Mahtab Uddin Ahmed

A golden goose had once started laying solid gold eggs in the whimsical land of Bangladesh. But alas, the taxman slapped a tax on it that turned its feathers grey.

Once a little boy wanted to have his own cricket bat. But he did not have any money to buy it.

Bangalees are well known for their unparalleled gift of gab. Our love for chatting is unique and deeply rooted in our culture. Whether it is at the corner shop or continuing in marathon phone calls that defy the laws of time and data plans, we Bangalees are the true pioneers of telephonic verbos

Imagine waking up from a nightmare where your boss decides to be with his teammates 24/7 for a month to strengthen team spirit. The relief of waking up is tantamount to winning a lottery!

In a small village, there was a debate over who should make decisions at home. A contest was held where a man and a wise old grandmother would catch a rabbit without any tools.

In a forest, a crow encounters a swan and begins to feel inferior due to the swan's white feathers, presuming the swan must be the happiest bird. The swan, on the other hand, envies the parrot for its two colours, believing it to be happier.

Life without a phone and internet is unthinkable in the present world. About a year ago, I wrote about traditional telecom industries facing significant threats from LEO (low earth orbit) satellites, and it is increasingly coming to light with each passing day.

At a multinational company, a new group CEO with a bureaucratic background, who had little knowledge of the industry, was appointed. From his high seat, the big boss decided to cover up his lack of knowledge by flexing his powers.

In an amusing incident highlighting the generation gap in technology use, a grandmother new to internet was being taught how to use search engines by her grandson. Believing in the importance of politeness, she wrote a stack of thank you notes for internet, grateful for its answers to her questions.

It is often believed that a dual-brand strategy is perfect for companies that want to confuse their customers twice as much! Many criticise the proposition of two brands sarcastically as “why limit your market failure to just one brand when you can fail with two?” Or “one brand just isn’t enough to hide all your mistakes.” Such views are particularly common when your lone brand is not performing well.

As a sequel to my column last week, I can’t emphasise enough the importance of focusing on a smaller catch with an eye on a bigger target as an effective strategy for turning around a business

The balance sheet says it is a "crisis", bankers and shareholders say "no fund", but some motivational speaker insists it's all "part of the journey". The journey to what, exactly? A suicide note, a resignation letter, or a bonus cheque?.

Nepotism in any industry has also been linked to mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and suicide

There are great bosses and HR colleagues, but how often do we talk about them

I had a very interesting experience recently being a part of a podcast on “The Generation Gap"

Such behaviour is called the “I know it all” syndrome

Brain drains occur only when a country fails to offer living conditions that are not at par with others

Often, we end up choosing a partner who does not quite match what dreams are made of. It leaves little to the imagination how catastrophic it can be if this realisation dawns after tying the knot! Well, choosing a partner is all about trial and error that does not come with a user manual. But mercifully, most of us are resigned to accepting our fate just as we do when a natural disaster strikes!

Fed up being obese, Shrek decides to lose weight. He switches to a healthy diet and works out every day, feeling amazed at how well he adapted to his new lifestyle.

The cherry on top is not always as delicious as it beckons you to believe. Those who look up to their leaders as infallible are often too soon disillusioned by their fallacies, double standard and hypocrisy being the most common of them.