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The Costly Startup Lesson That No MBA Teaches
When I launched my first startup, we urgently needed some cash to keep the company alive. So I roped in a world-renowned expert to conduct a pretty expensive workshop. We just needed 100 signups and for the next 12 months, we would not have to...
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The One Thing First-Time Managers Often Forget
I became a 'first-time manager' on the day 1 of my first job, when I took charge as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Karunagappally, a suburb...
Your Achievements Don’t Need to Compete With Anyone Else’s
Two days ago, at the breakfast table, my mother told me somewhat gleefully that she had walked for 1 hour and 10 minutes that morning. It was...
Great Managers Don’t Create Clones
While working with McKinsey, I worked with two types of managers: Type 1: They wanted you to just solve the problem as best as you could. Type 2:...
Why 24 Hours Is Always Enough
If you feel you don't have enough time, ask yourself: If your day had four extra hours, would it be enough? Be honest. I think the answer is pretty...
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There’s No Free Lunch in Life
I have had three pretty different careers, but every single time I realised one thing -- there is no free lunch. In my first job with the civil services, everything was secure and predictable. The government gave me all the resources, legal...
Earning Respect That Lasts a Lifetime
A few weeks ago, I called a former boss of mine (the then Director General of Police, Kerala) to wish him a happy new year -- he is nearing 80 and is not keeping very good health. This officer was the most draconian disciplinarian to have headed...
Focus on the Problem, Not the Competition
In my startup journey, I learned more from one particular 5-minute video than from dozens of books and podcasts -- this video is that of Dropbox's founder Drew Houston. When Drew was fundraising for Dropbox, he met a VC, who asked, "There are...
Leadership Means Deciding Without Complete Data
A colleague of mine at McKinsey used to once work at Capital One, an extremely data-driven company. It was understandable that a fintech company would love data but even their senior management took decisions off spreadsheets. And sometimes, it led...