Read to Lead

  For too long, we’ve celebrated the image of the “driven leader”—relentless, uncompromising, and demanding. But can leadership built on pressure and fear truly be sustainable? Perhaps real strength lies not in pushing harder, but in leading with empathy, approachability, and trust, and yet, beneath this narrative lies a quieter truth: leadership does not have to be loud, coercive, or intimidating to be effective. There is another model—often underestimated—that deserves recognition: the amicable leader. The amicable leader is approachable, empathetic, and kind, but never weak. They understand that influence, not intimidation, is the currency of sustainable leadership. In defending this model, it is worth reflecting on why being amicable is not only compatible with strong leadership but may in fact be the very foundation of it. 1. Redefining Strength in Leadership We tend to equate strength with toughness, decisiveness, and an almost militaristic approach to discipline. Whi...

In one of the world’s oldest recorded tales, The Epic of Gilgamesh, a king sets out—not to conquer kingdoms, but to confront the most human fear of all: death. After losing his closest companion, Enkidu, Gilgamesh is shattered. His strength, his power, his victories—none of it shields him from the grief of losing someone he loved. What good is greatness, he wonders, if it ends in silence?So begins his journey—across deserts and mountains, to the ends of the earth. He endures trials, defeats monsters, and finally discovers a rare, sacred flower that promises eternal youth. A gift, perhaps, for all he has suffered.But while he sleeps, a serpent silently steals it away.He wakes up too late. The flower is gone. There are no second chances.Empty-handed, he returns home.But he is not the same man. He walks through the gates of Uruk, his city, and for the first time, he sees it—not with pride, but with clarity. The walls, the people, the order and beauty that he helped shape—these are h...

  The other night, I was sitting in a bar with a few close friends—classmates from ISB. Over single malts and a bowl of roasted peanuts, we laughed about the year gone by. It had been… a lot. Twelve months of intense academic rigour, 8 a.m. classes, 2 a.m. submissions, cold calls that hit harder than caffeine, and that beautiful mess of group projects, parties, and personal growth. Somewhere between late-night debriefs and spontaneous dance floors, I began to reinvent myself . Again. But reinvention isn’t new to me. I was 13, overweight, and struggling to keep up at Rashtriya Indian Military College , a world where physical endurance and mental grit were non-negotiable. I still remember gasping for breath on long runs, trying to hide my wheezing from the seniors, but I kept going. Then came the National Defence Academy , where I pushed myself through brutal cross-country runs, each a test of will more than stamina. I wasn't fast—but I was stubborn. I kept showing up, one ...

  The date was 18 Nov 2022 I had a terrible sleep, and the night before was made up of anxious moments. My result for the Indian School of Business, round one for the year 23-24 was to be announced today. As I wore my shoes for my morning run, my mind drifted way back to the last two years, and how everything had led me to this day. I have always been on a constant quest for self-improvement, this started with my passion for reading. What started with fiction in my adolescence slowly became a habit.  Later I started reading a lot of self-help books. I was under the impression that by merely reading and understanding these books I would improve and become a better version of myself, but after some time it stuck with me that without action on my part, all the knowledge that I sought to gather was just in my head, with no practical application. The quest for action led me to pursue an online MBA and my PMP certification. I then took it upon myself to try and crack the GMAT ex...

Never Split the difference by Chriss Voss with Tahl Raz We might not realise or be aware but at some level we all are negotiators. We are always negotiating, with our friends, family, our children and also ourselves. Not many of us realise the value addition this particular skill can bring to our lives. If you are someone who feels that negotiation is difficult and only a select few gifted people are blessed to be good at it, then you cannot be further from the truth. “ Never split the difference ” a book by Chris Voss with Thal Raz is one such book that gives us some of the tools and techniques that are employed by some of the very best negotiators in the world. The author himself who has been a hostage negotiator with the FBI has used his extensive field experiences, where stakes are extremely high to give us a glimpse of how to be an all persuasive person and get our counterpart to say what we want him to say. The methods that have been used in life and death situations hold goo...

    Distance running was always an alien sport to me. After completing my schooling at Rashtriya Indian Military College, I went to the National Defence Academy in 1997. I   was expected to be a super-runner and get medals for my Squadron. Sadly after a few practice cross-country runs, my seniors saw my low potential and I was classified as an average to a weak runner.    I managed to pass through six cross-country competitions in the Academy with much pain after that, vowed to stay away from this painful sport. Call it an attempt to reduce weight or a mid-life crisis, at the age of   37 years, I started running again, this time there was no pressure on me as to how slow or fast I ran, and slowly a 5-kilometre run became 10, and so on. Finally, after almost a year of practice,   I ran my first half marathon in the picturesque town of Mukteshwar with a timing that was not flattering. During the past few years, I have tried to maintain my running sched...