Reasons are bullshit.Reasons are often just excuse, however, we use them to hide our shortcomings from ourselves.

GoodRead, ,

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to effortlessly turn their dreams into reality while others remain perpetually stuck in the planning phase? Bernard Roth’s “The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life” offers a refreshingly honest answer: achievement isn’t about having the best ideas or the most talent, it’s about developing the right habits and taking consistent action.

The Core Message: Achievement Is a Learnable Skill

Roth, a Stanford professor and co-founder of the renowned d.school, brings decades of design thinking expertise to personal development. His central thesis is revolutionary in its simplicity: achievement is a habit that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened like a muscle. Drawing from real student transformations in his Stanford class “The Designer in Society,” Roth demonstrates that the same design thinking principles used to solve complex organizational problems can redesign your entire life.

The book’s power lies in its practical approach. Rather than offering feel-good platitudes, Roth presents a systematic method for breaking through self-imposed limitations and creating lasting change.

Three Game-Changing Takeaways

1. Your Perspective Creates Your Reality

One of the book’s most profound insights is that meaning is entirely subjective—we assign significance to everything in our lives, and these assignments shape our actions and outcomes. Roth argues that changing how you label and view situations can unlock creativity and positive transformation.

This isn’t just positive thinking; it’s strategic reframing. When you recognize that your interpretation of events—not the events themselves—determines your response, you gain tremendous power to change your experience. The practical exercise here is simple but transformative: regularly question your assumptions and consciously relabel familiar situations to open new possibilities.

2. Reasons Are Just Sophisticated Excuses

Perhaps the book’s most controversial chapter tackles our relationship with excuses. Roth boldly states that most reasons we give for our actions are simply sophisticated excuses designed to protect our self-image. While this might sound harsh, it’s liberating once you embrace it.

The author isn’t advocating for social rudeness, externally, reasons may still be necessary. But internally, questioning every reason forces honest self-assessment. If something truly matters to you, your actions should reflect that priority without elaborate justification. This shift from explanation to action is where real change begins.

3. Doing Beats Trying Every Time

The distinction between “trying” and “doing” runs throughout the book like a golden thread. Roth emphasizes that real achievement comes only through committed action, not good intentions or endless discussions. There’s a fundamental difference between someone who says “I’ll try to exercise” and someone who simply exercises.

This connects to his advocacy for prototyping, taking small, experimental steps to build momentum. Rather than waiting for the perfect plan, start with imperfect action. Small wins build confidence and break the inertia that keeps most people stuck in perpetual preparation mode.

Why This Book needs recommendation?

In our age of endless information and analysis paralysis, “The Achievement Habit” offers a refreshing antidote. Roth’s background in design thinking brings practical structure to personal development, moving beyond motivation to methodology. The book doesn’t just inspire—it instructs.

What makes this particularly relevant is how Roth addresses modern challenges like overthinking, perfectionism, and the tendency to substitute planning for action. His emphasis on collaboration and asking for help counters our increasingly isolated approach to personal growth.

The Bottom Line

“The Achievement Habit” succeeds because it treats personal development as a design problem rather than a motivation issue. Roth shows that achievement isn’t about having the right personality or waiting for inspiration, it’s about building systems and habits that consistently move you forward.
The book’s real strength lies in its integration of mindset shifts with practical action. It’s not enough to change how you think; you must change what you do. And it’s not enough to take random action; you must align that action with an empowering self-image and clear purpose.

If you’re tired of books that make you feel good but don’t create lasting change, “The Achievement Habit” offers something different: a proven framework for turning intentions into results. Roth’s message is both challenging and hopeful, you have more control over your outcomes than you think, but only if you’re willing to stop making excuses and start taking consistent action.

The question isn’t whether you can achieve more in your life. The question is whether you’re ready to make achievement a habit.

Conservatism Bias: When We Fail to Update Our Beliefs

Productivity, , ,

Have you ever stubbornly held onto your initial judgment despite mounting evidence to the contrary? That’s conservatism bias at work—our tendency to insufficiently update our beliefs when presented with new information.

We pride ourselves on being rational thinkers, weighing evidence objectively before forming conclusions. Yet cognitive science reveals a systematic flaw in how we process new information: conservatism bias. This tendency to insufficiently revise our beliefs when presented with new evidence affects everything from personal finances to organizational strategy.

What is Conservatism Bias?

Conservatism bias occurs when people update their existing beliefs too slowly in the face of new, relevant information. First documented by psychologist Ward Edwards in the 1960s, this bias shows how we tend to “anchor” to our initial judgments, making only modest adjustments even when confronted with substantial contradictory evidence.

Unlike confirmation bias (where we seek information supporting our existing views), conservatism bias focuses on how we process new information once we encounter it—typically giving it less weight than statistical reasoning would suggest is appropriate.

How Conservatism Bias Manifests

Investment Decisions

Consider an investor who believes a particular stock is undervalued. When the company releases disappointing quarterly earnings, they might acknowledge this negative news but still underestimate its significance. Research from the Indian Securities and Exchange Board shows retail investors typically adjust their price expectations by only 40% of what would be statistically justified following earnings surprises, whether positive or negative.

Medical Diagnoses

A 2020 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research found that physicians who made initial diagnoses were 30% less likely to completely revise their assessment when contradictory test results arrived compared to doctors seeing the case fresh. This “diagnostic momentum” demonstrates how early judgments resist appropriate updating.

Business Strategy

Organizations frequently underreact to market changes that challenge their existing business models. Kodak famously recognized the threat of digital photography (their engineers actually invented the first digital camera in 1975) but significantly underweighted this evidence when planning their future, clinging to their film-based business model until it was too late.

Why We’re Conservative With New Information

Several factors contribute to conservatism bias:

Cognitive Effort

Thoroughly revising beliefs requires significant mental energy. It’s simply easier to make minor adjustments to existing views than to completely reconsider our position.

Confidence Illusion

We tend to overestimate the accuracy of our initial judgments. This overconfidence makes us less receptive to evidence suggesting we might be wrong.

Status Quo Preference

Humans have a natural tendency to prefer existing states over change. This status quo bias reinforces conservatism in updating beliefs.

Social Reinforcement

Changing our minds dramatically can feel uncomfortable, especially when we’ve publicly committed to a position. This social pressure reinforces incremental rather than transformative belief updates.

Overcoming Conservatism Bias

Quantify When Possible

Using numerical probabilities rather than vague beliefs makes it easier to update appropriately. For instance, assigning specific likelihood percentages to potential outcomes forces more rigorous updating when new evidence arrives.

Seek Outside Perspectives

People without attachment to initial judgments can more objectively assess new information. Creating “red teams” tasked with challenging existing views helps organizations overcome institutional conservatism bias.

Pre-commit to Evidence Thresholds

Decide in advance what evidence would change your mind, before seeing the results. This prevents moving the goalposts when confronted with belief-challenging information.

Practice Bayesian Thinking

Named after 18th-century mathematician Thomas Bayes, Bayesian reasoning provides a formal framework for updating probabilities based on new evidence. Even informal Bayesian thinking—explicitly considering both prior beliefs and the strength of new evidence—can improve belief updating.

Real-World Impact

Conservatism bias isn’t just an academic curiosity, it has substantial real-world consequences. Companies that fail to adequately update their strategic thinking face extinction. Investors who insufficiently revise their market views sacrifice returns. Medical professionals who inadequately integrate new test results may miss critical diagnoses.

By recognizing our tendency toward conservatism bias, we can deliberately counteract it, ensuring that our beliefs more accurately reflect all available evidence rather than giving undue weight to our initial judgments.

The next time you encounter information challenging what you believe, ask yourself: Am I giving this evidence the weight it truly deserves, or am I being conservative in updating my beliefs?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Leadership : Finding the Balance

GoodRead, , ,

Leadership is a widely discussed topic, also one of the favoured topic of mine to read and write. And again and again I came across more or less same question, what truly defines a “good leader”? I recently came across a thought-provoking question that captures a common debate:

A. A good leader expects people to decide for themselves what they should do.

B. A good leader makes it clear to everybody what their jobs are

PS: I was taking survey made by Sejal Waghmare at TheVibrantAura

Both statements present unique perspectives on leadership, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I would like to discuss how these ideas can influence team productivity and promote human-centric work environments..

Option A: Empowering Independence

Leaders who allow team members to decide for themselves foster autonomy, trust, and innovation. This approach taps into intrinsic motivation—when people have ownership over their work, they’re often more engaged and creative. It’s especially effective in environments where flexibility and adaptability are valued.

However, too much autonomy without guidance can lead to confusion, misaligned priorities, and duplicated efforts. Not everyone feels comfortable making decisions without a framework, especially new or less confident team members.

Option B: Providing Clear Direction

On the other hand, leaders who clarify roles and responsibilities help ensure alignment, accountability, and efficiency. When everyone knows what’s expected, teams can focus, collaborate more smoothly, and avoid wasted time or misunderstandings. This style supports productivity, especially in high-pressure or complex situations.

But there’s a downside: if directions are too rigid or prescriptive, team members may feel micromanaged or stifled, leading to disengagement and missed opportunities for innovation.

Finding the Balance: Human-Centric Leadership

The most effective leaders balance both approaches. They provide clarity about goals, roles, and expectations while encouraging team members to use their judgment and creativity within that framework. This balance empowers individuals and drives productivity, while also fostering trust, engagement, and growth.

The key is clarity, which requires excellent communication skills and empathy when conveying information to the individual.

Leaders who aspire to lead a successful team, needs to get him self clarified first when it comes to expectations and deliverables.

Deliverables can be effectively defined using various tools such as the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). However, setting expectations requires more than just defining deliverables; it demands a clear and detailed job description along with a well-articulated objective for the role. Only with this clarity can alignment between individual performance and organizational goals be ensured.

Often, team members are unable to see how their roles contribute to the organization’s broader goals. When this connection is clearly communicated, it significantly enhances both motivation and alignment. A clear line of sight between individual responsibilities and organizational outcomes fosters a stronger sense of purpose and accountability.

Parting insights 💭

A good leader doesn’t choose between clear direction and empowering autonomy—they blend both to bring out the best in their teams. By doing so, they create environments where people know what to do, feel trusted to make decisions, and are motivated to excel.

Happy reading. See you soon.

Feedback, Art of listening 👂

GoodRead, ,

“If someone chooses to share feedback, listen to understand the person, not the work. People will tell you more about themselves than about the art when giving feedback. We each see a unique world.”
–  Rick Rubin

The quote by one of the #goodread I had in past, “The Creative Act : a Way of being”, Rick Rubin emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding in the feedback process. When someone offers feedback, it’s easy to focus solely on the work at hand—be it a piece of art, music, or writing. However, Rubin suggests that the real value lies in understanding the individual behind the feedback. Each person’s perspective is shaped by their personal experiences, emotions, and beliefs, which means they reveal more about themselves than the work itself when sharing their thoughts.

Me and Listening 🦻

Many years ago, as part of internal assessment I have been rated 3/5 on listening skills, its a feedback, which I took with a shock. Till that point I was under impression that I know what “Listening” means, however, nodding my head, paraphrasing what some one just told me, mirroring body language is not what actual ‘Listening’ means. It means “I’m trying to listening, and proving he same”. This is not the intent. Intent is to know the other party better. This is how I started on journey of knowing me better before I learn to know other better. In this process I came across many deep understanding on this subject.

crop faceless female counselor talking to client
Photo by Alex Green on Pexels.com

By listening with the intent to understand the person, rather than just evaluating their critique, we open ourselves up to a deeper connection and insight into different viewpoints. This approach not only enriches our own understanding but can also foster a more supportive and collaborative environment. It encourages constructive dialogue and promotes artistic growth, as individuals feel valued and heard. Ultimately, recognizing that everyone perceives the world uniquely allows for a more inclusive and reflective creative process.

Feedback and Listening … 👂

You can’t step into the same stream twice because it’s always moving. Everything is changing.

After finishing a project or activity, it’s helpful to get feedback from others. This can give us valuable insights and help us improve. For example, a 360-degree feedback after one year in a job is a good way to check how we’re doing and can make our journey more successful. The key is how we handle that feedback. The goal isn’t just to get comments or opinions from others. This is your work, and your feelings about it matter most. The aim is for you to see your work in a new light. Sometimes, a comment will really connect with you and reveal areas for growth. Other times, a negative remark may upset you, leading to a defensive reaction or doubt in your work. In such cases, it’s helpful to take a break, clear your mind, and come back with a fresh perspective. Criticism lets us look at our work from a different angle. We can choose to agree or stick to our original ideas.

How to listen thou self? 💁

Look around you: there are so many remarkable accomplishments to appreciate. Each of these is humanity being true to itself, as a hummingbird is true to itself by building a nest, a mango trees by bearing fruit, and a nimbus cloud by producing rain. We look for something new, and we find the newness. The effort for ‘look for something new’ itself brings the mind to ‘listening’ mode. When we intently look for something new, we hear better, we see better, we not only see the obvious, but we also see the reason behind the obvious. The fruit bearing tree is not there on his own, some one, some how planted it for some reason, and now the fruits are for us to enjoy! It’s a true rabbit hole to go into!

This is how we listen to self, In process improve the listening skill. The gift of awareness allows us to notice what’s going on around and inside ourselves in the present moment. And to do so without attachment or involvement. We may observe bodily sensations, passing thoughts and feelings, sounds or visual cues, smells and tastes. And this is the moment where we are really actively listening to the person.

Fall in love with the person. ❤️

To listen to someone effectively, you need to fall in love with him/her! 💕 Really!

While reading the book “Unsold Mindset,” I discovered an interesting idea about connections. It’s not just about romantic love; it’s about the meaningful friendships that arise from truly caring about someone. We’ve all felt that spark when talking to a stranger—maybe while sitting next to them on a flight or in line at the store. These moments can feel almost magical, especially when the person inspires us. As we share more of these small connections with others, whether they are clients or casual acquaintances, our trust and interest in them grow, leading to deeper understanding and compassion. Such perspective brings the mindset of making the conversation more effective and actionable more impactful

Summary 🔖

Listening is an ongoing process. I never came across someone yet, who has really ‘listens to me’ to my expectations , this could be due to my high expectations and confusion with ‘Thought reading’ expectations.

Nevertheless, I came across many successful leaders, who has shown admiringly well Listening Skills, and which shows very positive and high co-relation of listening skills with a successful leader. Leaders with these skills has not only impacted their own life by climbing the ladder of success , but also impacted the community at large, making difference to their lives and creating the lasting impact.

I’ll keep exploring the topic, and keep learning to be better at skill, and my wife will be the litmus test, nevertheless, its encouraging to be part of this journey!

Ethics 101 : Beginner’s guide in Ethics

GoodRead, ,

“Ethics 101: From Altruism and Utilitarianism to Bioethics and Political Ethics, an Exploration of the Concepts of Right and Wrong” by Brian Boone is a beginner-friendly guide that explores various ethical theories and concepts. The book covers a range of ethical perspectives, from historical theories like utilitarianism and deontology to contemporary issues in bioethics and political ethics. Boone provides a concise overview of each concept, breaking down complex ideas into easily understandable terms. The book is designed to introduce readers to the fundamental principles of ethics, making it accessible to those who may be new to the subject. It serves as a primer for individuals interested in understanding different ethical frameworks and their applications in various aspects of life

Major topics covered

  1. Introduction to Ethics: Basic definitions and the importance of ethical considerations.
  2. Historical Ethical Theories:
    • Utilitarianism: The idea that actions should maximize overall happiness or utility.
    • Deontology: Emphasizing the importance of following moral rules and duties.
  3. Virtue Ethics: Exploring the development of good character traits as the foundation for ethical behaviour.
  4. Applied Ethics:
    • Bioethics: Ethical considerations in the field of biology and medicine.
    • Environmental Ethics: Ethics related to the environment and our impact on it.
    • Business Ethics: Moral considerations in the business world.
  5. Political Ethics: Examining ethical principles in the context of politics and governance.
  6. Social Justice: Addressing issues of fairness and justice in society.
  7. Metaethics: Exploring the nature of ethics, including questions about objectivity and subjectivity.
  8. Religious Ethics: Considering how various religious traditions approach ethical questions.
  9. Current Ethical Issues: Examining contemporary ethical challenges and debates.

What do I like in this book most?

The book is designed to be a primer, providing a concise introduction to key ethical concepts without overwhelming me with unnecessary details. It explores how ethical theories can be applied to real-life situations, making it relevant to everyday decision-making. The book also covers a wide range of topics within ethics, from historical theories to contemporary issues.

Summary:

I made small timelines on various philosophers and ethicists which are mentioned in this book.

This book also recognizes a potential avenue for my further exploration. The primary discussion and renowned theories originate from the Western perspective. Even though the Eastern tradition has a longer history of engaging in ethical discourse, particularly from the perspective of virtues, it is an area that I find intriguing and may delve into as my next in-depth study.

A 200+ page, easy read book is a good leisure read, but be prepared to learn new insights on Ethics.

Have a good read!

Join my reading challenge Sumit’s 2023 reading challenge | Goodreads

The LEGO Story

GoodRead, ,
The LEGO Story

What I learned new about LEGO

⁃ Danish company

⁃ Started in 1930s

⁃ It started with wood furniture business

⁃ Ole Kirk took the decision to make simple toys for kids

⁃ Cars, YoYo become its key product

First Price list!

⁃ Largely driven by family values and under influence of Word war 1 and 2

⁃ Very early on tried to involve girls as one of the end consumers, but till date, its products are mostly used by boys.

Early on always questioning use of arms in toys, nevertheless the fist famous product was a wooden toy gun with moving items, portraits as “peace pistol” with ammunition!

⁃ Founder always took risk, gone for more investments in new technologies.

⁃ Founder also went to exhibitions and tried to get more insights on trends, helped him to “copy” LEGO idea.

⁃ Also worked with education community, to press use of toys for intellectual development rather than using it just as a toy. This helped LEGO long term

⁃ Second generation, founder early on got insight to decide which sibling will be taking lead post him.

⁃ Conflict between generation gaps are nicely put forward by second generation (Godtfred k and Kjed K, both mentioned their struggles with their father, unlike Goftfred 2nd generation, it’s more with Kjed, 3rd generation)

⁃ 3rd Generation decided to bring more new management, younger and western philosophy.

⁃ Nicely told story about the cultural shift in the management style, also inclusivity of women in upper management.

Key insights

  • Focus on technology and keep key theme intact during growth.
  • Diversification not only on portfolio but also on approach (physical toys to movies and theme parks)
  • How to ensure the family inheritance to continue and ensure success of LEGO, creation of “LEGO Idea Paper”, set of guidelines helping future generations to get clear vision.
  • LEGO is not the first in “self locking block”, it was Kiddicraft’s self locking block.
  • LEGO’s change in focus from toys to system. Rather creating individual toys, LEGO brought a “system” of creating anything out of blocks.
  • LEGO’s translation from “make anything from blocks” to product which are now coming with “manual” to create complex toys.
  • In 1958, the modern LEGO brick was patented, featuring tubes and studs.

LEGO, then and now!

Cars was one of the first famous toys from LEGO
The Peace Pistol!
Girls are missing LEGO
LEGO Patent

Long time no see!

Productivity
Thats for me 😅

long time no see

So that’s that, i started my first post way back in 2001, that time in blogpost. With an idea of sharing my know how and make all aware of current good practices.

My passion was welding and mostly all my early blogs are about them. Back then, 21 year old me learning lots of things, and it was fun.

last 22 years, has given me opportunities to diversIfy my knowledge. And I take pride in myself, of able to learn so many diverse items.

after a really long break, I tried to do some justice to my website, obviously moving to own domain was one, thought that will give some commitment to peruse this further.

Thinking got me here, and start with my 1st post. its mot technically first, but its first from my long lost love of writing and sharing.

Question is

  • What should I share?
  • What should be the frequency?
  • is it ok to share my other passions here?
  • will it be a good place, or is blogging right platform to share diverse information?
  • How to make this more relevant and vibrant.

So let me continue think I’ve it and post here whatever I think is relevant. May be after some time it will boil down to some categories. God knows. But let’s start

What I will be sharing?

Question is what I can share. Okie let me give a thought, what are my interest, as that will keep me driving.

#Welding and pressure vessel: this is long lost love. Past decade in away from this subject. May be I need to rekindle this, and start sharing what little I think it’s amusing to me.

Books I read #GoodReads : I read almost a book per month, and recently started making mind maps out of it, it’s interesting, and I think I should share this with you all

#Machine learning, Timeseries and Forecasting : New skill set. Want to share whatever amuses me or whatever I came across as challenges. Sometime it’s as small as syntax error or sometime it’s choosing the right platform. It’s all about R and Python, but it’s a hell of a world.

#Software : one of the biggest hobby, and a full time Garage project of mine. I got lots of insights and sleepless night while working on smithing as basic as creating my diary or as complex as creating calculations tools (hosted on this website). So lots of opportunities to share my know how here.

#Behavioural Science: This is a subject, I fallen in love with as I groomed as Manager and Leader. I work on #Productivity and # Planning as well as #skills to develop myself and my team members, I think it will be super cool to share my insights here

Let’s start, “The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.”

Source unknown

So with those four five categories, let me work on next post.

See you soon

Back on Page!!

Uncategorized
Hi Guys…

For Past so many days, missed my blogging instinct.

Now I’m back, with some spare time, lets start with Knowledge sharing!

Keep Reading & Smile

Milk Property fact!

1 CommentTechnical,

Just, I got this info & sharing with you
Density of Milk
Whole milk : ρ = 1035.0 − 0.358 T + 0.0049 T^2 − 0.00010 T^3
Skim milk : ρ = 1036.6 − 0.146 T + 0.0023 T^2 − 0.00016 T^3
Buffalo milk : ρ = 923.84 − 0.44 T
Cows’s milk : ρ = 923.51 − 0.43 T

Good, know you know what will be wait of 1 Liter Pouch 🙂

ERP

Productivity

Lately (late in my career), that is for past three years, i’m working on various ERPs. Offcourse i started the work on engineering domain. But thanks to my friends in other domain, who helped me in understanding other modules too. In my recent company i’ve developed my own ERP. it was made to take care of all engineering needs, and it was now running for past two year. Mean while i’ve also implemented full fleaeged ERP system. With which my software do seamless communication.

This implementation has given me insight on various aspects of organization, like finance, production, purchase and offcours engineering.

Point is, can i develop an ERP of my own? I think its not a tough target. But can i implement one? Yes for sure.

See you soon.