Finding stories in everyday adventures
Vik 
We’ve all been there. An organization is stuck in legacy, processes are inefficient, and it takes an army of people to get things don. The solution? Buy a tool. And not just any tool — a SaaS product with a sleek interface, strong G2/Gartner reviews, and a demo that makes the future look like it will build itself. Contracts are signed. Seats are provisioned. Invites are sent. Then, weeks go by and very little changes. …
For most of my career, the build vs. buy decision in software has leaned heavily toward buy, especially in the enterprise. It is understandable. Buy is faster. Buy is safer. Buy comes with support, training, and a roadmap. But lately, I have been rethinking that bias. More accurately, AI coding assistants are forcing me to. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and others have fundamentally shifted the landscape. We are entering a world where build is no longer …
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that the most effective technologists are the ones who stay deeply connected to the business. Not just during planning sessions or leadership reviews, but in the day-to-day rhythm of their work. This wasn’t always intuitive for me. Early in my career, I focused heavily on technical architecture, coding, and project delivery. But I eventually realized that without business context, even excellent technical execution can miss the mark. Here’s …
Read moreA Daily Checklist for Staying Close to the Business (as a Technologist)
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 …
Read moreDoing Great Work Isn’t Enough: Why Alignment, Visibility, and Sponsorship Matter
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
Read moreWhat Jiro Dreams of Sushi Teaches Us About Leadership, Craft, and High-Performing Teams
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 …
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 …
Read moreThrowing the Baby Out with the Bathwater? Maybe You Should.