as widespread attention and debate as now, with dominant opinion equating success with upskilling or reskilling – and failure with stagnant skillsets. The concept of lifelong learning is challenging the old school maxim of frontloading all education. It is therefore intriguing to understand how people can take their core skills to new areas of work. What is the morphing mantra? How do people reshape their skillsets even when they are out of school? As knowledge and skill become increasingly crucial in the human versus machine competition, should we be analysing how we use old skills to do new tasks? And develop new skills with old abilities? What habit patterns helped successful people embrace skill-learning and build it as a second nature?
Reviews
"Learn how to acquire crucial skills to grow, succeed and advance your career in Shankar’s ultimate skill-building guidebook."
“Bala’s book on skill-building, anchored on several inspiring anecdotes, is a highly valuable operating code for anyone who wants to prepare for a better tomorrow, in careers, relationships and lives in general.”
Prof Vijay Govindarajan,Coxe Distinguished Professor, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth,
NYT and WSJ best-selling author, Faculty Partner, Mach 49,
Executive Fellow, Harvard Business School
“The best leaders never cease to learn. This book encourages the reader to continuously evolve one’s skillsets and offers practical ways of doing so”
Manvinder (Vindi) Singh Banga,Senior Partner – Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, UK,
Former President – Unilever and
non-Executive Director – Marks & Spencer, Glaxo Smithkline and Thomson Reuters
“This book on skill-building is a good one that can empower people towards making those choices.”
Prof Sheena S. Iyengar,S.T.Lee Professor of Business Management,
Columbia Business School and Author
“The smartest leaders recognize that skill-building never ends. Bala Shankar’s new book is a powerful reminder of the importance of continuous, lifelong learning”
Ms Dorie Clark,Author of Reinventing You and executive education faculty,
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University