Ahmed looked younger than his age. His broad face, long beard, and dyed hair made him unique. Paan was over his face like a lipstick. I wonder if he was waiting for a passenger or someone he could talk to at midnight. I was smoking Godan Garam, beating Delhi’s winter after finishing a plate of …
Author Archives: Atul
Lead with context, not control
In Reed Hastings’s book: no rules rules, one chapter is titled “Lead with context, not control.” When you hire smart, super talented people and give them proper specification of developments and let them decide. They will end up building the best. You just gave them context and, they took it from there. They will dislike …
team
In his book ‘no rules rules’; Reed Hastings talks about building an organization on an analogy of a sports team, not as a family. When you are building a sports team, you will pick the best. People will compete and perform at their peak and byproduct being team winning. There will be no mediocrity. When …
Akash
I met Akash on a cold winter morning and, his eyes were red, like someone returning from a long night shift. He was wearing a Hawai chappal and, minuscule clothes were on his body. He was sitting outside our main gate. I used to live in Muniraka Gaon those days, a buzzing ghetto in south …
please
Reed Hastings: No rules rules talk about “don’t seek to please your boss.” In the end, it is about the company, not an individual persona. It is okay to be dissent, ask questions, and give feedback. It reminded me of Ray Dalio’s Radical openness. If the organization and management run on pleasing their leaders, how …
Communication
I have realized now that one thing which can screw up employees and employer relationships is communication. You can be an A player, but if you are not able to communicate with your peers, clients, or superiors you will stay miserable. You will die a little every day, and when nothing would work, one fine …
customers expectation
There is a thin line between a product company turning into a service company. In the early days, when you have anchor customers, and you are developing to solve their pain point, it works. As you grow and own over a dozen customers, you have to be very careful about prioritizing customer’s feature expectations. Some …
mistake
We are all humans; we are not perfect. We commit all kinds of mistakes in life: be it work, life, or relationship. We should learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating them. That will do justice. It is easy to sulk in deep emotional outbursts, depression which is not the solution. Socrates stressed acquiring self-knowledge. …
rethink
There is a time in life when you stop for a moment and look back. The past makes you think about the journey and what has been the learnings. Our life is a mixed bag with good and bitter. Some learn from it, while others die in remorse. We have to rethink these moments and …
Long Game
I have been in a few conversations off late, and becoming a VC or starting a fund seems like a new cool thing. The return takes a long time( 10-12) years. Every three years is new fundraising. It takes lots of patience, perseverance, and luck to find one unicorn. There are many other professions where …