This time of the year is the annual performance review cycle for many organisations. Having witnessed and participated in these reviews over three decades, I sometimes wonder about their actual contribution to performance improvement. What happens in most performance reviews? We do a self-review and then sit across the table with our supervisor. A form […]
How Much Space Does “Me” Occupy?
Looking in the mirror is a natural human habit. We don’t usually think about it much until it becomes an obsession. But many times, how we look physically, intellectually or as a leader or manager can dictate our daily lives. In my opinion, it can also become the biggest obstacle to a fulfilling life. So, […]
Craftsmanship in the Age of Visibility
Recently, an acquaintance who is an artist explained how he cuts off from the world when he paints. I was impressed but also a bit sad that I could not recall the last time I tried to make something with my hands 😒 Not delegated. Not outsourced. Not explained in a slide presentation. Actually built! […]
The Risk of Assumed Safety
The Gul Plaza tragedy is first and foremost a human loss, one that cannot be reduced to analysis, frameworks, or commentary. Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy. At the same time, such incidents force reflection. Not the official or judicial inquiry type reflection – those are required and must happen to […]
When Authenticity Becomes a Career Risk
I had an interesting conversation with someone who has recently left their full-time job for an entrepreneurial venture. This person shared something profound. That he left his job, not because of workload or pay, but because he was tired of pretending! Many workplaces are highly political and filled with people wearing masks. These carefully crafted personas […]
Why So Many People Feel Stuck at Work
Most people do not dislike work. But many dislike the role they drifted into without ever really understanding what they were choosing. I meet a lot of people who don’t like their jobs. When I ask them what they would rather do instead, most give the same answer. “Something creative. Something of my own. Maybe […]
Durability Is Not a Bug — It’s a Choice
Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, I remember the first air conditioner to arrive at our house was this heavy “window type” model. People from my generation would remember, since it was the only model around at that time 😊 It lasted forever without gas leakages every 5-6 months, unlike today’s models, and we […]
In Defence of Having No New Year Resolutions
I do not have a new year resolution to share. In fact, I have no resolutions at all! If we are alive and reasonably healthy, the years coming and going do not really matter. We tend to treat life like a sealed exam; time is up, answers written, no revisions allowed. But life behaves far […]
Privatisation Feels Like Relief — But What Are We Really Fixing?
PIA, Privatisation, and the Limits of Market Solutions. I try to stay away from current affairs. Not out of indifference, but an awareness of my own limited capacity to fully understand them. These issues are complex, facts evolve, and certainty often arrives long after opinions have hardened. So I usually have more questions than answers! […]
The Comforting Myth of the Lonely Rich
I recently watched Jay Kelly, George Clooney’s new film about an ageing superstar who realises, perhaps too late, that in giving everything to his career he left very little for the rest of his life. While success and admiration are always present for him, what is missing are the quieter, stabilizing things like family, friendships […]
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