Doing Great Work Isn’t Enough: Why Alignment, Visibility, and Sponsorship Matter

July 11, 2025July 11, 2025 by Vik

You’re grinding. You’re pushing through. You’re delivering. But is anyone noticing? In corporate world, execution and independence are table stakes. But real impact, and real career growth, come from something more: alignment, visibility, and sponsorship. Pushing Through Is Necessary, But Not Sufficient As I wrote in Pushing Through, the ability to keep going through ambiguity and resistance is critical. It builds resilience. It earns trust. But grit alone doesn’t guarantee your work will land. You might deliver a technically …

Structuring Data and Analytics Teams for Impact

July 3, 2025July 4, 2025 by Vik

As more companies invest heavily in data as they grow, the question of how to structure the data and analytics function becomes increasingly important. It is not just about reporting lines or team charters. Structure influences how effectively data is used, how talent is retained, and how aligned the team is to business priorities. In my experience, I have seen a range of models in action: centralized teams, embedded analysts, and hub-and-spoke hybrids. I have …

The Lone Wolf: Misunderstood or Misaligned?

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 by Vik

In today’s business culture, collaboration is treated as the gold standard. We idolize team players, prioritize consensus, and treat solo work as a red flag. But that perspective isn’t always right. Not every meaningful contribution comes from group efforts. Some of the most important breakthroughs, elegant systems, and high-leverage solutions come from individuals working alone, without distraction. These “Lone wolves” aren’t anti-collaborative, they are just built differently. And when you learn to recognize and support …

Stop Automating Broken Processes

June 20, 2025June 20, 2025 by Vik

One of the biggest mistakes I see in digital projects? Teams rushing to automate business processes without first asking whether those processes make any sense to begin with. Just because something exists doesn’t mean it’s worth preserving. If a process is slow, unclear, or stitched together with manual workarounds, automating it won’t solve the problem — it’ll lock it in. You’ll make the mess go faster, not better. A Real Example In a former company, …

What Jiro Dreams of Sushi Teaches Us About Leadership, Craft, and High-Performing Teams

June 13, 2025June 13, 2025 by Vik

If The Bear revealed the raw energy and emotional complexity of teamwork under fire, Jiro Dreams of Sushi presents a quieter but no less powerful portrait of leadership. Jiro Ono’s Tokyo-based sushi restaurant, run with monastic precision, stands as one of the most revered kitchens in the world — and also one of the most instructive case studies for corporate leaders. In Jiro’s world, there are no performance reviews, OKRs, or corporate retreats. Yet his team consistently delivers at …

Leading Analytics Without Losing the Plot

June 6, 2025June 6, 2025 by Vik

In today’s data-saturated world, analytics leaders are under constant pressure to deliver more. More dashboards. More tools. More data. And yet, despite all that output, many teams struggle to drive outcomes that matter. Somewhere along the way, they lose the plot. This post is about staying grounded. It’s about leading analytics with clarity, avoiding common traps, and making sure your efforts connect back to what truly matters: progress, not just process. The Story Is the …

Throwing the Baby Out with the Bathwater? Maybe You Should.

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Vik

We’ve all heard it: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In business, this phrase is often deployed as a caution against overcorrection. It urges us to preserve the core while cleaning up the mess around it. Fair enough, except when the core itself is the problem. The phrase assumes there’s a precious “baby” worth saving. But what if there isn’t? Or what if the effort to preserve it is what’s anchoring your organization to outdated …

10 Things Cobra Kai Teaches Us About Leadership and Focus

May 23, 2025May 23, 2025 by Vik

Leadership lessons don’t always come from boardrooms or business books. Sometimes, they strike hardest from an unexpected place—like a karate dojo. Cobra Kai, the modern continuation of The Karate Kid saga, is packed with drama, action, and yes, deeply relevant insights on leadership and focus. Just as The Bear showed us what kitchen chaos reveals about team dynamics, Cobra Kai brings clarity on how leaders rise, fall, and evolve under pressure. Here are ten principles every leader can take from the mat …

Data Contracts: Hype, Reality, and Practical Value

May 16, 2025May 16, 2025 by Vik

Over the past few years, data contracts have surged in popularity—touted as the missing link between data producers and consumers. Yet as with most trends in data architecture, hype often outpaces practical value. Let’s break down where data contracts truly shine, where they fall short, and how to think about them in the broader context of building scalable, trustworthy data platforms—and enabling effective data governance at scale. What Are Data Contracts, Really? At their core, data contracts …

AI Is More Than Just Generative: A Strategic Primer for Executives

May 29, 2025May 9, 2025 by Vik

AI is dominating headlines, boardroom agendas, and vendor pitches. But most of the attention is focused on generative AI — tools like ChatGPT that can create text, summarize documents, or even write code. These tools are impressive. But they’re just one part of a much broader AI landscape. For years, companies have used AI to forecast demand, detect fraud, personalize marketing, and reduce churn. These traditional AI applications may not trend on social media, but …

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