Managing his books

Vishal Bali is addicted to popular reads on management.

The only reason Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, doesn't lend his books to anyone is because they are never returned to him. So, he prefers safekeeping each book in a library he has created over the years.

"I like my books to be kept well and intact. And I like to keep them with me," he laughs. His latest attachment is The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman, which tickles his business instinct and gives him an insight into how to deal with the business world today and tomorrow.

"It is a very realistic book and truly depicts the global world and its current realities," he says.

In line with his professional agenda, Bali's leisure reading is restricted to management books. Jack Welch's Straight from the Gut and Jim Collin's Good to Great are other books that have left their imprint on his mind. His love for management books, in his own words, translates into his constant need to increase his knowledge. So, what makes him grab one book over another from the dozens on the shelf?

"Mostly I go by reviews or by the author. Or, if I am browsing in a bookstore at an airport, I go by how appealing the synopsis are to me."

An avid airport reader, Bali admits to not having the patience to finish a voluminous book unless it makes for a friendly read.

Normally though, compact, hardbound books give him the intellectual stimulation he needs to make day-to-day business seem like... well, just another chapter in his life.