An invaluable source of inspiration and guidance to help leaders understand themselves and their own barriers to success. For centuries, we have learned what’s not taught through our own experiences and the stories of others. Even today, only 3 per cent of leadership development occurs due to classroom training and coursework. In fact, for most managers, ‘the penny drops’ only when we are at the end of our careers. R. Gopalakrishnan, author of the best-selling The Case of the Bonsai Manager, has many stories to tell. With forty-three years’ corporate experience across countries, each story recounted here has taught him a valuable lesson in some intuitive way. Each one is narrated here for you to allow you to reflect and learn for yourself how to improve and develop.