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Can I convince you to give up smoking by telling you every year eight million deaths are related to smoking-related diseases? If you’re hard-headed like me, you’d think “sorry, I won’t be among the next 8 million, the statistics don’t work out”. This is not a space to run an anti-smoking campaign. I’m talking about data-first ideology. As ...

Yes, mercy killing. We should think about many jobs that need euthanasia. While chatting with my friend the other day, we stumbled upon the situation of 10-minute delivery agents. A lot has been written, discussed and criticized about this pervasive practice by wanna-be Unicorns. I have been guilty of being on the receiving end of their ...

I came across the term ‘useful education’. So does useless education exist in the world? Not exactly, but there is a range. Range of intangibles on offer. Useful education lives on the sidelines. It is not glamorous. You cannot grab it or seek it. It is invisible. Intangible. Useful education provides exposure to local society, culture and values that ...

Recently, I visited a handicrafts market. Classic jute items, ceramics, soaps, embroidery. You get the idea. I felt as if I was underpaying for a ceramic mug. The price was too less for so much of their efforts. If I had crafted such a mug, I wouldn’t sell it at any price. And still, the artist detaches ...

Whenever there is a hit and run case, our blood boils. That is the right thing to feel. But I’m not talking about the hit and run drivers. I’m talking about the hit and run stars. These are a special bunch of people. They’re celebrated to have started many projects, in some cases, many companies. More ...

And that’s a maritime tradition. What about the ships in the form of organizations? It is a huge risk to board a ship. Especially, without knowing the ship’s health, the crew’s culture or the ship’s direction. And still, on a regular basis, new sailors, may I call freshers, are coerced to sign contracts to stay aboard. While ...

That was the response from Bob Marley. The interviewer had asked him “have you made a lot of money?” The question is timeless. Whether we question anyone on their face about their bank balance or not, we ask it in our heads. Constantly. We need a new question though. “Do you work hard?” and someday, I hope there ...

This is the most discouraging question I ask at the end of every project planning session. “What can go wrong with this plan?” Asking “what went wrong?” is always an option. Most organizations do it. That’s post-mortem. It doesn’t compensate for the lost time and resources. Instead, pre-mortem helps us course-correct and provides actionable insights. Check this podcast by ...

Appraisal season is here. The best time to publish this article was a year back. The second-best time is today. (I would rate myself 0 on a scale of 0-10 about the timeliness of this article. Poor time management.) Organizations are trying their best to catch up with the needs of their people. Their need to ...

The economic machine thrives upon consumption. The more we consume, the more we push the piston. Living in the most materially comfortable times, we’re getting rid of as many hassles as possible. Most of us are hooked on an increasingly hassle-free lifestyle. The question is “what degree of hassle-free lifestyle is optimum?” If you’re using a pair of ...