Loosely based on facts from a “friend’s” professional life — Sheela was dazzled by Brotonic, a Silicon Valley company that promised to change the world. Brotonic didn’t specifically say “..for the better”. Just, change the world. Its employees used the word “excited” a lot, especially in the context of office perks like free beer, the fußball (fooseball) tables, and the…

One of them is illustrated — After reading several books on writing, these are the ones that fundamentally improved my writing. 1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott This is a classic, and is one of the funniest books I’ve read on the subject of writing. It is warm, big-hearted, practical, and entirely original in terms of the content and style. Her insights…

and the Curse of Knowledge bias. — A couple of years ago, I interviewed for a product manager position at a Silicon Valley company. I didn’t get the job, but it is till date one of the best PM interviews I have attended. My interviewer asked me this deceptively simple question, and it shifted my perspective on…

Perspectives from two of my favorite authors — The author Pico Iyer, in his book, Autumn Light, makes this incredible observation “We’re so convinced we’re moving forwards, when all I seem to do is go round and round with the seasons, certainly no wiser, and often only more sure of how much I cannot know. …

Because we get caught in a rut and forget our dreams — I am a product manager in a San Francisco based tech company. I dream up ideal user experiences for my customers. However, I have forgotten what my ideal world would be. …

Things that product management books won’t tell you — I have been a product manager in large Silicon Valley tech companies for the last 6 years, and I now lead of team of product managers. As someone who has gone through the grind of failure, bad performance reviews, reading PM books, listening to podcasts, talking to PMs, and thinking…

..since Americans talk about it so much — “I am a grown woman, and am free to do as I please”, I tell my mother, sounding unconvincing even to myself. Am I free to do as I please? Let’s see: freedom is a complicated word, meaning a lot of different things, in different contexts.

Killing time is fine. Now, how about restoring it? — The idea of killing time seems violent to me. I have come to associate binging Netflix, smothering my feelings with food and alcohol, and overworking with killing time. While binge-watching Netflix shows may feel restorative on the surface, the “yucky” feeling we get after tells another story. The idea of…