Where to buy
Carried by Amazon in every market, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Waterstones, Booktopia, Kinokuniya, Flipkart, Google Books, Apple Books and Kobo. Printed on demand close to wherever it is ordered.
Listed with the worldwide trade network, so any bookstore or library can order it. Ask for it by ISBN: 9781733211604 (paperback).
What is inside
A Ride On The Road To Excellence combines management learning with the experiences of an adventure motorbike journey. Through the story of three men, two motorbikes, and one road trip, Balamurugan explores the professional challenges faced by managers who work hard yet continue to struggle with performance, leadership, communication, stress, and work-life balance.
The book follows executives as they step away from their familiar workplace environment and encounter situations that encourage observation, reflection, and practical learning. Conversations, people they meet, changing landscapes, unexpected difficulties, and decisions made during the ride become opportunities to examine everyday management challenges from a different perspective.
Rather than presenting management principles only as theory, the book uses storytelling to connect them with lived experience. It explores themes such as planning and preparation, leadership, communication, responsibility, performance, teamwork, decision-making, self-awareness, and balancing professional ambition with personal well-being.
At its core, the book reflects on the difference between simply working harder and understanding how to work, lead, and live more effectively. The road journey becomes a setting for discovering lessons that can be carried back into professional and personal life.
This book is for managers, executives, team leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and individuals seeking to strengthen their management and leadership capabilities.
It is particularly relevant to readers who enjoy experience-based learning and want practical perspectives on workplace performance, leadership, professional growth, and work-life balance presented through an engaging journey rather than conventional management instruction.
Excerpt
Planning, Preparation and Unleashing
Over a hot steaming cup of coffee at home the next day, my friend said with a furrowed face that in spite of his best efforts at office, his boss is not happy. “Can you be specific?” I asked.
“So much of feedback that, I am surprised myself” said Arya, “I was told that the feedback from my juniors and peers in the organization about me was less than satisfactory. And I am not a good leader and a big quantum jump is required in my communication skills.”
“That is all?” I asked him.
“No Bala, I wish that was the end. Though I thought, I did put great efforts to achieve the goals, I was told, I don’t take initiatives, I am not enthusiastic, and I am not a go getter... and the list is pretty endless”, saying this he completed his sentence without finishing the list.
I nodded, and asked him, “So, what do you think? If you think you are good, why would you be receiving such feedbacks? Did you analyse whether they are incorrect or you have misunderstood your role?”
He just sighed and said, “I work for at least ten hours a day at the office, keep pushing my team, I put great efforts in every sphere of work, but I am at a loss where I am going wrong.”
I asked him, “Are you happy at home? What does your wife think about family life?”
He said, “Oh, the less I talk about it, the better.”
Then, Arya continued with a frown, “She says, she feels that she is married to a robot! She says I keep thinking about my work all the time, look stressed and hardly have dinner with her because I come home so late on most of the days. Neither my office folks are happy with me nor am I happy at home. So what do you think I should do?”
Knowing him for more than two decades since childhood, and from school days, I know that, since I was older to him by a couple of years, he takes the liberty to call me and take my help and suggestions whenever he has some challenges.
He is from a middle-class family and after completing his graduation, has come up in his career through hard work and moved up in the corporate ladder to reach a reasonably senior level position in an organization. Married, and father of a child, he is a genuine trier, but from what I understood from our discussion, it appeared he needs a break and think about the issue all over again. I thought, not everybody-his bosses, his subordinates, and his wife-could be wrong.
About the author
· India
Balamurugan is a management professional, consultant, traveler, and motorbike enthusiast who draws leadership and workplace lessons from real-life experiences. His writing connects management thinking with travel, observation, and practical learning.
Published by Stardom Books — written from the author’s own words, in the author’s name. Browse the catalogue
Start here
The Authority Quotient is a thirty-minute evaluation that measures your authority two ways — how you rate yourself, and what a stranger can verify — and ends with one specific recommendation, including which type of book is yours.
Find your Authority QuotientNo cost. Get detailed report. Includes specific recommendations.
