Publications

Just released

Shital Kakkar Mehra’s latest book,

"Executive Presence:

The P.O.I.S.E Formula for Leadership"

Official Book Trailer

Executive Presence

The P.O.I.S.E Formula for Leadership

Executive Presence is an inherent part of the performance management process for high performers and high potentials. Shital’s research in this subject is India’s first and her proprietary formula, ‘P-O-I-S-E’ for Executive Presence will help you gain a competitive edge.

Business Etiquette

A Guide for the Indian Professional

Shital is an acclaimed public speaker and best-selling author. Her book, Business Etiquette: A Guide for the Indian Professional (Harper Collins) has sold over 47,000 copies, and has been translated into several regional Indian languages. It can also be found on the library shelves of global academic institutes including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge. Her articles are regularly published in leading media publications including Economic Times, Business Today and Mice Talk amongst others.

Business Netiquette

Business Etiquette shows us the art of creating a positive impression through the ABC of good manners: Appearance, Behaviour, and Communication. Shital Kakkar Mehra, one of India's best-known corporate etiquette trainers, teaches us how to create our own brand, dine with grace, mingle with ease and conduct business, keeping in mind racial, gender, and cultural diversities. It's a one-stop guide to side-stepping those embarrassing slip-ups and awkward gestures, and sailing through the complexities of modern-day office life with ease.

Book Launch Gallery

“Executive Presence helps inspire confidence and is instrumental in influencing the quality of business relationships. Also, the weight that it carries in any business negotiation cannot be undermined”

Harsh Goenka,

Chairman - RPG Enterprises

“Executive presence is very important in both B2B and B2C business like ours. In the past three decades we have gone from selling to kirana merchants to large corporations like Metro Cash & Carry, Big Bazaar, Flipkart & Amazon where professionals are from leading business schools. First impressions make a difference as people are going to judge you.”

Harsh Mariwala,

Chairman, Marico Ind

“Executive Presence is more than looking and acting the part and it’s far more than skills, ability and talent. During business interactions & presentations, I have seen executives who stand out with their level of personal engagement, clarity of thought & expression. That’s Executive Presence!!”

C.P. Gurnani,

CEO, Tech Mahindra

“Executive Presence is essential as the superstructure on competence because business associates like to deal with a ‘well-ordered’ leader rather than a clumsy one.”

R. Gopalakrishnan,

Corporate Advisor & Author, ex-Director Tata Sons & ex-Vice-Chairman Hindustan Unilever

“Two ways to build your Executive Presence are – first, to have a few people around you who will offer unbiased feedback on how you perform in different settings and second, is by observing others who are way ahead of you in their abilities.”

Richard Lobo,

Executive Vice President & Head Human Resources, Infosys

"Executive Presence is a leadership skill which must be learnt by any professional who aspires for a senior role. It includes your ability to articulate your thoughts and communicate them coherently and confidently to quickly establish a connect with the stakeholders, helping you gain an instant competitive edge."

Deepak Khetrapal,

Managing Director & CEO, Orient Cement Ltd.

"Executive Presence is very important for future leaders as their spectrum of work gets increasingly diverse and global in nature. They will have to deal with CEOs, international teams, global vendors, channel distributors, labour leaders, even local farmers. Executive Presence will be about congruence."

Dr. Santrupt Misra,

CEO, Birla Carbon; Director, Chemicals; & Director, Group H.R., Aditya Birla Group

"Executive Presence is how you carry yourself and convey your brand confidently in personal and professional life. It includes your executive maturity, your ability to articulate a thought in a cohesive manner and your skill in customising the message for your audience. Sadly, lack of Executive Presence can hinder your career growth."

Arvinder Gujral,

Managing Director South East Asia, Twitter

“It’s important for a leader to judge the situation astutely as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to difficult conversations. As a rule, always prepare yourself before the conversation and do anticipate defensive feedback or dissent.”

N.P. Singh,

MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India

“Storytelling is a powerful leadership tool. When speaking in public, I like to draw upon my personal experiences because speaking from the heart is crucial to connecting with your audience. Also, adding a dash of humour to the speech lightens the mood and makes it more memorable.”

Ashok Ramachandran,

President & CEO, Schindler India Pvt. Ltd.

“I would recommend Business Etiquette to anyone who is serious about forging successful business relationships internationally.”

Deepak S Parekh,

Chairman, HDFC Group

“It should be read by every young professional.”

Subroto Bagchi,

Chairman, MindTree

“I had a brief meeting with the CEO of IBM Inc. and I remember his fantastic presence. He had excellent social skills, was knowledgeable and 100% committed to every conversation he had. On the other hand, I have met several CEOs who had a weak presence, which is bad for building partnerships and relationships.”

Manoj Kohli,

Country Head Softbank India

"In a globalized world, with inda and indians being the objects of increasing attention, business etiquette can no longer be ignored."

M. Damodaran,

Management Consultant and former Chairman,
SEBI, IDBI and UTI

"Many a good business deal has been aborted due to lack of business etiquette in the negotiation. This book would help to greatly mitigate that deficiency."

J.J. Irani,

former Director, Tata Sons

"The ability to communicate effectively with senior leadership is an important skill for success. Leaders have an innate ability to sift fact from nonsense: they are quick to see through people, so do your homework before every meeting and go prepared with data and facts."

Mukund Rajan,

Chairman ECube Investment Advisors and ex-Brand Custodian, and Member - Group Executive Council, Tata Sons

"A book that will make a positive impact in the corporate world."

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,

Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Ltd.

"The core of building strong business relationships is a strong curiosity about the people you meet. To sustain these relationships you have to handle them with a lot of emotional maturity."

Dhanpal Jhaveri,

Vice Chairman, Everstone Capital and CEO, EverSource Capital

"When pitching to investors, a compelling pitch is one which displays your ability to discuss the uniqueness of your product or service crisply, without any buzz words."

Rehan Yar Khan,

Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners

"Humans are emotional and one of their basic needs is to be treated fairly. During a tough conversation, if you focus on objective and facts, you can convince them that it is the right decision."

Kishore Jayaraman,

President, Rolls-Royce, India & South Asia

"It’s no more about authority, it’s about influencing and collaborating when doing business. Simply put, be respectful and get comfortable communicating & leading global teams in this virtual world."

Indrajeet Sengupta,

Executive Director & Chief HR Officer, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

Articles

Her expert opinions on Business Etiquette and Executive Presence are highly sought after, and she is regularly published by leading media publications, including Business Today and Mice Talk. Shital has also contributed over 200 articles to her column titled “Mind Your Manners” in the Corporate Dossier, the Economic Times.