Netflix Culture Explained: A Maturity Model, Not a Checklist

When I first read Netflix’s now-iconic culture deck, my reaction wasn’t admiration.
It was discomfort; a sharp, almost embarrassing discomfort.

Not because the ideas were radical.
But because they forced me to confront something I hadn’t questioned deeply enough:

Why do so many companies, including some I had worked in, behave as if people cannot be trusted?

Netflix’s philosophy flips almost everything we’ve been taught:

  • Radical freedom
  • Ruthless candour
  • Minimal rules
  • High talent density
  • Leadership through context, not control

It’s seductive and intimidating at the same time.

But here’s the truth I learned — slowly, and sometimes painfully:

Netflix’s culture is not a set of “best practices.”
It is a maturity model.

And maturity cannot be copied.
It must be grown.

(more…) “Netflix Culture Explained: A Maturity Model, Not a Checklist”

Forget Job Titles — Agency Is What Makes You a Star

Starting your career is like stepping into a vast, competitive arena. Those early days shape your mindset, determine your trajectory, and influence whether you climb or stay stuck.

Two powerful sources — Yoni Rechtman’s Be a Star or a Janitor and Theodore Roosevelt’s iconic Man in the Arena speech — reveal a core truth: success isn’t just about skills or luck; it’s about what you own and how you act.

And in that sense, I made my own luck.

Agency Before I Knew the Word

Reading Rechtman’s article, I realized I’d been embodying agency from day one. I was proactively solving problems beyond my written role, stepping up across teams, and creating value without ever knowing this mindset had a name. I earned recognition and reliability because I acted like a Star – an owner.

Rechtman’s “Star” metaphor captures a simple truth: the people who rise early in their careers behave like owners, not operators. They widen their scope, create value beyond their roles, and see gaps as opportunities.

In contrast, the “Janitor” mindset isn’t about humility – it’s about compliance. Doing what’s asked, no more, no less. Safe, contained, forgettable.

I learned this by watching: peers with similar skills plateaued, while those who took initiative quietly built credibility, trust, and impact.

The difference wasn’t talent. It was agency.

(more…) “Forget Job Titles — Agency Is What Makes You a Star”

How I Learned Success Isn’t About Secrets – It’s About Building the Right Habits

Starting my career, I used to believe success was about finding the right secret: some hidden formula that others knew but I didn’t.

But over the past few weeks, as I’ve been delving into the architecture of long-term success; reading Sam Altman’s How to Be Successful, analysing Charlie Munger’s investment philosophy, and studying how entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and India operate, something shifted.

What struck me wasn’t the content itself; it was how these seemingly disparate ideas, when viewed through the lens of India’s dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, revealed a universal truth:

Success isn’t about secret formulas; it’s about disciplined practice.

An ongoing effort of thinking and acting that compounds over years into extraordinary results.

And when I reflected on my own journey I realised, every meaningful turning point in my career came not from a hack but from a habit I had unconsciously built.

(more…) “How I Learned Success Isn’t About Secrets – It’s About Building the Right Habits”

On Urgency, Resourcefulness, and the Courage to Quit

For Success: Why Acting Fast and Adapting Creatively Matter More Than Talent

If you want to achieve anything meaningful – whether landing a new role, scaling a business, or chasing a big personal goal – talent won’t cut it alone; neither will luck.

Talent is abundant. What truly separates those who succeed from those who stay stuck are two quiet but powerful multipliers: Urgency and Relentless Resourcefulness.

I didn’t always know this. For a long time, I believed success belonged to the most gifted or the best prepared. But over time, through trial, delay, and a few failed bets, I’ve realised my most impactful projects weren’t the ones that started perfectly; they were the ones that moved fast, adapted constantly, and never ran out of curiosity.

(more…) “On Urgency, Resourcefulness, and the Courage to Quit”

Ram Chandra Series Book 1: Scion of Ikshvaku – Book Review

Book Title: Scion Of Ikshvaku

Author: Amish Tripathi

Approx Read Time: 240 – 280 min

Review: I had been meaning to get my hands on the Ram Chandra Series books for quite some time. This has been ever since I had the good fortune of reading Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy almost a decade ago. (Thanks to my still-active Goodreads account for reminding me exactly when that was!) Back then, I never wrote detailed reviews; just tiny one-liners on my profile. But the feeling of those stories being a fresh, contemporary take on Indian mythology always stayed with me.

So when I came across the Ram Chandra series, I knew I wanted to read it. Why I didn’t pick it up sooner, I have no satisfactory answer for. I guess… life happens? Anyway, I’m reading the books one by one now, and I plan to review each before moving to the next. Hopefully, that keeps each review unbiased and in-the-moment. So, let’s dive in.

Quick note: This review contains no major spoilers.

(more…) “Ram Chandra Series Book 1: Scion of Ikshvaku – Book Review”

A Beginner’s Dilemma: How To Do Personal Finance?

A young Indian adult sitting at a desk, looking at a computer screen with a contemplative expression. The person is surrounded by financial papers, and cloud bubbles providing an illusion that he is thinking about risk, return, equity, debt as topics.

A Matter of Perspective

Personal finance. Hmm, too many things have been said about it. Almost everyone has an opinion, yet somehow, none of us seem any wiser. Why? Because everyone has different goals and aims in life, isn’t it? What satisfies one person might not satisfy another.

And those who aren’t satisfied? They often can’t resist giving gyaan, hoping that those who are satisfied will become just as dissatisfied. Why? Because as humans, we’re inherently interested in the comparison – what we have versus what others have. We thrive on relativity. And crave social acceptance; but not just acceptance; we want to be one-up in the same circle. Isn’t that ironic?

(more…) “A Beginner’s Dilemma: How To Do Personal Finance?”

Stop, breathe, think please!

We always keep hearing – Slow and steady… Make consistent efforts… Build a momentum… A long journey begins with a small step – its clear. When you want to build something significant, it cant be overnight. But what is that significant thing – a life? Easy to put it in a word, hard to explain. Because context is different for everyone and it matters.

Context. That’s an interesting concept. Have you noticed, you can generally sound very profound by using a statement that has no context. Just choose a random statement that is true within a context and then pull it out of its setting and throw it around. Every drop counts when filling a bucket or when saving a life. Pull it out of that context and shove it in personal finance context, suddenly that every drop can be interpreted as Save every bit. Wow sounds profound, as you apply it in the context. But here too, each person reads it in terms of quantum that they can comprehend. Our brains cant comprehend the minute nor the huge which is relative to everyone. We can only comprehend the scale based on what is our sphere of knowledge and understanding.

(more…) “Stop, breathe, think please!”

The Kid on the Train – Chapter Story

“7:51 fast local to Mumbai CST will be arriving 5 min later than usual today on platform number 5…” the announcer shouted into the mike from the comfort of his AC laden Railway Office room behind the Ticketing Window on Dombivli Railway Station.

“Fuck the railways…Trains needed to late today! Why? Why God?” murmured a teenager from amongst the exasperated crowd gathered and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the said train.

Some heads turned towards the originator of the offending remark. The teenager promptly pulled out his smartphone and started punching furiously on it, probably letting the person on the other side, of his reaching late, but obviously trying to avoid gaze of some of the fellow travellers. The crowd settled back again playing the waiting game, but not before some nods were exchanged somewhere and some smiles somewhere else. To an outsider, the crowd looked just that, a crowd, but the crowd knew what it was. It was an unspoken bond of togetherness shared by the commonality of everyday travelling. They are the so called regulars who have been travelling for years on same local train, same compartment and same door. Heck even the places in the compartment were decided.

(more…) “The Kid on the Train – Chapter Story”

Time Crawlers – Book Review

Book Title: Time Crawlers

Author: Varun Sayal

Approx Read Time: 60 – 75 min

Review: It was a fine cold morning. As I was getting ready to leave for my day’s tour of London, my phone beeped letting me know an email was awaiting to be read in my inbox. When I checked and found it to be an email from Mr Varun Sayal requesting in a very humble and polite way, an honest review of his debut book – Time Crawlers, published a month earlier – I smiled. I didn’t have time or focus to do book reviews then. I asked for some time – three months – as I had a few more books to read as well. He persistently followed up for a month to try to get to me read it sooner. But since I was travelling through a new country and soaking it all in, I didn’t let myself find some time to go through the books. That was wrong on my part. This weekend I finally came around to reading Time Crawlers and quickly transferred the ebook copy, that Varun sent, to my Kindle. I breezed through it in an hour! That means I could have done this way earlier, way way earlier. For that, I feel apologetic. But I will not delay reviewing it further anymore. So let me dive into my honest unbiased opinion of it right away.

(more…) “Time Crawlers – Book Review”