CURIOSITY REDEFINES THE LIMITS

A former IBM executive draws lessons from his career path and meditates on his legacy.

Adkins, currently the president of the 3RAM Group, presents a memoir and leadership manual that tracks a familiar, earnest arc: a gifted kid from an under-resourced neighborhood later becomes a senior executive and an influential board member by asking better questions than everyone else. This book is organized chronologically, with chapters tracing the author’s life and career—“The Kid,” “The Student,” and “The Professional”—before shifting into more prescriptive territory in “The Recipe,” “The Steps,” and “The Exit.” Adkins frames his life as both a case study and a blueprint. His curiosity manifested early on—he enjoyed dismantling and reassembling appliances—and he credits teachers, parents, and various community figures with channeling his intellect toward engineering. Georgia Tech sharpened his focus, he says, and fraternity life reinforced loyalties and networks. His years at IBM form the book’s backbone; Adkins recounts his rise through technical and managerial ranks. He also emphasizes moments in which asking “Why?,” “How?,” or “What if?” led to turnarounds. In the second half, the book moves from ambition to stewardship; board service, mentoring, and philanthropy dominate these chapters, culminating in a meditation on legacy. Adkins stresses that success should “be shared because it came from the benefit of acquired knowledge, help, and support you received from others along the way.” Curiosity is less a tactical tool than a moral posture, as he frames it. As a guide to succeeding in business, the book is steady, if familiar. Its advice to stay curious, work hard, be prepared, build relationships, take the high road, and invest in other people is sound and clearly earned. Other aspects of business, however, such as digital disruption, platform economics, and the precarity of modern careers, receive little sustained attention. For readers seeking reassurance, a framework for professional ethics, and a story of honorable success, it delivers. For those looking for a playbook for the future, it reads more like a valedictory address than a field manual.

A handbook of solid advice with some limitations.

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2026