#LeadershipLessons | Bhavin Gandhi's Blog

The Pilot Pen, Revisited: Why Context Matters in Leadership

A while back, I shared a story about how my sister and I, as teenagers living in a small slum in Mumbai, saved for weeks to buy a Pilot Pen. That pen taught us our first lessons of leadership in goal setting, perseverance, and shared purpose.

Today, I want to tell you what happened thirty years later.

By this time, life looked very different. I was living in the US, and my sister had built a good life for herself and her family. During one of my trips to India, while shopping for gifts, I came across a pack of Pilot Pens, ten of them, neatly arranged in a box.

It instantly brought back a flood of memories from those long nights at the factory, the excitement of saving every rupee to the day we finally held that shiny pen in our hands. It felt symbolic. So, I bought the pack, thinking it would be a meaningful gift for my nephew, something that would connect him to our story and maybe inspire him the way it once inspired us.

A few years later, I was visiting India again. While working on some paperwork at my sister’s house, I asked my nephew to bring me one of those pens. He looked at me for a second and said casually, “I lost them.”

All of them.

I won’t lie, I was angry. For me, those pens carried decades of meaning. They weren’t just pens. They represented struggle, resilience, and pride. Losing all of them felt careless, almost disrespectful.

Later that evening, I talked to my sister about it. She listened quietly and then asked a few questions that completely shifted my perspective.

She said, “Did you ever tell him why you bought those pens? Did you explain what they meant to you, or what they symbolized? Did you share the story behind them? Or did you just assume he would feel what you felt? And one more thing: did you buy those pens for him or for yourself?”

Those questions hit me hard.

The truth was, I hadn’t given him any context. To me, the Pilot Pen was a symbol of hard work and aspiration. To him, it was just… a pack of pens. Something he could easily replace.

That moment reminded me of an important leadership truth – meaning is not automatically transferred; it must be communicated.

Just like my nephew couldn’t appreciate the story behind those pens without context, people on our teams can’t fully connect to a goal or a vision unless we help them understand why it matters.

Here is what I took away from that experience:

Context builds connection. If you want people to care, help them see the meaning behind the mission.
Empathy matters. Not everyone’s journey is the same. What feels sacred to you might feel ordinary to someone else.
Clarity beats assumption. Expectations left unspoken often lead to disappointment.
Purpose should serve others, not just yourself. Leadership isn’t about reliving your story through others; it’s about helping them write their own.

That day, I learned that leadership doesn’t stop at setting goals or achieving success. It’s about storytelling, giving meaning, sharing purpose, and helping others understand the why behind the what.

And just like that, the same Pilot Pen that once taught me the power of ambition, taught me again – this time, the power of context.

The Pilot Pen That Taught Me Leadership

10 Oct

I still remember this moment like it happened yesterday. I was around 14 years old, living with my family in a small slum in Mumbai. It was the early 90s when India was changing fast, and new things were starting to show up in the markets due to the new globalization initiative.

One of those things was the Pilot Pen.

It had this sleek body, a fine 0.5mm tip, and it wrote so smoothly. It looked elegant, almost magical, especially compared to the leaky, rough pens we used in school. When my friends started showing up with their Pilot Pens, I wanted one so badly.

That night, I told my sister about it. We talked about how cool it looked, how we both wanted it. But there was one small problem: it cost 50 rupees.

Back then, 50 rupees was not a small number for our family. My parents were working incredibly hard just to make ends meet, to put food on the table and keep us in school. Spending that much money on a pen simply wasn’t an option.

But instead of giving up, my sister and I made a plan.

At that time, both of us worked part-time at a small box factory after school. We used to go there from 6 to 9 every evening and earned about 20 rupees for every 1,000 boxes we made. That money helped us pay for books and uniforms.

So we decided to stretch a little. We agreed to make 10–20 extra boxes each day. That would help us save enough money in a month or two to buy that Pilot Pen.

It sounded simple, but it wasn’t easy.

After long days at school, we would push ourselves to stay a little longer at the factory. Our hands would ache, and our eyes would burn, but every evening before going in, we would stop at the shop and look at that pen. Seeing that pen gave us energy. It became our north star.

We would count our extra earnings every night, imagining the day we would finally have that pen in our hands.

And eventually, that day came.

At the end of the second month, we finally had 50 rupees saved. We ran to the shop, bought that Pilot Pen, and walked back home with the biggest smiles you can imagine.

But the joy wasn’t just about owning the pen. It was about something bigger.

That was the first time in my life I experienced the power of setting a goal, creating a plan, and sticking with it, even when it was uncomfortable.

That little pen taught me the fundamentals of leadership long before I knew what the word meant:

Vision matters. It gives direction and meaning to effort.
Discipline beats circumstance. You don’t need perfect conditions to achieve something, just consistency.
Shared purpose builds energy. My sister and I kept each other motivated. Leadership often means creating that shared belief.
Celebrate small wins. They build the confidence to take on bigger goals.

That Pilot Pen wasn’t just a pen. It was my first real lesson in dreaming, planning, and doing, the same cycle that still drives me today as a leader.

Sometimes, the most profound leadership lessons don’t come from boardrooms or books. They come from the small victories that shape who we become.

1 Comment

Posted by Bhavin Gandhi on October 10, 2025 in 21st Century, Leadership

Tags: #Discipline, #DreamBig, #GoalSetting, #HardWorkPaysOff, #HumbleBeginnings, #Inspiration, #LeadershipLessons, #LifeLessons, #Motivation, #MumbaiMemories, #PersonalGrowth, #Resilience, #SiblingGoals, #SuccessMindset

Demonstrating Leadership When Quitting: A Lesson from President Joe Biden

23 Jul

Recently, President Joe Biden announced via social media post that he won’t be running for re-election. Regardless of your opinion about him or his policies, this decision has sparked quite a bit of discussion. While stepping down now might give the Democratic Party a better shot against Donald Trump, the way the announcement was made left some people feeling uncertain. Given his previous strong stance on running for a second term, the timing and method of the message seemed weaker.

How you leave a role is just as important as how you perform in it. Here are some friendly tips on demonstrating leadership when you’re quitting your job, ensuring you leave a lasting impression of strength and integrity.

Communicate Directly and Personally: When you’re stepping down, it’s important to communicate your decision directly to your team and stakeholders. If possible, try to deliver the message in person or through a conference call to show respect and appreciation for your team. Avoid relying solely on social media or impersonal announcements via email or Slack, as they can seem detached. For example, instead of a sudden social media post, Biden could have held a press conference or addressed the nation through news media. This would have allowed him to explain his decision more thoroughly and connect with his constituents on a personal level.

Provide a Clear Reason: Being transparent about why you’re stepping down is crucial. Whether it’s for personal reasons, new opportunities, or the greater good of the organization, clarity helps reduce uncertainty and speculation. A lot of people depend on your leadership, so providing closure is essential. Often leaders don’t have that opportunity, while they are laid off or fired, but if you get that opportunity then you should never let it go. Biden’s decision to step down to give the Democratic Party a stronger chance is valid, but elaborating on this reason in a detailed, heartfelt speech would have projected more strength.

Express Gratitude and Acknowledge Contributions: Even though Biden’s team did a good job highlighting their accomplishments in the social media post, they missed the chance to express gratitude to his team and acknowledge their contributions. I am confident that his hard working campaign team might have wanted more from him rather than just a social media post. Thus, if you get an opportunity to thank your team before leaving your job, then you should always take that opportunity. This would boost morale and reinforce your leadership. It’s important to thank your team for their hard work and recognize their efforts.

Ensure a Smooth Transition: A strong leader prepares for a smooth transition. While Biden is likely working with the Democratic Party on this, providing guidance on what is next or who will take over his responsibilities and outlining his role in the transition period during the announcement would have been helpful. This would have shown that he cares about the government’s continuity and success of his party even after his departure. Mentioning the next steps for the Democratic Party and how he plans to support the new candidate would have demonstrated foresight and responsibility.

Maintain a Positive Outlook: Maintaining a positive outlook about the future is very important in these kinds of situations. This is your chance to encourage your team to keep striving for excellence and express confidence in their abilities. Biden could have used his announcement to rally his supporters around the new candidate, focusing on the collective goal and future victories instead of just his departure. Even though he later on endorsed Kamala Harris, logistics of the communication could have been optimized here.

I understand that this must have been a very difficult decision for President Biden, given his determination to run for another term. Quitting a job is never easy, especially for leaders. How you handle your departure can significantly impact your legacy and the organization’s future. So, my advice is to communicate directly and personally with your team, provide clear reasons, express gratitude, ensure a smooth transition, and maintain a positive outlook. By doing these things, you can demonstrate true leadership even as you step down.

I hope this blog provides you with some useful insights on handling such situations in the future. Remember, it’s important to approach these decisions with care and strategic thought.

Thanks – Bhavin

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