Hmmm...

In our service industry, we often meet clients who carry their ego on their sleeves. Recently, I had an incident that reminded me why I choose to stay calm. I was in a group chat with my team and the client. As usual, the client’s tone was not very cordial. Every explanation my team gave was treated like a challenge. It was very clear that the mistake was on the client’s side. I could see my team getting frustrated, and even their language was starting to show it. Before things could heat up, I stepped in and told the client that we would sort it out and just needed some time. A couple of hours later, the client messaged saying the matter was resolved on their side. Ironically, that was exactly what my team had been trying to explain to them from the start. That weekend, during our team meeting, they asked me, “Why do you never lose your cool? Why don’t you put your points aggressively?” I told them there are many reasons for that, and I want to share them here. 1. Winning the moment v...

  The news that ICICI Bank has raised the minimum balance requirement to ₹50,000 in urban centres while setting different slabs for other areas might sound like a routine corporate decision. But scratch the surface and you will see something far more dangerous: the rise of a modern-day caste system disguised as “policy.” When you say a city resident must park ₹50,000 just to keep an account alive, you are doing more than managing finances. You are deciding who is “worthy” of banking and who is not. You are saying that convenience, safety, and financial dignity belong only to those who already have more. This is not just about one bank. It is about a mindset. The same mindset that once decided who could enter certain temples, who could sit in which part of a classroom, who could drink from which well is now deciding who gets access to the simplest financial services. We have seen this before in many forms: • Credit cards with “Platinum” and “Black” labels, not for better service...

These days, whether it's a simple conversation between two people at home or a political argument on TV, one thing has become too common. Blaming others has become our first reaction. We don’t even stop for a second to think what the other person is actually trying to say. Take a normal situation at home. If one partner says, I felt uncomfortable with your family’s behaviour, the immediate reply will be, should I start talking about your family too? Or say someone brings up something like, off late you’ve been spending a lot. You already know what kind of reaction that gets. The focus shifts from the concern to a personal attack. The issue just disappears. This habit has gone beyond homes. In friendships, at work, and also in politics. Look at how things work in our country. The moment someone raises a real concern, like rising prices, unemployment, or law and order, the answer is never let’s work on it. The reply is always something like, you also did the same when you were in pow...

  Comfort Is Not the Enemy People keep saying this — “Where there is comfort, there is no growth.” But I never believed that. And I still don’t. My best work happens when I am comfortable. When I am in my zone, with my tools, sitting at my own desk. I have seen it again and again in my life. Let me tell you what happened once. Someone thought they were doing me a favour by giving me a “challenge”. They moved me to a new office. Big open space, strange smell, noisy, everyone walking around, nothing in place. They said this will help me adapt, help me discover new energy, push me out of my comfort zone. What really happened? I spent the whole day just looking for my pen, getting distracted by the chatter, and waiting for the day to end. I was not growing. a few month latter I was just irritated. That day I understood something very clearly. Growth does not always mean breaking yourself. It can also mean building yourself quietly, in a space that feels right to you. It’s the ...

I’ve always wondered if chasing big goals is actually making people feel worse. Over time, I learned something simpler and more powerful and it changed my life. For a long time, wherever I read books or listened to self help talks, there was always so much focus on setting goals. Everybody kept saying, write down your big goals, chase them, push yourself. But somehow, it never felt right to me. In fact, I started feeling that this is the reason why many people around me feel low, frustrated or even lost. I have always believed something else. I feel if you just set the right intention every day, you will reach wherever you are meant to reach. Goals feel like a burden sometimes, but intentions feel lighter. They keep you moving without that heavy pressure. I have seen this in my own life. At work, when I kept saying I must become this or earn that much in a year, I was always anxious. The day I decided to just show up every day, do my work well, help people around me and learn something...

There are leadership lessons everywhere. Some come from books. Some from boardrooms. But the most powerful ones, I feel, come from watching people rise… and then fall. Let me tell you a story. From someone you’ve all heard about: Smriti Irani. Now, many know her as a former Union Minister, a firebrand speaker, someone who defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. Some remember her from the saas-bahu days on TV. Others see her today; a bit more silent, no longer in the political spotlight, and facing a lot of public criticism. But this isn’t about politics. This is about leadership. This is about what her story can teach us, not just from her success, but from what followed.  Smriti Irani started small. Really small. Worked at McDonald’s. Tried modeling. Faced rejections. No industry contacts, no godfather, no backup plan. But she kept going. And that’s something to admire. She reinvented herself as an actor, became one of the most recognized faces in Indian households. And then, once again,...

The story of Surpanakha has always fascinated me.I know many people may not like what I’m about to say.I know there will be justifications, why it was right, how it was necessary, how it had to happen. But for once, let’s keep all that aside. Let’s look at her story differently. Not as a turning point in the Ramayana. Not as the demon who sparked a war. Just as a woman. She saw a man. He was kind, calm, and handsome. She walked up to him, not secretly, not shyly, but openly. She said something simple and clear: “I like you. Will you marry me?” That’s it. No tricks. No schemes. No games. Just a woman expressing desire. And what did she receive in return? Laughter. They laughed at her. Rama. Lakshmana.They mocked her voice, her face, her boldness. They told her she was too dark, too old, too wild. That she should marry someone like herself, a demon. Not because she hurt anyone. Not because she attacked. Just because she chose. And when she didn’t apologise for wanting, When she didn’t qu...