...shoOOonya...

  That which lasts long is not easily got. That which is easily got, does not last long.  ~ Amitabh Bachchan Big B's insight applies to life.  And to the corporate world too.  In today's fast-paced environment,  the allure of rapid success can be tempting.  However, enduring professional achievements  are seldom the result of tips, shortcuts or hacks. Unfortunately, social media, including our LinkedIn,  is full of tips, shortcuts or hacks to make it Large in Life.  For professionals aiming for long-term impact,  it's essential to embrace change and challenges,  invest in personal and professional development,  and build relationships based on trust and integrity.  These efforts, though demanding, lay the groundwork  for a career that withstands the test of time and trials. As you go through your professional journey,  remember that sustained and consistent success  is obtained through consistent effort and ...

  And you thought slavery was abolished and universally condemned.  A 13-year-old boy was sold and it has made national news headlines.  Words are critical.  Words are powerful.  Words are important.  Words have meaning.  All by themselves and  in combination with others  And how you put the words  together can change the meaning.  One news report says: IPL Mega Auction: Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest pick in IPL history, "bought" by RR for ₹1.1 crore   Another one says: IPL Auction 2025: 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi "sold" for Rs 1.1 crore to Rajasthan Royals, becomes youngest player signed in IPL history What kind of language is this? sold, bought??  Is this what is happening?? Is this how you talk about a person? That too a National Daily.  (Some might argue that Slavery is exactly what is happening but that's a completely different conversation)  BUT then that's #Journalism in this century.  Wri...

Free will is a strange concept  We think we have Free Will  but you never know !! When you enter a Starbucks  you may have walked in with  a certain thought process on  what you want to buy. BUT.   You walk in and you look at the  menu and then things change.  You were subject to a very clever  science called Choice Architecture  The choices that are laid out in  front of you are designed in a  way that lead you to make  certain specific choices.   You just lost your free will.  And You did not even realise.   With a longer life and a longer career,  you should be making your own choices  rather than getting influenced heavily by  the choice architecture designed by others  Just the awareness of the cognitive biases  and about choice architecture will help you  make the best possible decisions for your long life The Centennial Journey is all about  preparing ...

  So I decided to write about the now famous 'Chief of Staff Role' but not about Deepinder Goyal or Zomato  Deepinder Goel made quite a splash last week with a seemingly innovative-but-controversial' job post which had LinkedIn divided.  I actually liked the whole concept. But that's not the point of this article. I would like to talk about the 'Chief of Staff' role. In my career spanning more two decades, I have not come across this Job Title in any of the companies I have worked at. I did hear about this title in the context of the White House in the USA.  So I asked Chat GPT to enlighten me about the CoS job role. While I share the ChatGPT response below; here are my thoughts about this important role. The CoS is a Force Multiplier It enhances the effectiveness of the senior leadership in driving organizational success. It's a role that requires a unique combination of strategic acumen, operational expertise, and emotional intelligence. While there is a d...

  Kuch to Log kahenge, #Logo ka kaam hain kehna!  (Ignore the above if you do not understand Hindi) Linkedin is flooded with posts about the  very disappointing Jaguar logo change.  Getting the elephant out of the way,  let me say that I don't like it either.  Now let's get on with this post :)  The visual accompanying this post  shows the recent Logo changes.  These are some pretty big,  popular, global names.  Do you see a trend?  A trend of simplification?  Simplification of font/style?  'Design' leaving the logo and  simple font itself becoming design.  The traditional perception  of a 'logo' has always been  a 'symbol', a design element, not the actual name of the brand.  A few brands like SONY, Coca Cola  & many of the luxury brands had their  name as their logo but it was often stylized  to stand apart, in some or the other form/design. But the 21st century and more s...

  We live in times when Social Media Influencers are exposing "Hidden Gems" on a daily basis.  With an explosion of those posts, the meaning of 'Hidden Gems' has almost become 'Hidden in Plain Sight'  Just like, "When everything is a priority, then Nothing is a priority" Consider this as a 'Hidden Wisdom Gem' for a lazy Sunday :)  #SundayFunday #HiddenGem #CoachHemant

  Appraisals shouldn't trigger fear and anxiety in people. Managers and Sub-ordinates alike.  People are left scared as  well as scarred by Appraisals.  Managers & Sub-ordinates alike.  Appraisals have a purpose to serve  but most of us are doing a bad job at it.  Managers as well as their team members  dread the appraisal talk as it is seen  as conflict & confrontation.  Managers think they need to justify  the rating they have given while  the team members need to  justify their self-appraisal.  It is seen as a win-lose game,  where one need to convince the  other while holding a divergent view.  Rarely is there an alignment between  the manager and the poor team member  (blessed and lucky are the ones who have)  Appraisals need to change so that they actually serve the purpose.  Some thoughts …  1. Managers need to be educated, trained and sensitized about how to go a...

  Layoffs are a Double-Whammy  BUT You are the Hero of Your own Movie,  and the Director too.  Layoffs are a  Double-Whammy! You not only lose a job,  but you are losing the job  at a time when market is bad.  Many companies are laying off  and hardly anyone is recruiting.  You are searching for the new job, and so are thousands of job seekers,  creating an imbalance in demand-supply.  Very little demand and high supply means  that there are others ready to take that job  at a lower salary for the sake of their survival.  This increases the chances of not clearing the  job interviews even when you were very good.  And leads to 'learned helplessness' (youtube it). And you have all the time in the world to worry,  to ruminate, blame & question your capability and to allow imposter syndrome to take root and grow.  The same can happen even without losing your Job.  You can go through simi...