At the end of the season four premiere of Silicon Valley (available to stream anytime on HBO Now), Pied Piper founder Richard (Thomas Middleditch) announced he was quitting the company to start a new project all on his own. His parting thought, however, was to make Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) the new CEO, being that he was the one who came up with the company’s new video chat platform in the first place.
While the move came as a shock to everyone, except Big Head (Josh Brener), who saw it as a welcome relief, there have been signs from the get-go that Dinesh has both the technical know-how and natural charisma to lead a tech company. While it’s uncertain how long this new position of power will last, here’s a look at all those moments in the show’s run that suggest that Dinesh is a natural leader.
He Speaks His Mind
Dinesh shows his penchant for leadership pretty early on, specifically when Richard shows off their company’s unintentionally phallic logo, which Dinesh compares to “a guy sucking a d*ck, and he’s got another d*ck tucked behind his ear for later.” Even though his plea goes mostly unheard, it doesn’t sway Dinesh from voicing his opinions wherever he can.
Even in his position as a coder with a handful of the company’s shares, Dinesh’s inability to be silent hints at a leader who’s just waiting to come out of his shell.
He Sees Opportunity Everywhere
When Pied Piper’s unwatched live-stream featuring some California Condor eggs takes a turn for the dramatic, it proves to be a make-or-break moment in the company’s already storied history. But before their feed goes mega-viral, sparking a server-melting frenzy, Dinesh shows that he was not only hoping for this to happen, but rallies everyone to come together and keep the feed going, assuring them it’ll be their chance to “fail by succeeding.”
Not everyone can see an opportunity in the middle of a crisis, but natural leaders like Dinesh will not only see one, they’ll dig right in so they can help make it a reality.
He’s An Eternal Optimist
With the fate of Pied Piper resting on a legal arbitration, rather than giving everything they’ve built to their rival, Gavin Belson (Matt Ross), Richard orders everyone to wipe their servers clean in a last-ditch act of desperation. As everyone mulls over the possibility of them getting away with such a catastrophic mishap, Dinesh puts their brief history together into perspective and makes their incompetence seem not only possible but practically inevitable.
Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to focus only the positive, but putting the best face on any given situation goes a long way in inspiring people.
He Strives To Be The Best
When Pied Piper was saddled with a new CEO (Stephen Tobolowsky), the company is faced with the droll reality of having to make a simple data storage device instead of their beloved platform. With morale plummeting all around him, Dinesh seizes the moment, inspiring everyone to go beyond what’s expected and build a truly revolutionary piece of hardware, regardless of their situation.
Even as they face a dream-crushing reality, Dinesh can’t stop being a cheerleader for his fellow engineers, rallying them to a cause to do the best possible job they can.
He Believes In His Ideas
With Dinesh’s video chat app in full swing, he immediately knows that he has something worthwhile, even before it’s the company’s primary focus. He goes so far as to brag about it to a girl he’s trying to impress, completely ignoring her criticism that it sounds like a warmed-over version of Skype.
Sure, he talks about himself being part of a team, but he’s not subtle at all when bragging about his own platform. Like all great leaders, he doesn’t just believe in his ideas, he wants everyone to believe in them along with him.
He’s A Shameless Self-Promoter
Of course, on of the true marks of a real leader is endless self-aggrandizement. Even amidst Dinesh’s repeated remarks that smack of self-deprecation, deep down, Dinesh really believes that his perfectly symmetrical features make him comparable to a Pakistani version of Denzel Washington.
Hell, he even built the PiperChat app solely to impress one of his employees with his good looks (which did not go over as expected). While his looks may not live up to his own expectations, his determination, know-how, and all-around charisma are all defining qualities among those in power. Lead on, Dinesh. Or, at least, don’t f*ck it up.
