The Ben Franklin Effect
26th August 2025 During his time on the Pennsylvania Assembly, Benjamin Franklin had come into conflict with a rival legislator. Seeking to defuse and effectively manage the relationship, he took a counterintuitive approach, which he shared in his autobiography: “Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious book, I […]
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
22nd August 2025 Whenever, something is bothering me, I remember the immortal words of Bobby McFerrin 1988 song: “Here’s a little song I wrote, You might want to sing it note for note Don’t worry Be happy In every life we have some trouble But when you worry you make it double Don’t worry Be […]
What do you See?
21st August 2025 One day a professor entered the class room and asked the students to prepare for a surprise test. The professor handed out the exams with the text facing down as usual. He then asked the students to turn over the paper. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions — just a black […]
I’ve Learned
3rd April 2025 Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. And, there on television, she said it was ‘exciting’ & then went on to say this. ‘I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, […]
The Bike Shed Effect
3rd March 2025 Cyril Northcote Parkinson, the British naval historian who coined Parkinson’s Law (the idea that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion), once wrote of a hypothetical scenario in an organization that may feel all-too-familiar. A committee is gathered to discuss two items: A proposal for a $10 million atomic […]
17 Camels
7th February 2025 There was a father who left 17 camels as the inheritance for his three sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will which stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third) and the youngest son should […]
The Butterfly Effect
6th February 2025 “It used to be thought that the events that changed the world were things like big bombs, maniac politicians, huge earthquakes, or vast population movements, but it has now been realized that this is a very old-fashioned view held by people totally out of touch with modern thought. The things that change […]
The Biggest Enemy of Your Future Success
30th January 2025 Who do you think is the biggest enemy of your future success? A competitor? A lack of resources? The market? No. It’s your current success. Success is comforting, It feels good, It validates your hard work. But it also makes you complacent. When you’re successful, the urgency to improve fades. You start […]
’True Leadership’
24th January 2025 True leadership is about being magnanimous in victory & graceful in defeat. Taking ownership in a crisis or responsibility in case of failure and attributing positive results to the team are the hallmark of a true leader. Nothing illustrates this better than the words written by General Douglas MacArthur In his memoirs […]
The Helped, Heard, or Hugged Method
18th January 2025 I have a confession to make, whenever someone approaches me with a problem, I try to fix it. This is generally good in a professional context, but when you bring this natural bias into your personal relationships, the results can be decidedly mixed. Over the years, my ‘Mr. Fix It’ mentality created […]