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How the Need to Fit In Shapes Our Choices and Behaviour
An ex-colleague used to show up at work with a Tumi bag. When I learned how atrociously expensive these things were, I asked him, "Why did you buy this? Was it worth it?" This guy had bought it while working with a top-tier private equity fund,...
Recent Posts
Why Most Business Problems Are Not Analytical Problems
Before my MBA, I used to think that business "problem solving" was about analytical thinking. But during my consulting days, and then as an...
Why Entrepreneurship Makes No Financial Sense
In a VC finance course at Wharton, our professor said, "On a risk-adjusted basis, becoming an entrepreneur does not make financial sense -- you are...
The Costly Startup Lesson That No MBA Teaches
When I launched my first startup, we urgently needed some cash to keep the company alive. So I roped in a world-renowned expert to conduct a pretty...
The Real Meaning of Consistency in Habit Building
If you fail in building habits, the most likely culprit will be a misunderstanding of what consistency really is. We think that consistency is like...
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The Invisible Currency That Makes Teams—and Markets—Work
When I was first exposed to the trading floor of a global bank (as a consultant), I learned about a curious phenomenon. Traders would sell or buy very complex securities worth tens of millions over a phone call and there was no proof of the deal...
Don’t Let 3 AM Donkeys Define Your Work Ethic
When I started my policing career, a fellow officer heading another police unit started working in office till 3 am! He would come home, have dinner, and then again push off to work. Whenever we had review meetings with our boss, he would flaunt...
The Conspiracy of Silence Around High-Paying but Torturous Jobs
After my MBA, whenever I met my classmates in New York, the way they described their jobs (especially in investment banking), it sounded like a house of horrors. Some were getting 24 hours of sleep -- per week! And when people around you are so...
Stop Normalizing 14–18 Hour Workdays
To anyone who thinks it is ok to overwork people for 14-18 hours a day: In the name of God, please stop! If you want to work those long hours, please feel free. But stop normalising it and even worse, prescribing it as a "character-building...