A few days ago, I was in Austin for a business trip. I took a cab from the airport to the Driskill hotel in downtown Austin. It was a cold night anti must have rained the previous day. There was some traffic back to the city so it was a longer ride than normal. The… Continue reading
Pathways, Means and Travelers
An extreme focus on pathways and means might take your focus on your most important asset – you, the traveler. If that happens, you might have a successful short-term strategy coupled with a flawed long-term strategy Let’s dig deeper on this. Lots of questions popup even when you are planning for a short trip. These… Continue reading
Mini Saga #119 – Self-Respect
This mini saga was based on a real-life incident earlier this year. You can save your face by intelligently transferring the blame on someone else but in the process you will certainly lose your self-respect. Mini Saga #119 – Self-Respect Jacqueline had not responded for days. So, I escalated the issue to her boss, John,… Continue reading
Help is on the way*
Yes, help is on the way* Wait, don’t forget to read the fine print. It says “terms and conditions” apply. Who does not want more help with what they are setting out to do? Almost everyone. Even the most powerful person on earth (if there is anyone like that) also needs help in one area… Continue reading
On becoming small heroes
Everyone matters – some, a little and some, a lot more. At one end of the spectrum, there are free riders who are really consume rather than contribute. On the other end of the spectrum, you have big heroes who contribute a lot. Free riders matter a little to a lot of people. They usually… Continue reading
Blind spots that smart people should be aware of
Blind spots are a problem for everyone – not just for smart people. Sometimes one can’t see the blind spots and sometimes one suffers because they are treading the blind spot of someone else. While everyone pays a price for missing a blind spot, I think smart people pay a bigger price because they refuse… Continue reading
Metrics that Matter for 2012 (one page PDF)
Note: I created this checklist a couple of years ago and it has served me well. No changes on the checklist except the dates. Please feel free to download, modify, re-use or share. We are obsessed about measuring everything. We want to know the number o connections, number of followers, number of pageviews, number of… Continue reading
Why MANY smart people are not social?
You and I both have met enough smart people who are not social. And while social has many meanings, what I am referring to is social at the fundamental level – to invest ongoing time and energy in conversations with people that fall under a broad spectrum of relationships (from strangers to close friends.) Social… Continue reading
Why MANY smart people don’t do anything with good advice?
There are some smart people who think they know everything and they are not even looking for any advice. We are not talking about them. Then there are a vast majority of smart people who are open to good advice but they don’t do anything with it. You may know someone who fits the bill… Continue reading
The bar to be joyful
I was at the store today when I met my friend with her year old son. The young boy hesitated a bit before coming to me and within a few minutes we were friends. Within a few seconds he was laughing and giggling away to glory. It didn’t take much to make him laugh either…. Continue reading