1. Build credibility before the “ask.”

I learnt this lesson when I served on the board of a nonprofit organization from 2019-26. The fundraising did not occur because of our institution’s pitch. It came from the people who had already heard about this institution from the beneficiaries (video testimony) and heard directly from donors whose dollars had made a difference.

If you are a new entrant, display your work ethic. Yes, you need to work tirelessly to hone your concept or product before it hits the marketplace.

I was able to raise funds not because I made a pitch, but because when I shared my Kenya visit experiences with my weekly online meditation group, it prompted a participant to open his checkbook and become a recurring donor.

2. Entrepreneurship is boring.

The fun ends with the concept/product stage. Decades of studying mergers and acquisitions taught me that deals do not fail because of bad ideas. They fail because nobody claims responsibility for the thankless work of integrating the strategy formulation stage with the implementation (pardon the business-speak). The habits of the founders and founding teams, two teams’ different cultures, the impact on personnel — these are unique to each situation.

The clichés are all useful here, because they’re clichés for a reason:

• Show up day after day.

• Do not give up. Failure is very common.

• Keep an eye on the budgeting and financing. Cash is always king.

• There are opportunities everywhere.

Our Gen Z board member/treasurer and Executive Director for the nonprofit were able to secure Covid-related funds during the rough years of the pandemic, when many nonprofits went under. We survived — and still survive and thrive today, when most of the US funding sources for international healthcare nonprofits have dried up.

3. If the naysayers are out in full force, ignore them.

I was one of the first women in sales at a Fortune 500 petroleum company in 1980s India. What got me through wasn’t confidence or a playbook; it was doing the foundation work — building relationships, learning about the local culture and the dialects, the ethical principles which grounded me, and my willingness to take risks.

If you are an outsider to your industry, by gender, age, background, geography, or socio-economic status, do not fret. Your hard work and determination will help you overcome all odds.

Mentors are around. Someone will guide you — without expecting anything back. Just like I was mentored throughout my career.

I was tasked with commissioning 14 LPG dealerships across Tamil Nadu, the Union Territory of Pondicherry, and three districts of Andhra Pradesh — a two-year mandate for our oil company’s first entry into these regions. Our Chief Regional Manager trusted me to pull it off. I did it in 10 months, between September 1985 and June 1986, before leaving for the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. To this day, it remains the most thrilling chapter of my career.

What was at stake:

· As one of the first women in this role, I had to prove that women could excel at any job.

· Traveling alone through rural and urban India in the mid-1980s, wasn’t easy for a woman. Every dealership meant picking the right land, passing safety inspections, securing government approvals, and coordinating contractors in three regions, with three sets of customs and languages.

· No compromises on maintaining ethical conduct, in a business environment where corruption was often the norm.

This assignment was thrilling because no two LPG dealerships that I commissioned were the same. Besides the cyclone incident, there were other memorable incidents.

First was uncovering a dealer’s illicit liquor operation during a surprise visit to his site in a temple city in Tamil Nadu. The dealer was running this illegal business on the land meant for the LPG plant. I reported it — my Chief Regional Manager suspended his supplies immediately. The following week, the dealer from the next town made a frantic trip to the HQ office, to alert me to the danger I had exposed myself to because of my visit. Since the HQ where I was stationed was more than 500 kms away, I dismissed it as an idle threat.

A second interesting incident occurred during my visit to a port city in Tamil Nadu where the dealer, having learned of my love for sea animals, offered a “stuffed sea horse specimen” to me from the local museum, which of course horrified me and which I flatly refused. It was wrong on multiple dimensions- ethically, morally and legally.

On a third trip, I had a rare opportunity to see all three Sankaracharya at the Kancheepuram Matt, the spiritual heads of the Kanchi Mutt, one of Hinduism’s oldest monastic institutions. Although I am secular, I belong to the Hindu faith, and my family members were ardent devotees of the Kanchi mutt. They were thrilled that I got the darshan without making any special efforts.

From that early career experience I would like to share a few lessons for young professionals today.

First, we need to be patient and have a strong work ethic.

Second, we should never compromise on integrity. This is the one leadership trait that remains in our colleagues’ and clients’ memory long after we leave the job.

Finally, a career path will be very stormy at times, figuratively and sometimes, literally. We need to stand firm and maintain our composure and momentum.

I wonder if the work environments have become any more favorable for women who step into the workforce today.

As a recently retired University Professor, I am spending my time in chronicling the events from my four decades’ long career spanning multiple industries and multiple continents. I have three lessons for today’s young professionals:

· Seize the opportunity. When an opportunity strikes, take it and build a skill set that will last a lifetime.

· Learn the local language. Communicating with your employees or clients in their language will help you build a great rapport.

· Defy the status quo and create dents in the structural barriers. The next set of professionals will thank you and will continue the march toward equality and justice.

Here is the complete article:

After the first hurdle- participating with 56 men (and as the only female) in a new hires corporate training program in an unfriendly environment and the second hurdle- enduring 10 months of professional limbo in New Delhi because my boss refused to honor my job assignment contract - with his “no girls in my office” stance, the tide finally turned.

In March 1984, I was transferred to the Chennai office (Madras). A field position (retail) had just opened, and the Chief Regional Manager of the Madras region was about to issue my appointment letter for that position. Into his office, walked the “fathers” (middle-aged male employees) who tried to dissuade him, reminding him that “Retail / Field position” was a dirty job for a young woman. In that era the oil companies resisted appointing female “Sales Officers” because the job involved long distance travel to highway and rural petrol stations, auditing fuel tanks, and managing the exclusively male dealer and transport contractors’ network. Additionally, India’s infrastructure was a logistical nightmare for women in 1984.

The Chief Regional Manager remarked that “if a woman can run the country a woman can surely manage an entry level sales officer position.” Mrs. Indira Gandhi was India’s Prime minister at that time.

And so began one of the most exciting chapters of my career. For the first few months I handled Madras City- Central area, and travel was limited to the city. I struck a good rapport with the gas station and kerosene dealers and their assistants, and the employees of the few corporate accounts that came under my region. My fluency in Tamil (the State language) also helped. After a few months, Madras South and the surrounding towns were also handed over to me temporarily. I traveled by auto rickshaws and on foot for city travel, and by taxi (for long distance) since driving in India even at that time was no mean feat. These modes of transportation helped me increase my familiarity with the local culture.

That assignment lasted for a year and a half and remains the most memorable phase of my career.

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My decision to retire in 2026 was well timed. I was content with my four decades long career trajectory. Financially well-prepared, and physically and mentally in excellent health, I was ready for my well-deserved break after all major responsibilities had ceased.

The first 50 days- Honeymoon phase: After I signed off on my last class in 2025 December, I entered a semester long sabbatical in Spring 2026 which also served as the official bridge in the 150-day transition. My main task was only to wrap up my report on my nonprofit activity. I had spare time to pursue, “doing nothing”, my dream. The bitter January month was characterized by long leisurely walks, watching the geese by the frozen pond, exchanging pleasantries with the neighbors who were out on a stroll with their pets, and returning home to brew exotic tea infused with ginger and cardamon. After fixing a nutritious vegetarian lunch, I would sit down to binge watch Korean dramas. Early evening was a repeat of the morning activities, and late evenings were spent chatting with friends who were also close to retirement. Soon I was promoting retirement and its joys to one and all.

51- 100^th days- The Crash: A restlessness had crept into my psyche by day 50. The activities that I had enjoyed earlier- the slow walking, the appreciation for nature, and exchanges with friends and neighbors did not interest me anymore. Obsessive late-night scrolling through health and nutrition videos revived my anxieties and insomnia. The anxieties continued to escalate over the weeks. I had no major hobbies that I could continue to pursue and was not interested in cultivating any new ones that my friends recommended. Also, I was not interested in taking up a new job in any discipline. As the anxiety began to manifest physically, my family stepped in forcing me to confront the issues.

101- 150^th: Back to the drawing board: I used AI to understand where my true passion lay. The answer was no surprise. Writing was my true passion, followed by pro-bono public speaking on strategy, global business, leadership, entrepreneurship, mindfulness and public policy.

I rummaged the drawers for my son’s old notebooks that he had used only sparingly. Soon I was filling up the walls with post-it notes to brainstorm. I started documenting the interesting incidents from my decades’ long career across multiple industries and continents.

Mornings: The appetizer. I dedicated this time to write Haiku (getting my first poem published led to a book collaboration with my nephew as illustrator). We plan to gift this book to family and close friends.

Late evenings: The main course. I posted career narratives- the hits, the misses, the slights from the bosses, and the opportunities, on LinkedIn, which quickly gained traction. I then learned of Substack and its reader profile impressed me greatly!

Health and Wellness: The reset. After I was given a clean bill of health from my doctors, I focused on strengthening my mental health. I became more consistent in my wellness practices that included gentle yoga, breathing, qigong, slow solitary walks and therapy. Engaging in spiritual activities also improved my mood and alleviated my anxieties. I maintain good relationships with family and friends and have learned to become less judgmental.

Three Lessons for Navigating Retirement

1. Every individual is unique.

I learned that the set of activities to pursue in my retirement is unique to me. It is wise to tune out the friendly suggestions of my well-wishers, and to listen to my inner voice.

2. Structure is important – only to a degree.

I realized that a baseline schedule is important but that there is no reason to fill up my every hour or set of hours with hobbies or activities just to kill time. Time spent on reflection is a big plus.

3. Have an action plan before retirement!

I realized only later that months before I retired, I should have planned for alternative intellectual activities- writing, mentorship, or structured creating.

I AM A WORK IN PROCESS.

Three lessons for young professionals:

1. Adapt to the situation and learn new skills. No skill goes wasted.
2. Do not quit on an impulse. When a workplace turns frustrating or unfair, continue to collect your paycheck while you professionally plan your next move.
3. Equality exists only on paper—even in the most developed nations. Please build on the momentum generated by your predecessors who paved the way for your success.

My father had been confident that my cohort would include other women. It didn’t. Having already been the only female in my college classes during my major—an experience that had seriously eroded my self-confidence—I felt a mix of anger and deep disappointment. I spent the next two months in near-silence, occasionally exchanging a few words only with the few male trainees who condescended to speak to me. At the time, attitudes toward women in corporate management in India were strict and hostile.

During our public speaking module, I took third place. I chose a topic that concerned and disturbed me deeply. Unfortunately, it made all fifty-six men and the three male judges squirm in embarrassment: the issue was the evil practice of female feticide, which was prevalent in India at the time. During the break, a couple of the trainees accused me of speaking about a topic which was taboo in India. I spoke my truth anyway.

Looking back, I have three lessons for today’s Gen Z professionals entering modern workplaces:

· It is OK to be the outlier. Just be yourself; your unique perspective is your strength.

· Build nerves of steel. The workplace will surprise, challenge, and sometimes shock you. Learn to adjust and adapt.

· Anchor to your values. Be firm in what you believe so long as it does not cause harm to others. If a topic needs to be spoken aloud, speak it.

Epilogue: Decades later, it was only fitting that this very same company appointed a woman as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. I am proud that more than four decades ago, I had the chance to make a vital crack in a seemingly unbreakable glass ceiling.