We are living in an odd world. Dreams and working on making it true is limited for a few. Every now and then media glorifies success and we fall for survivor bias. Ask a farmer about his dream who has got cheated by a banker in taking a loan. Ask wife of an alcoholic about …
Author Archives: Atul
Reason
I have been rejected a few times during job interviews. Most of the times reasons for rejection were not provided. It made me angry and sad at the same time. One of the principles I am trying to adhere to is to give genuine feedback and reasons for not hiring someone.
Enterprise
My previous job got me hooked to watching Star Trek Enterprise, AB gets the credit. Some takeaways: As a captain of the ship, the first responsibility is the safety of its crew. It is easy to get blindsided with decision making. Our ego and bias can burst the entire ship. Handling crisis requires rationality and …
Power problem
There comes a professional stage in most of our lives where we become a manager or a leader. Most of us earn it with hard work and grind. It makes us humble and empathetic. There is another bunch of these folks who land into these positions without toiling hard. These are the power-hungry people, insecure …
Legacy
Humans like to leave their legacy. In princely states, kings would build castles, water fountains, and gardens. Tyrants, dictators and mass murders left us with many scars. Our legacy should be our contribution to society and people around for good. How we have changed millions of lives in a positive way. Most of those statues …
On Thomas Edison
I read “the wizard of Menlo Park, a life of Thomas Edison” recently. All this while I saw Edison as the guy who killed Tesla. I am not sure if that is true, but reading this book made me know a few other things about Edison. His entrepreneurial journey begun in early age, printing newspaper …
Sail
There comes part in everyone’s life where he/she feels completely broken. The lucky ones end up finding a sail, a person/book/hook which takes us out of our screwed up present. I have had many friends, sail in my life and it helped me in shaping who I am now. Help others, pay it forward. Look …
On Jamsetji Tata
I spent a few days reading, For the love of India: The life and times Of Jamsetji Tata. Not much has been written, taught about him. It made me realize the influence of the Parsi community in industrializing India. Some learnings: Importance of Education: As a result, Jamsetji IIM, JJ School of Arts and many …
Individuality
Our individuality is constantly at a test. We get influenced and drape ourselves with externalities. Are we not a unique individual with our own brain, body? Why do we have to pretend, act like someone else? Our identity which should have been our individuality becomes a copy of someone else.
Blank
Imagine a life without any influence from externals. It will be like a blank slate. People say read, listen and watch to gain knowledge. How does it affect us and our behaviors? But is this much learning enough? Or this limited learning can leave some blind spots? Is it difficult to be rational after gaining …