Learning is the antidote to aging

A few years ago, I had to visit a hospital because of a persistent chest infection. It so happened that the senior doctor was unavailable and hence a relatively junior doctor had to attend to me. During the consultation, this junior doctor seemed really apologetic...

The best is already here

When I was a kid, our family train travel was rarely in the AC compartment. Therefore, we kids were always sitting near the windows staring at the rivers, mountains, and everything else. India felt so amazing. But sadly, in the last few decades, even the very rare...

Take your time, focus hard, and get it done

In movies, you see heroes spraying light weapons in automatic mode, killing dozens of ‘bad guys.’ In real life, you never do that. Here is why. An AK-47 will finish a full magazine of 30 bullets in 3 seconds, and they will almost all miss the target. It is...

Face your fears

I spent my 4 years at IIT mostly lazing around, wasting my time. But I had other classmates who slogged hard. In the final year, most hard-working guys had great career options lined up, including scholarships from some top US universities. I told myself that it...

Let us allow people to enjoy their work

In my very first engagement as a McKinsey consultant, we were trying to schedule a meeting with a senior leader at a pharma client. She literally threw up her hands, saying, “I am back to back with meetings the whole day.” I was sorely tempted to ask her,...