Rajan’s Linkedin posts

Why Less is More

In my previous EdTech startup, ConceptOwl, I found one day that new videos were not showing up on our app even though we were recording dozens of them every week. Why? Manpower problem. We had too many people! I found that there were too many steps in the video...

Why We Need Clear Priorities

Your mind CANNOT focus on a task if it subliminally fears that you are missing out on something more pressing. When you have that fear or anxiety, it does the following: You multitask or leave a task incomplete (e.g., a half-written email) and jump to some other task....

Life Takes Time

In 2010, at an investor event at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, I was dazzled by a company called Opto Circuits. Their polished presentation, storytelling, and impressive product display left no doubt that a medical device giant was emerging from India. The founder won...

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Productivity = focus + prioritization

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...

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Remembering Deepak Ratan

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...

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Break free from digital distractions

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...

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The power of downtime and diffuse thinking

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...

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3-step process to clarify thinking

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...

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The efficiency paradox

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,...

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Freedom over fortune

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...

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Embrace constraints

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...

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The right kind of smartness in business

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...

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Why multitasking destroys focus

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...

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Tools can’t replace competence

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...

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The price of privilege

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...

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Complacency kills

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...

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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, in the world of...

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The cost of addiction

Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and the author of 'Dopamine Nation,' said that the most bizarre addiction she had come across was, shockingly, 'water addiction.' One of her patients would drink so much water that it would throw her system out of gear and somehow produce...

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Rajan shares insights from his own life journey to help you build better habits in yours.