I am delighted to see a book being written about Dr Pritam Singh, a Midas touch leader and an institution builder par excellence. I have known him for many years and found that he was a person who made one feel enthused by his sheer presence. While the legend has moved on, the legacy continues. As a board member, he used to guide us in shaping our own JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur, and as the chancellor of the university, I found his advice to be enormously sound, pragmatic and highly progressive. In many ways, Dr Singh was ahead of his time.
Dr Pritam Singh was among the select few personalities who traversed the multiverse of academia, policymaking and institution building with ease. His accomplishments across institutions are indeed a testimony to his distinctive management thinking and leadership qualities. It is great to see a book documenting his life, leadership and institution building. I am sure it will be a great resource for future leaders to become effective and outstanding in their chosen endeavours.
The book, Pritam Singh: The Alchemist Guru, is a fitting tribute to the leadership and institution building of Dr Pritam Singh. The book comprehensively brings out the strategies and approaches used by him in transforming Indian management schools and provides a road map for budding leaders. I highly recommend this book to all those interested in leadership in organizations, especially in academia.
Dr Pritam Singh is the unparalleled ‘avtar purush’ (the master incarnate) of management education and practice in India. In a slim and concise work of elegance and substance, Dr Asha Bhandarker and Dr Subrat Kumar have captured the philosophy and values of the guru. Pritam Singh: The Alchemist Guru will endure as the protagonist for a long time to come.
Dr Singh has been widely acknowledged as a guru, scholar and institution builder. This book has given insights into these aspects of Dr Pritam Singh’s life. It is a wonderfully rare documentation of the life and contributions of an outstanding leader. I congratulate the authors for bringing out a fine book, well substantiated by the views of a large number of people who had the privilege of working with Dr Singh. It is a must-read for budding leaders, existing leaders and all those interested in the phenomenon of leadership.
Dr Pritam Singh was an institution for leadership and management skills. His work and life have inspired so many successful corporate leaders and transformed organizations. We are fortunate that his thoughts and legacy have been captured in this book, thereby institutionalizing his teachings for many generations to come. A must-read for current and future leaders.
Dr Pritam Singh had been a towering institutional builder. Rarely would you come across a personality who is as comfortable with policymaking as with teaching or researching. No surprise, he had left his indelible imprint on everyone he had met, on every place he dwelt. I am so thankful to Professor Asha Bhandarker and Dr Subrat Kumar, who have so painstakingly yet passionately penned this book. There could never have been a better tribute to a person who was not only a teacher but also a change agent, a master crafter and a policy drafter, all rolled into one.
The legendary Dr Pritam Singh has shown that there is no end to contributions if one aims high enough. He has been a constant mentor and guide to us for more than a decade. The book nicely brings out the path he has mapped to building top-class management schools. It also reveals many of the characteristics which have influenced his towering leadership over the last four decades. I unhesitatingly recommend this book to all budding leaders, especially in academia.
This book provides an in-depth understanding of what leads to building great academic institutions. I can also relate to practices in stakeholder management for the common greater good of the organization. A must-read for both academics and corporate leaders who are interested in understanding the Indian management education landscape.
Dr Pritam Singh has not only led and built multiple excellent institutions but has gone on to mentor faculty and leaders who have built institutions themselves. He was that rarest of individuals, a true ‘teacher of teachers’. I have personally benefited from being mentored by leaders who were, in turn, mentored by Dr Pritam Singh. The book, Pritam Singh: The Alchemist Guru, by Bhandarker and Kumar, shows how and why Dr Singh was a guru and how he managed to build excellent institutions. I highly recommend this book to all leaders as well as budding leaders.
This book is a testament to the power of those individuals in our lives who touch us with their integrity and humility. The authors weave together the story of the late Pritam Singh as a thinker, leader and educationalist. Throughout, it is a study in values-based leadership, friendship and inspiration. Above all, it is a study of a man of quiet achievement, a gentle and thoughtful figure who shaped the practice and hearts of so many.