Avoiding the Known
Yesterday, I mentioned an odd human behaviour in some (most likely most) of us where we consciously add great movies or series to our favourite streaming service watchlist; only to almost always pick something completely…
Category: Human Behaviour
Prefer a Plain Product or an Ergonomically Designed One?
Which one’s better, a plain product or an ergonomically designed one? I’m not quite sure, but I think it was Kat Holmes, Chief Design Officer at Salesforce, who mentions an interesting counter-intuitiveness to do with…
Car Variants at Showrooms
I was recently at a few car showrooms, just browsing.. And I noticed something. Many of the popular brands tend to keep a higher or top end variant of different models on display. And interestingly,…
Netflix on How Small Features go a Long Way
Netflix does something admirable with its listing thumbnails. it toggles the image thumbnails of many of its movie and series listings, and also the hover preview clips, from one of 2-3 different ones. While it…
New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s goals – Sensible?
Here's something I had posted on LinkedIn about 3 weeks ago, following new Starbucks CEO Brian Noccol's first earnings call and some major decisions taken. On the call, Niccol's said one of the goals for…
Service Platform Discounts
Who doesn’t love a good deal when shopping online? From eCommerce to flight bookings and food delivery, discounts are everywhere. Beyond price cuts on products, many platforms offer unique promotions — like specific restaurant deals…
Fundamental Hurdles to Innovation and Improvements
Transforming good product idea or even logical process ideas into actionable strategy can feel like climbing a mountain for corporate teams — exciting yet daunting. What I find fascinating is that despite clear processes and…
Customer Feedback, Ratings and Reviews
Here in India, we citizens as consumers don't quite take customer feedback as seriously yet, as they do in some other countries. In my first job for a short stint at a BPO in Bangalore,…
On E-Readers
Over the years, I have asked quite a few people who have gotten used to e-readers (as opposed to loyalists who stick to physical books), if they prefer horizontally swiping to turn pages, or vertically…
Trial Biking and the One-Inch Punch
What's the similarity between trial biking and the one-inch punch? Is there any similarity? I believe so. I have always enjoyed watching trial bike events on TV (check the clip, not to be mistaken with…
On Getting Better Everyday
Fictional and real-life legends seem to have a more straightforward approach to dealing with complex-seeming challenges and to getting better at something. They simply make it an optimization challenge. Clip: David G Morgan
On Framing Problems
As the late American inventor and engineer, Charles Kettering very wisely said, "A problem well-stated is half-solved." The need is to re-frame every problem into a challenge. To get better ideas, to be able to…
Time can Distill Goals
Another one on productivity. A lot of us have made lists and planned things out thing, be it an event, a shopping list, or life goals. However, here's something I have faced whenever listing some…
Music and Productivity
#Productivity This is for those of us who listen to music when working or studying. Something I have experienced.. If your work needs a good amount of figuring out or making sense, a lot of…
A Reader’s Review that Addresses a Writer’s Wish
The overarching theme for my recent book, 'Main Batata Hoon' is not quite as simple as the stories in it are. So it would take me a minute to give an overview to anyone who…