Have you ever realised that you are not mindful to your coworkers, relatives, and the people who come across in your day to day life? Have we ever noticed that one friend of ours who has become over-ambitious that blinded him realising core values? We meet a lot of people, for whom earning money counts name and fame, they think their decisions and venture into the business are always right without taking into consideration of other people. Moral Fiber by Shawn Vij has offered us a practical solution to problems that people in day-today life encounter.

Unlike other usual practical guides to life, it gives us a solution to the people who are professionally engaged. It points out the conditions when professionals compromise with their moral values.

Moral Fiber talks about the intoxicating environment and the successes in professional life by overcoming from this environment. Vij as professional did not compromise with his core values and stood firmly on the principles that connote value system, and looks for his being very near to himself. Shawn Vij has spent his life almost twenty-five years in the corporate world where he has seen many obstacles deviating him from the path. During these years, he has found himself trapped by the circumstances and toxic work environment. He has also seen the people and situations challenging his values. he presents a glimpse of his real-life experience that people generally do on the cost of their moral values:

“I was stunned to witness so may people compromising their values at the altar of financial rewards, cash bonuses and fancy job titles.”

The book is more or less a summary of how Shawn tackled the unfavourable situation in his business life has been vividly written. His interactions with his holiness the Dalai Lama has changed his perspective of life entirely. Buddhist teachings have influenced the professional growth of Vij in a way that he did not let his professional heights or professional achievements affect his personal growth or personal thoughts. He, in straightforward terms, claims Moral Fiber is not a religious book. It is a practical guide to professional life that everyone goes through. This book also talks about a successful venture into business if one goes through certain principles of life. If one goes without these core values, the adverse effects come on productivity, investment decisions, employee attrition, and well-being of everyone in the office. Therefore, the writer of Moral Fiber confirms that it is not only a guide book to practical life but also a business book that talks about the ways and secrets of a successful business without compromising your ‘soul’.

Moral Fiber consists of nine chapters that cover the causes of unhealthy working experience and several solutions to the problems. Arrangements of chapters are in a properly sequenced manner and are connected logically. The first chapter, ‘Crushing My Soul’, opines that people should not crush the soul to have a thriving career. He sets the ground for the further section asserting that people can taste success by being true to themselves. The second chapter ‘Caging Ourselves: Why We Lose Our Values’ wants to say that before reawakening the core values, we need to recognise the nature of the toxic environment. In chapter third, identifies four toxic behaviours prevalent in the corporate world, which he represented as 4D’s (Deception, Detraction, Discrimination, and Doubt). Chapter four, ‘Rediscover Your Values’ initiates the process to recover the core values after once recognised the 4D’s. These are the ingredients of the core values are- Empathy, Compassion, Honesty, Loyalty, and Respect. Self-Awareness is the gateway to rediscovering our values. In the fifth chapter, we have a detailed discussion about the ways that point out how to put these core values into practices which is the essence of change. Thus one after the other, each chapter has been sequentially connected one to another. In this way, the entire book unfolds step by step guides that shall each of us to be a successful person in the business. Towards the end, Shawn Vij reaches the core of Moral Fiber and the accumulation of the same for a future that is regrettable and wonderful in all the possible ways.

To conclude, Moral Fiber is a book that will open up to the readers a world that they might seldom have explored. It is very much a business book but with certain advanced qualities that tell you how to do what you do, and not only just doing such things will get you there stuff… yes, it has philosophy integrated with actions… you must read this book if you are a professional who is concerned about his personal belonging (in terms of abstract ideas and emotions). You can get a copy from Amazon India by clicking the link below:

Buy the book now: click here to buy from Amazon India

Review by Ravi for Intellectual Reader Book Blog