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Why jaw-drops don’t happen in consulting
After my MBA, when I joined consulting, I imagined that we would solve complex business problems, and finally, when we presented our solutions to the clients, their jaws would hit the floor. As it turned out, that jaw drop never happened. In fact,...
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Note-taking technique
I discovered the effectiveness of this note-taking technique during my Civil Services exam preparation. At that time, I barely had 1.5 months for...
Life changing habit
Here is a simple life-changing habit -- sleep an hour before you normally do, and then see what happens. Not convinced? For a few days, log what you...
Less is More
During my IPS training, we were attached to a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) unit that was fighting militancy in Tripura. In this remote CRPF...
Leadership
During a training program at McKinsey, we were split into groups of 4-5 people and given a task – we had to build paper planes using a kit given to...
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Life is short
As a fresh consultant at McKinsey, for the first time in my life, I had to go around seeking time for meetings with clients or senior leaders at the Firm. Prior to that, while serving as the Police Commissioner, if I wanted to speak with someone, I...
Prioritizing Thoughtful Work
When I was serving as the Trivandrum Police Commissioner, I once skipped a useless meeting called by a senior government official. The next week, when my assistant shared my weekly timesheet, she showed an internal meeting that I had never...
How to build a startup?
Conventional wisdom (some of which I also fell for): - Leave your job. - Chase VC funding. - Spend all the money on ads and a huge team. - Pray for the next round of funding. A better way: - Don’t leave your jobs until much later — start by working...
Value your time
An email you almost never get: I need your money. An email you often get: I need your time -- can we jump on to a call? Is your time less valuable than your money? Of course, not. If you clutter your calendar with calls and meetings, you can say...