I've been thinking a lot about redundancies lately – not the kind splashed across headlines about corporate downsizing, but the reassuring kind, like knowing there are three backup engines when one fails on your transatlantic flight. This fascination hit me hard during the recent wave of tech layoffs, where I watched companies strip away their … Continue reading Building Resilient Teams Through Strategic Redundancy
When Julia had a brilliant idea recently, she chose not to send it as a simple one-liner. Instead, she used ChatGPT to transform it into a comprehensive email for the leadership team. What started as a paragraph ballooned into a lengthy exposition complete with made up market analysis, generalised implementation strategies, and various unrealistic scenarios. … Continue reading Workslop: The latest productivity killer
Towards the end of last month, I had the chance to listen to Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, speak. As you might imagine, it was thoughtful, inspiring, and the kind of talk that makes you forget to pull your phone out to take photographs, videos or notes. There are innumerable snippets … Continue reading Musings on messy humans
Imagine a world where employees, not just the Board of Directors, assign performance ratings to CEOs and determine if they need to be placed on a performance improvement plan. The 2025 edition of Blind's CEO performance review did exactly that. Following the precedent set by the anonymous professional network in 2023-24, when they first enabled … Continue reading Placing CEOs on a PIP
‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ If you engage in a conversation with me, a version of this question will inevitably surface. And I am willing to bet that you will have an answer – one that will likely not match your current career. The good news is that you aren’t … Continue reading Boring Businesses: Trading Ping Pong Tables for Laundromats
Dwindling start-up investments, relentless headcount pressures (read layoffs), and an obsession with productivity metrics clearly demonstrate that there's no running away from our current 'era of efficiency.' As organizations continue to grapple with their largest expense, it’s time to talk about the silver bullet that is supposedly solving this big bulging bill i.e., Agents and … Continue reading Let’s talk about the cost of AI
If you've been following me for a while, you're likely familiar with my podcast, HR Bandit. For those new to the scene, it's a monthly deep dive into the hottest news from the world of work. Every month, my co-host Apoorva and I begin by curating a list of eye-catching stories, then whittle it down … Continue reading Everything that happened in May 2025
As someone who’s always on the lookout for change and experiments, I've often found myself in the grip of an idea so compelling that I can’t shake it off. The longer I sit with it, the more certain it becomes that someone needs to work on it. You may be able to relate - the … Continue reading Great ideas: Knowing When to Hold & When to Fold
In today's business landscape, the pace of change isn't just fast—it's unprecedented. Generative AI has revolutionized business operations, creating opportunities and challenges that seemed like science fiction mere years ago. Meanwhile, geopolitical complexities—from fractured supply chains to escalating trade tensions—demand constant organizational pivots. This isn't simple technological and political disruption—it's a perfect storm of compounding … Continue reading Project Zero: Tackling the Hidden Costs of Accelerating Change
At the start of the year, during the first team meeting, the team leader went round the room asking everyone one thing they are going to start, stop and continue this year – be it at work or outside. As the meeting notes claim, I stated that I would create a 5-year career plan, start … Continue reading 5-Year Career Plan: The Plan About Making the Plan
The HR Business Partner Story 