The Winning Way: A Cricket-Centric Guide to Business Management (and Beyond?)

The Winning Way by Harsha and Anita Bhogle is an enjoyable read, filled with easygoing prose, anecdotes, and - of course - a treasure trove of cricket trivia. Ever wondered why legends like Kapil Dev and Jayasurya stuck around past their glory days, or about that infamous incident where Imran Khan stormed onto the field to cut short a teammate’s selfish innings? These nuggets make the book as entertaining as it is informative.

This book dances between cricket and management principles, pulling out similarities in areas like planning, team building, target setting, and work ethics. Harsha and Anita manage to keep it light, stripping away the usual jargon that comes with management theory. The book is approachable even for readers whose primary exposure to management involves convincing friends to order pizza instead of salad.

True to the Bhogles’ shared passion, the book leans heavily on cricket, but it does add a pinch of other sports, like a chef garnishing a favorite dish. Indian hockey fans, for instance, will find the authors’ take on the fall of their beloved sport intriguing, as they dissect the decline of what was once the pride of India. It’s an insightful attempt to explain how lack of vision and structural issues took Indian hockey from global dominance in the 1950s to also-ran status by the turn of the millennium.

But here’s the catch. If you’re hoping for a deep dive into broader Indian sports, you might feel a bit bowled out. While the book offers a unique view of cricket and business, it shies away from addressing similar challenges in Indian football, or from analyzing why Indian Olympians haven’t found the same success as some international peers. And just think of the potential for a book like this to dive into China’s meteoric rise in global sports! A comparison of Indian sports management with that of other nations could have added a whole new layer to this book, exploring what really makes a winning culture.

So, while Harsha and Anita Bhogle skillfully connect cricket and business, they’ve ultimately stayed in their comfort zone, catering to a cricket-loving crowd. As a fun and breezy read for sports fans and business enthusiasts alike, The Winning Way scores plenty of runs. Just don’t expect it to change the game on sports management insights beyond cricket.