My friend Debashis Sarkar has written a book called Evolve: 49 Counterintuitive Principles for Business. The main point of the book is to illuminate the irony of so many tenets, laws, and theories in not only work but life.

For example:

• Too many cooks don’t spoil the broth.

• Making difficult tasks a priority can make the easy ones easier.

• Making things really simple isn’t always a good thing.

• Technological changes are inevitable, but adopting them all or too quickly can actually slow an organization down.

The list of these gems goes on; in fact, Sarkar shares 49 of them.

If you think this all sounds pretty dry and textbook-like, you would be wrong. Sarkar does several things to make this book light and interesting.

First, every chapter is built using the same blueprint: 1) the origin of the principle, 2) a breakdown of the idea in accessible language, 3) how the principle works in real life, 4) thoughts on how to apply it, and finally, 5) possible pitfalls and crucial points to remember.

Second, the writing is very reader-friendly. Sarkar has a nice, non-academic way of bringing very complex topics down to earth.

Third, this is a book that doesn’t require reading cover to cover. It’s like having a pool that you can jump into whenever and wherever you like. That’s how I read it. I just looked at the chapter titles when I felt like a quick read (each chapter averages around 4 to 5 pages) and jumped in. I even read some things twice. This makes it a great book for that bedside table. When you just need a few, easily-digestible pages to give you something to think about while drifting off, this is a great companion.

Finally, the tips Sarkar provides for implementing these principles into your business are practical and infinitely possible. There are no pie-in-the-sky ideas here that will be high cost or require the law of the land to change; everything here is within reach.

One thing I found impressive was the amount of research that went into the book. The notes at the back number some 62 pages. I had no trouble trusting everything I was reading. If you are a data hound who needs hard proof of everything from the moon landing to the death of Elvis, this book will not disappoint.

Overall, I highly recommend this book; it will pique your interest, explain a lot of fascinating things, and give you many innovative ideas to try.

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