Engineer's Bookshelf

  What Makes Great Leaders Tick? Leadership in today's corporate world especially when external factors like Covid pandemic has pushed everyone to the edge of the cliff; has become more highlighted and necessary skill for CEOs, business leaders and influential people. In this book, similar to the 7 Habits of highly effective people¹,author* interviewed world's high performing leaders about who they are and how they became successful. This book, an outcome of interviews, provides reader with perspectives of different kind of leaders, with the hope that readers might be inspired to develop and enhance their own leadership skills. Leadership comes in many forms and is exercised in many ways but few traits and attributes always remain common. Luck Desire  to succeed Pursuit of something new and unique Hard work Focus Failure Persistence Persuasiveness Humble demeanor Credit sharing Ability to keep learning Integrity Responding  to Crises  Author has divided leaders in ca...

  " We are returning to what we were before- a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world.  Saudi Arabia was not like this, before 1979 ".  - Muhammad Bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince (Al-Jazeera/ BBC, 2017) Saudi Arabia is the power center and an emblem of unity for Muslims all around the world as it has house of Allah, the Kaaba to whose direction Muslims pray five times a day,  and also the shrine of last prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Each year Muslims from around the globe offer Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, a city located near Red Sea. Saudi Arabia not only entertains Hajj pilgrims but also Umrah pilgrims and worshippers, who come daily to offer prayers in the Grand Mosque built around the holy Kaaba. Both Mecca and Medina are not only religious but  also financial blood lines which serve Saudi Arabia's economy.  Saudi Arabia is also the largest producer of oil in the world and earns billions o...

"Tragedy is that intellectuals aspiring to gain certain benefits, keep quiet and do not point out mistakes of the rulers". General Mirza Aslam Beg headed Pakistan Army as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from 17th Aug 1977 to 16 Aug 1991, after General Zia-ul-Haq. He is the first army chief who was trained at Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul. In this book, author* after extensive interviews with General Mirza Aslam Beg ( for ease of reading, abbreviation  MAB will be used through out the blog post ) has presented his life and career history in quiet an elaborative manner. From his participation in Pakistan Movement as part of student's federation, migration from India to Pakistan in 1948, to joining Pakistan Army. Various stages of his life, and progressions made by MAB within Army and after retirement, are also discussed in this book. The title of this book is named upon the words of General Zia-ul-Haq as recalled by  General Mirza Aslam Beg (MAB) , which were  " Of...

What Makes Great Leaders Tick? Leadership in today's corporate world especially when external factors like Covid pandemic has pushed everyone to the edge of the cliff; has become more highlighted and necessary skill for CEOs, business leaders and influential people. In this book, similar to the 7 Habits of highly effective people¹,author* interviewed world's high performing leaders about who they are and how they became successful. This book, an outcome of interviews, provides reader with perspectives of different kind of leaders, with the hope that readers might be inspired to develop and enhance their own leadership skills. Leadership comes in many forms and is exercised in many ways but few traits and attributes always remain common. Luck Desire  to succeed Pursuit of something new and unique Hard work Focus Failure Persistence Persuasiveness Humble demeanor Credit sharing Ability to keep learning Integrity Responding  to Crises  Author has divided leaders in categorie...

"A lot of people criticize Formula One as an unnecessary risk. But what would be life be like if we only did what was necessary?." ¹ Its 1976, track is Nürburgring of German Grand Prix. As the Ferrari speeds past spectators at 150mph, it suddenly gets into a shunt, rebounds onto the circuit, petrol tank flying through the air and bursts into flames. After spending 50 seconds in this fireball of 800 degree celsius full of toxic fumes, fortunately the driver is dragged out of the inferno.   What happened to the racer, news headline the next day presents that like: "  My God, where is his face?. " The survivor of this horrible crash was one of the resilient and forever-known driver to many sports fans, who don't even watch Formula-1, the racer known as Niki Lauda* . After recovering from this horrifying accident, Niki won two world championships, and for two world class Formula-1 car designers, Ferrari and McLaren.  In this autobiography, Niki tells about his stor...

YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT..!! T his is the famous line from Mission Impossible series, a blockbuster filled with suspense, thrill and actions of the spy world. However, unlike the protagonist Ethan Hunt, climbing the world's tallest skyscraper or changing identities in blink of an eye; world has seen living embodiments like Anthony Blunt, who carried espionage against the Crown¹ or Eli Cohen, who almost single handedly sold Syrian empire to its enemy ² . In this novel, Omer Shahid Hamid* takes the reader into the Machiavellian world surrounded by tangled webs of spycraft, politics and power struggle .  The author has portrayed the notorious game of shadows between two countries, at war, since their inception; and how powerful, cunning and cutthroat players on both sides are keeping this game afoot, without paying any heed to collateral damage.  The story begins with capture of an Indian spy on foreign territory by Pakistani agencies, leav...