Which is the best running shoe in the world? Who cares? You just need a good enough pair. Because the shoes won't run, you will. And I am not being snarky here. When we have to do something hard, we start looking for the 'best' tools -- the best shoes, the best bike,...

Today, I had dozens of pending tasks. So here is what I did. I just picked one task that really mattered. I dropped everything else, started my timer, and did 10 focus sprints of 25 minutes. By around 5:30 pm, the task was done. No sweat, no struggle. But had I picked...

A year ago, we lost Deepak Ratan, my friend, IPS batchmate, and an illustrious officer, to a heart attack. We are all in shock. Deepak was still in his 40s and looked fit and strong. Who could have seen this coming? Deepak and I were in the same squad at the National...

You are distracted. But not for the reason you think. MORE than 50% of the work interruptions destroying your productivity aren’t triggered by your phone or email notifications but come from inside your own mind. App blockers can’t defeat digital distraction because...

A few years ago, when I was doing my previous startup, a student once asked me an IITJEE Advanced physics problem. The question appeared so unsolvable that I asked him, "Are you sure the problem is correct?" Sadly, it was 🙂 I thought about it for a bit but nothing...

Here is a 3-step process to clarify your thinking, whenever you feel you have a lot to say about something but it all feels jumbled up in your head. Imagine that you have to make a presentation before someone (a client, colleague, etc.). Now, dump all the thoughts in...

During my days at McKinsey, I once asked a retired senior partner about life before PowerPoint. How did they make presentations to clients? He said that they used to create presentations on big chart papers using felt-tip pens. They would have to write in big font,...

You should envy Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger -- I certainly do. But not because of their billions. But because of how happy and joyful they are. In their 90s, they have the infectious enthusiasm and curiosity of a 25-year-old. They have a point of view...

A McKinsey partner once told me about his niece who got a job offer as a management trainee from a world-leading healthcare company. This company had (and still has) a spectacular global brand, and is a market leader in many categories. And therefore, he advised his...

At the Berkshire Hathway annual meeting, (the late) Charlie Munger said, "We are not that smart but we kind of know the edge of our smartness. But a lot of people who are geniuses, think they are a lot smarter than they are. What they are, is dangerous." One might be...

Years ago, I had a young colleague who would steal a glance under the table at his WhatsApp every minute or two. Today, that behavior has gone mainstream -- many of us work with constantly buzzing notifications from apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. In this post, I...

You (and I) are in danger. Right now, LinkedIn is flooded with tools, templates, and hacks, especially after chatGPT. And to be sure, many of these tools have great value. They will make you faster and more efficient. But we might assume that these tools can replace...

In some ways, King Charles is quite lucky -- he has unimaginable wealth, privilege, and status (for no fault of his). But would you or I want to be in his position? He has to spend much of his life doing meaningless ceremonial stuff. Having endured a little bit of...

During my summer internship recruiting at Wharton, there was only one consulting job interview I bombed. And it also happened to be the easiest one. Here is what happened. I was interviewing with a partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, a well-known consulting firm. The...

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, in the world of...