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The Perfectionism Trap
"Everything I do has to be perfect -- I can't afford to make any mistakes." -- This belief creates probably half the anxiety in the world. This is why some of us check our email ten times or spend days on a task that should take just hours. We are...
Recent Posts
Mindset for accomplishment
In 2009, during my consulting days, a team member who was a former US Army officer, once casually told me that she would be running a marathon the...
Choosing to be grateful
I have never envied anyone more than this guy I met one evening in 2008, near New York City. He was the brother-in-law of a friend, who introduced...
If not now, when?
Years ago, I was talking to a contemporary from an IIT, who was well-settled, working in a good, stable tech company, with a good salary. He didn’t...
Prioritizing customer happiness
A private equity fund I know, once invested in a startup led by a rockstar CEO -- or so we were told. The startup raised seed capital of $100...
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To lie or not to lie
When I was recruiting during my MBA at Wharton, people said that if an interviewer asks whether you have other job offers, always say ‘yes.’ The logic is that if other companies have offered you jobs, then it shows that you are a strong candidate....
Best work comes from not burning out
Twice in my life, I have worked 6 months or more, without a single day's break. Here is what happened. The first time, I was serving as the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner, facing a near-daily political circus, agitation, and rioting. Usually,...
How to stop being frustrated
A few years ago, at the Gold’s gym in Bandra, Mumbai, a few of us were waiting for the lift -- and yes, I do see the irony of using an elevator to go to a gym 🙂 As time passed, one guy got restless and kept pressing the ‘up’ button again and...
What would you give up for job security?
Last year, when I was talking to a youngster after one of our bootcamp sessions, he asked me, “I have taken up a government job, which I really hate but my family is asking me to stick to it for job security. What should I do?” I don’t give career...