On the D-day of a consulting engagement at McKinsey, the team thrilled the client with a proposal to cut millions of dollars in cost. But the senior partner heading the engagement told the client, "What we are doing is polishing your furniture...

We think we want money. But what we really want is for our days to be happy and joyful. We want to love the work we do. We want good relationships. We want the freedom to spend our time the way we like. We want good health and peace of mind. In...

Most professors teaching leadership in B-schools have never been in the hot seat or held leadership roles. Most consultants advising companies have never worked in business roles (I was one of them). Most people mentoring startups have never done...

Years ago, I was involved in organizing the National Games in Trivandrum, where two people did a skydiving demo for the opening ceremony. In this insanely dangerous stunt, these parajumpers were to land in a stadium, inside a busy city. And once...