Daring to be Different: Stories and Tips from a Woman Leader in Tech (Daring to be Different: A Book Series for Career Development)

I had the pleasure of reading Raji Rajagopalan's inspiring book “Daring to be Different", I would highly recommend "Daring to be Different" to anyone looking for inspiration and guidance. It is a truly inspiring and uplifting read that will leave you feeling motivated and empowered to pursue your passions with courage and determination. Raji tells the story through a series of personal experiences and thoughtful reflections, she encourages readers to embrace their uniqueness and pursue their passions with courage and determination. She shares her own struggles, as well as her wins, and this made the book feel relatable, authentic and inspiring. Another thing that I loved about "Daring to be Different" was the way that she encourages readers to take risks and pursue their dreams. Her message of "Daring to be different" is a powerful reminder that it is okay to be ourselves, take risks, ok to fail, that we should embrace our individuality and not be afraid to stand out, success comes eventually, and you will learn a lot in this journey. Raji Rajagopalan is brilliant in her writing, she keeps the readers interest captivating, she excels in her way to tell her own personal story right from childhood, the problems she faced, the thoughts she had to deal with, the circumstances of fear and risks which were overshadowing through her life, the struggles in every part of her journey, the tips she used from her mentors. She conveys all those tips which are very practical on how to deal those circumstances in our personal life and Professional life. She tells clearly how she got into Microsoft, the initial struggles of coding, how she navigated through the thoughts and became better at coding and leadership. Many writers talk about very high-level success stories, many authors don’t detail the failures, risks and how they circumvent them in their lives, Raji calls out that she was and is an introvert, she explains the steps she has taken to give a speech in front of 20,000 audience for a Microsoft Inspire summit, she details out the mental ordeals she goes through in this journey of an Introvert to a leader. Her inspirational storytelling around leadership and insights are amazing, and I learnt a lot reading her new book.

It is such a pleasure reading through the book "Daring to be Different" during the last holidays. I read the book as soon as it was released as I was very curious to know what it entails in the story of a woman who has attained great success in the tech sector. In this book, Raji thoroughly captivated the interest of the audience by genuinely sharing her upbringing and the hurdles she encountered while growing up. She has turned every obstacle into an opportunity and clearly exhibited growth mindset and leadership in every step of her way, which is truly an inspiration to the readers. Raji emphasized how crucial it is to acquire these skills as you grow up the ladder - Business acumen, Communication, Landing Ideas in meetings, Public Speaking & Writing, Bold decision making and Storytelling. Raji has articulated following Career Lessons in the book with examples from her own personal experiences: - 1. Watch Learn, Adapt, Reinvent yourself Often. 2. Embrace the Unknown and Raise your Hand for Big Opportunities. 3. Choose what you care about. 4. Use Failures to Fuel Success. 5. Do not Shy away from sharing your perspectives. 6. Career success involves Passion, Excellence, Impact & Exposure. 7. Make Time for things important to you. At the end of the book, there was a section for frequently asked questions where there are answers for many careers related questions that arise commonly for a techie. In my opinion, this section alone is equivalent to many mentoring sessions. This is a book I would choose to read again and again. I highly recommend this book for all aspiring and current leaders to navigate the Technology world.

You don't have to overcome all the challenges overcome by Raji to benefit from this book. You don't even have to be at the beginning of your career. Raji uses examples from her own life to illustrate basic truths that can help and encourage all of us to be more successful and happier in our daily lives. The chapters on bravery and not taking negative feedback personally particularly resonated with me, but I couldn't find fault with any of her advice! The book's tone is never preach-y. Instead, Raji describes challenges she faced including sometimes mistakes she made, then she goes on to explain what life lessons she learned from those. The narrative is easy to read, and the summary advice in each chapter is clear and helpful. This book would make a great gift for any new graduates or early-career members of your family but be sure to enjoy reading it yourself first!

‘Daring to be different’ has everything an immigrant woman like herself and myself needs to hear as she tries to navigate a career in technology. I wish I had this book a few years ago, I would have saved myself so much heartache and stress from trying to figure everything out myself. This page about the dreaded imposter syndrome especially resonates so much with me, along with many other nuggets in the book, especially recently as I switched to a new company in the last year. What I love about Raji’s writing is that it is so relatable, coming from a very humble background, and working hard to make our mark in a country with such different values from what we grew up with without much real guidance. Being an introvert myself, her inhibitions and thoughts mirrored mine and it was as if I was reading my own thoughts only worded so much better! The book has clear action items which can be great reminders for anyone at anytime, it is like a reference book for early and mid career folks, men and women alike who aspire to get out of their inhibitions and shine in their careers like they deserve to. Get yourself a copy!

Ever since my school-days, I have been an avid reader, follwing the maxim "If it can be published, it can be read". However, books on "Management Techniques" and "Self Improvement" have never been my cup of tea. Then how come I not only bought this book, but also read every single word the Authour had to say? A few months ago, I happened to watch a video of one of Raji`s Presentations. I was impressed by what she said and the manner in which she said it. Simple and Sensible. A similar thread runs through the whole book. No pretentions. More Pragmatism than Pontification. There is a lot of personal pathos. Also loads of Grit and The Will To Win. The brief Recaps at the end of each Chapter are helpful. The Authour is a great Story Teller. While I enjoyed reading the book, I was finally left with a sense of sadness that it was not available to me when I was young.(I am an Octagenarian now). With a view to mitigating this sense of personal loss, I gifted a copy of theBook to our teen-aged Grand Daughter, convinced that it will help her fly. Thank You, Raji !

This is an excellent book to read If you are working in the tech industry. Please find time to read it, there is a lot to learn from this book. This is a true, inspiring and successful story of a brilliant and brave girl from South India to a corporate leader at world famous USA based tech giant Microsoft. Author fought against all the odds in her life and reached at this stage. All the chapters were written very well. All the tips and techniques mentioned in this book are very useful to any professional working in tech industry. Once you will start reading this book, I am sure you won't leave it until you will finish reading all the chapters. It's truly a very intresting and informative book. She had written this book with all honesty and shared her real life experiences with us. She mentioned about her fear and insecurities at workplace and how to deal with it. She gone through many difficulties and obstacles in her career and overcame from it with right mindset and strong desire. If you are an university student, this book is for you. If you are beginner in tech industry, this book is for you. If you are mid to senior level profrssional in tech industry, this book is for you. If you would like to change the job or what to do during first few months of the job or what question to ask yourself to succeed in your career, this book is for you. I strongly recommend this book. Thanks a lot to author for writing and sharing such a wonderful book with us. Looking forward to read many books from this author. Thank you.

A good read of biopic nature. The author's transformation from a scrawny little girl hailing from a hamlet south of India, soaked in casteism controlled society, cultural shackles and contrite values imposed on a female child, is a long March to feminine freedom achieved at a great cost. Unfettered by her monumental personal tragedy of losing her mother at a very tender age coupled with tyrannical family constraints strangling her independence, she still managed to overcome all these obstacles and humiliation to notch up a successful career that too in USA. Her success story of integrating in Microsoft with her tech skill and steely will power is worth emulating by hundreds of her elk dreaming of achieving something but unable to break free from the fetters imposed by none other than their parents. The narrative is free flowing and smooth to give the readers a read of how to achieve success from nothing. A streak of tragic sense of losing her mother , tossed from one relative to another and denied equality with her own elder brother in sharing filial love simply because of her gender runs through the narrative. Her success has not healed her deep scars which spur her to carve out more successes and a place in the society . To make a steel bar strong, it has to be fed into furnace. To enjoy the fruits of success, one has undergo baptism by fire, as the has illustrated with her personal success story. Her book is dotted with pearls of wisdom borne out of her personal experience and ways and means to overcome imperfections. Somehow I feel she dwelt a wee more on her personal life and graphic details of meteoric rise. Everybody is interested in the finished product rather than its process of evolution. I strongly recommend this book to younger generation with dreams in their eyes and wings to soar high in the sky. I wish the author more successes and happiness in her future ventures.