Life Beyond Resumes

Having pretty much wasted my 4 years at IIT without learning much, I was determined to not repeat that mess, ever. So when I joined my MBA, I was focused and doing well academically. But it created another problem — I became greedy for top grades and felt like...

Too Much is Too Much

Two decades ago, during a lunch at some government function, I first met Mr. Karunakaran, former Chief Minister of Kerala. On his plate, there was just one appam (a dosa-like item) with some vegetable stew. Seeing him eat so little, I later asked his aides, ‘He ate so...

Hard or Easy: It’s All in the Mind

During our Civil Services training in Mussoorie, one day, our physical training (PT) instructor announced the upcoming 9-day trek to the Himalayas. For the hardest trek route that led to Roop Kund (>5,000 m), when he asked for volunteers, so many hands went up that...

Donkey + Donkey = Horse?

In my days as a private equity investor, I learned some interesting lessons about ‘synergies’, horses, and donkeys — here they are 🙂 Every fund has the usual mix of investments, some good, others not so much. Most investments that do badly, do so for deep...