I reflect on how two decades of professional life in India have sharpened my understanding of negotiation across cultures. I describe how Indian negotiations thrive on extended back-and-forth, with high tolerance for haggling and indirect communication, while Americans value directness, clarity, and finality in deal-making. I explain how I held firm in a recent negotiation […]

As business leaders, we are often faced with the frustration of managing assets we legally own but can’t easily access. In the SaaS-driven world we live in, where cloud-based tools are the norm, file management and ownership have become unnecessarily complicated. Why is it that we, as owners of the companies and projects, have to […]

I’ve often felt, living in America, that I’m always being watched. Not in a paranoid, conspiracy-theory sense, but in the very real way that there is always someone, somewhere, ready to enforce the endless rules that govern every aspect of life. From the police officer pulling you over for an unexpected traffic infraction to the […]

As a manager, I’ve often been tempted to hold out for the perfect version of a project—waiting until every detail is flawless before delivery. This mindset might feel like striving for high quality, but in reality, it can stall progress and decrease efficiency. I’ve learned that focusing on delivering Version 1—something good enough to meet […]

Building a high-performing team requires clear communication, alignment of goals, and shared accountability. Two critical elements that significantly contribute to this are daily priority statements and regular stand-up meetings. Daily Priority Statements A Daily Priority Statement is a simple, yet powerful, tool that ensures team members are focusing on the right tasks each day. Each […]

Offshoring by large corporations is a divisive issue, especially when American jobs are cut in favor of cheaper labor abroad. But there’s a key distinction to be made between that and what we call preshoring. What is Preshoring? Preshoring refers to startups founded abroad, not by choice but by necessity. These are businesses started by […]

In light of the tragic incident involving a 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young (EY) in Pune, India, who allegedly succumbed to workplace stress, it’s a sobering reminder of the pressures modern workplaces can exert on individuals. While the full facts of this particular case remain unverified, the narrative is disturbingly familiar—an overworked employee, stressed […]

In recent years, businesses have been burdened with the growing influence of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores. These frameworks, once championed for the noble causes of social responsibility and fairness, have increasingly crossed into territory that is both intrusive and indefensible. At its core, the idea of improving […]