Articles

October 15, 2020

Shaping Institutions – The art of critical thinking

On 10th August and 9th September respectively in New Indian Express, we covered what business institutions are and a first practice in institution building: people power. We now describe the second practice of institution building called ‘critical thinking’.

September 21, 2020

Myrmidons around the CEO

Before you think that Shashi Tharoor has been language-tutoring me, let me explain that a myrmidon is an unquestioning and subservient lackey of a powerful leader. Myrmidons are around everywhere and become the leader’s Achilles heel. Achilles’s body became invulnerable, excluding his foot, and hence the expression, Achilles Heel to signify an inherent weakness.

September 19, 2020

Silent volcano of the ‘trapped’ investor

Competitiveness and spite are endemic in the world, particularly in business. In 2017, Angelina Jolie directed a brilliant film, Unbroken, which is streaming on Netflix. American Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and Second World War participant, suffered severe torture by the Japanese, upon his capture.

August 18, 2020

Enterprise, Education and Eudaemonia

I am delighted to begin this monthly column titled “Building Businesses.” In this column, I hope to engage with readers on Entrepreneurship, Education and Eudaemonia--Greek for well-being, all of which are highly relevant for the progress of India. Why so?

July 11, 2020

The ‘long game’ should be the new face of business strategy

Indian business leaders tend to be opportunistic rather than strategic, perhaps a hangover from the license raj. Gurus exhort business leaders to view business through a long-term lens.

July 11, 2020

Ecosystem must be enhanced through neeyat, nyaya and niti

Recent rhetoric says “less government, more governance” but the unfolding reality does not match up. Indian government, center and states, face a real governance issue.

June 8, 2020

Leadingwith empathy, humility and dialogue

In uncertain times, leaders require deeperconversations andempathetic listening--three times more than speech-making.

June 8, 2020

A soap man feels vindicated today

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a mummified Philadelphia man, who was buried around 1800 and whose body turned into soap. It seems that alkaline water seeped into his casket and combined with his body fat, thus making him into soap. He is called Soapman.

May 30, 2020

Invest in trust to promote entrepreneurship

Think of past crises which delivered dramatic opportunities for India: for example, Quit India (1942), Green Revolution (1964) and Liberalization (1991). Crises excavatesociety’s hidden energy. Even the current crisis shows signs of our society doing ‘impossible’things.