Growing in product management craft takes a lot of work. I am exploring an experiment to collectively improve the craft. 🧵

In all, living in Australia has been fun. I would highly recommend it.

In India, it's almost guaranteed that a visit from a handyman will need a follow-up. The "good-enough" solutions come with an expiry.

I learnt this first-hand when I called a handyman (tradie in Aussie lingo) to our apartment. We called a plumber to fix a water leakage. He came and fixed the leak in 10 minutes. He was extremely thorough in fixing and also gave us instructions on how to avoid future leaks.

5. Excellence Indians are resourceful and are great at coming up with "good enough" solutions to problems, when it looks impossible. Australian (like other developed countries) are able to take things to the next level. This is evident in smallest of interactions.

In these runs I’ve been overtaken by 70+ year-old grandpas & grandmas, 10-year-old kids, mothers pushing prams, and even a guy in a mascot suit . These people has inspired me to do better. I started the year with a 5k finish in 40 mins. I finished with a 10K in 58 min.

Sydney, like many global cities, hosts Parkruns—community events where people gather in their local parks to run 5k every Saturday morning. About 8,000 regular participants join these runs weekly in Sydney. I ran ~10 times in 2024, and I have been humbled every single time.

But in my opinion, the bigger difference is cultural. People in Australia hold a high bar for fitness. Age is no constraint. In Sydney, you will find someone running on the streets, no matter what time of the day it is - 5 AM, 2 PM, 11 PM. I've been peer pressured to get fit.

4. Fitness On the infrastructure side, there is an obvious gap between India and Australia. In India, the lack of basic public infrastructure—parks, pavements, and open spaces—makes it harder to embrace a fitness-oriented lifestyle. That's not the case in Australia.

This video is my favourite Aussie video and sums up everything you need to know about their politics https://t.co/bVNBc6WyQJ

3. Politics Unlike India, Aussies have zero reverence for their politicians. Every day Aussies hold their local governments accountable and it's refreshing to see the government respond. Local and federal representatives are part of FB groups and people ask tough questions!

Every time I found something expensive in Australia, it always had to do with cost of human service. It reminded me that in India "convenience" rides on the back of "exploitation". It is sad that a majority of Indians still have to struggle so hard to make their ends meet.

2. Status games Living in Australia has made me acutely aware of the “many Indias” we live in. In India, every interaction subtly signals power hierarchy. Aussie interactions are simpler. Everyone treats each other as equals no matter their profession or economic situation

I often find myself in endless loops of small talk in 🇦🇺: "How was your weekend?" (on Mon, Tue). "What are you doing next weekend?" (on Thur, Fri). "The weather sucks" (on all days). There is a clear loneliness epidemic in Australia and I can see why.

I have struggles to adapt to the 🇦🇺 culture that leans more towards the individualistic side of the collectivistic-individualistic spectrum. In Australia, personal boundaries are sacrosanct, and folks have aversion to expressing vulnerability or emotions.

1. Friendships Aussies are incredibly friendly people, but forming deeper friendships with them can be challenging. There’s a saying I recently heard: “In Australia, everyone is your mate, but no one is your friend.”

After over a year in Australia 🇦🇺, I’ve been reflecting on the fundamental differences between life here and in India. For me, a few things stood out as major differences across the two - friendships, status games, public accountability, fitness and excellence.

I don't tweet often, but I wanted this link to be out there somewhere on my my online presence. Beautifully written. It says America but it's apt across the world. "It’s Mourning in America" https://t.co/eX7ox487Uy

There's an upcoming panel event with start-up founders talking about mental health and well-being. As a therapist and someone who has worked with clients from start-ups, I have some concerns (1/n)

People terribly overestimate how far raw intelligence takes you in the corporate world.

People often say it’s a good idea to work across different kinds of organisations. And it makes sense as one gets to learn differently. From other people (talent density) Or By taking more decisions (agility)