Vik

Rethinking Data Warehouse Modeling With AI Assistance

A faster, more reliable way to design complex models using an AI coding assistant and warehouse-integrated validation. Data modeling can be a slow and tedious process. Teams interpret raw schemas, chase down logic across any existing dashboards and SQL files, write and refine transformations, test, debug, and repeat. It works, but most of the time is not spent on modeling. It is spent on mechanics. Lately I have experimented with a workflow that keeps modeling …

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Twenty Days in Chimbalhar

Time has a different texture in the mountains. It stretches, softens, and moves in quiet loops instead of straight lines. Tucked inside this gentler rhythm, a short drive from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, is a small village called Chimbalhar. It’s easy to miss on a map and even easier to underestimate until you arrive and feel the pace of life shift around you. Nothing rushes here. Nothing interrupts. You come thinking you’re simply staying for …

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The New Leader’s Playbook: Situational Do’s and Don’ts for a Successful Start

Starting a new leadership role is one of the most high-stakes transitions in any career. I’ve gone through it multiple times across very different organizations—fast-moving startups, operationally intense mid-market firms, and post-acquisition integrations. Each time, I was reminded that there’s no universal “first 90 days” checklist that works everywhere. You’re not just taking over responsibilities. You’re entering a live system with its own history, culture, relationships, and battle scars. The way you move early on …

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The Eureka Moment: When AI Pair Programming Actually Delivers

I recently wrote about how AI coding assistants are changing the build vs. buy equation, arguing that the traditional “buy first” approach is becoming outdated. But theory is one thing, practice is another. This week, I lived that theory. I completely rebuilt a production AI system with Claude Code in less than a week – and experienced what felt like the future of software development. This wasn’t just faster coding; it was a fundamentally different way …

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Why Overvaluing Industry Experience Limits Innovation in Data Leadership

A senior exec once asked me whether my experience with streaming vs. batch processing and customer data platforms “really translates” across industries. On the surface, it’s a fair question. But it reveals a hiring mindset that quietly constrains many companies: the belief that industry experience is the primary predictor of leadership success. The Illusion of Uniqueness Every leadership team thinks their industry is uniquely complex. Sometimes that’s true. Regulatory nuance in healthcare, trading rules in …

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