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Humans value what they lose
A few years ago, I was visiting the Chittorgarh fort, which is extremely imposing, to say the least. But if you look at the quarters in which the king used to stay, you realize that a modern 3 BHK has a better finish and amenities. This is not to...
Recent Posts
Overcoming Assumptions and Finding Our Limits
Right from 1st grade, I was the most non-athletic kid in my class. Thin and emaciated, I never participated in any athletic events or sports. In...
Being Comfortable in Misery
During my IPS training, one day, a fellow trainee who was also a college-mate, told me: “In my last job (before IPS), I once wrote a software...
The Morning Routine Advantage
In 2017, my startup was burning cash and time was running out. Changing the direction of the company was like trying to move a gigantic ship -- it...
Finding Joy in the Journey
In my 2nd year at IIT, I started learning Taekwondo. I somehow took fancy to the idea of becoming a black-belt. Maybe, I saw too many martial arts...
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The Impact of a Strong Beginning
In my life, the only major career goal for which I had to truly struggle was getting into IIT. IIT made getting into Civil Services so much more doable -- most of my classmates who aimed for it also made it. Once in the IPS, the exposure and...
The Rewards of Sacrifice
In my last job as a private equity investor, I came across many Indian entrepreneurs whose parents set up the business from scratch. I remember one entrepreneur in the medical devices space, whose mother used to go wait outside doctors' offices for...
The value of being at the bottom
The most valuable lesson I learned at McKinsey was NOT making presentations or structured thinking, as valuable as they were. The best lesson was the experience of being at the bottom of an organization. Before my MBA, I was running a 3,500 strong...
What is meaningful writing?
I was once talking to a lawyer, who was a partner at a law firm in London. I asked him, 'How challenging is it to be a good lawyer?' He said, 'Anybody can write a contract or a legal document but writing a really good one is very hard. A good...