Life

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 […]

Let Children Chase Butterflies,Not Notifications !

Australia’s recent decision to enforce strict age restrictions on social media for kids really struck a chord with me. As I read the news, I could not help but think of my own little granddaughter. I want her to grow up chasing butterflies, not notifications. Hearing stories from people, not algorithms. Discovering the world through […]

Leading Without Noise: The Strength of Emotional Discipline

I was in a meeting recently where voices slowly began to rise. Disagreement turned into argument. Argument turned into noise. A few people tried to calm things down, and then, almost quietly, they became part of the noise themselves. I stayed mostly silent. But it stirred something in me. Because I have been there, more […]

Untapped Potential: How Pakistani Businesses Fail Their Young Workforce

Almost 65% of our population is under the age of 30. That is not just a statistic, it ought to be a national asset! Yet, almost every day, I come across poor young people in their 20s working in factories, retail shops, restaurants, car workshops etc. They are often underpaid, unseen, and written off as […]

When Gender Bias Becomes a Business Risk

Sometimes, the solutions to our problems are so obvious that we fail to see them. One such problem I observe is when I sometimes have the opportunity to attend management meetings in local businesses in Pakistan. I instantly notice the absence or minimal representation of women. Beyond the social and macro-economic implications that have been […]