Conversation with CTO Career

2025-03-22

Today, Abhishek (our CTO) talked to me about career choices. He explained that there are two main paths people can take. The first is becoming an “initiative leader,” which means managing teams and projects.

He said people like Umar (a colleague) are good at this because they can get 20 or more people to work together smoothly. The second path is focusing only on solving technical problems, like working at companies such as Tesla or Google Cloud, where your job is to build advanced technology. He mentioned that while technical roles pay well, they might limit growth unless you’re constantly learning.

He told me that no matter what path I choose, I should always work in a place where I feel like I’m growing. Every few months, I should ask myself: “Do I know more now than I did before?” If the answer is no, something is wrong. This reminded me of the idea of lifelong learning, which many successful people talk about today, especially in a world where jobs and technology change so fast.

Abhishek’s Journey at Infosys He shared his own story. When he joined Infosys (a big tech company), it wasn’t by accident. During his internship, a leader named Sanjay Mohan—who used to run IBM’s India division—handpicked him from thousands of students after a very tough coding test.

For three years, Abhishek worked on a special project, but it failed because of legal issues. Sanjay left Infosys, and Abhishek moved to another team working on sustainability tools. Later, that same team asked him to start a startup with them.

That’s how he became a co-founder for the first time. This made me think about how life rarely goes as planned. Even smart people face failures, but they keep trying new things.

It’s like the saying: “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Growing Smarter Every Year Abhishek said the key to growth is doing things that scare you a little. Every year, he tries something he’s never done before. For example, when he started managing teams, he had to learn how to communicate better.

When he built startups, he learned to handle uncertainty. He can’t measure his growth in numbers (“50% smarter”), but he feels it. He understands the world better now, like how businesses work or how to solve problems step-by-step.

This reminded me of the “growth mindset” idea from psychology—where you believe you can improve through effort. It’s the opposite of thinking your skills are fixed. In today’s world, where jobs like AI or green energy are booming, staying curious matters more than ever.

The “Architect Mentality” He explained that real learning happens when you plan deeply. For example, if you’re building an app, don’t just start coding. First, think: “What could go wrong?

How might users misunderstand it?” This “architect” way of thinking helps in life too. Imagine planning a party—you’d list tasks like buying snacks, inviting friends, and cleaning the house. Breaking big tasks into small steps makes them less scary.

He also linked this to procrastination. When we delay work, it’s often because we’re unsure how to start. But if you break the task into tiny pieces (“I’ll spend 10 minutes researching”), it feels manageable.

This reminded me of the “atomic habits” philosophy—tiny changes can lead to big results over time. My Thoughts Abhishek’s advice made me realize that growth isn’t just about skills or money. It’s about building confidence by facing challenges.

His story showed me that even successful people have setbacks. What matters is keeping that hunger to learn. Right now, the world is full of opportunities in fields like AI, climate tech, and health.

But it’s easy to feel stuck, especially when comparing yourself to others online. Abhishek’s idea of focusing on your own progress—not others’—feels like a good way to stay grounded. I’m still unsure about my own projects, like Foodaspas.

But maybe I can use his “architect” method: break the work into small steps instead of getting overwhelmed. And if I keep trying new things, even if they fail, I’ll at least learn something. That’s better than standing still.