Transform2Triumph

17/08/2026

A Thank You Long Overdue to Rajeev

Year : 1980 - My Defining Moment

The pain was the kind that doesn't let you think in full sentences. Both bones of my left forearm had come clean out through the skin; a fall no cadet at the National Defence Academy wants to write home about. I'd been evacuated to a Military Hospital in Pune, loaded with painkillers that dulled almost nothing, and told that surgery would happen the next morning. I lay there that night, staring at the ceiling, doing the math on what a shattered arm might mean for the rest of my life.

That's when the attendant wheeled him in. A boy, maybe two years older than me, parked in the bed of wheelchair right beside mine. He looked at me and said, gently:

"Nothing serious has happened to you. You'll be fine. You are brave."

I nearly laughed, except it hurt too much to laugh. I turned my head toward him instead, sharper than I meant to be.

"You have no idea what kind of pain I'm in," I said. "You don't know what this means for my life. How am I supposed to cope with this?"

He didn't argue. He just smiled and as he smiled, something strange happened; he began to tilt, slowly, to one side, like he had no way of holding himself up.

"Can't you even sit straight?" I snapped, more irritated than I'd like to admit now.

His attendant came rushing over and gently propped him back into position. And it was only then, watching that, that it landed on me: this boy could not move a single muscle below his neck. He hadn't been leaning out of carelessness. He had no control over his own body at all….he was completely paralysed below the neck!!!

The guilt was instant and enormous. I opened my mouth to apologise. But before I could get a word out, he spoke first; the same calm voice, no trace of hurt in it:

"Nothing has happened to you. You'll be all right sooner than later. Just enjoy being in the moment, and being alive."

He smiled at me one more time, and the attendant wheeled him away.

His name, I learnt later was Rajeev Nagrath. In the days that followed, we became close friends and somewhere in those conversations by my bedside, something in me shifted and reorganised itself. I went into surgery the next day; bone grafting, plating, the works but with a different mindset than the one I'd carried in the night before. My recovery, doctors would later say, was nothing short of remarkable.

Today : 2026

It has been forty years plus and I still don't know where Rajeev is today. But he has never really left me…. He silently stays inside me. He was there in the Army, in the toughest postings and the coldest nights. He was there through fifteen-plus years of corporate leadership, in boardrooms under pressure. He is there every time someone tells me they admire my calmness in a crisis because that calm isn't really mine. It's his. I'm just the one who got to keep it.

What Rajeev taught me, without ever meaning to teach anything

- Your mind decides what "serious" means not your circumstances. I had two broken bones. He had a body that no longer answered to him. And yet he was the one reassuring me. Adversity doesn't come pre-labelled as a crisis or a footnote. You choose which one it becomes.

- Comfort can come from the person you least expect, at the moment you're least ready for it. I wasn't in a state to receive kindness that night. I met it with anger. Rajeev didn't flinch, he simply offered it again.

- Self pity is optional, even when suffering isn't. Rajeev never asked for sympathy. He gave it. That single choice, repeated daily, is the difference between surviving a hardship and being defined by it.

- “Enjoy being in the moment, and alive" is not a platitude, it’s discipline. It is far easier to say than to practice, especially from a hospital bed. But once you've heard it from someone who had every reason not to believe it, you can never fully unhear it.

I don't know where you are today, Rajeev, but I hope this reaches you somehow. Thank you for the smile that leaned sideways and still held me up. You didn't just get me through a surgery, you handed me a way of seeing the rest of my life.

Thank You Rajeev

14/08/2026

Doing everything right but still passed over for promotion / project you wanted?

You’re delivering, you’re capable, and yet — the role, the recognition, the momentum — it’s just not landing. High performers rarely burn out loudly. It’s quiet, and it’s easy to miss until it isn’t.

If this speaks to you, let’s connect and uncover what’s really running the show.

11/08/2026

Leading a difficult team member? Here’s what the Army taught me.

Every unit has that one soldier who’s skilled but hard to manage. You don’t drop him from the mission. You figure out how to lead him better. Having spent considerable time in the Corporate leading teams across APAC, I always employed this principle leading a project with a difficult team member.

A few things that helped me deal with the situation:-
- Understanding what’s driving the behavior. Most difficult people are reacting to something; unclear role, unmet expectations, or just being unheard.
- Giving them clear ownership: Role clarity rarely creates friction. Ambiguity does.
- Keeping the mission bigger than the ego. The deliverable matters more than being right.
- Staying consistent : Difficult team members test boundaries to see if you’ll hold the line. Hold it calmly, every time.

You can’t always change how someone behaves. But how you lead them often decides whether the project succeeds or suffers.

How have you dealt with a difficult team member? Looking forward to your views in the comments.

09/08/2026

“Tough managers taught me more than easy ones ever did.”

In the Army, you don’t get to choose your Commanding Officer (CO).You learn to read them, adapt, and still deliver in keeping with the stated mission.

This was the key learning I applied on transitioning into the corporate and with all humility at my behest I had a very successful and rewarding corporate professional trajectory. A few things I picked up along the way working with senior leadership across the globe:-

- Figure out what they’re accountable for. Most “difficult” managers are just under pressure you can’t see.
- Keep them in the loop always … regular communication is the key which slowly dissolves the barriers and removes friction
- Tough bosses feed on solutions and that’s what builds trust fast when you do.
- Cliche as it may sound; Don’t shoot the messenger”…. Focus on the message.

You won’t get to pick your manager. But how you show up under a tough one — that’s often what shapes your reputation the most and makes you relevant in the team.

Have you / are you dealing with a tough manager? I would be curious to know how you have / are dealing with it.

06/08/2026

“I’m doing everything right but still passed over for promotion / project which really mattered to me?”

Having spent close to 17 years in a global MNC in senior leadership positions leading team across APAC countries, I’ve seen many a high performers grapple with this situation. They are capable and ticking all the boxes and yet — the role, the recognition, the momentum — it’s just not landing.

As we move up the corporate ladder it’s not only about your knowledge,skills and abilities (KSA), but much more than that. It’s all about how you are positioning yourself in the organisation, and there’s a 360 degrees approach to success. It’s important to become aware of what’s making you stuck else you will miss out on the opportunities that were always there and it’s just that you didn’t know how to seize it.

There’s more to getting success than your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities !!!

If this speaks with you, I’ll be keen to know your thoughts and have a conversation.

28/07/2026

Tired on Monday morning... and it’s only Tuesday? That’s not laziness. That’s burnout.

Most corporate professionals are running on caffeine, deadlines, and “just one more email.” But deep down you feel stuck. In your work. In your health. In your relationships.

Here’s the truth: You can’t push your way out of burnout. You have to find the WHY behind it.

As someone who has spent considerable time in the corporate senior leadership positions, I know what and how this feels like. Now, as a Life Coach I help professionals create real work-life balance, break through growth barriers, and build harmony — without quitting their job.

If this sounds like you, DM me “BALANCE” and I’ll send you 3 questions to uncover what’s really keeping you stuck.

19/07/2026

17/07/2026

Are you a working professional struggling with a major career change decision?

Major career change decisions can get very overwhelming and fraught with risks. Many a times I’ve seen professionals getting swayed by a success story and conclude“if they made it, so can I.”Now here’s the reality check - such success stories maybe inspirational, but constitute a very small sample size of people who actually pulled it off than the number of people in that field overall.

It’s imperative that such decisions are not based on the possibility inspired by the success stories, but on a honest self appraisal of the realistic probability of success, based on your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA). That’s where the real OPPORTUNITY lives. Not in the story but in the odds.

Seize the opportunity first. Let the success stories inspire you after that, not before it.

16/07/2026

In the Army, we have a term called ‘The Commander’s Intent’. It simply means: don’t just give the order, explain the WHY behind it. That way, even when things change on ground, people still know how to act right — without being told exactly what to do.

Now cut to our personal life / at work/ at home :-
“I need quiet for an hour” is an order.
“I need quiet for an hour, coz I’m
carrying something heavy from work and don’t want to bring it into this room”. Now that’s conveying the ‘intent’.
Same request but different impact.

Try it today — with your partner, your kids, your team. Explain the WHY and not just the WHAT.

07/07/2026

Have you been delivering excellence in a room where no one is watching.?

The Army taught me that the difference between a soldier who rises and one who stagnates is rarely talent. It's almost always initiative. Initiative is not recklessness. It is calculated, deliberate action taken before permission is granted.

In corporate life, the equivalent is not self-promotion. It's self-positioning yourself in the rooms where decisions are made, before the decisions are made."

So if you find yourself stuck even though you are working and delivering, make sure you are visible too …. Position yourself accordingly….no one but you can do it!!!