Of Sheep and Wolves Early on in the movie American Sniper, a young Chris Kyle‘s father is seen telling him something very simple, yet relevant and true. [In reality, it was said to Lt. Col. Grossman by a retired Vietnam veteran]. Here’s what Mr. Kyle tells Chris – “There are three types of people in this…
Women Drivers “You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I?” – Jordan, in The Great Gatsby The hype around Women’s Day is finally done for this year. And speaking of women, their driving skills has often triggered many an animated debate. Driving slow,…
The Elusive Future Here’s a neat quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, that captures brilliantly, human dreams and hopes against the backdrop of fleeting time. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we…
Suggestion to designers Sung Ha Lim and Hee Kyung Oh for their 5-wheel suitcase design (link) Link to my detailed comment about the design of this 5-wheel suitcase is here: link Originally posted here: link
And Then It Hits You When interacting (read playing) with infants, objectives are very clear in our head. We must make them laugh, even at the cost of looking foolish. And we must, at all possible cost, avoid them from crying. Yet somehow, we manage to forget those objectives when dealing with adults. Strive to…
Attention! Allan Massie said, “Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He’s the chap who makes it possible for civilized folk to despise war.” Last night I watched a movie called ‘Holiday‘. An action thriller about a soldier on vacation who uncovers a dangerous plot. I noticed something rather shameful with the crowd at the…
The Up Side of Consulting Here’s a post I had drafted for submitting as a resource to MosaicHub, in response to their call to members for ‘the Top 5 things businesses need to know about your area of expertise’. Here are five top thoughts that we at the A-Team, believe would be beneficial for businesses who engage…
Ghost Rider India has seen a meteoric rise in the number of vehicles on its roads. And with it, driving sense and etiquette have disappeared into oblivion. I’ll agree I’m not too great a driver myself. But few things anger me as much as bikers riding on the wrong side of the road. And it’s still ok if a rider…
Rolling Gear Last May, Indian airline companies reduced the permissible weight limit on checked-in bags [domestic sector] to 15 kgs. The international limit ranges from 23 kgs (or lower?) to the more generous likes of Emirates that allows up to 30 kgs (Economy) and 50 kgs (First Class). The average suitcase weighs between 3-6 kilos. What remains is…
The Superior Sex The timing of this post, right after the so-called ‘Women’s day’ is purely coincidental. For one, I don’t even know what ‘Women’s day’ is supposed to mean. If we ‘full-of-ourselves-men’ don’t have a ‘men’s day’, then except for commercial businesses to make a killing, I don’t get it. Now, back to the post. I’m going to…
Carry This Last afternoon, I was lucky to chance upon some great customer service. I was at a station in Karnataka, heading back to Bombay with my mom. The indifferent railway staff hadn’t been clear about which platform the train would arrive on. After a long wait, the platform was announced. The person at the info desk…
The A-Z of Consulting I had recently uploaded a new presentation about the A-Team, a Management Strategy & Consulting service for Small & Medium Businesses that I run. Contrary to the general perception most people have about Management Consultants, I for one, try to keep our image informal, friendly and approachable. And we don’t make clients lighter by several lakhs for…
Hope you don’t have a Rolled Model? We all have role models? Well, at least most of us do. And can we ever admire them enough? While it’s great if you have idols or role models, something I suggest to friends and acquaintances is that you should not be amazed by your role models. Instead, find out what it is about…
Are you Sold to the Idea? Here’s a first post under a new category called ‘Management Mumblings’. I recently addressed and interacted with about 70 really smart MBA students, with whom I was sharing experiences from my corporate career, and about starting up and growing, with the objective of encouraging entrepreneurship. In comparison, I’ve always found it easier to interact with people from industry,…
If You’re Gonna Fly Now that’s how one should live their life. For those of you in India, I’m sure you saw the news about the Air India flight that made an emergency landing at Jaipur airport on Sunday night. [link] For those who missed the news, here’s what happened: 173 passengers aboard a plane that has been in…