#AskAnAuthor - In Conversation with Prabhu Subramanian, author of 'The Shark and the Dolphins'.
Hey, everyone! Joining me today in the Ask an Author series is Mr. Prabhu Subramanian, the author of The Shark and the Dolphins. Prabhu is also the senior vice president of a New York stock exchange IT Services corporation with a decorated corporate career of over 17 years. His book is a refreshing story of three ambitious boys who dare to dream big and come together to create the first ever Indian electric car
So Prabhu, the premise of The Shark and the Dolphins is very intriguing. What inspired you to write a story about three ambitious boys venturing into the world of electric cars and startups? Were there any real life influences that shaped the idea for your book? I'm really curious
And at the end of it, as they started to assimilate, digest, absorb, I realized that this whole electric vehicle revolution, left to itself is a non starter. It doesn't really solve the kind of problems that it promises to
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Also, your book not only delves into the world of startups and groundbreaking technology, but also portrays the dreams and aspirations of disillusioned corporate workers and young entrepreneurs. What message or advice would you offer to readers who can relate to these characters and their desires to pursue independent ventures?
So that will be my advice really, just to be able to make a very honest assessment of what your skills are and how do you want to take it to market, who are the people that you want to work with? That's the only way out. The only way out. It is brick by brick. Build it out and just be able to make an honest assessment of your situation and the problems that you have and the problems that the surroundings have and how it's constraining you
As I was reading your author bio, there was this question that I really wanted to ask you. Balancing a senior management role with your passion for writing must be quite demanding. How do you manage your time and energy to excel in both your corporate career and also your creative pursuits?
I can write very, very fast. I can be extremely efficient and I can be really focused. And regardless of what's happening around me, when I start to write, I just write, write and write. But yes, there are distractions and whenever there's a conflict, at least so far, my work always takes precedence
This is an interesting one and this is very conflicted also so prabhu as an individual is comfortable with his employees moonlighting provided the interests of my clients are not compromised in any manner. So as long as that employee, even if he has to pursue or she has to pursue another career or another assignment outside of working hours or even during working hours, if the person is extraordinarily talented, that what others take, 8 hours that person is able to finish in 3 hours with better quality
So, yeah, let me get into my last question for you today. So Prabhu, a lot of people, including myself, dream of pursuing creative passions alongside our careers, but often struggle to take the first step. What advice would you offer to someone who aspires to follow their creative dreams while maintaining their professional commitments?
So that's my reading of people that I've spoken to. A lot of people ask me this question, and when I ask them the same set of questions about what do you really want to do? Nine out of ten times I found them not being clear about what is it they really want to accomplish? And that's what makes them stutter, and that's what makes them falter in their first steps. And that's when nothing ever really takes off. And it is a period of time