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Learned Helplessness: Why Good People Help Us Break Free
During my policing career, when interacting with very poor people, I would often notice an attitude of helplessness and resignation. Life had probably battered them so much that they felt that nothing they did mattered. Martin Seligman, a renowned...
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Excitement is rare and overhyped
Very few professions that look glamorous or exciting, are actually that. During my MBA, I thought McKinsey would be very glamorous. Big clients,...
Five Keystone Habits
If you ever find yourself stuck in a rut of laziness, low energy, and lack of direction, these five keystone habits will help you smash through it:...
Focus and intensity guarantee success
In 3 months, you can get ahead of almost everyone. Here is how: 1. Every day, for an hour, disconnect your phone from the internet. 2. Pick a...
Home is Home
When I quit my job with McKinsey in New York, I moved back to India. And there were many reasons for the move – personal and family. But there was...
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A Learning Hack
Here is a learning hack I have successfully tried, especially during my MBA exams. I would often wake up very early (e.g., 3 am), study for two hours or so, and then again sleep for an hour or two. I would then go write the exam, and invariably,...
Career and Contentment
At my last job with a PE fund, one of my bosses (Victor Menezes) joined Citibank as a fresher, later became its global CEO, and retired as the Senior Vice Chairman of Citigroup – a financial services conglomerate. He retired so successful and rich...
Glamour vs Substance
In 2009, when I had just joined a private equity fund, we were invited to the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai for a fancy presentation by a healthcare technology company (I am deliberately not naming it). The company tried to charm the investor community...
Every job deserves respect
Today, I lead a 10-member team at HabitStrong. Many years ago, I headed a team of 3,500 people when I was the Trivandrum City Police commissioner. So which responsibility was harder? Naturally, running the City Police, right? Nope. Even though I...