In the early years of my leadership career, an event that often left me in a state of trepidation was the annual promotion cycle. It was not the mechanics of the review process or the substance of the discussions themselves that gave rise to such anxiety. It was the dispirited office atmosphere that inevitably followed […]
Coping with and managing the agony and ecstasy of annual promotions Read More »
President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake presents the 2026 Budget in Parliament on 7 November Cheers and jeers welcomed Sri Lanka’s National Budget 2026. This is normal when the country’s ends are many, but the means are limited. Budget promulgations based on important and urgent priorities, as seen by drivers of national policy, will
The National Budget is IMF influenced, so what? Do we have a choice? Read More »
Delegation crumbles when the leader perpetually doubts the subordinate’s competence or commitment Leading without trust is like building on quicksand. The unsound foundation makes it unstable and unreliable. In December 2025, I complete 53 years in a corporate career ranging from an accounts clerk at Lever Brothers (Ceylon) Ltd. in 1972, the post I am
Leading without trust is akin to building on quicksand Read More »
The Sri Lankan National Budget for 2026 is poised to be a pivotal document, arriving at a critical juncture in the nation’s economic recovery and reform agenda Sri Lanka’s National Budget will be unveiled on 7 November 2025, and I hope it will be significantly different from the predictable rhetoric and theatrics we have heard
Benchmarking National Budget 2026 and making theatrics of cheerleaders superfluous Read More »
The varied public response to recent incidents ranging from the arrest of Ranil Wickremesinghe, former president and prominent politician of Sri Lanka to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, American right-wing political activist, evidence that our assessment of, and response to, events are primarily based on our like or dislike of the individual, or individuals, involved
Confirmation bias: Silently destroying meritocracy, objectivity and fairness Read More »
While the profit motive is a necessary component of a functional economic system, its overemphasis poses a grave threat to the concept of professionalism. Despite the general acceptance of a ‘stakeholder model’ of governance replete with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) thinking, the
Nobility of professions is being traded for silver and gold Read More »
The ‘RW incident’ highlights the urgent and critical need for Sri Lanka’s leaders to align their actions with the economic reality of the country and the lived experience of its citizens The hullabaloo over whether Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) misused public funds when he extended his official trip to Cuba and the United States of America
In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, high-performance teams, being those elite units that consistently exceed expectations, are an elusive rarity. What fuels their relentless drive for excellence has been a subject of much discussion. We have been made to believe that there is a mysterious intangible which separates a great team from a good team and that
Building high-performing teams: Converting mystery into reality Read More »
The Trump tariff is the long overdue shock which Sri Lanka badly needed to awaken it from its reverie It is our indecisiveness, indiscipline and inaction which have got us to where we are in the first place and it is never too late to start a new journey where Sri Lanka is largely in
Trump tariff: Jolt to Sri Lanka’s dependence voracity and innate complacency Read More »
“When a leader arrives on time for a meeting, an appointment, or even a casual conversation, they communicate, without uttering a single word, that they value the time of those waiting“ Sri Lanka’s national leaders are notorious for not keeping to time. While individual politicians may vary in their adherence to schedules, the overall perception
