The value of deep work and focused effort

A few years ago, a friend volunteered to help me for a few days with my startup. He showed up at my office and after a long discussion, offered to create a detailed execution plan for me. He then left, promising to reconnect in a bit. For the next few hrs, I was...

Defending your time and attention

When my wife was the District Collector, Trivandrum, she was heading 200 odd committees. If the average committee met twice a year, you end up with 400 meetings — i.e., approx two meetings per working day. Yikes! And this does not even count all the other...

Improving systems from the inside out

During my stint with the Indian Police Service, a top police official once said this to me with immense pride: ‘I only travel to countries where I am not frisked at the airport. I go to Dubai because I am not frisked, but I won’t go to the US or...