LEADERSHIP BEYOND THE PLAYBOOK – CRAFT YOUR OWN PATH LEAD WITH IMPACT By ROOPA KUDVA

No acronyms. No frameworks or slogans. Just leadership for tomorrow.

Penguin Business (Penguin Random House India) announces Leadership Beyond the Playbook — a leadership companion for managers and founders navigating multi-stakeholder realities, AI disruption and a changing workforce. Written by Roopa Kudva, former MD & CEO of CRISIL and later Managing Partner at Omidyar Network India, the book rejects one-size-fits-all formulas and shows readers how to craft your own path and lead with impact.

Structured across 12 concise chapters, the book covers the burning leadership topics of today as well as the timeless classic leadership themes. It moves from first-principles clarity to execution: purpose, strategic clarity, stakeholder management, future-of-work realities (AI, mental health, multigenerational teams), resilient decision-making, day-to-day leadership, women’s leadership, and a manifesto that ties it together — followed by a DIY Leadership Kit with reflections and tools for a 90-day plan.

What’s inside — at a glance:

12 chapters:

1. Creating Your Leadership Path in a Changing World
2. Purpose: The Hidden Engine of Career Fulfilment
3. Strategic Smarts: Thinking Beyond the Now
4. New Stakeholders: Fresh Cast, Changed Dynamics
5. Future of Work: Leading Across Generational Shifts, Mental Health and AI
6. Resilience: Bouncing Forward
7. Communicating with Clarity and Connection
8. Leadership in the Doing
9. Common Leadership Conundrums
10. Women Shaping Their Own Leadership Paths
11. A Shift in Perspective: From Business to Social Impact
12. A Leadership Manifesto

DIY Leadership Kit: guided reflections and a 90-day action plan to put the ideas to work immediately.

Case-led, practical writing — draws on Indian startups such as Pratilipi’s resilience during a funding slowdown, Wiom’s pivot in broadband access, Zetwerk’s rapid diversification, Zomato’s data-led decisions, Lenskart’s customer innovations, and Nykaa’s communication blueprint — alongside global lessons such as DBS Bank’s digital transformation and Zillow’s home-buying business shutdown.

Why this story matters now:

• The world leaders actually operate in: Leaders today work in a world that is messy, fast-changing, and often contradictory. The book discusses how to stay grounded in clarity and purpose while balancing diverse stakeholder expectations across corporate and startup settings.
• AI, done responsibly: Rather than treating AI as hype, the book examines its real-world lessons — from failed experiments to the importance of human judgment, ethics, and managing workplace anxiety. The message: AI should serve leadership goals, not determine them.
• The cost of ignoring mental health: Mental health is now a leadership issue, not just an HR concern. The book highlights why attention to well-being is central to sustainable performance, citing evidence of both human and economic cost when it is ignored.
• From strategy to execution: Bridging the strategy–execution gap is where many leaders stumble. The book translates big-picture clarity into systems and habits that ensure intent shows up in results.
• Practical toolkit: The book closes with a DIY Leadership Kit — 55 reflection questions, 70 action steps, and a 90-day plan — so readers can craft a leadership path that is truly their own, starting immediately.

About The Author
Roopa Kudva is a distinguished business leader, early-stage investor and board director with nearly four decades of experience. As MD & CEO of CRISIL, she tripled revenues and grew market capitalization 4×; later, as Managing Partner of Omidyar Network India, she led investments serving India’s “Next Half Billion.” She has served on top boards including Infosys, Nestlé India, Tata AIA Life Insurance, The Global Impact Investing Network and IIM Ahmedabad; recognitions include CNBC-TV18’s Outstanding Woman Business Leader of the Year and repeated listings among India’s most powerful women (Business Today — six consecutive years; Fortune India — seven years). She is an alumna of IIM Ahmedabad.

Advance praise:

Endorsed by 10 of India’s most respected business leaders, including Nandan Nilekani, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Uday Kotak, Ronnie Screwvala, Anand Mahindra, Arundhati Bhattacharya, and Falguni Nayar, the book has been praised for its relevance and clarity.

“Leaders of the future will need both empathy and first-principle thinking … insights that apply for startups and large institutions.” — Nandan Nilekani
“Timely, insightful and deeply relevant.” — Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
“Section on women leaders … frank and relatable” — Uday Kotak
“Gets to the heart of what leadership demands … refreshingly free of jargon.” — Ronnie Screwvala
“Profound and practical in equal measure” — Anand Mahindra