New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- The idea behind The Average Advantage had been marinating in Utsav Malhotra's mind for more than a decade. But it was during the pandemic that he had the time and headspace to put it down on paper. "When I was a middle manager, I had found a guide of sorts to help me navigate the corporate world," says the chief operating officer (COO) of Noise, one of India's leading smartwatch makers, when we meet recently on a video call. "As you grow and spend more time in the corporate world, you start getting a ringside view of the circus and realise that the same stories keep playing out."

Malhotra's debut book, The Average Advantage, makes for breezy reading, but its message is profound. It is replete with stories that will ...