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There was a time when school meant curiosity.

I learnt science, maths, and English — not just subjects, but the grammar of thinking.

Until Class 12, learning was pure — teachers mattered, logic mattered, curiosity mattered.

Then came Engineering College — where I learnt a different equation:

System + Syllabus + Sleepwalking = Mediocrity.

Partly the system’s fault. Partly the student’s. Mostly both.

My first job at ITI changed everything.

That’s where I learnt the real fundamentals —

not just of technology, but of character.

I learnt to read voraciously, question relentlessly, and think futuristically.

Ingenuity wasn’t a word anymore — it was survival.

Owning your part of the project wasn’t ego — it was ethics.

Helping others wasn’t charity — it was how systems actually worked.

Then came TUL (Tata Unisys) — a different arena altogether.

Everyone was smart. Everyone was fast.

Competition was not to prove, but to improve.

Travel, exposure, and projects taught me not just how to do things,

but more importantly, how not to.

SWIFT was another universe.

Depth was the religion.

Security was the doctrine.

You didn’t just write code — you wrote trust.

Every product, every patch, every packet had to survive the scrutiny of the world’s best banks.

If something broke, your night was over before it began.

That’s where I learnt what accountability really meant —

no excuses, only precision.

Life moved on — B2C, B2B, boardrooms, budgets, and burnouts.

From individual contributor to General Manager, I learnt how business actually breathes —

admin, finance, delivery, culture.

First under great mentors, later under my own instincts.

That’s when I realized — innovation isn’t about bleeding edge tech.

It’s about that split-second when your mind says impossible,

but your hands and brain quietly go ahead and do it anyway.

And through all of this — I’ve stood dead against the ISO-CMM circus.

Quality cannot be templated.

You don’t certify brilliance — you inspire it.

The day paperwork became performance, innovation died a silent death.

I’ve always believed — don’t hire people to “do jobs.”

Let code, process, and design do the job multiple times.

Humans are for empathy, creativity, curiosity, and care —

not to sit and type printf(“Hello”)

or still drive bullock carts while the world builds self-driving code.

Today, as I watch AI agents doing what we once did,

I feel both nostalgic and vindicated.

Technology finally caught up with the dream we once had —

that machines should handle the mechanical,

so humans can stay beautifully human.

Because in the end —

the purpose of intelligence, artificial or otherwise,

is not to make us slaves of efficiency,

but free thinkers of possibility.

— JiYes 🧠⚡

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