Author Archives: Vijay Vijayasankar

There are three things that limit extraordinary or exponential progress for mankind in my opinion . 1. Physical ability 2. Mental ability 3. Time When you make even small improvements in each bucket, you gain some competitive advantage . For example – if you have adequate food and healthcare , you have better chances ofContinue reading “What citizenship will my great grand kids have ?”

In 1997, I was an apprentice engineer in a Tire company in India after finishing my degree in mechanical engineering . One evening, a machine broke down in the line and I quickly figured out that it’s just a broken spindle that needs to be replaced . I did some quick calculations and figured aContinue reading “Learning Philosophy : Between N-1 and N+1”

2021 has been quite an interesting year and I have alternated between “will this year ever end?” and “Whoa – are we in December already?” . Both from a business perspective as well as from a personal perspective – I had to learn new things and act differently . I thought I will share whatContinue reading “Scaling a business during the Covid pandemic – a dozen lessons I learned”

Staring at data is a big part of my job – but it’s very rare that data alone gives me direction on what to do next . Data needs to be put into the context of what I feel (and what others feel) and then some decision gets made . So in reality – IContinue reading “I have a “good feeling” about this !”

My mornings start early with a ten minute training session with the (not so) little Archie . For the last few sessions, I have been having some trouble getting a certain specific result and yesterday I went into a familiar loop of “Stupid technique – Stupid dog – Stupid me” . The familiarity is notContinue reading “The “Stupid me” loop”

Some of you already know that I enjoy cooking . A long time ago, I landed in Colorado without knowing how to make a cup of coffee or an omelette. But since that time, I have picked up some “hobby” level skills . Talking about cooking with a friend, we realized there are some lifeContinue reading “What I learned about work from cooking”

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I started working remotely . If there is one lesson I can take away from this time – it s this . It’s a myth that over communication is a good thing ! People are stressed as is – you , me and everyone else aroundContinue reading “Let’s please NOT over communicate !”

If there is one word I could pick to explain the last 18 months of my life – I would choose STRESS . I am sure I won’t be alone in that assessment . I lost my father , a dog that was practically a son for my wife and me , multiple friends, colleaguesContinue reading “Keeping burnout at bay”

My paternal grandfather was a professor and an author . His favorite gift to me always used to be a nice pen – a Hero fountain pen . Unfortunately and to his significant disappointment I also have lost all of them as quickly as I got them . In any case, he would often tellContinue reading “My struggles with “looking the part””

Usually around 20th of December, we take a couple of weeks off and go some place to celebrate the holiday season . By fall of 2020, I was sure that our tradition needs to take a gap year . One idea we had as a consolation prize was to drive up to Flagstaff and enjoyContinue reading “My little Covid story – it’s not “just like the flu””