The Curious Engineer

A Learning a Day

2012–2014

1,113 posts

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2014 369

December 2014

  1. Pressure, quirks and chopping wood
  2. Kings of Podcasting
  3. Tech in 2014 – Looking back and looking forward
  4. You never know when you had a good day – The 200 words project
  5. The 2014 ALearningaDay year end reflection doc
  6. “You snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings”
  7. The headband experiment
  8. 90% of all analysis is prep time – MBA Learnings
  9. Ensue vs. pursue
  10. Talent -> Skill -> Work ethic
  11. Hail the fail whale – The 200 words project
  12. Ray Dalio’s Principles
  13. A beautiful mind parallel
  14. Maximizing learn-rate – Being kind to yourself
  15. Lessons on branding from Blackbeard the Pirate – MBA Learnings
  16. Maximizing learn-rate – look for the counter intuitive
  17. Customizable
  18. Lead bullets – The 200 words project
  19. I will do nothing else..
  20. The half-life of a failure
  21. Being entrepreneurial vs. being an entrepreneur
  22. Being suspicious of synergy – MBA Learnings
  23. Wired to compete
  24. The first step to surgical precision
  25. Toyota experiments and Intuit – The 200 words project
  26. Absolute time vs. effective time
  27. System Optimizers vs. System Creators
  28. Lobsters in the Titanic
  29. Compound interest and loan sharks – MBA Learnings
  30. A case for selfishness
  31. In search of profound

November 2014

  1. Happiness and balloons – The 200 words project
  2. Your own R&D lab
  3. Deciding not to do any marketing – Building Help2Grow.org
  4. Gaining IQ points
  5. Marathon runners and CEOs | MBA Learnings
  6. Seeking clarity
  7. Unusual and sustainable
  8. 10-10-10 rule – The 200 words project
  9. The tale of the two egg cartons – Product design trade offs
  10. The importance of picking yourself
  11. A little bit of enthusiasm
  12. Which discipline will you choose? – MBA Learnings
  13. The 3 procrastination killers
  14. In spite of
  15. Opportunity is manufactured – The 200 words project
  16. Does it need to get done?
  17. When all looks bleak
  18. Unstructured to structured
  19. Reward systems and culture – MBA Learnings
  20. Weak, strong, intelligent
  21. The one thing we cannot get away from
  22. Eddie Vedder’s typewriters – The 200 words project
  23. Whatsapp’s annoying notification screen
  24. The importance of being present
  25. Hot water
  26. FOMO – MBA Learnings
  27. The stress based list
  28. No feedback, only encouragement
  29. The first book he finished – The 200 words project
  30. 5 things to do this weekend

October 2014

  1. Lists – get and give
  2. Creative, constructive, corrective
  3. GTA Advanced’s surprise bankruptcy – MBA Learnings
  4. Sweating in peacetime
  5. The sumo state of mind
  6. Staples’ caution and optimism – The 200 words project
  7. Signaling and that glass ball
  8. No, it’s not always a courage problem
  9. Read the question
  10. Encouraging the devil’s advocate – MBA Learnings
  11. This is the stuff I’m struggling with
  12. Are you playing the long game?
  13. The Freaky Friday management technique – The 200 words project
  14. Like they have all the time in the world
  15. Inspiring great conversation with a question
  16. If you care, say no.
  17. Decision making and trade-offs – MBA Learnings
  18. Name your fear
  19. Feelings and States
  20. Passwords, cues, and a changed life – The 200 words project
  21. Change before understanding
  22. Make two lists – Seth Godin
  23. Designing training wheel systems
  24. Key productive time
  25. Ask the customer – MBA Learnings
  26. Success, failure, laziness, learning
  27. Not choosing is choosing – a few thoughts about choices
  28. The Endymion – The 200 words project
  29. Things that will never “end” vs. things that will
  30. Omitted variable bias – MBA Learnings
  31. Deep Nishar’s 2 hour story
  32. Disorganized and Organized

September 2014

  1. Running a distributed team – Building Help2Grow.org
  2. A commitment to front loading
  3. The low budget shark – The 200 words project
  4. Finding your purpose – The Clayton Christensen Process v2.0
  5. Introducing PacMe
  6. A few thoughts on making money work for you
  7. The Poop process
  8. The ideas-only-in-the-shower flag
  9. Your work will get better
  10. Zoom out, Zoom in and Speedo Fastskin – The 200 words project
  11. Russian hackers and online security
  12. 3 rules for helping anybody who wants help with a decision
  13. Actions and Outcomes
  14. How do you measure a day
  15. 10 years ago – at this time
  16. The anatomy of a mistake
  17. Appeal to purpose – The 200 words project
  18. Small problems and big problems
  19. Case-by-case analysis and why strategy matters
  20. Network and net worth
  21. Without hot water
  22. Early warning systems
  23. You attract people by the virtue of who you are
  24. Lovelace nurses and identity – The 200 words project
  25. “You may not like us..and that’s okay. “
  26. “I will be doing it. Will you join me?”
  27. What if I fail?
  28. Show me your schedule
  29. No panacea
  30. You have to make the effort

August 2014

  1. Amazon-style narratives – The 200 words project
  2. It’s fine to get an MBA but don’t be an MBA
  3. Allowing for serendipity
  4. The importance of imbalance
  5. 2 day shipping
  6. The 2 basic principles of personal finance
  7. Confidence is..
  8. But, and, possibility – The 200 words project
  9. Magnets, glue, and iron filings – why groups work and when they fail
  10. A few thoughts on age
  11. Experiencing Zen
  12. Things always look better in the morning
  13. A bit of organization.. (featuring a clothes storage hack)
  14. What do people like you do?
  15. Big picture and close up – The 200 words project
  16. Who owes you?
  17. The frustration caused by inconsistency
  18. A few notes on managing passwords and Lithium-ion batteries
  19. In praise of heroes
  20. RIP Robin Williams
  21. “The techniques we use are no big secret…
  22. 7% better – The 200 words project
  23. What should I do if I’m really struggling at work and feel incredibly down because of it?
  24. But, where is the impact? – Building Help2Grow.org
  25. “Who do I know?”
  26. Listening to and listening for
  27. If mistakes are inevitable (and they are)..
  28. When you share..
  29. What if we stopped going outside? – The 200 words project
  30. Celebrating Luca Manfe
  31. A bit of thinking, a lot of simplification

July 2014

  1. No one really cares about your process..
  2. The five stages of productivity
  3. Only dead fish go with the flow
  4. Chasing momentum
  5. The full decision making LearnoGraphic – The 200 words project
  6. If not you, then who?
  7. Kanye West on the point of life
  8. What is the goal
  9. When you share constructive criticism…
  10. Everybody makes it
  11. Working your way through painful conditioning
  12. Andrew Hallam’s car buying technique – The 200 words project
  13. You will have to do the work
  14. Listening to what people do
  15. The most powerful force on earth
  16. The “Decisive” LearnoGraphic – A pictorial guide to making better decisions
  17. Vaccinations
  18. Do this.. and you are set for life
  19. The ladder of control – The 200 words project
  20. The slow burn
  21. The law of painful progress
  22. 25 things I’ve learnt from 4 years of work
  23. When will the excuses stop?
  24. The 3 steps to be of help
  25. Losing 11-0
  26. Sampson’s inability to say no – The 200 words project
  27. Escaping hard work
  28. Solving potential problems isolated
  29. Where will I feel most pain?
  30. Organic and farm-to-table – 7 learnings about the food and agriculture industry
  31. Willing to meet someone half-way

June 2014

  1. No
  2. Pricing Amazon Web Services – The 200 words project
  3. Pretty smart – a one minute commercial
  4. Making your own agenda
  5. Integrity in action
  6. Is failure bad?
  7. It matters!
  8. Yeah, we quit – Shutting the doors on the Real Leaders Project
  9. The Pratfall Effect – The 200 words project
  10. When the challenges are related to a goal you care about..
  11. Uneasy feelings and the warrior state of mind
  12. Building Help2Grow.org: Getting to our mission and values
  13. 5 guidelines for being constructive
  14. On relationships that didn’t work
  15. The hard thing about self awareness
  16. Study groups and learning – The 200 words project
  17. Needing luck
  18. Lamborghinis and television ads
  19. Showing up for meetings and being punctual
  20. When are we selling?
  21. Easy and hard
  22. The anxiety will be forgotten
  23. Ooch before you leap – The 200 words project
  24. The novelty of “new” disappears pretty quickly
  25. Learning and digging gold
  26. Understanding management debt
  27. Email and constructive communication
  28. Lynn Lee, co-owner of Awfully Chocolate – The Real Leaders Project
  29. How self awareness and security drive behavior
  30. The value of doing nothing – The 200 words project

May 2014

  1. Fun Saturday: Best 20 chick flicks
  2. Making the world better
  3. Building Help2Grow.org – a series
  4. Every market/client has problems and every market/client is special
  5. Staying in pretentious-stan
  6. The ones who are most in need of love..
  7. Happiness will not be downloaded – The 200 words project
  8. The Personal Finance Learnographic
  9. Be surprised when things go as per plan
  10. Tools of the resistance
  11. Inspiring communication…
  12. The JW Marriott Pune Team on hiring, training, and building winning teams – The Real Leaders Project
  13. Things that come easy
  14. Kind and clever – The 200 words project
  15. Play for Hope – $10 to make a difference
  16. People who don’t walk their talk are like..
  17. A couple of thoughts from Rush
  18. Understanding what drives us
  19. Becoming immune
  20. 6 years
  21. Pixar frame – The 200 words project
  22. The assumption of unlimited time
  23. Feeds and subscriptions check – your help please
  24. Fomo
  25. Answer your email
  26. Self development is best done with others
  27. Sand and big rocks
  28. Angela Kapp on retail marketing, branding, and stepping out of the comfort zone
  29. Red and green buttons – The 200 words project
  30. Migration to WordPress in progress – please expect the blog to be down occasionally
  31. A few notes about Bitcoin
  32. Like-valued instead of like-minded
  33. The MBA Application Process – An Offer of Help

April 2014

  1. Being smart vs being on the right train
  2. Time or Money
  3. Life lessons from a friendly dog
  4. Quaker teenagers – The 200 words project
  5. Ownership
  6. Just like you
  7. Price and value
  8. The newbie allowance
  9. Forced to natural
  10. Prof Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow, intrinsic motivation, and happiness
  11. William Seward – The 200 words project
  12. 5 year plans and quarterly earnings calls
  13. Waiting for an invitation
  14. Conveying one idea
  15. You have to listen to be heard..
  16. The Plan B mentality
  17. If you haven’t done it yet, don’t find fault
  18. Let’s not be turkeys – The 200 words project
  19. Does Seth ever take a vacation?
  20. The Law of Unattraction
  21. Living in Beirut
  22. 3 weapons of the resistance
  23. Worry if it comes too easy
  24. Josephine Ng on workplace, women, and leadership
  25. The Kindle – The 200 words project
  26. Just build it
  27. Mix strong opinions with big ears
  28. Why talk about failure?
  29. The joy of hitting rock bottom
  30. The Curve Ball Will Come

March 2014

  1. The Big Rocks
  2. Cannibalize your own business – The 200 words project
  3. Staying safe
  4. How privilege is built into the system
  5. Our mind’s ability to get used to anything
  6. The Highs Aren’t as High
  7. You can’t hide behind language
  8. Morgan Housel on money, psychology, and investing
  9. Exist to solve problems – The 200 words project
  10. Implicit choices
  11. Taking a stand
  12. “Technology exists to embarrass” | Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
  13. Reactions to a hailstorm
  14. 25
  15. Most good attributes are choices, not symptoms
  16. Sam Walton – the copycat – The 200 words project
  17. Keeping the main thing the main thing
  18. “Dude, take a break”
  19. Driven learning machines
  20. Letting life happen to you
  21. John Ondrasik – “Five for Fighting” – on music, song writing and work ethic
  22. What’s his story?
  23. Clause 126 – No Brown M&Ms – The 200 words project
  24. Turning on our internal Captain Spock
  25. 3 ideas to help your productivity today
  26. The “I’ve failed” kind of friend
  27. Just get it done
  28. Where does this lead to?
  29. Sometimes, the difference between a positive state of mind and a negative one..
  30. The nothing alternative – a procrastination hack – The 200 words project
  31. Behind-the-scenes or the highlight reel?

February 2014

  1. Focusing on a process
  2. The Jennifer Aniston method – a deadline for playing victim
  3. Five for Fighting on deliberate practice and writing 100s of bad songs
  4. Liking what’s not real
  5. Interview with Abhishek Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder of LambdaMu games
  6. Problem finding vs. problem solving – The 200 words project
  7. The Kindle and Enid Blyton
  8. Rejections and the long term
  9. Congratulations Whatsapp
  10. Numbers and stats
  11. Confusing decisions and results
  12. Imprints, peacocks and our legacy
  13. How to think vs. what to think – The 200 words project
  14. Off
  15. No expectations?
  16. Byron Wein’s life lessons @ 80 years old
  17. Founder influences
  18. Remembering the 1h45m commute – Our ability to get used to anything
  19. Meera Sanyal, CEO of RBS India and AAP Politician, on women, governance, and India
  20. The Peregrine Falcon – The 200 words project
  21. Offering condolences and support
  22. The laptop purchase checklist
  23. There are always reasons
  24. Influences and copying
  25. Powerless and Powerful
  26. Let people finish
  27. The Radiologist report photo – The 200 words project
  28. All it takes is for one to work out

January 2014

  1. Simplicity
  2. Help2Grow is legal
  3. Connection
  4. Don’t be the turkey
  5. Elim Chew – Founder of Singapore Street Wear Brand 77th Street
  6. Do the work
  7. Amazon inspired stakeholder management – The 200 words project
  8. Pick yourself and learn to manage
  9. If you wake up every morning needing reasons to be happy..
  10. A “To Think” list
  11. Parents and patience
  12. Less, but better
  13. Inner peace
  14. The 200 word project: Wk 1 – Give more, earn more
  15. Fresh air
  16. Triangulation and choice
  17. A few thoughts on Quora and TED
  18. Avoid second guessing intentions
  19. Let the small things pass
  20. Facing fear
  21. Constraints
  22. Don’t confuse bad results with bad decisions
  23. Good weekends make good weeks
  24. Why blog
  25. Just 365 opportunities to learn and get better
  26. The natural state of a group..
  27. The deep end
  28. Always remember never to use..
  29. Active friendships vs passive friendships
  30. Embracing what is
  31. The “no theme” theme
  32. 3,000

2013 370

December 2013

  1. Repeatable processes
  2. Of course you’re afraid..
  3. The 2 choice inhibitors
  4. When you eat your first morsel at the next meal today..
  5. Open Salaries and compatibility
  6. FaceTime Audio Love
  7. Time or money
  8. Identifying and treating wounds
  9. Right or happy?
  10. What got you here..
  11. 4 guidelines for the holiday season
  12. Holiday season gift idea: Fitbit Flex/Force
  13. Music and mood
  14. You get what you tolerate
  15. Give it a day
  16. Assume you’ll be back to reuse what you are building
  17. Thank the environment
  18. Privilege
  19. The value of outlier experiences
  20. Front-load work
  21. Watch their hands, not their mouths
  22. H = S + C + V
  23. Unnecessary habits and system reboots
  24. A different sort of learning and quote
  25. Change
  26. Nelson Mandela
  27. Momentum
  28. The 20 minute work out
  29. Changing opinions
  30. Facing the resistance.. every morning
  31. On houses as investments for individuals and societies

November 2013

  1. A friday evening compliment
  2. You are responsible for your mood
  3. The 7 habits to maximizing the football state-of-mind in a work day
  4. Giving you a million..
  5. Alex Wolf on creativity, play, and educating children
  6. To be liked..
  7. On property ownership and the 2007 crash
  8. Writing for thanksgiving
  9. Learning begins with self awareness
  10. Writing when I’m not on a roll
  11. Don’t discount willingness
  12. “I don’t need any more practice..
  13. Skilldom.org
  14. On Hedging
  15. Your blemishes make you lovable
  16. Test intent before swooping in to help
  17. Worry about embedded assumptions
  18. Take initiative and apologize later
  19. Losing badly
  20. Patricia Ryan Madson, author of Improv Wisdom, on saying yes, improvisation, and thank you’s
  21. On Milton Friedman and the Chile experiment
  22. Inspiration can strike every morning
  23. The IPA Letter
  24. Trust, love, updates, and emails
  25. When you screw up..
  26. The process is all there is
  27. I’m good, you’re good. Together, we’re better
  28. On the coming of the Welfare State
  29. Feeling unsettled

October 2013

  1. Ditch perfection
  2. Learning to be under the radar
  3. Bestselling Author Daniel H Pink on writing, potential, and how selling is human
  4. “He is heading to New York but..”
  5. On the origins of Insurance
  6. Scott Adams on sponging traits off others
  7. Aiming for Polish
  8. Custom fit
  9. What you measure and what you don’t
  10. Praise the process, not the person
  11. Just swim..
  12. On the origins of the Stock Market
  13. Empathizing with those who deal with you
  14. Actively shaping conversations we are part of
  15. Changing a habit I want changed
  16. To response
  17. Permission not required
  18. Preparing for a hard drive crash
  19. On the Rothschild family and the American civil war
  20. Go interview someone that inspires you
  21. Goodbye Sachin.. and thank you for the memories
  22. Share your failures
  23. You are not alone in your misery
  24. “It’s much harder to be me”
  25. Mark Suster on careers, branding, and mentors
  26. On the Battle of Waterloo and the coming of Nathan Rothschild
  27. More mania
  28. Making people do what they don’t want to do
  29. Notice your gifts and say thank you
  30. Throwing money at problems
  31. Unable to connect to..

September 2013

  1. Plan-the-day template
  2. Doing what you don’t want to do
  3. On the All Powerful Bond Markets
  4. Savor it
  5. iTunes Radio
  6. You are only as good as your last game..
  7. Some days just suck
  8. Somebody sets the tone
  9. Andrew Hallam – The Millionaire Teacher on teaching investing, investing, and living..
  10. On Silver to Central Banks and Credit
  11. Are you steering?
  12. Caveat confabulation
  13. The first step to a happy life..
  14. Timing
  15. Making memory videos
  16. Were you there when I needed you?
  17. On Babylonia, Pangali, Fibonacci, and paper money
  18. Intent
  19. Fierce resistance is natural
  20. Standing and outdoors
  21. Audible’s Irrational Pricing
  22. Use bcc when responding to introductions
  23. Dr Willard Harley on marriage, counselling and relationships
  24. On finding your purpose
  25. Game of Thrones
  26. An attempt at explaining the Indian rupee’s slide and learnings on currency
  27. Recovering from a miss
  28. To praise or to give thanks
  29. But, this was once your dream..
  30. Peg expectations to process
  31. On Marginal Costs and Dishonesty

August 2013

  1. Aage ya peeche?
  2. My vote for the best social network out there..
  3. Be average
  4. All is hardly ever well
  5. Jiro’s work friends
  6. Who cares? It’s such a small decision anyway
  7. Massimo Banzi on Arduino, Open Source, and technology
  8. On Hiring Products to Do a Job – Part II
  9. Judgments and Hypocrisy
  10. HOW fascinating
  11. Rockstar Analyst Series – Pivot Tables
  12. Making decisions you can live with
  13. The Dan Ariely task switching approach
  14. Affluence and willpower
  15. On Hiring Products to Do a Job
  16. Thinking about those who came before
  17. Overwhelmed?
  18. Rockstar Analyst Series – No more VLOOKUP, only INDEX+MATCH
  19. A 5 question survey for a project to improve online learning
  20. Fine margins between success and failure
  21. Dan Ariely on behavior, honesty, and rationality
  22. On the Willpower Guide to Weight Loss
  23. A few thoughts on French Polynesia
  24. Who is buying and who is selling
  25. Ditching the final exam lens
  26. Rockstar Analyst Series – Powerful IFS (SUMIFS, COUNTIFS)
  27. Do we learn more from success or failure?
  28. The tools only help after the threshold
  29. On Tasty Desserts and Never versus Later
  30. A few thoughts on organizing a dream wedding
  31. Who you are most of the time
  32. Failure and Abundance

July 2013

  1. The best way..
  2. Lady luck’s wish list
  3. What is money good for?
  4. On religious devotion and longer lives
  5. Taboos and Privilege
  6. A few reflections from vocal lessons
  7. The person at the other end of the phone
  8. Experience university
  9. The Mastermind culture
  10. Sharanya Manivannan on Creativity, Poetry, and Inspiration
  11. On Sitting Straight
  12. Learning to listen to my gut
  13. Emotionally (un)intelligent signage
  14. H=S+C+V and the “most-of-it” rule
  15. Not what, but how
  16. Power cuts and bonding
  17. Learning to embrace the pain and the chaos
  18. The Hug
  19. 1 becomes 2
  20. The illusion of safety
  21. Every decision you make..
  22. Rockstar Analyst Series – Excel Shortcuts
  23. Not meant to be
  24. Interview with Ted Serbinski, Detroit Venture Partners
  25. Buffer+Lifehacker analysis on work days
  26. On the personal finance and investing round up
  27. The Right to Moan
  28. The biggest problem on your mind..
  29. 1000 Good Morning Quotes
  30. Rockstar Analyst Series 1 – Setting up a Spreadsheet for Analysis
  31. Asking for help
  32. Why Life is Perfect

June 2013

  1. On Long Term Investing and Indexes
  2. The Victim, the Fighter, and the Artist
  3. 2 hour rule after facing a disappointment
  4. The Creator-Consumer Gap and the 4 question survey
  5. The Rock Star Analyst Series
  6. Experiencing crap days
  7. Interview with Jonathan Haidt, Author of “The Happiness Hypothesis”
  8. On Investing Don’t Do’s
  9. The Ticking Clock Experience
  10. Making you want to come back for more
  11. Preventing extraordinarily dumb decisions with an additional question
  12. A Transit Visa, seriously?
  13. Working Intensity
  14. Offer of Help
  15. On Investing in Houses
  16. Being Happy
  17. The great thing about tracking an initiative..
  18. If your best ideas only show up in the shower..
  19. The Timing Myth
  20. Don’t reject yourself before you actually face a rejection
  21. 66 days for a new habit
  22. On Minutiae, Budgets, and Credit Cards
  23. The learning connection
  24. Take a minute to set the context
  25. It’s never straightforward
  26. Faux efficiency
  27. Remember to contribute
  28. Avoiding unforced errors
  29. Interview with William J Bernstein – Financial Theorist and Author
  30. On Michael Phelps Swimming Blind
  31. Fasting

May 2013

  1. Just do something..
  2. The challenges never stop
  3. A few thoughts on Sydney and Australia
  4. Not fair? Just dig deeper..
  5. Entertaining 2 conflicting thoughts at once
  6. On the Michael Phelps Racing Videotape
  7. Write to a teacher
  8. Stop judging your progress
  9. Just Do It
  10. Changing the world
  11. Expect problems..and..
  12. Interview with Ganesh Krishnan, Founder of TutorVisa – On Entrepreneurship, Blue Ocean Strategy, and India
  13. On the world’s first official LearnoGraphic – WillPower
  14. If you aren’t happy today..
  15. The Force or the Resistance
  16. The importance of feeling stupid and helpless
  17. Staying away from gossip
  18. Align How
  19. On Michael Phelps and Small Wins
  20. 5 years
  21. Increasing Mindfulness
  22. Reflections from Dick Costolo’s commencement address
  23. The ALearningaDay Scholarship Challenge
  24. Thank you Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson
  25. Cam Graham, Management Consultant and Executive Coach, on removing assumptions, developing leadership, and managing change
  26. Romance is hard work
  27. Good News? Bad news? Who knows?
  28. On Atoms to Bits and Reversible Business Models
  29. 10 seconds longer
  30. 3 questions to ask before an important interview/task
  31. Concert for our ears

April 2013

  1. Do you hustle or be patient?
  2. Set metrics but be patient
  3. I would LOVE to do that piece of work
  4. On Corn Power and Newspaper Subscriptions
  5. Depth, sadness, and love songs
  6. The We Bought a Zoo conflict resolution method
  7. Letting day-to-day living get in the way of building a life
  8. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Find 10 minutes at the end of a task to manage yourself
  9. Tough time?
  10. Cal Newport – Author of “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” on deep work, deliberate practice, and skill building
  11. On The License to Cheat
  12. Lip Service
  13. 8 things we must stop saying.. and what to say instead
  14. The Dangers of Marginal Thinking
  15. Trying too hard
  16. The real benefit of starting the day early..
  17. Love Your Schizophrenia
  18. On Cultural Differences and Dishonesty
  19. Revamp and renewal of my approach to work
  20. We are more the same than we are willing to accept
  21. Doing it right the first time
  22. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Avoid the easy-to-measure gratification trap
  23. Some reflections on Jiro Dreams of Sushi
  24. Interview with Purna Chandra Rao, CEO of Chandoo.org
  25. On Wearing Fake Sunglasses and Suspicion
  26. Nice guys first
  27. Can’t have everything and can’t have them all
  28. Empty promises
  29. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Debrief after a success
  30. The mistakes only get bigger

March 2013

  1. Ditch Autopilot Mode – Think once a day
  2. On Chloe Sunglasses, Wearing Fakes, and Cheating
  3. Finding great beaches
  4. Are you doing it for the likes?
  5. 3 questions to ask when you face jerk behavior
  6. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Taking good notes..
  7. Embracing the Counter Intuitive
  8. Roy Baumeister, Psychology Thought Leader – on Willpower, Habits, and the Human Mind
  9. On Creativity, Intelligence, and Dishonesty
  10. Today
  11. Great Goodbyes
  12. The more the worry
  13. Work Hacks Wednesdays: 5 common complaints
  14. 3 Tweaks to Your Budgeting Process
  15. The Gift of Living Well
  16. On Nylon Socks and Confabulation
  17. Maybe I’m meant to learn something from this..
  18. Win Win or No Deal
  19. Contentment, Happiness, and Ambition
  20. Work Hacks Wednesdays – Eat Alone
  21. Nodders, Wannabe Hustlers, or Hustlers
  22. Albert Wenger from Union Square Ventures on Technology, Progress, and the Power of Networks
  23. On Coke, the Fudge Factor, and Money
  24. The quirky nature of transactions in relationships
  25. The best way to stay in touch
  26. Nail in the coffin on following your passion
  27. Work Hacks Wednesdays: IF
  28. The ultimate GTD tip
  29. Are you seeking facts or assurances?
  30. On the Matrix Test
  31. Perfect and Good

February 2013

  1. Your Bad Day is Someone Else’s Good Day
  2. The Long Game
  3. Work Hacks Wednesday: Never break rank
  4. Don’t feel ready?
  5. Jerry Colonna, CEO Coach, Real Leader 35
  6. On the Infinite Game
  7. Don’t punish everyone for one person’s mistake
  8. Learning to enjoy playing the game
  9. Figure out the ideal end point, figure out the next step
  10. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Formal Lunches and Dinners
  11. Asking why
  12. The trick to great communication is..
  13. On Art and Artists
  14. 5 Things to Do Today..
  15. The More the Glamour, the More the Pain
  16. Wisdom and Stillness
  17. Work hacks Wednesdays: Be the First to Own Up
  18. Jeffrey Minch, Entrepreneur, Real Leader Interview 35
  19. When it Rains, it Pours
  20. 100 Posts of The BookBytess Project
  21. On Peer Pressure and Brain Scans
  22. How much will you optimize?
  23. Fun Friday: What’s Your Animal Spirit?
  24. You Don’t Know If a Good Day is a Good Day
  25. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Collect All Positive Feedback You Receive
  26. The Richard Parker Accountability Learning
  27. Too Polished
  28. On Vision Studies and Evaluation Apprehension
  29. The Tuna Sandwich and Coke Can
  30. Don’t Travel While You Are Young

January 2013

  1. Assumptions
  2. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Go to Work for Yourself
  3. “Good Skill!”
  4. Pal, Financial Services and Hospitality Entrepreneur, Real Leader Interview 34
  5. On the 3M Brainstorming Experiment
  6. Fun Saturday: The Piano Guys
  7. The Typo or the Idea
  8. Making that difference to yourself
  9. Work Hacks Wednesday: Proactive schedule feedback sessions
  10. Seek Out the Jedi Model
  11. The Learn-Do Balance
  12. On Coding War Games and Private Workspaces
  13. Rome was not built in a day..
  14. Pain and perspective..
  15. The Etiquette Map
  16. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Use the Quick Access Toolbar
  17. The only way to get things done..
  18. Brad Blackstone, Communications Lecturer, Real Leader Interview 33
  19. On Endurance Athletes and Large Hearts
  20. We are what we repeatedly do
  21. Dealing with Disappointment
  22. The BookBytess Project
  23. Work Hacks Wednesday: Never communicate bad news by email
  24. “I’ll continue to do what I’m doing.”
  25. PepperthePigs.com – an initiative to prevent rape in India
  26. On Applying Deliberate Practice
  27. A few thoughts about unsolicited advice
  28. Happiness in the process
  29. The behaviour of champion teams
  30. Madonna vs Gwen Stefani
  31. Hello 2013

2012 374

December 2012

  1. A different 5 step approach to New Year Resolutions
  2. Update the new year wish
  3. “Sorry, but what do you mean when you say that?”
  4. “I am not learning anything.”
  5. Some Reflections from the Life of Pi
  6. ALearningaDay Book Awards: The 5 Books of the Year 2012
  7. Happy Holidays
  8. Learning from Hits vs Misses
  9. On 10 Questions with Yourself
  10. Process vs Outcome
  11. Fun Friday: The Bathroom Index
  12. Building Personal Infrastructure
  13. Work Hacks Wednesday: Use Daily/Bi-Weekly Update Emails to Communicate during Boss/Client Absences
  14. Ask your credit card company for a fee waiver
  15. Nina Mazar, Behavioral economist, Real Leader Interview 32
  16. On Little Bets
  17. Don’t just read books. READ books.
  18. Most Memorable Rejection
  19. Scream for help
  20. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Take walks and run errands with your bosses..
  21. “After all I have done for him/her..”
  22. The Cost of Bad Advice from Steve Jobs
  23. On Principle #4 – Think Small, Act Big
  24. The best way to learn..
  25. Fun Friday: Golden Retriever Eyes
  26. Inspiration and Curiosity
  27. Work Hacks Wednesday: 3x Prep, 1x Action, 2x Follow Up
  28. Dig in and calculate your expenses
  29. Stephan Jacob, CEO/Founder of Kembrel, Real Leader Interview 31
  30. On Principle #3 “Turn Down a Promotion”
  31. The Workshop with No Name in Singapore
  32. Stating Biases

November 2012

  1. The only question to worry about..
  2. Making Lists
  3. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Plan Tomorrow’s Work Today
  4. N and o
  5. Taking control of our lives
  6. On The 5 Habits of a Craftsman
  7. Indulge
  8. Inspiring folk waiting to meet you..
  9. When Heathrow Express redeemed themselves..
  10. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Discuss, Propose or Announce
  11. Shut down statue days..
  12. William Mougayar, CEO of Engagio, Real Leader Interview 30
  13. On Principle # 2 “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”
  14. Idea Production vs Idea Consumption
  15. Fun Friday: Holi Uncle
  16. Don’t worry, there will be many more..
  17. The 3 Hour No Distraction Rule
  18. Dealing with Rejection
  19. Being of Help vs Helping
  20. On Principle # 1 – “Don’t Follow Your Passion”
  21. And I think to myself..
  22. Getting out of a negative rut..
  23. Ant Therapy
  24. Leading a Team Voluntarily..
  25. Work Hacks Wednesdays: In a hyper competitive world..
  26. Anticipation for an external reward..
  27. Michael Bodekaer, Co-Founder of MailBird, Real Interview 29
  28. What Impact Do You Have as a Blogger?
  29. On Success and Happiness
  30. Being Right and Changing Your Mind
  31. Teaching Ourselves To Be Human
  32. “I Don’t Understand”

October 2012

  1. Work Hacks Wednesday: Role Model The Behaviour You’d Like to Receive
  2. Wasting Time
  3. The Age of Mental Toil
  4. On Entity Theory Anxiety
  5. Staying With Problems
  6. How You Make People Feel
  7. Un-sequenced and Messy
  8. Work Hacks Wednesdays: The Art and Science of Resume Writing
  9. Be The Person You Want To Meet
  10. Anaka Narayanan, Designer & owner of Brass Tacks, Real Leader Interview 28
  11. The Filter
  12. On Entity Theorists and Incremental Theorists
  13. Offer of Help
  14. Stranger in a Big City
  15. Re-thinking Breaks
  16. Work Hacks Wednesdays: ABC
  17. Track your refunds, check your credit card bills
  18. The Things We Forget To Say
  19. On Anchoring Effects in Negotiations
  20. What Have I Done To Deserve This?
  21. Cashless = Not Cool
  22. “Switch off your devices before take off”
  23. Work Hacks Wednesday: Don’t Negotiate Too Hard
  24. Prizing Efficiency Over Being Human
  25. Celebrating a year of Real Leader Interviews
  26. On Anchoring Effects and Soup Sales
  27. Revisiting Post Himalaya Trek Commitments
  28. Fun Friday: John Wooden’s advice on threats
  29. The least we can do
  30. Work Hacks Wednesday: Be Known for Something
  31. The Luggage Incident
  32. Biking
  33. On The Polgar Sisters

September 2012

  1. Giving Yourself a Chance
  2. Choices
  3. Journeying Through Failure
  4. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Figure out if you are an Introvert or an Extravert
  5. Accepting Help
  6. Sourabh Sharma, CEO & Co-founder of Milaap.org, Real Leader Interview #27
  7. On Reading Body Language II
  8. Ac 87
  9. Fun Friday: Charlotte and Jonathan
  10. Making Decisions
  11. Work Hacks Wednesdays – Ditch Networking
  12. 7 Reasons to Invest in the iPad
  13. Basic Chords + a Strumming Pattern
  14. On Reading Body Language I
  15. Belief in Abundance
  16. Staring Out of the Window
  17. Defying Reaction
  18. Work Hacks Wednesday: Promote Yourself
  19. Trials
  20. Md Shariff Abdullah, Professional Athlete, Singapore – Real Leader Interview #26
  21. On Money Priming
  22. Impact
  23. Muscle Memory – The Working of The Elephant and the Rider
  24. The Soapbox and The Era of Why
  25. Work Hacks Wednesdays: The Person on the Other End of the Line
  26. Frictionless
  27. Fatalistic?
  28. Gawk.It
  29. On the Florida Experiment

August 2012

  1. The Extra Mile
  2. Seeking Diverse Experiences
  3. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Structuring Thought
  4. Task Labels For Getting Important Tasks Done
  5. Subhashini Balasubramanian, Artist – Real Leader Interview 25
  6. Designing My Life i.e. my R15 System
  7. On Repeating What You Hear
  8. Pay It Forward
  9. Everybody is a Reporter
  10. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Structuring Projects
  11. Tools of Power
  12. Closing Days
  13. On the Miracle Question
  14. Faith
  15. Fun Friday: Sherlock Holmes
  16. The Faith in Rock Bottom
  17. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Professionalism
  18. High Quality Sleep
  19. Joe Hill, 3D Pavement Artist – Real Leader Interview 24
  20. On The Invisible Gorilla
  21. Hitting a Wall
  22. A Fine Line
  23. Frictionless Access to..
  24. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Structuring Written Communication
  25. “He Listens”
  26. Beyond Persistence, There is Magic
  27. On Jerry Rice and Deliberate Practice
  28. A One Day Detox
  29. The Conditions Are Hardly Ever Ideal
  30. The Odds are Always Nuts
  31. Work Hacks Wednesday: Structuring What We Say

July 2012

  1. Recognizing People’s Unique Roles in Our Lives
  2. Titima Suthiwan, Associate Professor for Thai Lang. and Lit., NUS – Real Leader Interview 23
  3. On The Amazing Case of Jerry Rice
  4. Finding Purpose
  5. Two Sides of the Same Coin
  6. Frustration, Annoyance and.. Change
  7. Work Hacks Wednesday: Learning to Structure – A Series
  8. Production vs Consumption – First Thing in the Morning
  9. Bullish Optimism
  10. On Why the Best Violinists were the Best – Part II
  11. Hacking Together a Standing Desk
  12. Spurning The Ones That Love You
  13. In Tough Situations
  14. A Tribute to Stephen R Covey
  15. Practice makes Bad Habit
  16. Jane Jenkinson, Owner of Hill-Crest B&B: Interview 22 – Real Leader Interviews
  17. On Why the Best Violinists were the Best
  18. Racism.. and Related Musings on India
  19. Fun Friday: Favourite Animated Movie
  20. The 30 Day No Complaining Test
  21. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Follow up, Follow Up, Follow Up
  22. Hell Yeah or No
  23. Changing a One and Half Year Old Habit: The Side Table Story
  24. On Peaks, Ends and Great Memories
  25. Don’t Do List
  26. I Am Happy That You Are Happy
  27. The Importance of Being Busy on the Wrong Things
  28. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Level 1 – Diligence
  29. No Shortcuts
  30. Daniel Ha, CEO and Co-Founder of Disqus: Interview 21 – Real Leader Interviews
  31. On John F Kennedy and Assumptions

June 2012

  1. There are Always Better, Smarter and Luckier Folks
  2. Life is Not a Popularity Contest
  3. There is No Training Quite Like War
  4. Work Hacks Wednesday: Being Mindful of the Battery
  5. Off The Cuff
  6. Making Your Circumstances
  7. On Depression and Delusion
  8. Trekking in the Himalayas
  9. Fun Friday: Coldplay Live @ The Emirates Stadium
  10. Remembering the Hill People
  11. A 25,000 mile wish
  12. Catching up with Backlog
  13. Drue James, Guitar Teacher and Musician: Interview 20 – Real Leader Interviews
  14. On Cues and the 10 Commandments
  15. Movies of the Year So Far
  16. Feel Good Friday – The Google Chrome Channel
  17. Thursday: Highest Goals and Holy Grails
  18. Work Hacks Wednesday: Take Up One Side Project
  19. The Answers Have to Come from You
  20. In the Mountains
  21. On Positive and Negative Feedback
  22. Even Moderation in Moderation
  23. Feel Good Friday: Share a Coke campaign
  24. Let Affiliations Not Cloud The Goal
  25. Work Hacks Wednesday: Manage Your Online Identity
  26. The Illusion of Paradise
  27. Brad Feld, Venture Capitalist at Foundry Group: Interview 19 – Real Leader Interviews
  28. On Memory and Retrieval Systems
  29. Road Trip
  30. The ‘Right Age’ Bullshit

May 2012

  1. What is Life..
  2. Work Hacks Wednesday: Being Directive by Being Positive and Nice
  3. Live Music Performance – A First
  4. When the Shoes are Right…
  5. On Apple’s Organization by Function/Strengths
  6. Never EVER Skate Around a Problem
  7. Insight and Fights
  8. Fun Friday: The Haircut Index
  9. Constraints
  10. Work Hacks Wednesdays: 7 Time Savers
  11. Hustle While You Wait
  12. Eric Weiner, Author of Geography of Bliss: Interview 18 – Real Leader Interview
  13. On The Linda Question
  14. 7 Billion Stories
  15. Feel Good Friday: A Story for Tomorrow
  16. The “Short” Post
  17. Work Hacks Wednesday: Avoid Burning Bridges
  18. Everything Books and Disqus 2012 – Your Feedback Please
  19. Building the Attention Muscle
  20. On Apple Removing P&Ls
  21. Push vs Pull
  22. Feel Good Friday: An Early Mother’s Day Celebration
  23. Writing vs Speaking
  24. Work Hacks Wednesday: Use ‘15s’ to Make Your Colleagues/Boss More Productive
  25. Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt
  26. Frédéric Mazzella, Founder of BlaBlaCar: Interview XVII – Real Leader Interviews
  27. On 30 Day Money Back Guarantees
  28. Midnight in Paris
  29. Feel Good Friday: Caine’s Arcade – Best 11 minutes of the week
  30. Giving Thanks
  31. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Read an Outrageous Amount
  32. Hor Woan Shiang, Jessica

April 2012

  1. Abundance
  2. On Failure, an Icelandic Main Course
  3. The Stuff You Are Made Of
  4. What a Wonderful World with David Attenborough
  5. When I Get Sad..
  6. Work Hack Wednesdays: Sleep
  7. A Pinch of Salt
  8. Balasubramanian K, Founder of DS Constructions: Interview XVI – Real Leader Interviews
  9. On Social Norms in Business
  10. Re-commitment
  11. Feeling Useful
  12. 3 Levels of Difficulty
  13. Work Hacks Wednesdays: Email nice-ities
  14. Being Interested
  15. Framily
  16. On The Jack Story
  17. Attention
  18. Just Like Magic
  19. Work Hack Wednesdays: Yes No No Yes Yes
  20. Why Not Me?
  21. A Song
  22. Carlos Miranda Levy – Founder Educar.org: Interview XV – Real Leader Interviews
  23. On Peter Bregman and Timesheets
  24. Ups and Downs
  25. The Station Will Come Soon Enough
  26. True Victory – The Man in the Glass
  27. Work Hacks Wednesdays: The 2 Minute Delay to avoid BSAK errors
  28. Struggling With The Essence of Zen
  29. Building in Admin Time – 3 Hacks That May Help
  30. On Decoys and High Price Entrees
  31. Windows Live Writer

March 2012

  1. The Rag Picker
  2. Handling the Small Blips
  3. WLFJ Wednesdays – I need your help
  4. Crack a Joke when Annoyed
  5. Richard Stallman, Founder of Free Software Foundation: Interview XIII – Real Leader Interviews
  6. On Pain, Pleasure and Larry Bird Conditioning
  7. Taking the Plunge
  8. Real Heroes: Gary from Shoekey – The Best Shoe Repair Shop in the World
  9. The Discipline of Switching Off
  10. Pre Graduation – ‘Wish I’d Done List’ and ‘Thank God I did’ List
  11. The Myth of the Overnight Success
  12. On the Expensive Suit and the Cup of Coffee
  13. Twenty Three
  14. Making it Meaningful. Making it Count.
  15. The Difficulty of Sustained Impact
  16. When We Piss People Off
  17. Self Kalai
  18. Responsibility and Initiative
  19. Bijan Sabet, Partner at Spark Capital: Interview XII – Real Leader Interviews
  20. On Day Care Centre Norms
  21. Lighting a Spark in Education #predictingthefuture
  22. Rahul Dravid. Respect.
  23. The Answers Don’t Matter
  24. Doing It Wrong, Relentlessly
  25. The Reverse Golden Rule
  26. Life Lessons from the 2 Hour Commute
  27. Cycling for Water with Milaap – Loan a Little, Change a Lot
  28. On Thanksgiving dinner and the Two Kinds of Norms
  29. Oscar Acceptance Speeches
  30. 5 Things I’m Re-Learning from Learning the Guitar
  31. When will it get done?

February 2012

  1. Visa Matters
  2. What You Bring to the Table
  3. Aaron Klein: Interview XII – Real Leader Interviews
  4. On Richard Branson and the Musical Cabbie
  5. Why E-Learning Will Never Beat the Real Thing
  6. I’ve Learned…
  7. The Paradox of Options
  8. How Much Do We Really Care?
  9. Mr one
  10. 1 Kind Act a Day
  11. Energy Health
  12. On Dave Ramsey and the Total Money Makeover
  13. Spring Cleaning
  14. Audible Magic
  15. Consuming the News
  16. A Sense of Humour
  17. The College Entrance Story
  18. On Carol Dweck and the Growth Mindset
  19. The Paradox of Our Times
  20. Feel Good Friday: Reasons to Believe in a Better World
  21. The Problem with Motivation
  22. Loony
  23. 47 Years!
  24. Postponing Making a Difference
  25. Ironies
  26. On Queen Died. King Died
  27. Life Happens.
  28. Setting Boundaries and the Concept of Fun at Work
  29. Moaning
  30. No Excuses

January 2012

  1. Are We Playing the Mental Game Well Enough?
  2. C.Sivakumar : Interview X – RealAcad Mondays
  3. On the 39 Dollar Virgin Flight
  4. Taking a Break
  5. Feel Good Friday: A Moment from Viva La Vida Live in Tokyo
  6. Learning to Thank People
  7. Why Rafael Nadal is THE Greatest Role Model While Not Being The Greatest Ever Player
  8. How to Live as Long as the Rich
  9. Don’t Just Set A Goal. Set the REAL Goal.
  10. In my Gut
  11. On Ugly Billboards and Consistency
  12. Straight from the Heart
  13. Feel Good Friday: The Years are Short
  14. If Your Loved Ones are Far Away and have a Smart Phone..
  15. Creative Commons
  16. Sunday Hello’s
  17. Before You Rush to Be Self Taught
  18. Chantal Cotton: Interview IX – RealAcad Mondays
  19. On Gold Medal Visualization
  20. One Proficiency a Year – 2012 is the Guitar Year
  21. My 2012 Improvement Commitment – Voice Control
  22. Baby Talk – The Basics are not so Basic after all
  23. Grandmom’s Spirit and Steve Jobs
  24. Self Esteem Has Nothing To Do With Self
  25. What Questions Do You Ask Yourself When You Fail?
  26. On an 8,000 people responsibility
  27. Conserving Limited Creativity
  28. Being the Best I Can Be
  29. Too Much Efficiency
  30. In The Footsteps
  31. “Can’t Do”
  32. Looking Back, and then Looking Forward

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