Meeting Title: Uttam - Pranav Weekly Sync Date: 2026-03-09 Meeting participants: Pranav Narahari, Uttam Kumaran
WEBVTT
1 00:12:42.550 ⇒ 00:12:43.510 Uttam Kumaran: Hey, dude.
2 00:12:47.530 ⇒ 00:12:50.809 Pranav Narahari: Hey, sending a message to Casey. Yeah.
3 00:12:51.040 ⇒ 00:12:52.389 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, take your time.
4 00:12:52.690 ⇒ 00:12:53.260 Pranav Narahari: Thanks.
5 00:13:30.050 ⇒ 00:13:34.130 Pranav Narahari: So, yeah, I just had my, one-on-one with, Yvette.
6 00:13:34.800 ⇒ 00:13:35.420 Uttam Kumaran: Nice.
7 00:13:35.420 ⇒ 00:13:40.109 Pranav Narahari: Right before this. Yeah, that was… that was good. I think both of them went really well. Okay.
8 00:13:41.720 ⇒ 00:13:47.779 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and then before… right before that, spoke with Brile and, Sam, just about, like.
9 00:13:49.540 ⇒ 00:14:02.159 Pranav Narahari: kind of from Sam, I was just getting a little bit more information on the specific work streams. We… we didn’t… we were running out of time, and so we couldn’t, like, go into the Gantt chart and then just, like.
10 00:14:02.540 ⇒ 00:14:14.259 Pranav Narahari: fully, like, detailed, like, talk about every individual thing. We have our working session tomorrow with, like, Casey, Mustafa, and, like, we have, like, an hour blocked out where we’re just gonna tackle only that.
11 00:14:15.450 ⇒ 00:14:19.200 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I’m almost like… I don’t know, just seeing how that meeting went earlier, like.
12 00:14:19.490 ⇒ 00:14:29.690 Uttam Kumaran: I… I think it’s, like, it’s more relevant for people to give you a sense of, like, what part of their Gantt they’re working on, and when it’s for it to be done, and then…
13 00:14:29.920 ⇒ 00:14:37.810 Uttam Kumaran: you should just do that. Like, you should just write the Gantt yourself. Like, I think what you’re gonna find, and what I’m gonna start turning the heat up on.
14 00:14:37.950 ⇒ 00:14:40.370 Uttam Kumaran: is, like, the CSOs.
15 00:14:40.810 ⇒ 00:14:46.650 Uttam Kumaran: Just, like, you guys run shit, and then you guys are the people that have to basically
16 00:14:46.760 ⇒ 00:14:50.969 Uttam Kumaran: have ownership of, like, whether the Gantt and stuff is, like.
17 00:14:51.370 ⇒ 00:14:58.210 Uttam Kumaran: like, meaning there’s gonna be no more deferring to, like, the people on the team, or… or, like, Sam or Awish.
18 00:14:58.360 ⇒ 00:15:11.650 Uttam Kumaran: Right. And similarly, like, Sam and Awash, like, I’m gonna push on them in a different way for them to actually start to say, I’m aware of what all the client teams are working on when it comes to my service.
19 00:15:12.110 ⇒ 00:15:24.260 Uttam Kumaran: And, like, I’m also… they’re also… if things get delayed, they’re gonna be the first people… if it’s not delayed due to, like, the requirements changed, if it’s delayed during it took too long, they’re gonna be on the hook.
20 00:15:24.720 ⇒ 00:15:30.080 Uttam Kumaran: So, in essence, like… I’m… I’m less interested in, like.
21 00:15:30.650 ⇒ 00:15:47.930 Uttam Kumaran: you’re gonna waste time ask… meeting with each of them in a one big meeting, and being like, let’s go through one by one, because Mustafa and Casey are just gonna be quiet, and like, just… they’re just gonna word vomit, like, whatever’s going on. It’s not about that. It’s like, yo, there’s 30 things on this.
22 00:15:48.080 ⇒ 00:15:51.419 Uttam Kumaran: do I print off, know what all 30 things are? If not, like…
23 00:15:51.600 ⇒ 00:15:57.259 Uttam Kumaran: I’m gonna edit the titles, or put the descriptions, or whatever, until I’m like, that’s good. Now, I’m like.
24 00:15:57.440 ⇒ 00:16:02.819 Uttam Kumaran: are… do any of these… are any of these still necessary? Like, knowing the goal for this client.
25 00:16:02.820 ⇒ 00:16:04.650 Pranav Narahari: Are any of these things, can I just, like.
26 00:16:04.650 ⇒ 00:16:21.910 Uttam Kumaran: destroy, or do I need to move up? And then for the rest, when is it gonna get done? Like, I think you should do that, and I think you should drive… I think you should come back with your team, to your team with, like, this needs to be done by this date, and I know it can be done, versus asking.
27 00:16:22.190 ⇒ 00:16:23.040 Uttam Kumaran: you know.
28 00:16:23.660 ⇒ 00:16:25.680 Pranav Narahari: So, am I the one defining, like.
29 00:16:25.910 ⇒ 00:16:30.049 Pranav Narahari: like, estimates as well? Is that not for… It’s, like…
30 00:16:30.320 ⇒ 00:16:44.119 Uttam Kumaran: No, I mean, I… I would… I would define the estimates. Okay. Like, I… I think… Yeah. Meaning, like, you’re… and this is where I think what’s gonna happen is, this is a… this… on this project, I’m expecting that for all these pieces.
31 00:16:44.540 ⇒ 00:16:59.079 Uttam Kumaran: given your skill set, I think you know how all of these pieces work. I think you will start to work on some clients where you may not know exactly how one piece works, but you’re an engineer, and you’re seeing… and you’re sort of just, like, make a decent estimate, and, like, move forward, versus waiting.
32 00:16:59.720 ⇒ 00:17:00.210 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
33 00:17:00.210 ⇒ 00:17:03.319 Uttam Kumaran: And then your job is to drive your team to hit the estimate?
34 00:17:03.700 ⇒ 00:17:04.430 Pranav Narahari: 100%.
35 00:17:04.430 ⇒ 00:17:05.990 Uttam Kumaran: Like, not… not…
36 00:17:06.670 ⇒ 00:17:18.519 Uttam Kumaran: and this is where I think I’m… what I’m learning is, like, there were too many cooks in the kitchen, and we deferred responsibility to everybody when, ultimately, only some people are on the hook.
37 00:17:18.640 ⇒ 00:17:21.929 Uttam Kumaran: And so, therefore, I want to give more control to those people to, like.
38 00:17:22.240 ⇒ 00:17:29.910 Uttam Kumaran: yo, this is your client. At any moment, if we have a meeting like that we did this morning, and I ask, like, where are we?
39 00:17:30.290 ⇒ 00:17:35.789 Uttam Kumaran: Like, you’re on the hook for that, and so… Like, ultimately, it’s your team.
40 00:17:35.990 ⇒ 00:17:49.299 Uttam Kumaran: Right? It’s kind of gonna get us closer to how Clarence initially outlined, like, the forging dock. I think we’re just… I’m just figuring out. The additional thing is, dude, we’ve automated every part of the EP role, basically.
41 00:17:49.410 ⇒ 00:17:59.100 Uttam Kumaran: Where you can run… like, I’ll show… I’ll show you guys in a later meeting, you can run every single piece of that role now alone, like, as a CSO.
42 00:17:59.440 ⇒ 00:18:06.290 Uttam Kumaran: Whether it’s, like, give me the weekly, end-of-week reviews, check all my tickets, help me update the Gantt, help me do the decks.
43 00:18:06.670 ⇒ 00:18:15.579 Uttam Kumaran: So, I’m actually… like, we’re basically gonna replace that role. Like, I’m not… that role is not gonna exist. It’s just gonna be CSOs and service leads.
44 00:18:15.750 ⇒ 00:18:16.770 Pranav Narahari: And…
45 00:18:16.960 ⇒ 00:18:23.209 Uttam Kumaran: I think what I’m… what we’re gonna decide on is what pieces of that role go to which team.
46 00:18:23.360 ⇒ 00:18:24.370 Pranav Narahari: Yeah. And…
47 00:18:25.030 ⇒ 00:18:30.070 Uttam Kumaran: And then the other change we’re gonna make is we’re gonna have one CSO per client.
48 00:18:31.160 ⇒ 00:18:31.860 Pranav Narahari: Oh, okay.
49 00:18:32.200 ⇒ 00:18:34.080 Uttam Kumaran: And so what’s gonna happen is, like.
50 00:18:34.340 ⇒ 00:18:40.740 Uttam Kumaran: I think a good barometer… what we learned a little bit of… sorry, I know I’m just, like, taking this over, but I’m just sort of…
51 00:18:41.040 ⇒ 00:18:47.820 Uttam Kumaran: thinking things through, so… A good barometer for…
52 00:18:48.000 ⇒ 00:18:52.550 Uttam Kumaran: I think who’s been really, really successful at the CSO role is, like, Greg.
53 00:18:52.740 ⇒ 00:18:57.129 Uttam Kumaran: I think Greg has done a good job not only scoping net new work.
54 00:18:57.230 ⇒ 00:19:15.880 Uttam Kumaran: But then going into environments where the work… where he’s not, like, for example, he led this Omni migration, but you can tell that he doesn’t… he didn’t come from a background of, like, business intelligence, but he still was, like, really comfortable with it, and now is able to do it. So he was… he was really good at, like, rolling with the punches, and…
55 00:19:15.920 ⇒ 00:19:32.719 Uttam Kumaran: and being able to manage the stakeholder effectively, given changing requirements. I think that’s what I’m gonna be looking to see from you, Zoran, and Demi, is, like, how are you guys able to continue to have that executive poise, but then lead your team to success?
56 00:19:32.760 ⇒ 00:19:43.459 Uttam Kumaran: And, like, make sure that, like, if me or the client stakeholder asks a question, it’s not a deferral. It’s like a, okay, I will answer this for you right now, right? And so…
57 00:19:43.890 ⇒ 00:20:00.179 Uttam Kumaran: One thing that we’ve done is we’ve… is we’ve worked really hard to make it so that anything regarding, like, organization, there’s now automations for, right? And so, what I’m gonna share today is, like, I no longer want to see that, like, tickets and things aren’t up to date, because
58 00:20:00.560 ⇒ 00:20:18.779 Uttam Kumaran: we’re able to do it, and I’m able to do it myself for every client, and so it should be… take 10 minutes for people to do. The second piece is, like, what I want to see ratchet up is, like, really the executive stakeholder, like, management, right? It’s like, you’re spending more time giving Yvette and Janiece and Steven and Matt
59 00:20:18.910 ⇒ 00:20:29.000 Uttam Kumaran: confidence in what’s gonna get delivered this week and this rest of the month, and you are driving your team to get the outputs, right? Like, one thing that I’m… one thing that I… I think…
60 00:20:29.110 ⇒ 00:20:31.200 Uttam Kumaran: We’ve gotten wrong is…
61 00:20:32.160 ⇒ 00:20:48.479 Uttam Kumaran: I think… I think there’s two things. One is, like, certainly there’s a lot of work to do, and so people are strapped, so the CSOs are also working, but I think we took a… we took a dive on not spending enough time on just, like, making sure the decks are super clear, the Gantt charts are super clear.
62 00:20:48.480 ⇒ 00:21:05.030 Uttam Kumaran: Because that will buy you time to actually execute, if you nail those. And so, what I’m seeing, and this is where, like, I have some critique for Sam as well, is, like, you guys are developing too much. Like, you need to take some step back daily and look at your client, and be like.
63 00:21:05.120 ⇒ 00:21:13.090 Uttam Kumaran: if I was in Yvette’s shoes, am I… do I feel like I have an understanding of, like, what’s going on here? And I’m gonna push that more.
64 00:21:14.630 ⇒ 00:21:27.419 Uttam Kumaran: Because, like, that’s what you guys need to do, and so really, like, there’s gonna be two splits. It’s like, how… how many more people can get into, sort of, Greg’s spot, where you’re able to come to a client meeting, run that in, like, a suave, executive fashion way?
65 00:21:27.800 ⇒ 00:21:46.219 Uttam Kumaran: And then still, like, where you need, you can plug in, but I’m gonna be… we’re hiring, and so I’m confident that you’re gonna get enough resources you need to execute, but your job should not… you and Sam, your job should be to enable Casey and Mustafa to execute. Like, when you guys are working on things, that’s a huge risk.
66 00:21:46.270 ⇒ 00:21:54.460 Uttam Kumaran: Like, you should work on the thing that’s like, oh shit, this needs to go out and it’s not gonna go out, or this is, like, so net new that, like, nobody knows.
67 00:21:54.630 ⇒ 00:21:59.669 Pranav Narahari: Yeah. Like, I can’t have you guys be doing bullshit stuff that you can either have… you should have AI’d.
68 00:21:59.710 ⇒ 00:22:01.669 Uttam Kumaran: Like, you should have assigned a cursor.
69 00:22:01.740 ⇒ 00:22:21.280 Uttam Kumaran: Or you should have told Casey Mustaf to do. And, like, that’s the trap that I think a lot of our folks are getting in, that I’m just gonna… I’m gonna try to say really clearly later, that as a CSO, you need to get out of. There also is gonna be an opportunity. I think we’re gonna expand what the service lead role is, meaning I think service lead is truly gonna be, like.
70 00:22:21.520 ⇒ 00:22:36.329 Uttam Kumaran: your quality control for this dish that comes out, right? Everybody who comes to Brainforge gets data modeling. You own data modeling across the board, and I think that’s actually gonna… that’s actually gonna be just as relevant as the CSO.
71 00:22:36.890 ⇒ 00:22:38.919 Uttam Kumaran: And there’s gonna just be two lanes.
72 00:22:39.160 ⇒ 00:22:48.009 Uttam Kumaran: And so there’s no more third lane, there’s two lanes, and I think both are just as prominent. The CSO’s actually gonna become more business-facing than it is.
73 00:22:48.260 ⇒ 00:23:00.389 Uttam Kumaran: Right? And I know from what you’ve told me, and what I know, like, you’re really interested in, that’s where I know you want to be. And so, for me, my feedback to you is you have to get yourself out of the engineering.
74 00:23:00.600 ⇒ 00:23:09.430 Uttam Kumaran: Like, you need to drive your team. If you need help, you need to say, yo, these tickets, my team is already smashed, I need help, because I’ll come help, or I’ll get you help.
75 00:23:09.710 ⇒ 00:23:27.280 Uttam Kumaran: But what can’t drop is the CSO shit, is the DEX, is the, like, I have a sick relationship with our things. That cannot drop, because that is the insurance policy. I’m gonna hire more engineers that will help you and get you to do that, I promise you. Like, they’re, like, really on the fence.
76 00:23:27.460 ⇒ 00:23:36.509 Uttam Kumaran: But, like, what I… what I know, if you want to be amazing CSOs, you have to think about, like, how Greg is succeeding, and, like, get towards there, you know?
77 00:23:36.510 ⇒ 00:23:36.910 Pranav Narahari: Gotcha.
78 00:23:36.910 ⇒ 00:23:46.850 Uttam Kumaran: And so I think you… I think you have the capability. I think you’re gonna see on the sales side, like, what it’s taking. But again, the problem with us is that we still have that engineering, like, brain.
79 00:23:46.950 ⇒ 00:23:51.850 Uttam Kumaran: And, like, I’m far from that now, because I’ve now been running the business, so I…
80 00:23:51.890 ⇒ 00:24:09.889 Uttam Kumaran: I learned how to, like, get out of that shit, but it will take you a while, and it’s not gonna be painful. It’s gonna be painful, so, like, when you feel that draw towards, like, fuck, I gotta work, let me go work on this, or you need to really catch yourself, because the team expects you to do that client management.
81 00:24:10.080 ⇒ 00:24:11.140 Pranav Narahari: Right?
82 00:24:11.190 ⇒ 00:24:21.080 Uttam Kumaran: And you should push on your team to get done. You should ask Casey, why the fuck is this taking two weeks to do? And he’ll walk through, and you’ll be like, yo, half that stuff is, like, useless.
83 00:24:21.140 ⇒ 00:24:23.240 Pranav Narahari: Like, that’s how you should be… you should…
84 00:24:23.240 ⇒ 00:24:34.209 Uttam Kumaran: the way I walked in and, like, did that to the team, you should go to your team and be like, guys, tell me what you’re working on today. You’re gonna find that they’re wasting time on, like, 30% of their shit, I guarantee you.
85 00:24:34.320 ⇒ 00:24:40.249 Uttam Kumaran: But, like, that’s your job to be like, yo, read the Gantt chart, why are you, like, working on this thing?
86 00:24:40.670 ⇒ 00:24:41.150 Pranav Narahari: Right.
87 00:24:41.150 ⇒ 00:24:49.999 Uttam Kumaran: they may be spending time working on BigQuery when, like, their core focus is to just, like, get one API out. For example, when I saw things in staging, I’m like.
88 00:24:50.170 ⇒ 00:24:55.770 Uttam Kumaran: who’s testing? What’s the testing? Like, if the thing works and it’s identical, fucking get it over the line.
89 00:24:56.040 ⇒ 00:24:58.879 Uttam Kumaran: Right, right. Right, so, like, that’s the stuff that you need to do.
90 00:24:59.070 ⇒ 00:25:15.280 Uttam Kumaran: I’m doing that across, like, you guys. So I’m coming in and being like, yo, I know there’s 50% efficiency here, I guarantee you, and your job’s to be like, you’re probably right, let me go in and find out that, like, Casey and Mustafa are, like, working on, like, some super nice-to-have.
91 00:25:15.310 ⇒ 00:25:22.050 Uttam Kumaran: Or they, like, lost a plot on some feature, and they’re going way too deep, right? And because ultimately, the client is gonna be like.
92 00:25:22.730 ⇒ 00:25:26.770 Uttam Kumaran: Dude, just, like, get this thing working so we can work on new features.
93 00:25:26.910 ⇒ 00:25:27.660 Pranav Narahari: Right, right, right.
94 00:25:27.660 ⇒ 00:25:30.250 Uttam Kumaran: So, that’s, like, what I want to push you towards.
95 00:25:30.280 ⇒ 00:25:35.310 Pranav Narahari: And then raise your hand if you don’t have enough engineering resources, but I’m telling… I know for a fact.
96 00:25:35.310 ⇒ 00:25:38.080 Uttam Kumaran: There’s Slack still on this team, you know?
97 00:25:38.180 ⇒ 00:25:39.200 Uttam Kumaran: Yup.
98 00:25:39.570 ⇒ 00:25:42.529 Uttam Kumaran: And that’s why I want you to hit that engineering wall.
99 00:25:42.940 ⇒ 00:25:50.290 Uttam Kumaran: Because I can help you overcome that, like, we can go work on cloud agents and things like that. I don’t think you’re there yet, so, like, that’s…
100 00:25:50.460 ⇒ 00:25:51.920 Uttam Kumaran: Alright, let’s look at the net bad.
101 00:25:52.560 ⇒ 00:25:53.340 Pranav Narahari: Okay.
102 00:25:53.660 ⇒ 00:25:55.080 Pranav Narahari: That’s good to know. I mean…
103 00:25:55.980 ⇒ 00:25:58.840 Pranav Narahari: We… so we had that call with,
104 00:25:59.330 ⇒ 00:26:10.970 Pranav Narahari: prior to my, or I set up a call, actually, I don’t think you’re aware of this, yeah, because I wanted to send out that weekly update, so I was like, okay, guys, like, I need to get everybody, like, on board right now, like, let me figure out, like.
105 00:26:11.130 ⇒ 00:26:22.900 Pranav Narahari: what am I gonna actually put in this update? Or, sorry, not update, what are we gonna deliver by Friday? And so, talking to Casey and Mustafa and Sam about that,
106 00:26:23.710 ⇒ 00:26:40.359 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, Mustafa was saying, I think… and I think it’s because he’s out of office this week. He’s out of office Wednesday to Friday, so he was just saying, like, okay, yeah, I’m going… I’m not going to be able to deliver on this this week, and it makes sense. That’s a place where I’m like, okay, you’re out of office, like, let me fill in for you then.
107 00:26:40.360 ⇒ 00:26:41.230 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
108 00:26:41.440 ⇒ 00:26:42.320 Pranav Narahari: Okay.
109 00:26:43.190 ⇒ 00:26:49.279 Uttam Kumaran: It’s also, again, like, I think, like, you gotta separate those decisions out, meaning, like.
110 00:26:49.510 ⇒ 00:26:58.779 Uttam Kumaran: focus on what you think can get done, and then… then work with me on, like, okay, this needs to get done this week, how can we do it? Like, I don’t want you to make those trade-offs.
111 00:26:59.190 ⇒ 00:27:05.529 Uttam Kumaran: you don’t need to make those trade-offs alone. Like, you can come to the CSO meeting today and be like, yo, Mustafa’s out.
112 00:27:05.670 ⇒ 00:27:08.460 Uttam Kumaran: Like, and there’s these tickets in it to get done.
113 00:27:08.610 ⇒ 00:27:11.640 Uttam Kumaran: what do you think? Like, I’m thinking about working on it. Like, I want…
114 00:27:11.810 ⇒ 00:27:21.270 Uttam Kumaran: I want you to, like, really think hard anytime you’re actually doing engineering work, to be like, is this the highest leverage thing I could be doing?
115 00:27:21.500 ⇒ 00:27:34.070 Uttam Kumaran: it’s not like you’re gonna get out of engineering work. Like, I’m still working on engineering stuff for our delivery team, but the things I’m working on need my critical understanding of our business, and then I pass it to B, I’m like, finish this up.
116 00:27:34.470 ⇒ 00:27:40.189 Uttam Kumaran: Right? So you can… you can do so much damage, get something 60%, and pass it to these guys to wrap up.
117 00:27:40.430 ⇒ 00:27:41.540 Pranav Narahari: Versus, like.
118 00:27:41.630 ⇒ 00:27:45.580 Uttam Kumaran: Going and working and doing the stuff that you know is, like, not worth your time.
119 00:27:45.870 ⇒ 00:27:52.670 Uttam Kumaran: Right? And instead, you could spend an hour or two and be like, okay, what are we gonna build for ABC in the next 6 months? Like, that’s…
120 00:27:52.900 ⇒ 00:28:04.780 Uttam Kumaran: a lot more worth it, or helping sales go and sell. But, like, and I know our team is small, but we’re gonna hire at least one or two other folks to come on the AI engineering team in the next two weeks.
121 00:28:04.900 ⇒ 00:28:05.850 Uttam Kumaran: So…
122 00:28:06.050 ⇒ 00:28:12.340 Uttam Kumaran: it’s gonna increase, and, like, you’re gonna… and if the Eden thing happens, like, you’re just gonna find that you’re… you’re smashed.
123 00:28:12.650 ⇒ 00:28:14.699 Uttam Kumaran: So that’s what I’m trying to get you to, like…
124 00:28:15.140 ⇒ 00:28:29.720 Uttam Kumaran: think really hard, because how can a Greg be like, yeah, I can take 3 clients, and then the rest of the team is like, I’m smashed. I know, because he’s delegating, and he’s articulating to the team when should things be done super well to help him communicate up.
125 00:28:29.850 ⇒ 00:28:30.610 Uttam Kumaran: Right.
126 00:28:30.820 ⇒ 00:28:32.370 Pranav Narahari: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
127 00:28:33.060 ⇒ 00:28:41.290 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, the sales thing, too, I wanted to talk a little bit about. So I think we cleared up most of that, like, kind of… and I think Luke’s kind of on the same page, too.
128 00:28:41.290 ⇒ 00:28:45.519 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I didn’t mean to come in super hard, but dude, that’s… it’s, again, like…
129 00:28:45.740 ⇒ 00:28:47.560 Uttam Kumaran: What’s just… what’s gonna happen?
130 00:28:47.560 ⇒ 00:28:48.630 Pranav Narahari: You’re good?
131 00:28:48.970 ⇒ 00:28:51.879 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, it’s good, and it’s not always, I’m gonna be right.
132 00:28:52.020 ⇒ 00:28:57.520 Uttam Kumaran: But I am always just gonna say how I feel, and then you could be like, yo, we’re not spending that much time. That’s fine.
133 00:28:57.720 ⇒ 00:29:01.660 Uttam Kumaran: Because I just know how it works, where, like, you get enamored, there’s one deal.
134 00:29:01.860 ⇒ 00:29:15.919 Uttam Kumaran: you’re working on figuring all the details. It’s Luke’s first big deal, so he’s, like, going to OD on the SOW, and, like, waste… he’s, like, he’s spending so much time thinking about every detail, it’s fine. But, dude, think about your time is worth, like, $2.50 an hour.
135 00:29:16.240 ⇒ 00:29:16.670 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
136 00:29:16.670 ⇒ 00:29:17.710 Uttam Kumaran: Bro, like…
137 00:29:18.660 ⇒ 00:29:26.910 Uttam Kumaran: I’d rather you just have… pick a psychosec for lunch than, like, be like, yo, I’m gonna map… because I’m telling you, this deal could still fall through.
138 00:29:27.470 ⇒ 00:29:29.090 Uttam Kumaran: And… and, like.
139 00:29:29.660 ⇒ 00:29:41.959 Uttam Kumaran: It may or may not happen, and like, if it does happen, it’s still a great learning experience, but we have to cut our losses. He has enough to sell this. We’ve done so much, he has enough. He’s gotta go, he’s gotta ball up, he’s gotta go.
140 00:29:42.710 ⇒ 00:29:52.119 Pranav Narahari: Okay, so with Eden, too, it’s kind of a similar story, like, so… and I think this might be a little bit different, because Robert’s out of office this week, so tomorrow I’m meeting with Danny.
141 00:29:52.120 ⇒ 00:29:53.679 Uttam Kumaran: I think he’s gonna be on that meeting.
142 00:29:55.240 ⇒ 00:29:59.689 Pranav Narahari: He was on a meeting today, Robert, so tomorrow’s meeting, I don’t think Robert’s gonna…
143 00:29:59.690 ⇒ 00:30:02.860 Uttam Kumaran: Are you sure? I thought he said he’s gonna be on that meeting with you.
144 00:30:04.100 ⇒ 00:30:06.120 Pranav Narahari: That was the one for today, we already had one today.
145 00:30:06.120 ⇒ 00:30:07.910 Uttam Kumaran: And he said he’s not gonna be on the one tomorrow?
146 00:30:08.410 ⇒ 00:30:10.959 Pranav Narahari: He lost service by the time we scheduled that.
147 00:30:10.960 ⇒ 00:30:13.240 Uttam Kumaran: I can text him if you want me to confirm.
148 00:30:13.480 ⇒ 00:30:19.009 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah, I can, yeah, I can also just Slack him, ask him if he wants to be on the one tomorrow.
149 00:30:21.260 ⇒ 00:30:38.310 Pranav Narahari: But, yeah, that’s another one where it’s, like, for that call, and I think it’s kind of on the finish line, right? Like, even what he was saying was just, like, Danny was saying, like, I just need to kind of, like, sell this internally, kind of. And so, tomorrow’s meeting is to kind of, like, really refine, like, okay, what is…
150 00:30:38.410 ⇒ 00:30:45.959 Pranav Narahari: this product going to look like? What are the insights that this, this reporting,
151 00:30:46.380 ⇒ 00:30:51.039 Pranav Narahari: this reporting, like, AI engine going to give us?
152 00:30:51.280 ⇒ 00:30:54.700 Pranav Narahari: And so, that’s what we’re going to kind of work on tomorrow.
153 00:30:54.700 ⇒ 00:30:55.420 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
154 00:30:55.420 ⇒ 00:31:03.460 Pranav Narahari: I feel like on a 30-minute call, like, working on that, it’s basically just me asking him a ton of questions, and then me being like, okay, what is possible, what is not?
155 00:31:03.970 ⇒ 00:31:09.990 Pranav Narahari: I don’t actually, now that I think about it, it’s probably not a lot of, like, prep time that I need to do, but scheduling a call like that
156 00:31:10.140 ⇒ 00:31:16.790 Pranav Narahari: I think makes a lot of sense, especially since, like, Robert came to me and was like, yeah, do that with him.
157 00:31:16.790 ⇒ 00:31:21.639 Uttam Kumaran: This is where… what you should have done is you should have said, yo, what do you want? What’s the outcome of this?
158 00:31:22.620 ⇒ 00:31:24.050 Pranav Narahari: I should have said that to Danny.
159 00:31:24.050 ⇒ 00:31:25.150 Uttam Kumaran: to Robert.
160 00:31:25.150 ⇒ 00:31:25.780 Pranav Narahari: Oh, okay.
161 00:31:25.780 ⇒ 00:31:34.859 Uttam Kumaran: like, how does this meeting get… I have 30 minutes with this guy, you’re just throwing… because he’s gonna do… because the problem is, like, everybody’s used to selling with, like, me, on the technical side.
162 00:31:35.080 ⇒ 00:31:35.540 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
163 00:31:35.540 ⇒ 00:31:53.040 Uttam Kumaran: I come in and I figure out, but, like, it’s not how they should be treating the delivery team, or the sales engine… like, let’s say we’re doing sales engineering. They should tell you, yo, like, what technically do you need me to do on this call to make this successful? And he’s gonna be like, oh yeah, he just wants to, like, see a demo or something, or he just wants to hear some of the tools, like…
164 00:31:53.040 ⇒ 00:31:57.619 Uttam Kumaran: So I would suggest asking, be like, yo, you’re throwing me this call with Danny, like, what…
165 00:31:57.690 ⇒ 00:32:04.120 Uttam Kumaran: what do I need to do? I just need to become friends with him? Do I need to just listen and answer whatever questions? Like, what is the MO here?
166 00:32:04.180 ⇒ 00:32:23.220 Uttam Kumaran: Right? So that’s why, similarly, anytime you deal with sales, what’s gonna happen is they’re just gonna… they’re gonna sap up all your time with, like, vision and, like, what’s possible. Again, you just have to keep them super, super, like, on track with, like, yo, what do you need me to do with regards to this Danny call, you know?
167 00:32:23.790 ⇒ 00:32:36.289 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and I think hopping into calls is, like, that’s easy, but, like, if I have to, like, prep documents, like, do dry runs or something like that, that’s when it kind of really, like, takes up a ton of time.
168 00:32:36.290 ⇒ 00:32:41.260 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so the other thing you should say, I’m not doing any dry calls until, after 3 PM.
169 00:32:41.730 ⇒ 00:32:43.070 Uttam Kumaran: Eastern.
170 00:32:43.410 ⇒ 00:32:44.110 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
171 00:32:44.110 ⇒ 00:32:45.829 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I’m telling you, this is where, like.
172 00:32:46.110 ⇒ 00:33:00.269 Uttam Kumaran: This is where I… I even think, maybe in the later today’s meeting, I could just have a moment about, like, how are people protecting their time? Because, yeah, dude, you could just say shit, like, you could say, I don’t do sales thing on Mondays, or I don’t do anything until after 3 p.m.
173 00:33:00.440 ⇒ 00:33:01.190 Uttam Kumaran: Right?
174 00:33:01.300 ⇒ 00:33:11.520 Uttam Kumaran: Or you can… or you basically say, like, yo, you want, like, an hour to review this, like, send me something to review. And force… that’s why Luke was having all this conversation, I’m like, I haven’t even seen an SOW yet.
175 00:33:11.900 ⇒ 00:33:16.990 Uttam Kumaran: But what are we gonna… like, write that thing. Then I can come in 10 minutes and leave comments.
176 00:33:17.360 ⇒ 00:33:25.019 Uttam Kumaran: And then we’ll be done with it. Then you can take all those comments, throw it in the AI, redo it. We’ve sold more business in less time than this.
177 00:33:25.230 ⇒ 00:33:29.790 Uttam Kumaran: So I’m trying to get him to… I’m trying to push them to be like, yo, use the AI system.
178 00:33:30.120 ⇒ 00:33:34.649 Uttam Kumaran: where it breaks, tell me where it breaks, I will fill in the gap, and then ship it, like…
179 00:33:34.830 ⇒ 00:33:45.180 Uttam Kumaran: you guys spending more time deliberating, I think there… yes, there is something around, like, it’s the first time you’ve done this, but I also think you’ve… we’ve… you’ve wrapped up the core parts of this movie.
180 00:33:45.180 ⇒ 00:33:57.320 Uttam Kumaran: For this deal. Like, you’re, like, you saw this movie. That’s why I know the next time it’ll be quicker, but I do want to show you that these things can continue to run long, and as a salesperson, he needs to just hit this and close it out.
181 00:33:57.420 ⇒ 00:34:00.319 Uttam Kumaran: Right? And that’s his… that’s… he just, like, has to learn that.
182 00:34:00.520 ⇒ 00:34:08.970 Uttam Kumaran: But yeah, dude, you could just be like, I don’t do this meeting before this, like, you guys are, like, I wanna almost share that you guys are a business, like, you should run your time, like…
183 00:34:09.030 ⇒ 00:34:22.120 Uttam Kumaran: you’re a machine, and so don’t get, like, don’t get jammed up. Like, don’t take random fucking meetings during the day. Just say, I can’t do this, like, let’s do it later, because people are gonna look at your calendar, grab time. Again, the more popular you get around here.
184 00:34:22.469 ⇒ 00:34:24.389 Uttam Kumaran: The more it’s gonna come.
185 00:34:24.510 ⇒ 00:34:25.760 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I’m just telling you.
186 00:34:25.770 ⇒ 00:34:31.630 Pranav Narahari: I think that’s one thing I’ve noticed, too, like, yesterday, like, last week, so many meetings.
187 00:34:32.750 ⇒ 00:34:38.330 Uttam Kumaran: See, you know what? If I call you and ask where the client stuff is, and you said I was in a lot of meetings, what am I gonna say?
188 00:34:38.330 ⇒ 00:34:39.830 Pranav Narahari: I know, that’s not the.
189 00:34:39.830 ⇒ 00:34:52.189 Uttam Kumaran: I’m gonna say, what the fuck does that mean? So, think about that. I don’t care if you’re in other meetings. Tell me who booked the calls and why you didn’t say no. Demi said the same thing. He sent me a screenshot. He’s like, I’m in a lot of meetings. He said, like.
190 00:34:53.289 ⇒ 00:34:57.979 Uttam Kumaran: why do I need to care? Why do I care about that? Like, dude.
191 00:34:57.980 ⇒ 00:35:00.399 Pranav Narahari: I think it’s kind of just, like, prioritize, right?
192 00:35:00.400 ⇒ 00:35:06.800 Uttam Kumaran: Well, everybody’s very nice, but dude, I’m telling you, like, this is the peril, like, don’t fucking take those… don’t take those calls, like…
193 00:35:07.010 ⇒ 00:35:11.520 Uttam Kumaran: People will want a lot out of you. Take the calls that you… do your job first.
194 00:35:11.700 ⇒ 00:35:14.130 Uttam Kumaran: Nail your… nail the main thing.
195 00:35:14.870 ⇒ 00:35:17.620 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and so just, like, yeah, being that CSO.
196 00:35:17.620 ⇒ 00:35:29.620 Uttam Kumaran: Nobody’s gonna get mad at you for being like, I can’t do this, bro, like, or like, can I do this async, or can you ask somebody else? Nobody is gonna get mad at you. I’m gonna get mad if, like, clients aren’t successful.
197 00:35:29.820 ⇒ 00:35:34.019 Pranav Narahari: Right. And I’m gonna get mad because we built all these automations.
198 00:35:34.110 ⇒ 00:35:45.400 Uttam Kumaran: We’re trying to get… I want you to have time in the day to deliver on the things that you’re asked to deliver. Say no to everything until you do that. Like, even if you’re like, yo, I can’t do recruiting anymore, you could… that’s fine.
199 00:35:46.130 ⇒ 00:36:00.269 Uttam Kumaran: That’s okay, just say that. I’ll fill in, or someone else will fill in. It’s what… but, like, I don’t want us to get to the end of, like, the week, and it’s like, damn, I was, like, in all these meetings. Like, that’s not a good enough excuse. You guys had to really run your shit, you know?
200 00:36:00.610 ⇒ 00:36:01.630 Pranav Narahari: Definitely, definitely.
201 00:36:01.630 ⇒ 00:36:06.410 Uttam Kumaran: Same with meetings, same with the meetings you’re in, like, if you’re in a meeting with your team, and you’re like.
202 00:36:07.000 ⇒ 00:36:14.320 Uttam Kumaran: you’re, like, not getting answers, like, dude, like, cut it, or, like, be like, let’s do something smaller, or you’d be like, look, I’m just gonna make these decisions.
203 00:36:14.610 ⇒ 00:36:22.440 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I don’t need anyone else. Like, I’m gonna set the timelines, we’re gonna get whatever we can get done. This migration is gonna get done in the next 2 weeks.
204 00:36:23.170 ⇒ 00:36:29.069 Uttam Kumaran: And just do stuff like that, like, just do the… do that… those things, versus, like, don’t let your team run you.
205 00:36:29.200 ⇒ 00:36:30.120 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
206 00:36:30.330 ⇒ 00:36:30.980 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
207 00:36:31.760 ⇒ 00:36:42.749 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and I think now, yeah, I just… last week, I definitely wasn’t just, like, operating on, like, okay, this is my priority. It was just, like, okay, these are… I’m just gonna say yes to everything, since, like, this is the first week without Lilos, which is, like.
208 00:36:42.750 ⇒ 00:36:43.110 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
209 00:36:43.110 ⇒ 00:36:59.999 Pranav Narahari: Sure, sure. Now it makes a lot more sense, because that’s not like… it’s not like I have extra time. Honestly, it’s like a lot of time is… there’s too much stuff to do, so having that prioritization is important for me now. Right. Okay, this is great.
210 00:37:00.610 ⇒ 00:37:01.300 Pranav Narahari: And with AB…
211 00:37:01.300 ⇒ 00:37:13.439 Uttam Kumaran: Maybe one thing… maybe one thing that’s helpful is, like, yeah, I think on the sales team, they… we do, like, bets, like, take 3 bets and try to execute. Maybe it is, like, what is the main thing, and, like, what do you not… not want to leave Friday without?
212 00:37:14.120 ⇒ 00:37:20.800 Uttam Kumaran: You know, and just turn off ev- turn off everything else. And every… everything we do, every meeting’s up for debate.
213 00:37:21.110 ⇒ 00:37:22.010 Uttam Kumaran: So, like…
214 00:37:22.330 ⇒ 00:37:26.219 Uttam Kumaran: If you don’t want to go, don’t go. Or just say, like, this could have been a slack.
215 00:37:26.480 ⇒ 00:37:29.329 Uttam Kumaran: Right? Like, that’s… that’s totally fine.
216 00:37:30.300 ⇒ 00:37:30.910 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
217 00:37:32.000 ⇒ 00:37:48.880 Pranav Narahari: Sounds good. Yeah, and I think for that working session tomorrow, like, I think it’s just gonna be more of just, like, a presentation by me. I’m just gonna be like, hey, this is what I’m thinking about, like, all these different, like, I talked to Janiece, I talked to Yvette, like, this is what’s gonna make them happy. Now…
218 00:37:49.020 ⇒ 00:38:00.970 Pranav Narahari: And it’s gonna be talking to Sam, who’s just like, okay, this is how I’m thinking about implementing it. And then just getting his, just, like, sign-off. That’s kind of how I was, like, operating with Lilo. It’s just like, yeah, this is, like, kind of how I’m thinking in terms of, like, design.
219 00:38:01.380 ⇒ 00:38:07.060 Pranav Narahari: Sam, what do you think? Maybe he has, like, some comments there, and then we’re like, okay, Mustafa, what do you got? Casey, what do you got?
220 00:38:07.280 ⇒ 00:38:08.989 Pranav Narahari: And then sign off on the meeting.
221 00:38:09.710 ⇒ 00:38:10.240 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
222 00:38:10.730 ⇒ 00:38:21.630 Uttam Kumaran: Perfect. Because ideally, you want to wrap that soon, so that you can prep for Thursday, and then you can actually make sure we have something to show on Thursday, right? So that’s the thing, that’s why even for B, I told him, like.
223 00:38:22.070 ⇒ 00:38:34.059 Uttam Kumaran: I… I want all client updates for the week out by noon. I said, no matter what, because the longer these things delay, dude, you’re gonna… it’s gonna be Thursday by the time you feel like…
224 00:38:34.470 ⇒ 00:38:39.490 Uttam Kumaran: it’s done. So, like… give peop- tell people, yo, by, like, tomorrow EOD,
225 00:38:39.890 ⇒ 00:38:42.609 Uttam Kumaran: Like, this shit needs to be in a good place.
226 00:38:42.770 ⇒ 00:38:51.110 Uttam Kumaran: For me to, like, actually run this team. Anything I’m… anything I can’t get clarity on is moving off. Because if I can’t get clarity on it, it’s probably not important.
227 00:38:51.340 ⇒ 00:38:59.039 Uttam Kumaran: F it. Move it off, right? And then you basically have to say that, like, look… and this is also where I’m gonna start talking to the team about, like.
228 00:38:59.160 ⇒ 00:39:04.410 Uttam Kumaran: even the daily stand-ups, like, this is where I’m gonna talk to the SLs about, like, I just don’t feel like they’re…
229 00:39:04.620 ⇒ 00:39:09.329 Uttam Kumaran: effective, and so I’m like, yo, if maybe you guys should run your own stand-ups, if you feel like it.
230 00:39:09.860 ⇒ 00:39:13.979 Uttam Kumaran: And… the SLs need to plug in where they get called on.
231 00:39:13.980 ⇒ 00:39:20.059 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and I honestly… I never understood why the SLs were running the stand-ups. I also… I always felt like the CSO should run it.
232 00:39:20.150 ⇒ 00:39:25.570 Uttam Kumaran: Well, we just… we felt that way because, like…
233 00:39:26.600 ⇒ 00:39:31.890 Uttam Kumaran: We just wanted… we wanted to batch, because some people were gonna be in, like, 4 meetings.
234 00:39:32.060 ⇒ 00:39:32.550 Pranav Narahari: Right.
235 00:39:32.550 ⇒ 00:39:39.490 Uttam Kumaran: versus, like, being in one. But ultimately, like, I don’t feel currently that, like, Awash or Sam are, like.
236 00:39:40.110 ⇒ 00:39:48.609 Uttam Kumaran: doing anything beyond basic project management in that meeting. I mean, like, I think part of it is their fault, so I want to talk to them today about, like.
237 00:39:49.250 ⇒ 00:40:07.499 Uttam Kumaran: you know, the way… because also, some of the reasons Lilo and some of the reasons that default slipped is because they were not doing those stand-ups. They were not identifying that there were issues. I was getting called on their issues. And so, had they at any moment looked at the Gantt, or, like, been like.
238 00:40:07.740 ⇒ 00:40:24.820 Uttam Kumaran: Like, their job is to identify the risks daily. We don’t need a meeting to be like, what are your tickets? Like, I don’t want to do the call like that. So as of today, I’m kind of like, yo, if that… those meetings are gonna be, what tickets are you working on? I feel like our team is good enough to look at Linear and take on that shit.
239 00:40:24.930 ⇒ 00:40:38.020 Uttam Kumaran: And CSOs would just book ad hoc time with their team when they’re feeling like things are slipping. Yeah. Because I’m down to just call the Element folks once, like, every other day, let’s just talk in the morning, 15 minutes, and that’s it. And I might just do that.
240 00:40:38.180 ⇒ 00:40:40.899 Uttam Kumaran: because I felt like the data service meeting, like.
241 00:40:41.700 ⇒ 00:40:44.909 Uttam Kumaran: it’s too engineering, like, I don’t care, like, you guys, like…
242 00:40:45.190 ⇒ 00:40:52.989 Uttam Kumaran: if there’s an engineering question, talk… let’s talk in Slack. This meeting is for, like, is this client happy? Why or why not? What are we doing this week?
243 00:40:53.220 ⇒ 00:40:56.000 Uttam Kumaran: And I just feel like those aren’t there. Also, like, I don’t know, I just…
244 00:40:56.870 ⇒ 00:40:59.009 Uttam Kumaran: I feel like… yeah, it’s…
245 00:40:59.140 ⇒ 00:41:04.209 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I feel like it’s tough. I’m not… I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of the way it’s going right now.
246 00:41:05.910 ⇒ 00:41:09.009 Pranav Narahari: Yeah. Yeah, I do feel like the stand-ups aren’t, like…
247 00:41:09.530 ⇒ 00:41:16.170 Pranav Narahari: super… it just… it’s… they’re just kind of like, yeah, check in on, like, the tickets.
248 00:41:16.460 ⇒ 00:41:21.799 Pranav Narahari: which I think the CSOs, like, if they need a pulse check, like, on the project, like, to make sure, like, things are going…
249 00:41:21.950 ⇒ 00:41:33.890 Pranav Narahari: like, in the right direction, like, we’re hitting our deadlines, and yeah, ad hoc, or just message them individually, just like, hey Casey, like, what’s the update on this? Like, Mustafa, what’s the update on this? Like, we said that we would get it done by today, like, where’s it at? .
250 00:41:33.890 ⇒ 00:41:38.339 Uttam Kumaran: But I’m like, why don’t you just run an ABC 15-minute stand-up whenever you feel like it?
251 00:41:38.340 ⇒ 00:41:40.729 Pranav Narahari: That’s what I’m thinking, so I’ll just run that ad hoc every once in a while.
252 00:41:40.730 ⇒ 00:41:44.800 Uttam Kumaran: And then… and then my job, like… but this is where, like, I don’t want… I want to make sure that…
253 00:41:45.310 ⇒ 00:41:50.869 Uttam Kumaran: There is, like… And, like, maybe we take the free time and the CSOs meet in the morning.
254 00:41:51.960 ⇒ 00:41:52.680 Pranav Narahari: Hmm.
255 00:41:54.010 ⇒ 00:41:55.330 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
256 00:41:55.660 ⇒ 00:42:00.060 Pranav Narahari: See, now that could be cool, because, like, one common thing that’s gonna occur is be, like.
257 00:42:00.570 ⇒ 00:42:06.479 Pranav Narahari: I don’t have time on that, because I was working on a different client’s stuff. So, like, that’s what happened today, like…
258 00:42:07.030 ⇒ 00:42:13.080 Pranav Narahari: like, or… yeah, when I was talking to Mustafa, he was just giving… he was telling me how, like, yeah, like, I have a lot of other client work.
259 00:42:13.220 ⇒ 00:42:16.220 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, so then maybe we hash that out in the mornings.
260 00:42:16.440 ⇒ 00:42:17.120 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
261 00:42:17.500 ⇒ 00:42:22.420 Uttam Kumaran: And maybe just the delivery, like, maybe the CSOs and SLOs meet, and I just run it.
262 00:42:23.600 ⇒ 00:42:26.120 Uttam Kumaran: And I’m like, but it’s a risk meeting.
263 00:42:27.170 ⇒ 00:42:32.409 Uttam Kumaran: It’s like a… meaning I only talk about, like, whatever’s, like, the biggest risk right now.
264 00:42:32.700 ⇒ 00:42:33.250 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
265 00:42:33.250 ⇒ 00:42:39.439 Uttam Kumaran: So we hop on, and today I would be like… I would be like, hey, Pranav, like, the ABC, like…
266 00:42:39.620 ⇒ 00:42:45.109 Uttam Kumaran: basically tomorrow, I’d be like, look, we had this ABC meeting, I didn’t feel confident about where we were gonna get to, where are we?
267 00:42:45.620 ⇒ 00:42:50.230 Uttam Kumaran: you could be like, hey, I need some help from Mustafa, but he’s… his time is going here.
268 00:42:50.340 ⇒ 00:42:51.600 Uttam Kumaran: What’s the deal?
269 00:42:51.720 ⇒ 00:42:59.220 Uttam Kumaran: Right, and it’s more of that meeting, which is… which is actually what the stand-ups are supposed to be, but maybe they’re not able to do it, and, like.
270 00:42:59.650 ⇒ 00:43:01.080 Uttam Kumaran: We’ll just collapse them.
271 00:43:03.010 ⇒ 00:43:15.539 Pranav Narahari: I think if every CSO comes in knowing, like, how many… how much resource they need for that day, and if we do this as a daily meeting, and I’m like, hey, I need 4 hours from Mustafa today, 4 hours from Casey today, and if, like.
272 00:43:15.710 ⇒ 00:43:31.739 Pranav Narahari: Mustafa is… needs to be on, like, 2 other clients for 4 hours, and it’s like, okay, he doesn’t have 12 hours in the day to work on this, like, where are we going to, like… how are these CSOs going to, like, resolve this? Yeah. At the end of the day, like, we just need to tell Mustafa, Casey, whoever, like.
273 00:43:31.910 ⇒ 00:43:34.120 Pranav Narahari: We need… can you work on this for 3 hours, this for 3.
274 00:43:34.120 ⇒ 00:43:38.250 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, that’s the other thing, is that, like, I just felt that anyone… like…
275 00:43:38.430 ⇒ 00:43:40.539 Uttam Kumaran: People who are working on clients.
276 00:43:41.020 ⇒ 00:43:43.890 Uttam Kumaran: Their time on these meetings were just not helpful.
277 00:43:44.840 ⇒ 00:43:51.229 Uttam Kumaran: Like, I don’t… I think they just typically led to us going too far into the details, which maybe is their job.
278 00:43:51.350 ⇒ 00:43:56.579 Uttam Kumaran: So maybe, like, we just keep it high level, and then I just don’t, like… it’s just, like.
279 00:43:58.530 ⇒ 00:44:02.029 Uttam Kumaran: it’s just the CSOs and the SLs, and it’s more of, like.
280 00:44:04.290 ⇒ 00:44:06.720 Uttam Kumaran: Where’s the… where’s the risk this week?
281 00:44:06.860 ⇒ 00:44:09.049 Uttam Kumaran: And if there’s no risk, we hop out.
282 00:44:09.520 ⇒ 00:44:14.229 Uttam Kumaran: and just run it super tight. But then this is where I’m gonna encourage people, like.
283 00:44:14.390 ⇒ 00:44:17.980 Uttam Kumaran: You should meet with people on your team as you want, like…
284 00:44:18.270 ⇒ 00:44:21.150 Uttam Kumaran: And that’s always what Clarence told me, I just felt like I wanted to
285 00:44:21.590 ⇒ 00:44:24.499 Uttam Kumaran: Go overboard, and then start to, like, pull out.
286 00:44:24.620 ⇒ 00:44:35.810 Uttam Kumaran: So, like, if I was to ask you for… let’s say… let’s say for ABC or Eden, let’s say I do what I’m saying, which is, like, I cut the data and AI service meetings, I create one just with the CSOs in the morning.
287 00:44:36.680 ⇒ 00:44:41.720 Uttam Kumaran: If I was to do that, Like, in… how would you… Change your schedule.
288 00:44:41.870 ⇒ 00:44:42.640 Uttam Kumaran: like…
289 00:44:43.700 ⇒ 00:44:46.450 Pranav Narahari: I would add an additional, like.
290 00:44:46.520 ⇒ 00:45:05.389 Pranav Narahari: 5-10 minutes every morning, where I assess, like, every single ticket and make sure, like, the right progress is made on that ticket. And so, maybe it’s, like, there’s been no update to the linear ticket as… like, let’s say there’s one feature that’s gonna take, like, 5 days, then by Tuesday, I should see 40% completion on that.
291 00:45:05.520 ⇒ 00:45:13.069 Pranav Narahari: And if there isn’t, then I have to understand why. Maybe it’s also, like, I work with whoever is assigned to that ticket to then
292 00:45:13.110 ⇒ 00:45:30.870 Pranav Narahari: be like, okay, they’re gonna work on this Wednesday or Thursday. So then in my… I have to have that calculation of, like, when am I going to see progress on this? And whenever it’s, like, that forecasted amount is not meeting, like, the actual amount, that’s when I have to then reach out and then, like, recalibrate things with the ICs.
293 00:45:33.860 ⇒ 00:45:35.129 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I mean, I agree.
294 00:45:35.600 ⇒ 00:45:36.220 Pranav Narahari: Okay.
295 00:45:38.080 ⇒ 00:45:57.389 Pranav Narahari: Because that’s how I’m thinking, like, after… in that CSO call, right? Like, there’s going to be certain conflicts. There’s going to be… I’m gonna want 60% of Mustafa, and then maybe Greg is gonna want 75% of Mustafa. And so, like, there’s not that much. We just have to, like, figure that out, and then we have to update our timelines, or our resourcing, so that we can…
296 00:45:57.400 ⇒ 00:46:06.720 Pranav Narahari: still hit all our goals for that week, our deliverables, but it’s a conversation me and Greg need to have, not really with Mustafa, right? We need to kind of…
297 00:46:07.120 ⇒ 00:46:09.139 Pranav Narahari: tell Mustafa, like, oh, hey, this is…
298 00:46:09.400 ⇒ 00:46:12.309 Pranav Narahari: Can you work on this? Can you work on that? But we shouldn’t be like…
299 00:46:13.530 ⇒ 00:46:19.970 Pranav Narahari: I shouldn’t… I guess, like, in this situation, right, with Mustafa, like, I shouldn’t be learning about Eden stuff through him.
300 00:46:20.820 ⇒ 00:46:22.090 Pranav Narahari: Through Greg.
301 00:46:22.430 ⇒ 00:46:26.880 Uttam Kumaran: And he shouldn’t be, like, worried about that, like, both of you guys should be on the same page.
302 00:46:26.880 ⇒ 00:46:29.680 Pranav Narahari: Always just be like, oh, this is just the work that’s on my plate today, I’m gonna do it.
303 00:46:30.060 ⇒ 00:46:30.670 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
304 00:46:30.950 ⇒ 00:46:32.749 Pranav Narahari: And it should be manageable, of course.
305 00:46:33.870 ⇒ 00:46:44.230 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, and that’s why… so, two things out of what you said. One is, like, that linear thing, yes. Like, dude, we’ve built all these skills, you could literally use them to be, like, how does my linear shit, like…
306 00:46:44.270 ⇒ 00:46:57.579 Uttam Kumaran: can I take all the transcripts from yesterday and go update whatever tickets? Or maybe you do, like… I’m basically gonna create a skill that runs a risk report before that meeting each morning, and I’m gonna send it to the channel and be like, here’s what I’m gonna ask about.
307 00:46:57.690 ⇒ 00:46:59.330 Pranav Narahari: Like, be prepared.
308 00:46:59.350 ⇒ 00:47:04.279 Uttam Kumaran: Right? Yeah. And so, the other thing is, like, I was always, like.
309 00:47:05.310 ⇒ 00:47:09.990 Uttam Kumaran: I try to let them run the stand-up, but I just don’t think those guys are, like…
310 00:47:10.780 ⇒ 00:47:13.989 Uttam Kumaran: they’re not, like, I don’t know, critical enough, or, like.
311 00:47:14.680 ⇒ 00:47:24.229 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know, I just felt like they weren’t listening to the feedback, which is like, dude, stuff is going out that you’re not… that’s, like, ass, or stuff is not going out. And, like…
312 00:47:24.480 ⇒ 00:47:35.950 Uttam Kumaran: they’re just running, so at this point, like, I feel like I’ll just nix it. I’ll run that meeting with just the higher temperature, and then maybe eventually, like, B runs that meeting in the morning.
313 00:47:36.390 ⇒ 00:47:37.080 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
314 00:47:38.260 ⇒ 00:47:44.939 Uttam Kumaran: You know, and ideally, all the context we need to run that meeting is sort of in the platform, and then maybe he runs it.
315 00:47:45.350 ⇒ 00:47:54.510 Uttam Kumaran: And, like, I mean, I… yeah, and I actually think the time spent with you guys is really high leverage, and then I’ll let you guys sort of, like, dictate your teams however you want.
316 00:47:56.700 ⇒ 00:47:58.220 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, I like that.
317 00:47:59.920 ⇒ 00:48:00.530 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
318 00:48:00.740 ⇒ 00:48:02.490 Uttam Kumaran: Alright, so let’s plan on that, then.
319 00:48:02.760 ⇒ 00:48:06.360 Uttam Kumaran: Did we cover all your topics? Like, what else?
320 00:48:08.770 ⇒ 00:48:11.740 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, that was everything that I wanted to talk about.
321 00:48:11.740 ⇒ 00:48:18.419 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I also think recruiting… I told Kayla to send a note today, which I was basically like, yeah, if you guys are jammed with recruiting, just change your calendars, or change.
322 00:48:18.420 ⇒ 00:48:19.589 Pranav Narahari: the default, like…
323 00:48:19.890 ⇒ 00:48:24.399 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, just like, I want… I don’t want people to get silently put into meetings.
324 00:48:24.650 ⇒ 00:48:25.080 Pranav Narahari: Yep.
325 00:48:25.080 ⇒ 00:48:28.529 Uttam Kumaran: And then be like, oh, but, like, they asked me to. It’s like, no, no, no.
326 00:48:29.230 ⇒ 00:48:32.599 Uttam Kumaran: Get… the work getting done that you sign up for is so paramount.
327 00:48:32.930 ⇒ 00:48:42.030 Uttam Kumaran: As you become a leader in this company, your time will go to… your time will get risked to buy stuff like this. Your job is to protect that, and to say no.
328 00:48:42.380 ⇒ 00:48:47.730 Uttam Kumaran: Right? Yeah. Like, meetings is the first thing that will happen, and it’s just the way this works.
329 00:48:47.800 ⇒ 00:49:02.950 Uttam Kumaran: I can only do so much to prevent that, because I don’t go to some of them, and then so people will… they’ll… people are resourceful. Some things can just… doesn’t have to be a meeting, because you can just say, I don’t think this has to be a meeting. Or, hey, I want to… I need an agenda, or I can only have 30 minutes.
330 00:49:04.980 ⇒ 00:49:13.290 Uttam Kumaran: Right? So push on everybody. You’re… someone’s asking for your time, you can push, just like… just like if you’re coming to a meeting with me, I’m gonna push, right? So just think about that.
331 00:49:13.590 ⇒ 00:49:17.819 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, like, at the end of the day, my calendar isn’t actually free, it’s like, I have to do other.
332 00:49:17.820 ⇒ 00:49:20.670 Uttam Kumaran: No, I know, so that’s… but, like, that’s what I’m saying, also…
333 00:49:20.870 ⇒ 00:49:39.740 Pranav Narahari: that in the calendar, probably. That’s the best way for me to do it. Be like, hey, this time is, like, spent on me working on CSO stuff, or ABC, or I need to do this thing for Eden or something. That’s what needs to be in the calendar, just so, like, it doesn’t get booked with, like… Yeah, last week I was getting… I got, like, 4 interviews,
334 00:49:40.000 ⇒ 00:49:45.269 Pranav Narahari: And it was at the worst time. It’s, like, in the mornings, when I’m, like, trying to be productive. Yeah. Yeah.
335 00:49:45.270 ⇒ 00:49:45.810 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
336 00:49:46.620 ⇒ 00:49:47.390 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
337 00:49:47.800 ⇒ 00:49:48.810 Pranav Narahari: This is great, yeah.
338 00:49:48.810 ⇒ 00:49:53.680 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, cool. Alright, yeah, and we’ll keep this weekly until… not needed, so no problem.
339 00:49:54.430 ⇒ 00:50:01.600 Pranav Narahari: One… one other thing, so, for… and I kind of messaged, like, finance about this.
340 00:50:02.050 ⇒ 00:50:04.130 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I saw that. Did they get back to you?
341 00:50:04.930 ⇒ 00:50:08.530 Pranav Narahari: Let me double-check now if they got back to me today.
342 00:50:08.650 ⇒ 00:50:14.009 Pranav Narahari: But I think I was… That all made sense, right?
343 00:50:15.120 ⇒ 00:50:17.430 Uttam Kumaran: I need to reread.
344 00:50:19.140 ⇒ 00:50:20.560 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, they got back to you?
345 00:50:20.560 ⇒ 00:50:22.550 Pranav Narahari: No, they didn’t get back.
346 00:50:22.550 ⇒ 00:50:23.200 Uttam Kumaran: Oh.
347 00:50:23.490 ⇒ 00:50:24.160 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
348 00:50:24.230 ⇒ 00:50:28.460 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, I’m sure they’re, like, looking at it today.
349 00:50:28.670 ⇒ 00:50:32.919 Pranav Narahari: Okay, cool. Yeah, no rush, I just wanted to let you know about that. Okay.
350 00:50:33.630 ⇒ 00:50:34.540 Pranav Narahari: Perfect.
351 00:50:35.220 ⇒ 00:50:36.090 Pranav Narahari: Alright.
352 00:50:36.090 ⇒ 00:50:37.040 Uttam Kumaran: Okay. Thank you, dude.
353 00:50:37.370 ⇒ 00:50:38.719 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, talk to you later. See ya.
354 00:50:38.720 ⇒ 00:50:39.240 Uttam Kumaran: Bye.