What 18 months of buying fruit taught me about the psychology of influence Dileep with his brother Vijay It was mid-2020, the peak of the first Covid wave. Most of us barely understood the disease, but one rule was non-negotiable: keep your distance. Social distancing was the new normal, and like millions of others, I was confined to home, working remotely, staying indoors, avoiding crowds. One new task landed on my plate: I became the designated "outside person" for the hous

Sachin Tendulkar with one of the signed I Can - We Can sheets On April 7, 2000, the foundation of Indian cricket shattered. The Delhi Police, while intercepting a bookie’s phone call, accidentally stumbled upon a voice that shocked the sporting world: South African captain Hansie Cronje, discussing match-fixing. The investigation exploded, implicating top Indian players. The fallout was catastrophic. Fans felt deeply betrayed. Sponsors prepared to pull out. Credibility was in

Capt. Navneet Raina with Mimi. It was a lovely afternoon on June 17, 2025. I was boarding IndiGo flight 6E 2131 from Delhi to Ahmedabad alongside a colleague. Less than a week prior, a tragic aviation accident had occurred during a takeoff, so like many passengers that day, a safe flight was top of mind. I’ve been flying for over 55 years. I always pay attention to the safety announcements, but if I’m being honest, I usually tune out when the Captain comes on the PA system.

In 2025, Naresh Malhotra, an 84-year-old retired bank officer, lost a staggering INR 23 crores ($2.4 million) to a cybercrime syndicate. He wasn't the victim of a complex software hack; he was the victim of a sophisticated psychological assault known as a Digital Arrest. How do highly educated, experienced professionals fall prey to these bizarre over-the-phone schemes? It always begins with a phone call. The caller masquerades as a high-ranking official from the Police, the

Do We Need an Excellence Framework? “Excellence” is often a word misused by most organisations. Let me share my personal story. I worked for a British company where Excellence was part of the strap line, where we claimed to be so. But the question I had to myself, are we excellent? And if so, is there an outside view? That got me to challenge the EFQM Excellence Framework, and I submitted my Indian business to an independent assessment. Of course, the assessment and evaluatio