Bikram Kashyap

Some relevant research here: The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations https://lnkd.in/gfF_tN-u Promoting meritocracy sounds great, but the demonstrable and easily explained impact is that it provides cover for bias.

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#Layoffs and Misguided Corporate Spending ( A note to Leadership) I've spent over 16 years working across both MNCs (50%) and startups (50%). During my time at one of the world’s top 10 dream companies, I used to see an annual trend: layoffs. The pressure this puts on employees is immense. Here’s the ironic part: the same company ( Should I say some Big Heads) cutting jobs spends crores on unnecessary luxuries—like installing 90-inch LED TVs in lift lobbies, excessive property beautification, and lavish gifting. The amount spent on these could easily cover the salaries of hundreds of employees. When layoffs happen, it's often percentage cut—x% must go. But why aren’t senior leaders cutting these extravagant expenses in first place? I’m not suggesting cutting essential marketing costs and basic comfort costs for employees that drive business, but who’s choosing companies based on lift lobby TVs or expensive sofas in the pantry? We’ve all heard of a company that hired a famous footballer for an ad, only to later struggle to pay employees. It’s baffling that leaders allow these misguided financial priorities to persist. Why isn’t there a system in place to curb over-spending and protect employees—the true backbone of the company? Those four LED TVs won’t save the company. But four dedicated employees just might.

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𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 A 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 is the 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭 of text easily understood and processed by an AI model or LLM, often representing words, characters, or subwords. A token is essentially different from words i.e. a single word may comprise of multiple tokens. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞  • word[someone] -> token[some , one] • word[everyday] -> token[every , day] This process of breaking down text/words into tokens is called 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, which helps the model understand and generate language. A popular tool provided by 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈 to know the number of tokens in a word can be found here : 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦.𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢.𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬 During training, models learn relationships between tokens to generate coherent and contextually relevant responses. The way tokens are structured can impact the model's performance, with better tokenization leading to more accurate outputs. Models can optimize memory usage by focusing on tokens rather than entire sentences or phrases, leading to faster processing. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 Most of the large Language models are billed around the number of tokens it processed as input and the number of tokens generated as output. Total billed Tokens ~ Input tokens (as question context) Output tokens (generated Answer) 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 Another closely related concept is of Context Window, which refers to the maximum number of tokens (words, subwords, or characters) that a model can process at one time. This includes both input and output tokens combined. Generative models often have limits on the number of tokens they can handle in a single request (e.g., 4096 tokens). Some examples of Context window for certain models are given below:  𝐆𝐏𝐓-𝟑: The context window is up to 4096 tokens. 𝐆𝐏𝐓-𝟒: Offers different variants, with some configurations supporting a context window of up to 8192 tokens. 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓: Typically has a context window of 512 tokens. 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌: It has a context window of up to 2048 tokens. 𝐆𝐏𝐓-𝟒 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐨 and 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫: They can handle context windows exceeding 8000 tokens. #GenerativeAI #MachineLearning

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Would it be ironic if I listened to Cal Newport's audiobook "Slow Productivity" at 2x speed? 😂 Exploring the possibility of living to 120 years has deepened my appreciation for mastering crafts and engaging in deep work. Check out my latest article where I delve into how a longer life could transform our approach to careers: https://lnkd.in/ggsuQFdT Listening to "Slow Productivity" really reinforced my belief that with more time, a slower, more deliberate approach to productivity isn't just possible—it's preferable. Stay tuned for more insights on this topic! And no, I didn't speed through the audiobook—some lessons are too important to rush. How could embracing slow productivity unlock your full potential?

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FYI - This post was inspired by multiple folks I've known over the years who found themselves in a similar situation. It is not referring to any specific person. --- Once upon a time, there was a skilled engineer with more than a decade of experience. This person had deep product and industry knowledge, a brain full of secrets, and probably a Jenkins job or two that no one else dared to touch. They were the kind of engineer who knew which server would crash first on a Monday morning and had a sixth sense for which bug fix was about to become a five-alarm fire. But one day, they made a mistake. A big one. They moved into management. Now, this didn’t seem like a mistake at first. Companies always need technical folks leading teams of skilled engineers. Someone who speaks the language of code AND corporate synergy? Perfect, right? Wrong. It was a mistake when layoffs came around, and the powers-that-be (a.k.a planners of budgets and makers of hard decisions when projected funds aren't heading in the right direction) decided there were a few too many managers. Suddenly, all the skills this person had before seemed to vanish like donuts in the break room. Not because they actually disappeared, but because somewhere between spread sheets, HR software, and annual budget planning those skills got filed away in the "forgotten" drawer. It was as if moving into management rendered all their technical knowledge invisible. Poof! A decade of experience reduced to a line item on a spreadsheet. Now, they were just another headcount in a role that there were apparently “a few too many” of. And just like that… bye-bye. Off they went. Of course, the skilled engineer landed another job and moved on. But it does make you wonder: why do we treat people like chess pieces?  I mean, it’s like the layoff logic goes, “Well, he’s a bishop now, and we don’t need three bishops.” But hold up—he used to be a castle! And he can still do all the castle moves! In fact, if he can do the bishop moves AND the castle moves, doesn’t that make him, figuratively speaking, a queen? Not one bishop too many, but one of the most valuable pieces on the board? So, here’s to all the engineers-turned-managers who got treated like pawns in a game where no one remembers you can move in more than one direction. May your skills—and your sanity—always find a company smart enough to know you’re not just a piece on the board. 😎

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#PeopleAsset #Work_Relationships #InvestingInPeople Investing in people is like investing in your most valuable asset—only instead of numbers, it’s about building real connections. Too often, I see people reaching out only in a crisis, like the saying, "Sanakata bandaaga Venkata Ramana"—we remember God in tough times, trusting He’ll forgive ( He's God so he will) but with people, it’s different. You can’t just show up when things go south! Real relationships need regular care, even beyond work. Here’s the strategy: invest your time consistently—whether it’s casual chats over coffee or being there during tough moments. Like diversifying financial investments, nurturing relationships across different people is essential. Friendships and professional connections don’t magically appear when you need them; they grow with care, just like your savings. When you invest in people over time, the returns are priceless—emotional support, career growth, and meaningful friendships. It’s not about waiting for a crisis to reach out. Build strong, lasting connections, so when you need them, they’ll be there, solid and unwavering ( remember the diversified portfolio one asset will surely outperform)

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Layoffs in Big Tech - it may not be what you think. Over the past two years, as major tech companies have gone through rounds of layoffs, the narrative in the media has often framed these actions as “downsizing” — a necessary trimming of the workforce in response to economic pressures. But, in many cases, that’s not what’s really been happening. While headlines have suggested that these layoffs are a sign of companies getting leaner, a closer look reveals a different strategy at play. Many companies have been quietly shifting jobs, not eliminating them. Offices have been opened in countries where labor is less expensive, and new teams have been trained over the past few years or more. When the time was right, these companies laid off some higher-cost employees in the West. It’s a kind of internal outsourcing: the work remains within a company but moves to locations with cheaper labor. So, when we talk about “downsizing,” we’re often missing the bigger picture. For every job cut in the West, there may be several new hires elsewhere. The total headcount might not decrease at all — in fact, it might even grow. What’s really happening is a global shift in the distribution of talent, not a reduction in overall workforce size. I recently came across a post claiming that we’re losing jobs to AI, but that’s not quite accurate either. To my knowledge, AI hasn’t really had a significant impact on tech layoffs. We are still in a phase reminiscent of what we saw 20 years ago when outsourcing seemed like a brilliant cost-saving strategy. Back then, companies moved jobs overseas in search of cheaper labor, only to later realize the downsides — from quality control issues to cultural and communication barriers. Today, we’re seeing a similar trend, only it’s happening internally, within companies, rather than through third-party outsourcing firms. This isn’t to say there aren’t a great many talented engineers outside the West — there certainly are. But it’s important to remember that an engineer’s value doesn’t just come from the ability to write code. Skills like understanding the cultural context of a market, having a history of innovation, and being able to work closely with product teams to drive strategic goals are all critical — and not all of these can be easily replicated or replaced. There’s a difference between being busy and being productive, and it’s a distinction that companies often rediscover the hard way. So, while the media may continue to report on layoffs as a simple story of companies trimming their sails, it’s worth looking beneath the surface. The reality is more complex. What looks like downsizing might actually be a strategic shift in where and how work is done — one that comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. And as always, time will tell how effective these strategies really are. But I don't believe most of those newer branches/offices are likely to go away, because there are good engineers outside of the west.

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Hello, colleagues, this Yahoo article is interesting and relatable for professionals. Here is a teaser: "Amazon has an incredibly granular list of criteria that need to be met before you can be considered for promotion, so I worked with my manager to identify the gaps in my performance, ... and I created a project for each gap that, if completed, could serve as evidence of my ability. I worked backward to create a strict timeline to finish my projects ... that helped me get systematic about my approach moving forward." https://lnkd.in/dsfvPeAk Take a lesson from this person. I seems Amazon gets very analytical when it comes to promotions. And in a company that size, it is impossible to not promote without rigid check-off type policies or whatever XYZ job promotion software. But, hey, there is a lot I will do for a $500,000 salary. Please take note of this last sentence, if anyone works for Amazon and wants a Quality Engineering Manager/Director anywhere in the world.

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🚀✨ All seemed well at home when John got a call from his boss asking him to stretch this weekend. The deadline's near, and the client is on his head asking for status reports every now and then. 🕵️‍♂️📞 Despite being an erudite Team Lead, John missed a crucial step in the latest release - executing regression tests. 😱😅 Out of fear, he decided to deliver something, somehow, with the flickering hope that it works and the rest was history!! 🤞💻 👀 Am sure many of you have faced the above situation, both as leaders and team members resembling two faces of the same coin💡 Guess what happened next? John had to reluctantly, but urgently, log in to his office laptop... 🖥️🕰️Imagine the black screen slowly loading up... Out of all the shortcuts ranging from IMDB hits 🍿 to Netflix blockbusters 🎬 that John had created to view this weekend, he has to painstakingly open his Browser, surf the CI-Jira tab for the red entry, debug the issue, fix it, run regression, and commit again before the weekend is over...and, he finds..."The CI Server is down!!" In fact, the weekend's already over for him! 😩😂 ❤️‍🔥 Trust me, when your heart says something and your mind forces you somewhere else at work - it's best not to let yourself get dry roasted by working out alternate/smart means as soon as possible! 🥵💡 Looking through a PM's lens, one might have varied takes towards John: 📈 "John is diligent and hard-working and is always available, come what may! Appreciate the extra hours that John is putting in. I need not worry" or.. 🧠 "John is himself to blame for this... He needs to work smart. Assuming there were no scope creeps and last-minute surprises, he could have planned his week better to avoid repenting during the weekend!" or even.. 🧠🧠"John's team has to take the share of the blame...it was team's plan and their call. Once John gets done and dusted, let's convene a team meeting. Need to rethink on our planning as a team!" 🤔 Which strategy would you prefer? What would you like to infuse in your team's culture? #leadership #teamwork #workculture #efficiency #worklifebalance #smartwork #hardwork 💪🌟

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