Rajat Mishra

“Bad design is smoke. Good design is a mirror.” – Juan Carlos Fernandez Time to Get Crafty We may not all be artists, but many of us have had to put on hats we never imagined throughout the course of our careers. This could include designing presentations, posters, videos, and even websites. Whether or not […]

The Story Behind an Icon The Sydney Opera House, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, had its groundbreaking opening in 1959. Naturally, an undertaking of this magnitude would have been considered a great feat. But at 588 concrete pillars, 2,400 concrete ribs and 1,056,006 ceramic tile chevrons, attempting to finish within the

“In the word ‘question’ there is a beautiful word- quest.” – Elie Weisel What Happened to Questions?  When we ask questions, we embark on an exploration of new ideas and a conquest for new information. This is most apparent in children who have an innate sense of wonder. The world itself and the way it

Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine” – Elvis Presley The corporate world romanticizes competition. Business-school students around the world carry copies of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” in their back-packs. Battle metaphors are part of corporate lexicon. From “war-rooms” to “competitive battle-grounds”. From “war-games” to “strike when enemy is weak”. Teams obsess about

I have always loved George Clooney: from the doe-eyed Doug Ross in E.R to the smooth Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven to the suave Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air. But, while he is visually appealing and a talented actor, it isn’t his looks or acting that make him stand out to me. It

Bobby Fischer moved a pawn two squares and shocked the chess world. It was game 6 of the 1972 world chess championship, American challenger & eccentric genius Bobby Fischer vs defending champion, Russian Boris Spassky. Tensions between the nations were rising. There was more than the world chess championship at stake. As his first move,

“Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you’re thinking about it.” – Daniel Kahneman. Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and author of Art of Possibility, has a simple yet powerful rule to deal with high-stress situation. He calls it Rule #6. Zander leads into this rule with

Twenty years ago, the world lost one of its most beloved leaders: Princess Diana. She was a vivacious, empathetic, and committed leader with a passion for her people. While other royalty led from the throne, Diana led from the field. Known as the “people’s princess,” Diana was the epitome of a servant leader. From the

On January 28, 1986, the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. It was a tragedy that shook the country. Even before the smoke cleared, President Reagan had the unenviable job of explaining

“I got a feeling … tonight’s gonna be a good night” – Black Eyed Peas  The Black Eyed Peas opened for Oprah Winfrey’s 24th season kickoff party in the fall of 2009. The performance was great. But what was spectacular was that in the course of a few minutes after the Black Eyes Peas started