Which one is better for your enterprise? Going for Scale or Staying small? If you run the best coffeeshop in town, do you focus on opening 100 more around the country or making the flagship coffeeshop the only one available and best in the world? If the decision to open 100 franchises of your coffeeshop,…
Category: story
Draft to Publish
Today is Leap Day 2024. What ideas do you have saved for a future date to put them into action? What emails do you have sitting in your Drafts folder to send? Why are you sitting on the sidelines when you know you’re prepared for the game? Are you waiting for someone’s permission, approval, or…
Getting to that Next Level
What’s the Next Level? There are Levels. Realizing that there’s another level to be better is a key component in getting to that level. If you strongly believe that there’s no more level beyond where you currently are, then either you’ve achieved a lot already (Happy for you!) or you are limited in your circumstances,…
let my people go surfing
One of the books that had been on my books bucket list for a while “let my people go surfing” by Yvon Chouinard (Founder and Owner of Patagonia, Inc.) was inspiring and moving. I had been fascinated with Patagonia’s authentic storytelling and wanted to learn more about the company, culture, and its philosophies. “Let my…
TGND Buffalo NY – Nepal Through A Lens with Siraj Ahmad
I’ve followed Siraj’s work on Instagram for years now. I love the way he captures places, people, objects, colors, and simply the beauty of everyday life. It’s a perspective that I’ve always appreciated and look forward to his work! I’m having a virtual conversation with Siraj on his photographic journey on Sunday, October 22, 2023…
the art of excellent customer service
Erica and Tony both aspired a career in hospitality after college. They wanted to be working for a multinational hospitality group that operated hotels all over the world. Both start an internship at a national hotel chain. When the internship comes to an end, Tony decides to go back to college to finish his final…
Coffee Convoz’s Himalayan Java Campaign
Coffee Convoz is currently running a campaign that offers a chance for anyone based in the US to win a Himalayan Java Coffee Cup. Himalayan Java is a pioneering coffee chain that has been serving Nepali coffee since 1999. Coffee Convoz is a global community of Coffee and Conversations!
3 A’s to greatness
Awareness. Action. Automatic. Awareness is the first component of becoming great at a skill or craft. Once awareness is established, action is needed to intentionally practice and work on the skill or craft. After taking consistent action to get better, the skill or craft becomes automatic.
The island without sandals
There was an island called Without Sandals. A budding salesperson from a nearby Town A visited the island and saw that no one at this island was wearing sandals. The salesperson went back to the town and concluded that there are no opportunities to sell any sandals because no one would wear them. Another budding…
Beyond the Comfort Zone
In our comfort zones, we tend to feel at ease, almost no anxiety, stress free, and safe. In the boundaries of our comfort zones, we tend to feel some or a lot of anxiety, stress, and get defensive. Do we all have comfort zones? If so, do we stay in those zones or go beyond…
the “perfect” work
Seth Godin’s blog today was Unbeatable vs Perfect. In it, he states that Google has killed more than 200 projects over the last few decades. They fail all the time. MORE THAN 200 PROJECTS!!! Over the years, I knew Google discontinued a few products/services here and there but did not expect more than 200. Often we see…
You’ll be the co-captain of the varsity team!
That’s what my high school basketball coach told me after having joined the team just a few weeks ago. Basketball was still a new sport to me. I had not played much basketball growing up but fell in love with the sport instantly. My coach knew my grades and wanted to set an example to…
What will your Ted Talk be about?
Imagine receiving an invitation to give a Ted Talk. What will your Ted Talk be about? Each of us have unique experiences in the world and these experiences shape our perspectives, thoughts, and behaviors. Each of us has an authentic story and it deserves to be heard. There are many platforms out there to share…
Your Authentic Greatness
Each individual has internal superpowers. These superpowers are unique and developed through our personal experiences, environment, and evolution. Storytelling is one of our authentic superpowers. Each individual can define “success” in their own terms and go towards reaching their authentic greatness. If each of us realize and tap into our internal superpowers, live our authentic…
Being an apprentice
Every human activity, endeavor, or career path involves the mastering of skills. – Robert Greene in “Mastery” In his book Mastery, Robert Greene elaborates on the Apprenticeship phase involving three essential steps in the apprenticeship, each one overlapping the other. The three steps are: Deep Observation (The Passive Mode), Skills Acquisition (The Practice Mode), and…
Your company’s “Chief Question-Asker”
“The most important thing business leaders must do today is to be the “chief question-asker” for their organization” says Dev Patnaik of Jump Associates. Patnaik says that “the first thing most leaders need to realize is, they’re really bad at asking questions. The business executives rose up through the corporate ranks because “they were good…
What’s your dominant question?
Jim Kwik, author of Limitless says a dominant question is the thing we keep asking ourselves, over and over throughout our day. It’s what drives our decisions in the moment and focuses our obsessions when we’re alone. He says the dominant question feels permanent but it is not. “The questions you ask yourself will shape…
Here’s a piece of advice…
Giving advice to someone is a tough ask. When someone reaches out to you for advice, you are put in a position of authority or power. It could be that the person seeking your advice thinks you are the right person, have the relevant experience, have information that others don’t or for any other reason….
Sports documentaries that are worth it (updated October 2022)
As a sports fanatic, I’ve devoured the sports documentaries available in various streaming platforms. Some of those documentaries I’ve gone back and watched it again because the stories are told in a riveting way and have had a huge cultural impact. Here are the sports documentaries or documentaries based on sport figures that I really…
Organizations that grow
In Carol S. Dweck’s groundbreaking book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she talks about the research that Jim Collins and his team did on what made companies move from being good to being great. The five-year study showed that there were several factors that distinguished the thriving companies from the others. In Jim Collins’…