Nilesh Makan

A change of plan

In an unpredictable and uncertain world, plans often need to change. As of writing this: Two years ago, we were all locked down in our homes, adjusting to working remotely and not being able to see our family and friends. Two months ago, Russia had not yet invaded Ukraine. Two weeks ago, Will Smith wasContinue reading “A change of plan”

Are you contagious?

Are you contagious? I’m sure you’ve already guessed; I’m not talking about you bearing contagion by transmitting infections. Instead, I use the word in the sense of whether you excite a feeling, emotion or attitude in others. When I’m around contagious people, I want to hear what they say. Contagious people lift me up, energiseContinue reading “Are you contagious?”

Alright Stop, Collaborate and Listen

Vanilla ice was ahead of the curve when coming up with the lyrics of Ice Ice Baby. The lyrics in the following line of the song are: “Ice is back with my brand new invention”. While there are differences between them, invention, innovation and creativity are part of the same WhatsApp group, and all ofContinue reading “Alright Stop, Collaborate and Listen”

Strategic Agility – Strategy in the era of disruption

While the world has been changing at an exponential pace over the last decade, it doesn’t compare with the seismic shifts that have transformed our lives over the past year or so. With the advent of Covid, we have moved into a discontinuous and digital world, impacting society as a whole. As parts of theContinue reading “Strategic Agility – Strategy in the era of disruption”

Trying to find a little optimism is a sea of despair

This week has been one of the darkest in South Africa’s young democracy. The scenes of looting, destruction and violence are heart-wrenching. The complete disregard for other people’s property, belongings and livelihoods is unbearable to watch. High levels of youth unemployment, hunger, growing inequality and the lack of opportunities have been a ticking time-bomb. ExacerbatedContinue reading “Trying to find a little optimism is a sea of despair”

Increasing our Depth of Field

In photography, the Depth of Field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects that are in sharp focus of an image. To clarify, this means that when you see a photograph where the subject is in focus with the rest of the image blurred out, there is a very narrow depth of field.Continue reading “Increasing our Depth of Field”

The great digital divide

When the pandemic first hit in March 2020, there was this joke doing the rounds on social media. It went something like this: Who is leading Digital Transformation in your business: The Chief Executive Officer? the Chief Digital Officer? Covid19? Covid19 amplified the speed at which companies adopted digital technologies with the promise of hugeContinue reading “The great digital divide”

Resilience in a world without rules

Fluidity is defined as the state of being unsettled or unstable. In other words, to have a sense of changeability. Bruce Lee epitomised fluidity and practiced this ability to be in a constant state of flow which is a state of intense focus. Being focused is also knowing how to adapt and respond as necessary.Continue reading “Resilience in a world without rules”

Pivotal

As fireworks lit up the night sky on the 31 December 2019, as we hugged loved ones, families and friends, as the sound of joy and happiness rang through the streets, we ushered in 2020. There was so much hope and optimism for what the new year was to bring. My personal new year’s socialContinue reading “Pivotal”

Adapting vs Defining

At the University of California at Irvine, instead of assuming the best direction students would take to get to their classes, they just planted grass… They then waited a year, looked at where people had made the paths in the grass and paved the walkways there. This is a fantastic example of feedback loops thatContinue reading “Adapting vs Defining”