Ravi Bhuthapuri

The COVID-19 pandemic is here and it is not expected to go away soon. As leaders managing a crisis, we have a critical role to play – our team members will have anxieties and look to us for direction and assurances and what we do and say will have a huge effect on them. But […]

Through the ages, the succinct exhortation, “know thyself” has been a mainstay of several cultures. From the Upanishads to Socrates to Sufism, the seeking of self-knowledge has been recognized as a crucial first step in a person’s journey towards wisdom and peace. In the context of leadership and learning, “know thyself” has a slightly different

In the 90s, in New Jersey, I was confident that my résumé effectively reflected my meagre experience and skills in technology. Until it landed on the desk of a senior Chinese-American manager, my colleague in a large staffing company. She called me to her desk and without wasting any time, told me, “Ravi, no one

Metaphors, a figure of speech, are a powerful way of communicating our thoughts and ideas. We denounce an unfair comment as “a low blow” and a flimsy plan or weak organization as “a house of cards”. We are in the doldrums if depressed and in Siberia if sitting at the worst table in a restaurant.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that all leaders want capable and dedicated team members. We are delighted when some of our team members turn out to be star performers. These are the men and women who need very little motivation from us and almost no hand-holding to get things done. We laud

When I worked in the IT industry, I often advised my Project Managers to avoid leading with “I’m sorry” when fielding complaints from our clients. I would ask them to respond first with words of understanding and a promise to look into the issue immediately. “If after a little investigation, you discover that a problem

For several years now, the mantra of innovation-hungry tech start-ups has been “fail fast, fail often, fail early”. Implicit in this philosophy is the assumption that the company will learn from its mistakes and plough back the lessons it learns into the next iteration of its product or service. Innumerable management gurus and coaches tell

  When I lost my father a couple of years ago, the day went by in a haze and I don’t remember much about it. But I do remember that a friend was by my side throughout the day as I took part in the funeral rites. I also remember that he did not offer

Leaders need to be able to work with all kinds of people. The ability to identify those who matter, understand how they can influence the outcomes you care about, and getting a good read on them is critical to your success. Getting a good read on a colleague isn’t terribly hard but it takes time