In my advisory work, I often encounter individuals trying to find the best way to influence their respective organisations. This challenge arises at various levels, from functional leaders attempting to sway their peers in the executive team to Chairmen and CEOs navigating boardroom dynamics. Many mistakenly believe that influence stems from being the loudest or […]
Trusting Your Gut: Why Intuition Can Be Smarter Than Logic
Most of us are not very adept at dealing with uncertainty. We prefer certainties and guarantees. You know those moments when you ignore your strong intuition or gut feeling, become fearful, and seek reassurance from others, asking, “What do you think?” “Should I do it?” Our craving for certainty undermines our intuition in those instances. […]
Winning the Argument, Losing the Respect: The Hidden Cost of Being Right
Watching the recent public shouting matches between global politicians, I am reminded of a business meeting from my younger days when I argued with a colleague about something he said that didn’t make sense to me. The disagreement grew emotional, and our voices became louder. Ultimately, I managed to present some facts that my colleague […]
Beyond the CV: How to Hire for Character, Not Just Skills
I wrote a post some time back in which I mentioned that looking at CVs and LinkedIn profiles only is not a good way to recruit. It is much better to spend time with candidates and get to know their stories if you are interested in their character rather than just skills. Expanding on that […]
Lonely in a Connected World: The Cost of Too Much Screen Time
I grew up in a community where everyone in our street and the next knew each other. Our immediate neighbors were closer to us, but we also knew the children who lived 10 or 12 houses away. What the neighborhood provided us with, as children, and to my parents as adults, was hardly any alone […]
Redefining Success: Why True Happiness Starts Outside the Office
I often hear people say, “My work is who I am.” Nothing could be further from the truth. If you do not know yourself well, chances are that you will become what you do. Most of us are trapped in this phenomenon because we have defined our identity based on our business cards! In today’s […]
Why do Pakistani businesses fail at innovation?
As a society, our culture wants us to conform and follow a laid-down path in life. Innovation requires breaking out of this which means facing our worries about failure, criticism, and the potential negative impact on our careers When was the last time we heard of a Pakistani business doing something different? Something which has […]
DISCOS – Is there a way out of the existential quagmire?
The current discussion on economic issues in government circles as well as business networks seems to be focused upon the host of energy issues being faced by the country. One of the major ones pertains to the distribution companies (DISCOS) and what to do with the constant losses burdening the public finances. For many years, […]
Why have MNCs left Pakistan? And what will it take for the Saudis, Chinese and the others to stay?
As I look at the business headlines these days, they are full of potential investors from countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE flocking to Pakistan. A few years earlier, it was the story of the Chinese finding business opportunities in the land of the pure. Perhaps we can also add a few Turkish and Korean […]
Managing Exits; How to Fire an Employee
This off-limits subject is critical and needs to be well-understood by leaders everywhere In a famous scene from the 2009 movie “Up in the air” the protagonist, corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, counsels the person being fired with the famous line “How much did they pay you to give up your dreams?” I […]
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