This is the first in a series of character origin stories from the Mahabharat. A young prince and his father, the king, are locked up in the deepest dungeon of their own palace. They have been utterly defeated by the enemy – their kingdom in shambles. The prince’s elder sister is to be married to…
38 Lessons over 38 Years
No sudden wisdom has dawned on me. No life-altering epiphanies. Birthdays come and birthdays go. This will be just another day and the start of another year. But looking back is important. Weighing my current beliefs and recording them seemed important (especially given how this year has shaped up for the world). At 76, I…
Exit Cost in Products
A lot has been written about defensibility and moats in businesses. Strategists talk about barriers to entry (resources, patentable technology and processes, expertise, capital) in certain businesses and why it is usually difficult for new entrants to disrupt incumbents. But one of the lesser-explored areas of defensibility is building products which have a high exit…
The Product Managers of the Mahabharat
Over a meeting, someone recently asked me to describe the archetype of a product leader. While I answered the question, a broader thought stayed with me. What are the various archetypes of product managers? An archetype is a powerful storytelling device – making it easier for readers to identify and understand a concept. And PMs…
Here be Dragons
This is the second in a series of essays focused on the future of storytelling: the “Story Stack”. The first one was on the movie industry and covered the history of films and the rise of curators (and how they became the arbiters of quality). This one focuses on the written word and the publishing…
The Possession – Awareness Quadrant – the Evolution
I recently shared the Possession-Awareness Quadrant framework with a hall full of PMs in the form of a 20-minutes-long talk followed by a quick Q&A session. A format like this forces you to crystalize your thoughts in a more concise (brevity of thought) and precise (sharp, to the point examples) way. The process of putting…
Cut to the Chase
I am working on a series of essays focused on the future of storytelling: the “Story Stack” – an entire ecosystem that I see developing around storytellers and creators. These essays will focus on the following topics: Part 1. Moving Pictures – Cut to the Chase (this essay) Part 2. Written Word – Here be…
Value Propositions – a Lesson from a Ring-Toss Game
I have been going through a friend’s notes from his favourite classes at NYU’s Stern business school. The notes from Professor Glenn Okun’s classes stand out. There are a lot of insights in there. One of the things he talks about is value propositions. Okun posits that one cannot create value propositions. They are perceived…
The Possession – Awareness Quadrant
One of the ways in which organizations and individuals can assess areas of strength, possible opportunities and blindspots is by plotting their personal and group attributes/ qualities on the Possession – Awareness Quadrant.
Chasing Dogs
The power of distraction and going off on tangents
Parenting and Product Management: Speed vs Haste
People who build products and run them live learn some lessons the hard way. For example: speed and haste are not to be confused with each other. This is true in product management and it is definitely true in parenting. Ask any parent and they will tell you: putting a baby to sleep is a…
Enlightened Self-Interest
One attribute of our education/ social system that has always bothered me is the unnecessary competition that schools and parents foster amongst the children. It is not just important to get high marks; it is also important to come first in class and beat other children. The urge to learn is chucked aside and the…