Priyom Sarka doesn’t just lead a startup he challenges the systems that define it. As Co-Founder and CEO of Asanify AI, Priyom Sarka is not here to glamorize hustle or romanticize the chaos often found in fast-growing companies. Instead, he confronts a hard truth many founders choose to ignore: Productivity in startups is broken, and it’s not a Gen Z problem. It’s a leadership problem. A systemic issue. One that he admits he and many others unintentionally helped create.
Priyom Sarka’s recent reflection on LinkedIn strikes a nerve because it doesn’t shift blame it takes responsibility. In his own words, task masking is a modern workplace disease. It’s when team members appear busy, yet nothing moves forward. It’s the performance of productivity: meetings that have no real purpose, endless Slack messages, dashboards that gather dust, and a culture of late-night “presence” pings meant to simulate commitment.
And as Priyom Sarka boldly puts it, this isn’t the fault of the team. This is the fault of leadership.
Priyom Sarka doesn’t stand on a pedestal preaching solutions from theory. Instead, he shares the introspective journey of a founder who recognized that hiring smart, driven individuals wasn’t enough. Surrounding them with Slack chaos, undefined KPIs, and a “let’s catch up” culture didn’t create velocity it created noise. And in that noise, task masking thrived.
But awareness is only the beginning. What sets Priyom Sarka apart is what he chose to do next. At Asanify AI, he’s not just talking about change; he’s implementing it piece by piece, system by system.
Here’s what Priyom Sarka and his team are doing differently:
Weekly visible goals per team so outcomes are no longer hidden behind activity logs or vanity metrics.
Fewer standups, more shipped progress valuing execution over excessive alignment.
Tracking check-offs, not just hours recognizing value created, not time spent.
Defaulting to “value” as the core language reframing how productivity is even discussed.
These are not abstract ideas. They are concrete operational shifts ones that demand effort, clarity, and most of all, trust.
Priyom Sarka calls out something fundamental: we’ve been rewarding “time spent” over “value created.” And when that’s the case, why wouldn’t people perform productivity? The incentive structure rewards appearances. But it is in how we reward and define work that cultures are either built or broken.
Priyom Sarka’s philosophy isn’t about tearing down hustle. It’s about reconstructing focus. At Asanify AI, they’re simplifying how productivity is defined. By making outcomes visible, cutting through noise, and embedding systems of trust, they are unlearning what hasn’t worked and redesigning what must.
Importantly, Priyom Sarka doesn’t vilify employees. He doesn’t complain about “young talent not working hard.” In fact, he defends them. The problem isn’t laziness or entitlement it’s a system that has rewarded confusion and chaos. And that system, he admits, was unintentionally built by the very leaders trying to scale their companies.
What makes Priyom Sarka’s perspective valuable is its honesty. His post isn’t a marketing pitch for Asanify AI it’s a call for introspection across the startup world. Because task masking doesn’t just kill productivity it kills morale, trust, and momentum.
Yet, Priyom Sarka believes that fixing it doesn’t mean micromanagement or surveillance. It means clarity. It means intentional systems. It means recognizing that real progress isn’t noisy it’s quiet, focused, and value-driven.
The team sync photo Priyom Sarka shares isn’t just a snapshot of culture it’s evidence of conversation in motion. Real discussions. Hard questions. And perhaps most importantly, space for everyone to be heard.
Priyom Sarka reminds us that founders aren’t just product builders. They’re culture architects. And if the workplace culture rewards noise, confusion, and endless status updates, then the product itself will suffer no matter how smart the team is.
In today’s world of hybrid work, blurred boundaries, and digital overload, Priyom Sarka’s message is timely. As teams scale, so do problems unless they’re addressed early and openly. And for that to happen, leadership must evolve. Systems must evolve. Language must evolve.
Tackling task masking is not just about output metrics. It’s about restoring trust in people, in processes, and in purpose. Priyom Sarka isn’t promising perfection. But he’s offering a roadmap built on experimentation, responsibility, and above all, accountability.
In a startup ecosystem often driven by vanity milestones and hypergrowth, Priyom Sarka’s vision is refreshingly grounded. He doesn’t ignore the challenges but he refuses to accept a broken status quo.
By asking, “What’s your system for killing task masking without killing trust?”, Priyom Sarka challenges every leader to examine not just what they expect from their teams but what systems they’ve built around those expectations.
The most powerful insight from Priyom Sarka’s reflection? That leaders don’t have to choose between productivity and trust. With clarity, intent, and the courage to rethink what’s always been done, they can have both.
