Latest Post
Success and Niceness: Why Being Kind Still Matters
Recently, I saw a familiar face in the news -- this person was appointed as a leader of a major global corporation. And I remembered that I had interviewed him at McKinsey! Before this interview, my manager told me, "Be careful! He is not known to...
Recent Posts
The Hidden Cost of Recurring Meetings
My last project at McKinsey was a very high-profile one -- the client was a vertical CXO at a large global bank. The goal was to flesh out their...
The Power of Focus and Prioritization
Every day, you have 8 to 10 hours to play with. If you spend all your time on emails, ad-hoc meetings, and distracted work, you create value X. If...
How I Cut My Stress in Half
Five years ago, I cut down my stress by 50% in one move: I banned WhatsApp for official work. Before that, we were using WhatsApp at our startup,...
Why Challenge Keeps Your Body and Mind Young
A few years ago, when I used to go running in the University Stadium in Trivandrum, I would often see a former Chief Minister doing his daily walk....
More Articles
Work-Life Balance: Slacking Off or Sustainable Success?
For some people (especially entrepreneurs), work-life balance has become a toxic phrase -- symbolizing sloth, not taking responsibility, and doing the minimum necessary work. For others, it is a war cry against corporate slavery -- intolerable work...
The Power of Small Actions
Every time you innocuously glance at your WhatsApp or Instagram, you are building a habit. Every gratifying action builds a habit -- no exceptions. I had already known this from psychology. But the Buddhist meditation master (Nyanaponika Thera)...
Why Big Organizations Struggle While Startups Thrive
Big organizations can't compete with startups having 1% of their resources. Not because they have too few people (or resources), but because they have too many. When you have lots of people, first, you stack them up in a hierarchy. Now, each person...
Focus Sprints with Breaks: Secret to Productivity
When I do focus sprints, I have found that the key to productivity is taking frequent and generous breaks. Here is what works for me. 1. Since I typically do 25-minute focus sprints, I generally take 3 short breaks (5 minutes each) followed by one...