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Buffers: The key to productivity
This might surprise you. Do you know the one productivity hack that lowers our productivity and overwhelms us? Packing your calendar back-to-back with tasks and to-dos. I know it sounds quite ironic but let me explain using an analogy. Imagine that...
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Hard or Easy: It’s All in the Mind
During our Civil Services training in Mussoorie, one day, our physical training (PT) instructor announced the upcoming 9-day trek to the Himalayas....
Donkey + Donkey = Horse?
In my days as a private equity investor, I learned some interesting lessons about ‘synergies’, horses, and donkeys -- here they are 🙂 Every fund...
Punctuality is the key
During my early days in the Indian Police Service, I was once accompanying a senior officer to a police station for an inspection. While on the way,...
Real tragedies
In 2008, working in New York, every week I would hear about my friends losing their jobs. In the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,...
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Hardship as a Training Ground
During my training in the Indian Police Service, we had to do a long route march in scorching sun, with a rifle and backpack. What was the point of that? Similarly, if you go for any hardcore military training such as for commandos, they won’t give...
Unsung Heroes
When I joined the Indian Police Service, my seniors told me about a Rambo-like officer, who would be out patrolling at night, catching criminals. They told me, ‘He should be your role model.’ After all, that is the kind of officer one gets to see...
Zig-Zag to Success
Once, while heading to lunch with a Wharton classmate who was a sailing expert, I asked her, 'If a boat needs to sail DIRECTLY against the wind, how would it do that?' She explained the trick: You can't sail directly against the wind. But you can...
How to create real value
During my stint with the Indian Police Service, I once got an assignment with barely an hour of work daily. It was a welcome breather after a long back-breaking assignment. Naturally, I would leave the office at 6 pm. My boss, on the other hand,...