The everyday heroes

Courage is not the preserve of heroes alone, but the discipline of ordinary people willing to act with conviction

- SRINATH SRIDHARAN

COURAGE IS A word we use with restraint, almost as though it belongs only to the pages of history or to the actions of legends. We invoke it when we think of soldiers who gave their lives in battle, reformers who defied empires, or whistleblowers who stood alone against towering institutions.

The very act of speaking the word distances it from our own lives, placing it somewhere far above the ordinary routines of our days.

Yet in his new book, How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage, Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati dismantles this reverence. Courage, he reminds us, is instead, a daily practice, an art that can be cultivated and strengthened, a discipline to which each of us can commit.

Can courage be learned, or is it the preserve of a chosen few? Gulati argues persuasively that boldness is not an accident of temperament but a discipline that can be built with intent. Drawing on history, psychology and lived experiences, he offers a framework that traces how individuals and institutions alike can nurture courage as a renewable resource.

For individuals, it is the work of coping with uncertainty, building confidence, committing to purpose, forging connections, finding meaning amid chaos and learning the stillness of calm. For organisations, it is about creating cultures that reward honesty and loyalty, about leaders whose charisma inspires rather than dominates, and about shared values that make collective boldness possible.