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For Once, Be Selfish: Learn to Listen to Criticism
About a decade ago, I was in Mussoorie (at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration) during the training program for senior Civil Servants. During one of the sessions, a guest speaker gave a talk that was critical of the bureaucracy...
Recent Posts
The Real Struggle Is in the Mind, Not the Body
I came across a video of the Indian Army special forces training, in which the soldiers have to run 100 km, with a 17 kg load. I thought it was...
Why “Retire Early” Is an Empty Fantasy
When I launched my first startup, on the way to my rented office in Mumbai's Bandra, I would see a house where two retired-looking men would be...
The Most Overlooked Learning Tool: Note-Taking
The most effective tool for learning is also the most overlooked -- taking notes. We often assume that we should take notes so we can refer to them...
Why People Struggle Without Mentoring
During my MBA program, I became a student consultant for local businesses in Pennsylvania, as part of a University-run initiative. And like most of...
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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 overall corporate strategy. So naturally, many bigwigs were involved and because of our collective...
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 you cut down some distractions, say no to a few random meetings, and do some focused work, the value...
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, and over the years, I had created dozens of WhatsApp groups. Soon, I was mindlessly checking and...
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. And he was in his early nineties. I have seen many Kerala politicians extremely active in their 80s....