Latest Post
Why Prestigious Jobs Still Leave So Many People Unhappy
About half of the IAS/IPS officers who reach out to me ask me about career opportunities outside the Services. Of course, there is an obvious self-selection here (why else would they reach out to an ex-Civil Servant). Yet, the number of...
Recent Posts
Micromanagement Is Not What You Think It Is
When I was working with a private equity fund, some of the companies we invested in were performing poorly. So what was our response? We would start...
Why Staying Small Became My Biggest Advantage
When I became a first-time entrepreneur, one question I dreaded was: "How big is your team?" Because everyone was trying to size you up. And my...
The Real Reason My First EdTech Startup Failed
I expected my first EdTech startup to crash but for not for the reasons it did -- here is what happened. In the early days, my biggest worry was --...
The Day You Stop Learning, You Become a Know-All
Just before I was leaving the Civil Services for my MBA, I went to say farewell to many of the senior folks I knew. One of them said that he also...
More Articles
9-to-5 Jobs Aren’t Slavery — The Wrong Fit Is
9-to-5 jobs are not slavery. Slavery is something that sucks your soul, energy, and hope but you can't escape because you need the money, the brand, or some semblance of stability. And this kind of slavery can come in any form -- a full-time job,...
Stop Confusing Busyness With Real Work
You don't walk into an annual performance appraisal meeting and boast -- "I sent 20,000 emails last year." You don't flaunt the number of meetings you have attended. Because nobody cares about those things -- these metrics are meaningless. But if...
Conviction and Delusion in Entrepreneurship
1 year ago, I met a VC who had told me that my first startup idea won't work. And you know what ultimately happened? He was right. Thankfully, when I met him this time, he did not remember that meeting. Nor did I remind him. 😊 But why did I not...
Why Open Offices Destroy Focus (And What Companies Must Fix)
When we were running the pilot batch for our Zen Productivity program, some participants said that it is practically impossible to focus while at work. The first culprit is the 'open office plan' that encourages people to interrupt each other any...