Choosing to be grateful

I have never envied anyone more than this guy I met one evening in 2008, near New York City. He was the brother-in-law of a friend, who introduced us. This guy was the textbook definition of brilliance: Undergrad from Wharton, business analyst at McKinsey, followed by...

If not now, when?

Years ago, I was talking to a contemporary from an IIT, who was well-settled, working in a good, stable tech company, with a good salary. He didn’t mind the job even if he wasn’t madly in love with it. During our chat, he started talking about a passion that he...

Prioritizing customer happiness

A private equity fund I know, once invested in a startup led by a rockstar CEO — or so we were told. The startup raised seed capital of $100 million on day 1 — no kidding. Flush with money, they had a private jet parked at London’s Heathrow airport....

To lie or not to lie

When I was recruiting during my MBA at Wharton, people said that if an interviewer asks whether you have other job offers, always say ‘yes.’ The logic is that if other companies have offered you jobs, then it shows that you are a strong candidate. But I was very...