Nested in a Nagpur duplex with the affectionate Mrs. Anand upstairs, I was the spirited middle child. While playing cricket, my friend hit a ball that smashed the window of our scientist neighbour. As friends scattered, I stayed, summoned the courage, rang his bell and sought my ball back assuming I was not to blame.

My father’s early death was a defining moment in my life and for my family. My mother sat us down and laid out the challenges ahead and the exciting opportunities that await us. When she was done explaining, she asked, “So, what do you intend to do now?”. While all the three of us children were still in school, that question turned out to be one of my life’s biggest lessons.

By 1995, my first startup Comnet was ready to take off. That is when I made four big mistakes.

It was 1993 when I did my first startup, Comnet. One question was important for me to answer before we started. What kind of leader do I wish to be and what kind of collaborators would make Comnet different to organisations around us.

I answered it with the help of the grid you see below. I believed managers are four kinds:

I have always wondered if we all are in a maze.

First few years I was running in this maze behind leaders with the assumption that they knew where they were going, only to be disappointed.

I next believed in the wisdom of the crowd and ran with the crowd because that made me feel safe and secure. Once again I felt I was going nowhere in that rat race.