What if you're too incompetent to realise your incompetence? We explore this in today's story.We now live in a world where crafting a question takes much longer than getting an answer.You type a prompt and get a polished answer....

Have you been in a situation where after tirelessly trying to address a crisis you realised that you were addressing the symptoms rather than the problem itself?In today’s episode I will move away from my usual approach of sharing a rea...

Have you ever been under so much pressure that time available seemed to be inadequate? What was your solution?For many people, the answer will be to work longer and harder. But is that always the right answer. Isn’t that mistaking effor...

Sometimes we end up holding onto things for far longer than they need to be held on to. And it may need an outsider looking in to identify that. This story talks about one such perspective that can be used when one needs to show an...

“Is this really the same guy I shared lunch with in school? How did he turn out this way? Is he really so rabid? Why is he so stupid?”. Have you read WhatsApp messages on a school group and reacted in this manner. Their views feel ...

Have you ever blindly followed Google Maps... only to end up somewhere you definitely shouldn't be? I have.That tiny frustration reveals a much larger pattern in business: we increasingly hand over judgment to external “advisors” — data...

Answer this question with a yes or a no - Do you believe that intelligent human beings usually take rational decisions?Most business strategies are built on a quiet assumption: that customers behave rationally. For example, we believe t...

Many professionals spend their entire career sharpening the same set of skill. Because it is initially rewarded because it gets the job done, many double down on what has already made them successful. That is why many eventually plateau.

Sometimes it seems companies build fortresses to protect themselves from customers rather than bridges to welcome them in.We have all been in situations where we have an issue. Perhaps small. A damaged item. A blotched service. A promise not ke...

Revenue numbers, quarterly goals, stretch KPIs are all very important. The problem starts when those become the only focus. When the focus should be on the TASK, we have people stressing about the ASK. When we obsess over outcomes ...

When I heard that over the last 60 years, Japanese school children learn a story about a Sri Lankan athlete, I was intrigued.Sports and sportsmen often teach us lessons that transcend way beyond sports.The Olympics of 1964, held...

Wishing your loved ones and you a year when your best stories are written. In one of my favourite non-fiction books, “Influence” by Robert Cialdini, he speaks about seven levers of influence—but today’s story is anchored in just on...

Have you heard of the multi-purpose lubricant WD-40? Any idea why it’s called WD-40?I’ll give you a hint: the number is the entire story.Most of us look at successful products and assume they must have gotten it right the first time...

Many years ago, a real estate broker in Kolkata surprised me simply by being on time. Being punctual has always been non-negotiable for me. While I tried to instil the same discipline in the teams I worked with, I had resigned myself to accepti...

Necessity is the mother of invention.Some of the biggest revolutions in business didn’t come from brilliant technology or billion-dollar R&D budgets.They began with frustration — someone standing at a bottleneck, asking,“Why does it...

Have you ever caught yourself chasing just a little more?A little more polish before you send that deck.A little more growth before you feel secure.A little more success before you allow yourself to breathe.It’s strange how ...

Imagine this.You’re about to give a big talk. The curtains are down, the stage lights are warm, and your heart is racing. Out of nervous curiosity, you take a quick peek at the audience.And what you see shocks you out of yo...

In business, we often assume that people will choose what’s rational, efficient, or clearly beneficial. But if that were always true, every superior product would succeed, every sensible policy would be adopted, and every data-backed argument w...

In business, the questions we ask are often more powerful than the data we collect.Most leaders ask: “What do the facts tell me?”Great leaders also ask: “What if the opposite were true?”That simple shift—entertaining a hypot...

Sometimes, the shortest distance between doubt and conviction is not another slide deck with tons of data, analysis and logic — it’s the right metaphor.We’ve all sat through presentations packed with data, logic, and charts — only to wa...

In business, perfection is often overrated.Some of the most powerful breakthroughs don’t emerge from flawless plans or carefully controlled environments. They come from moments that look like accidents… the kind of situations most of us...

In business, the biggest risks often don’t come from what we see… but from what we assume.Today’s story is about how numbers, dashboards, and reports tell us a lot—but they don’t tell us everything. Many costly mistakes happen not becau...

The weekly story for our StoryBank is back. Today's story is about when “better” quietly turns into “too much.”In business, it’s tempting to think:* If fast is good, faster must be better.* If growth is good, more growth must be...

Ever had that feeling—“I just know how to do this, I can’t explain it”?That’s instinct. It’s powerful. But here’s the thing—instinct doesn’t scale.So many of us—whether we’re in sales, training, strategy, or design—rely on gut feel....

Not all breakthroughs begin with a whiteboard. Sometimes, they begin with something that feels like a mistake.An inconvenience. A “Huh, that’s odd…” But here’s the catch—most of us are too busy to notice.True innovation doesn’t ...