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Mind Without Fear
by Rajat Gupta
Thoughts – Mind without Fear by Rajat Gupta
On October 24, 2012, Rajat Gupta, former Managing Director of Mckinsey was sentenced for two years in federal prison after being found guilty on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. “Mind without Fear” is Rajat Gupta’s version of how things unfolded and essentially an opportunity to tell his side of the story.
I distinctly remember reading the entire case especially how Raj Rajaratnam – a wall street hedge fund manager and Anil Kumar – a Mckinsey consultant were found guilty of insider trading. A few years later I would read the detailed story in Caravan magazine which was told fantastically from the perspective of Anil Kumar’s maid on whose name he had shored up investments in Swiss Bank. The story didn’t have much to highlight on Rajat Gupta’s involvement, so I was curious to read this book, with the realization that it is a one-sided story of a man convicted of the crime. I fully intend to read Sandipan Deb – “The Fallen Angel: The Making and Unmaking of Rajat Gupta” which is much focused on him.
Gupta tries to address headlong the charges laid on him contextualizing and detailing the events and ascertains that he is innocent. It is up to the reader to determine if they are convinced by them. While it is true that the charges against Gupta was based on circumstantial evidence and the US government never really had Gupta with his hand in the cookie jar unlike others charged alongside him including Rajaratnam and Anil Kumar. Yet, you have to believe that Gupta is simple to be taken advantage of as he claims.
But more than the charges and the testimony what I enjoyed was Gupta’s journey from Delhi to Harvard to Mckinsey. His ascension through the Mckinsey tree and insight into the workings on the consulting business which often remains opaque to the broader world. And of course, the grueling schedule CEO’s and heads go through their day between meetings for their various projects and investments. Much of the book Gupta tries to focus on the series of philanthropic initiatives he has been part of and while it is true, I often wondered if he thinks the reader is naïve to think that charity sometimes absolves people of their crimes? There is also a fair amount of gratuitous name dropping from Bill Gates to Kofi Annan to Bill Clinton. But then you have to excuse as this was a man who was once top of the American Corporate Life.
The latter portions of the book especially the testimony and the incarceration where Gupta finds spirituality felt like a drag. At the end of the day, Mind without Fear is similar to the story of Gatsby, how he ascends to the top of American life, creates a network of rich and powerful and then loses them all when he falls into disgrace. Unlike Gatsby, Gupta has to live through his disgrace and the book is an attempt at healing those wounds.
On October 24, 2012, Rajat Gupta, former Managing Director of Mckinsey was sentenced for two years in federal prison after being found guilty on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. “Mind without Fear” is Rajat Gupta’s version of how things unfolded and essentially an opportunity to tell his side of the story.
I distinctly remember reading the entire case especially how Raj Rajaratnam – a wall street hedge fund manager and Anil Kumar – a Mckinsey consultant were found guilty of insider trading. A few years later I would read the detailed story in Caravan magazine which was told fantastically from the perspective of Anil Kumar’s maid on whose name he had shored up investments in Swiss Bank. The story didn’t have much to highlight on Rajat Gupta’s involvement, so I was curious to read this book, with the realization that it is a one-sided story of a man convicted of the crime. I fully intend to read Sandipan Deb – “The Fallen Angel: The Making and Unmaking of Rajat Gupta” which is much focused on him.
Gupta tries to address headlong the charges laid on him contextualizing and detailing the events and ascertains that he is innocent. It is up to the reader to determine if they are convinced by them. While it is true that the charges against Gupta was based on circumstantial evidence and the US government never really had Gupta with his hand in the cookie jar unlike others charged alongside him including Rajaratnam and Anil Kumar. Yet, you have to believe that Gupta is simple to be taken advantage of as he claims.
But more than the charges and the testimony what I enjoyed was Gupta’s journey from Delhi to Harvard to Mckinsey. His ascension through the Mckinsey tree and insight into the workings on the consulting business which often remains opaque to the broader world. And of course, the grueling schedule CEO’s and heads go through their day between meetings for their various projects and investments. Much of the book Gupta tries to focus on the series of philanthropic initiatives he has been part of and while it is true, I often wondered if he thinks the reader is naïve to think that charity sometimes absolves people of their crimes? There is also a fair amount of gratuitous name dropping from Bill Gates to Kofi Annan to Bill Clinton. But then you have to excuse as this was a man who was once top of the American Corporate Life.
The latter portions of the book especially the testimony and the incarceration where Gupta finds spirituality felt like a drag. At the end of the day, Mind without Fear is similar to the story of Gatsby, how he ascends to the top of American life, creates a network of rich and powerful and then loses them all when he falls into disgrace. Unlike Gatsby, Gupta has to live through his disgrace and the book is an attempt at healing those wounds.