Not Just Another Corporate Playbook? This One Actually Gets Gen Z and Millennials!

GenZ and Millennials aren’t playing by the old corporate rulebook. They don’t aspire to be just cogs in the machine or wait 15 years to be heard. They want work that aligns with who they are—ethically, mentally, emotionally. They care about impact, value authenticity, and expect leadership that listens rather than commands. So, what happens when a seasoned professional tries to decode the modern workplace for them?

You get A New Corporate Mantra: A Playbook for Organizational Success—a surprisingly grounded, insightful debut by Abhijoy Gandhi that reads more like a thoughtful conversation than a business lecture.

A Career Guide That Doesn’t Talk Down to You

Gandhi doesn’t assume the reader is clueless or needs “fixing.” Instead, he recognises the unique pressures and strengths of the younger workforce. “The impact this generation is going to have on the world and the future of humanity is enormous,” he says. But he also acknowledges that they won’t and shouldn’t learn the same way as previous generations.

That’s why the book skips the usual motivational fluff and instead distils decades of experience into short, impactful anecdotes “like TLDRs or modern-day Aesop’s fables,” as Gandhi puts it. The tone is accessible, the language direct, and the advice rooted in real, often messy, corporate scenarios.

Lessons from Real Leaders, Not Just Boardroom Stereotypes

The book is built on a foundation of lived experience, drawing from 50 diverse leaders across industries. Gandhi reflects: “I initially had 70 or 80 shortlisted situations… I eventually whittled it down to 50. Each anecdote reflects a different type of personality within a different situation—scenarios young people are likely to encounter early in their careers.”

What’s clever is how the stories subtly place the reader in the shoes of someone navigating power dynamics, office politics, and the pressure to perform—all while still figuring out who they are. There’s no preachy tone here; just honest, reflective insights that help you prepare without being paranoid.

Corporate Wellness isn’t a Trend—It’s the New Baseline

One of the book’s most relevant sections is its approach to wellness—not as a perk, but a necessity. Gandhi makes a strong argument: “People with high IQs often get pushed into careers they don’t love. Sustaining that mismatch over 40 years is incredibly hard, and it shows up in rising burnout levels.”

He calls for a broader definition of success, one that includes what he terms “relationship wellness” and “client wellness.” And he’s not just saying it—he’s building it. His company, Glue, is described as “the living embodiment of everything I’ve learned over the past 30 years,” created to embed wellness directly into workplace systems.

In Gandhi’s view, they don’t see wellness as optional, and they’re not going to give it up just to earn a paycheck.

Storytelling That Balances Honesty and Respect

There’s a particular maturity in how Gandhi tells these stories. He’s mindful not to vilify individuals even when the anecdotes involve questionable leadership or difficult colleagues. “The value lies in the lessons,” he explains, “not in peeling back the less flattering realities.”

This respect for privacy, coupled with a narrative style that’s both personal and professional, makes the book more engaging than most in the genre. Gandhi compares the simplicity of some stories to “Aesop’s Fables”—and in many ways, he’s right. The book’s strength lies in making seemingly small corporate moments feel profound.

Where the Book Falls Short

That said, A New Corporate Mantra isn’t without its blind spots. While Gandhi clearly values emotional intelligence and progressive workplace culture, the book tends to stay within the comfort zone of anecdotal experience. There’s little engagement with systemic issues—gender, caste, class, or even structural bias within organisations—that shape many people’s corporate realities.

In aiming to stay neutral and respectful, some stories feel a bit too polished leaving out the raw, uncomfortable parts that might have deepened the narrative. The result? The book sometimes leans more towards being safe than disruptive. For readers looking for deeper, more critical analysis of workplace power dynamics, this might feel like a missed opportunity.

Still, for its intended audience early-career professionals navigating modern workplaces it does the job well. It doesn’t pretend to be an academic text or a cultural critique. It’s more of a toolkit: smart, thoughtful, and generous in tone.

Bottomline: It’s Not Here to Impress—It’s Here to Help

A New Corporate Mantra doesn’t try to wow you with buzzwords or big theories. It doesn’t shout. It observes, reflects, and gently nudges. Gandhi has written a book that’s part mentor, part map, and fully grounded in today’s professional realities.

This isn’t a corporate survival manual. It’s a compass. And for a generation that values direction over dogma, that’s saying a lot.