More self-congratulation than wisdom.
The opening chapters of Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots are engaging. The ideas aren’t original, but they are clearly presented and initially invite reflection.
Very quickly, however, the book becomes repetitive. The same concepts are recycled through endless anecdotes with little added depth, creating the sense that one short essay has been stretched into a full-length book.
Many examples (parables, corporate stories, and personal anecdotes) draw from very different domains and are treated as if they were equivalent. This often leads to weak or even misleading comparisons. For instance, in chapter 40, Rao illustrates how to stop smoking (an addiction involving dependency and withdrawal) by telling a story about someone managing anger in traffic through meditation. These are not comparable, and the analogy trivialises addiction. Advising meditation while driving is also questionable from a safety perspective. The book contains many similar, almost comical comparisons.
But what truly damages the book is the author’s relentless self-promotion. Rao repeatedly advertises his programmes and courses and reminds the reader of his status as a professor and “elite coach” teaching senior executives and MBA students. Numerous stories feature students later praising him for having changed their lives, with lines such as: '“Professor Rao, you are brilliant,” she gushed'. These moments read as self-praise rather than support for the ideas.
One particularly cringy example appears in chapter 42, where Rao recounts giving unsolicited advice to a student to refuse a 10% discount when negotiating her first major corporate client. This is framed as wisdom about self-worth and detachment, but there is no acknowledgement of the commercial risk involved. Had the deal failed, the consequences would have been borne by the student, not Dr Rao. The story works only because the outcome happened to be positive, an example of outcome bias presented as wisdom.
There are useful insights here, particularly early on, but the book ultimately says far more about the author’s need for validation and ego than it does about wisdom itself. There are far better books on the subject.”
Really 2.5, but rounded up to 3 because I’m feeling forgiving, and the book prompted me to revisit the concept of mental models.