Growing up, I was shy and reserved. In any public forum, it was difficult for me to collect my thoughts and speak up. My parents felt concerned about this and enrolled me into a Toastmasters club which helps people develop their speaking skills. As a member, I was to prepare…

I was born and raised in Kerala where I had a happy childhood despite a conservative upbringing. My family encouraged me to tread the straight and narrow path of finishing my education, taking up a conventional job, marrying and ‘settling down’ early on in my adult life. …

A few years ago, I was moving from Cleveland to Chicago. I was in a somber mood since I was not happy about shifting from a familiar setting to a huge unknown city. My flight was in the early hours of the morning and I reached the airport around midnight…

While leaders and managers seemingly hold much of the decision-making authority in an organization, considerable power resides with the employees who must practically drive an initiative in order for it to succeed. Formal authority and a top-down approach may not always succeed in driving change, especially if the change is…

In the olden days most people lived their entire lives in the place of their birth. That is not the case now. Many of us move around the country for better education, career or marriage. I am a classic example of this phenomenon. I was born in Maharashtra where I…

One day, around five months ago, post my morning jog, I stopped by a street vendor for coconut water. It was my third day of making a purchase from her. When I asked her for a straw, she replied, “Madam, please don’t use straws. Plastic is not good for our…

I grew up in a small town in Assam. My parents encouraged me to be fiercely independent and ambitious. I became a passionate sales professional eventually and enjoy meeting clients, having discussions and closing deals. …

It is widely recognized from the second half of the twentieth century that the wisdom of the group exceeds that of an individual, who may even be an expert on a given subject. …

I was attending a lecture in college in Delhi on 25th April 2015, when I received a series of missed calls from my parents. Sensing that something was wrong, I stepped out and picked up the phone. I heard the panic in their voices when they told me there had…