BookLife Reviews
01/02/2023
“What's important is that you keep going,” writes Ohri, the CEO of luxury lebua Hotels and Resorts of Thailand, India, and New Zealand. The self-proclaimed unique product of his roots and his childhood, Ohri tells the story of his own bridge-crossings in this inspirational memoir and compendium of insights and advice. He shares his impassioned thoughts about trends, accountability, mentorship, how to build success from failure, and the power of great service, not just towards customers but to staff, too. But the book’s heart is in persevering through hardship, as he writes lovingly of his modest beginnings in a lower middle class area of New Delhi, a childhood filled with love and life lessons, and his bumptious early career. Those experiences stirred his passion for luxury and hospitality. A Bridge Not Too Far showcases how Ohri’s humble start has shaped his innovative business sense and human-centered business approach.
Ohri makes the case that people learn in predominantly two different ways: education and experience. Ohri learned mostly through the latter, through his international travels, working in far-flung restaurants and hotels. He argues that "failure is our greatest teacher,” that sometimes a move that seems lateral is the next step forward. He recounts interviewing for jobs that thought him better suited for a different position, the challenges of working in new places with limited knowledge of their practices, and even being ousted from a thriving partnership. Ohri found not just motivation but also an education in what not to do, while still climbing to the top of the hospitality industry.
Readers of upbeat CEO memoirs will welcome Ohri's candidness and clear-eyed advice (“If they are treated with respect,” he writes of his employees, “they will behave the same with our clients”). Ohri's story shows that nothing worth having is easy to obtain—instead, it takes consistency and hard work, and trials and errors to create a successful outcome in life and in business.
Takeaway: This motivational CEO memoir urges readers to learn from failure and treat employees well.
Great for fans of: Farnoosh Torabi’s You’re So Money, Conrad Hilton’s Be My Guest.
Production grades Cover: A- Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A- Marketing copy: A
Independent Book Review
"...offers fresh and interesting insights into the restaurant and luxury experience industry."
CEO and Founder, Aptamind Partners - Aradhana Khowala
"A joyous and uplifting book which follows Deepak's continent-hopping, a multi-decade career in hospitality but even more so speaks of the tender love between a father and son."
MD and CEO, Oberoi Group of Hotels - Vikram Oberoi
"Deepak Ohri provides an inspirational story and a clear framework for achieving success through creativity, hard work, and self-belief."
President and Founder, World Travel Awards - Graham Cooke
"Deepak is an inspirational leader. A Bridge Not Too Far will inspire many around the world to challenge the boundaries of success in business and life."
Dean, Florida International UniversityCollege of Business - William G. Hardin III
"No one becomes successful on their own. Deepak Ohri's narrative highlights how influential his parents were in providing him guidance, mentorship, support, and values. In A Bridge Not Too Far, Deepak shows us that we must be willing to seek out challenges and recognize opportunities."
Founder and Chairman, Internova Travel Group - Michael Batt
"Reading A Bridge Not Too Far is pure joy. It is a must-read for those who appreciate what it takes to work your way up to the top."
Faculty Florida International UniversityCollege of Business - Anna Pietraszek
"Deepak's story puts it all in perspective. His drive to succeed is unstoppable, and his affection for life is contagious. He finds the best in people and converts each challenge into an incredible opportunity. His love for education is exceptional. A Bridge Not Too Far is a perfect guide for anyone who wants to do something extraordinary in life. It shows that with the right mindset, everything is possible."
Deputy Executive Vice President, Genting Bhd - Peter Foster
"Nothing is too far or too high for Deepak Ohri. Where many others would relax or slow down, he shifts into a higher gear and takes off to new heights. A Bridge Not Too Far will inspire others to follow in his footsteps and make the world a better place."
CEO, The Travel Corporation - Brett Tollman
"In A Bridge Not Too Far, Ohri writes honestly about the experiences that shaped him, both positively and negatively. This book is a must-read for those who aspire to be innovative thinkers."
Chairman and CEO, Founder, Agoda Company Limited - Robert Rosenstein
"Great hotels and restaurants often anchor the evolution of the world's greatest cities. Deepak's story tells of the journey behind iconic venues."
Javed Malik
A Bridge Not Too Far…is creative, entertaining, enlightened, and honest.”
Forbes
Ohri is a visionary in every sense of the word.”
Dr. William G. Hardin III
No one becomes successful on their own. Deepak Ohri’s narrative highlights how influential his parents were in providing him guidance, mentorship, support, and values.”
Faculty Florida International University College of Business - Dr. Anna Pietraszek
"Deepak's story puts it all in perspective. His drive to succeed is unstoppable, and his affection for life is contagious. He finds the best in people and converts each challenge into an incredible opportunity. His love for education is exceptional. A Bridge Not Too Far is a perfect guide for anyone who wants to do something extraordinary in life. It shows that with the right mindset, everything is possible."
Kirkus Reviews
2022-09-19
A prosperous hotelier offers a debut memoir and motivational manual.
“All my successes are built on a foundation of failures,” writes Ohri in his book. He then proceeds in these pages to detail both the setbacks and the successes that brought him from a poor but loving childhood in an impoverished district of New Delhi to the head of a chain of luxury hotels and resorts. “Luxury is an experience that creates memories for a lifetime,” he reflects about this particular aspect of his success story. The author goes on to assure his readers that “every simple joy can be a luxury.” The relative nature of the luxury experiences that he provides for his customers prompts him to observe that entrepreneurship is an intensely personal thing—the fuel for it varies and is tailored to the individual. He writes about his growth as an entrepreneur, delivering an affectionate tribute to his mentor, Joe Santiani, who taught him what he refers to as the biggest lesson of his life: that self-respect derives from others—it’s a two-way street. “My mentor’s behavior showed me that no one is inferior,” he asserts, “respect is given to those who deserve it, and to those who have talent and skills.” In the course of his apprenticeship (including visiting the United States), Ohri learned from this mentor many of the lessons that would stick with him for the rest of his own triumphant career. “He taught me that our efforts are never in vain; even the smallest efforts are important in the journey to becoming perfect,” he writes. “There are no short-cuts to success.”Readers familiar with business memoirs may groan a bit when encountering a shopworn line like “There are no short-cuts to success.” Those readers may be further discouraged by the appearance of other sentiments and platitudes that are a bit too simple or pat (“It’s not easy recognizing failures in yourself”). Fortunately, Ohri has enough awareness of his gifts as a writer to know where to put his stresses. He’s an instinctively strong storyteller. In this well-crafted account, he presents a series of episodes that are genuinely gripping. He carries readers along expertly, writing his various adventures in very involving ways. Readers will get caught up in the story of how he was betrayed by his partner in an early venture, for instance; he lost everything and had to face the humiliation of returning home to India and facing his father as a penniless failure. This disaster and other hurdles are skillfully related. When the author describes his initial success as the owner of a chain of restaurants, for example, he will keep readers on the edges of their seats: “We had created a buzz in the city. I gained confidence in exploring the levels of hospitality service and everything was going great. Until it wasn’t.” This interweaving of self-effacing humility and the kind of make-or-break business world stories that will be familiar to many of the financial hustlers in his target audience saves Ohri’s book from being just a protracted exercise in self-congratulation.
An engrossing, energetically told story of one entrepreneur’s rise to personal and professional success.
