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Why Meaningful Work Matters More Than Comfort
Can you guess what terrifies Indian civil servants the most? Getting a posting with no work to do. And sadly, a lot of these positions do exist. But why would people want to work more for the same salary? Partly, it could be the sense of importance...
Recent Posts
Why a Packed Calendar Is Killing Your Productivity
A packed calendar seems like the ultimate productivity hack. Yet, it is a terrible idea. Here is why. When your calendar is packed, your mind feels...
When Bad Luck Turns Out to Be a Blessing
In the 2008 financial crisis, most of my MBA classmates working in Wall Street lost their jobs. The rout started with Bear Stearns going bankrupt...
Is Consulting the Best Training Ground for Future CEOs?
Is consulting the best training ground for future CEOs? I think the answer is complicated. Consultants are very good at getting to quick first-cut...
Why Throwing More People at a Problem Makes It Worse
During one of my consulting projects, we had a very influential and intimidating client. So to dazzle him, a lot of senior leaders were added to the...
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Remote Work Isn’t the Problem — Fake Work Is
I was recently chatting with a youngster in the US, who told me that his sister has a full-time remote job where she works only one hour a day and is seemingly having a gala time! But for now, she is discharging her responsibilities just fine and...
Why Top Performers Don’t Work More Hours
When I landed as a 1st year student in IIT, I imagined that the all-India toppers would be obsessive bookworms. But not only did they study the same hours as everyone else, the were also involved in a lot of extra curricular activities. In that...
Why Constraints Make You a Better Writer (and Thinker)
Back in the days when LinkedIn had a 1300 character limit for posts, writing was a real pain -- I often had to edit out even seemingly essential stuff to fit the character limit. Today, with a 3,000 character limit, your creativity is no longer...
Why Life Is a Daily Event, Not an Achievement
LinkedIn posts from many successful Civil Service aspirants reminded me of the feeling one often gets on clearing the exam -- that you have arrived at the final goalpost. That there is nothing more to be done -- life will now be on cruise control....