A Daily Checklist for Staying Close to the Business (as a Technologist)

July 18, 2025July 18, 2025 by Vik

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Pushing Through: The Leadership Muscle No One Talks About (But Everyone Needs)

May 4, 2025May 2, 2025 by Vik

Every business hits friction. Sometimes that friction is healthy; it creates checks, balance, and rigor. But too often, friction becomes inertia—slowing progress through convoluted processes, outdated systems, unclear ownership, or quiet resistance from those who’ve grown comfortable. That’s when pushing through matters most. Pushing through is a leadership muscle. It’s not soft power. It’s not charisma. It’s not consensus-building. It’s the ability to get meaningful things done—especially when the odds are stacked against you. And let’s …

What The Bear Taught Me About Leadership, Teamwork, and Mastery

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 by Vik

At first glance, The Bear might seem like just another gritty kitchen drama—but beneath the loudness, noise and stress is one of the best explorations of leadership, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence I’ve seen on screen. Whether you’re running a fine-dining restaurant or leading a tech team, the same ingredients show up: relentless attention to detail, a culture of trust, and the unglamorous but vital effort behind every great outcome. As someone who works in a …

+ more posts