Bangladesh Corporate Blog

Don't drive the hujur away

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:30:00 +0000

I spent a considerable amount of my early teen days to cook up compelling and innovative stories to keep Lokman Hujur at bay. Awful I thought were those days when Hujur used to show up in lazy, hot, humid afternoons to teach me the Quran and how to pray properly. Lokman Hujur had a legacy of giving 'sohi koran shikkha' to many of my cousins, uncles etc. who, along with me, had spent some quality time in mugging up basic excerpts (suraas) to manage day to day prayer requirements. I also remember during my 16th birthday, my late Nanabhai presented me a blue-cover 'Shohoj Arbi Shikkha' (Easy Arabic Learning) language learning book fresh from New Market. He was my inspiration and mentor to ignite my interest in foreign languages. However, perhaps with one exception that of Arabic. Everytime Lokman Hujur and even Nanabhai used to portray and preach to me Arabic as the language to achieve divine guidance and licence to salvation, my teenage mind used to rebel relentlessly. After all, Hujurs...

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Variable Compensation Drives Performance

noreply@blogger.com (Mohasin Mithu) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Guess which company was the world’s most innovative company in 2011? Yes, it is Apple, as determined by BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group. Regardless of the measures considered, Apple and Google have consistently been at the top of the list of the most successful companies in the world. What are the secrets of their success? Among other factors, a performance based culture is the key driver for their accomplishments and common in both companies. Like most high performing companies, Apple and Google offer their people the opportunity to share in the success those people help create through variable compensation. A few examples would illustrate the importance of variable compensation in high performing companies. Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, drew an annual salary of $1 for 13 years. Wait, that $1 is not all! He earned billions of dollars through gains in stocks – he owned 5.5 million shares of Apple and share price of Apple skyrocketed with its superior...

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The Fall and Rise of "Jack"

noreply@blogger.com (Sabih Ahmed) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:04:00 +0000

"Jack of all trades, master of none." I dunno about others but I literally grew up on that. I guess that's customary for all army brats. The military life has the smell of standardization in just about everything. While in uniform, one is put through every imaginable crisis and stress rising up the chain of command. Which in turn makes the men weather ready and somewhat multi-functional. But then economy prospered and we liberalized. We moved out of the disciplinary ways of life dubbing it medieval and anti-intellectual. Our careers thrived with specializations, the mastering of a specific skill seemed to make all the difference. In fact from the days of Civil Service or Military Service being the foremost prestigious professions, we progressed to Private Service as the chosen one. Capitalism happened. And like many times before this, we took a ride with the flow. Born in the 80's in Bangladesh meant you were exposed to the last of these legendary Jacks. The...

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10-Point check for Customer Service : Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Khandoker Rahman) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:25:00 +0000

You might be interested to read part I before proceeding to read this section of the write-up. Point 6: Is your customer service personnel trained to handle complains? Complain handling is traditionally seen as the most important concern for the customer service department. Effective handling of customer complains could open up new opportunities for sustaining a long term customer relationship. As already noted earlier, the opportunity of emotional bonding with customers is best served not when customers are happy, but when something goes wrong and unhappy customers show up or call for redressal. However, handling complain is not an easy task since customers vary by expectations and nature of problems could also have variety in itself. Simply knowing rules of engagement and a printed manual with lists of problems and solutions are not what we are talking about. Complain handling goes beyond the boundary of a printed manual. It is about empathy- an essential part of...

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10-Point check for Customer Service : Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Khandoker Rahman) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 05:43:00 +0000

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Hartal and traffic free - work from home

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:24:00 +0000

Does your company allow you to work from home? Given the fact the spoilticians (spoilt politicians) are determined to make ‘hartal’ part and parcel of life in the country, may be human resource department in your company will need to review existing policies to encourage and allow employees to work from home if required. Other than hartals, think about the snarling traffic or even any emergency family issues which will require you to stay back at home. Rather than taking a day off or calling sick falsely, it would be nice if your company introduces flexible policies to accommodate familial and social realities. In the end of the day, what is more important is getting agreed outputs from employees as part of their job contract – physical presence in the office premises is required but the job should be done and can be done from any location, if technology, infrastructure and rules are in place. Working from home too much has its own risks – either you end up working too much...

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তাক ধুম তাক ধুম বাজাও বাংলাদেশের ঢোল !

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:50:00 +0000

I had the great privilege of taking part in the recent Liveperson Aspire 2012 conference held in Vinopolis near London Bridge in London. In the agenda there was a music session in the end which didn’t leave much for imagination at first as I was thinking that this must be some sort of a live performance of some sort. From all my previous experiences of attending training sessions in Bangladesh and even in the UK – usually anything to do with music always ended up someone or some group of musicians performing live music, song etc. while the crowd mingled around. Sometimes they ended up taking group photos , dinner or heading straight to pub (in UK). What I experienced in this conference completely took me by surprise and I was left amused by the innovation in the way they linked music with team building and to rejuvenate participants after a long day of seminars and workshops. When we returned to the main hall in the concluding session we found hand drums neatly kept under our...

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Calling your community of customers

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:25:00 +0000

What do you call the community of customers who use your product and services? True that may be you can take a step back and ask yourself whether you nurture a community of customers in the first place or not, may be you are focusing so much on treating every customer as unique individuals that you are moving your sight away from the combined whole – a community. I think the trick lies in striking a balance so that your customers feel to be treated as a unique person with unique needs and requirements from your business but at the same time can feel part of a bigger community of users with whom they can share their experience of using your services and products. I am sure you are aware that Lady Gaga fondly calls her fans and followers as ‘Little Monsters’ whereas Justin Bieber has labelled his army of mostly teenage girls as ‘Beliebers’. May be the kind of business you are in, you don’t need to label the community of your customers as anything at all. But do give it a thought...

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A Commoner's City

noreply@blogger.com (Sabih Ahmed) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +0000

I have been called many things. From a snob, a flaunt, a narcissist to a bundle of talent, the list is quite long. I myself started a few jargon from time to time. Geek, madman, poor man's genius son, puny, helpless and what not. But nothing in the lines of being a responsible citizen or social change agent. And I'd prefer it like that. Today's story isn't much about being thoughtful of the world around me, but more of the take of a common man. Over time as our knowledge and wealth has prospered, the basics of immersing ourselves into new ideas (much like a sponge) has gone missing. I'll try and shed some light on such a burning issue in today's piece. Dhaka, the city of dreams for many Bangladeshis has been inhabited by people for over thousand years now. With over 16 million people, its not only the 9th largest megacity in the world but also the heart of Bangladesh. Commercial hub, administrative capital, epicenter of culture and education...

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Where does your boss sit?

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:40:00 +0000

Have you ever thought how it impacts the way you sit in an office floor? More importantly, have you ever noticed how our line managers/bosses are seated relative to other staff and how it conveys certain work place cultures? Traditionally in almost all the companies that I have worked in or visited in Bangladesh are really effective in making clear by way of artefacts, physical boundaries, glass walls, bigger and more comfortable chairs (often wrapped with clean towels) – who the boss around is. There is this invisible space that is being created by virtue of various furniture and demarcations to establish the work place hierarchy. But to what extent that influences the culture that you have in your company? More importantly I am not sure how many companies in Bangladesh take up office interior designing as a professional service and to what extent they consult companies on the setups of office spaces and links to company culture that it nurtures. I have worked in office...

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Rohim Chacha Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Sabih Ahmed) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:39:00 +0000

What started out as a US Army recruitment poster for the two World Wars, ended up being "the most famous poster in the world." Yes, I am talking about none else but the venerable Uncle Sam. The poster went on to stamp an identity which personified the US Government whole-heartedly. The obvious nature of dictating terms, the relentless pursuit of self-serving objectives and the frequent yet unnecessary agression in world politics... all can be drawn up from this one-the-face visual. When they want it, they would leave no stone unturned to get it! They are, and will be America!!! But as always, the beginning of my stories are hardly in relation to the body. Its sole purpose of existence is to get you to the body :p With the growing number of GPA-5 achievers and declining number of Science students, the dynamics of the talent pool in Bangladesh is changing fast. The traditional employment behemoths are facing the heat and their efforts to...

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I am the prophet of Underground Meerkating

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:19:00 +0000

My name is Hitler, Prophet Hitler 420. No it is not like Bond, James Bond 007. My numbers 420 are module codes taught in Left-Right University, a prominent and first ever private university of Bangladesh. Today in this sermon, I want to tell you about a pilgrimage called Underground Meerkating Summit which is the best thing that I have done in recent times and which is the best thing you will ever attend in your meerkating career. Read on. If you already haven’t red my preachings on how to be a good meerkat during your university days, I urge you to close your browser right now and go back to your study table to know more about my preaching about God - the King Customer. I am sure you can recall that there were many other wise men during my time, but I can assure you that I was wiser than them and hence ‘O you souls of Bengal, thou shalt converth into meinen religionen’…nevermind what that means. If you also don’t know what meerkats are what meerkating is, go fly a kite next to...

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An MBA - More 'Bout Attitude - than anything else

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:09:00 +0000

I took part recently in the MBA Advisory Group of my previous university where we discussed with alumni and staff on how to reposition the MBA to new students and potential employers. There I again realised a belief I always hold in relation to MBA is that this degree is more of an attitude than a piece of paper. I think there are three variables working in a triangular relation that make a good MBA holder stand out from an extra ordinary one. They are - institution/environment, your own talent and external perceptions. If for example you naturally have some business acumen, entrepreneurial, with superior presentation, analytical and people handling skills and you happen to get a degree from IBA or NSU, chances are high that employers may have a better perception towards your capabilities or potentials. So all your three variables in the MBA triangle are strong and in your favour. If however you turn out to be basically an airhead with a lot of intellectual...

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the blur!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabih Ahmed) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:11:00 +0000

I always enjoyed writing something or the other. It never really had to be about something. At times they made sense, mostly didn't. But it really wasn't an issue, cause I thoroughly enjoyed the WRITING part! Opposed to popular belief, productivity in terms of coming up with original content went up once I had started my career. Although a career in "servicing" in an advertising agency is not deemed creative, the company and its core services surely is. Even the well acclaimed and universally accepted creative ego is "creative" in nature, though it differs greatly from person to person with a greater scope!!! Through the peaks and troughs of my career, I've kept my blog as something very cynical, delicate and mostly personal. If anything, over the years I've become so obsessed with "quality writing" that a thousand inspirations come and go, yet nothing ever gets posted. This pursuit of excellence has cost me no less than a dozen pieces in the past few years....

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Soft talks about SoftExpo2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:10:00 +0000

Anderson: Rob how are you? What’s new? Robertson: Busy times mate, I am travelling again, this time to Bangladesh next week. Anderson: Bangla what? And why? What’s happening down there? Robertson: Bangladesh. They’ve got a software expo coming up next week, supposedly their biggest and getting bigger every year… Anderson: Software expo? In Bangladesh? I thought they are still exporting what you and I are wearing and a lot of human beings all around the world to build buildings…but software? What drags you in this new thing? Robertson: That has changed long time ago my friend. This Softexpo thing is going to change a lot of my assumptions too, so I thought why not be there in person to find out. Anderson: Good then, I know a lot people in Bangalore, they can show you around the companies that can do the thing for you. Robertson: I am not going to Bangalore, it is Bangladesh, its next to India – a small country, but seem to have some speciality in what they are doing...

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Lionel Messi and scoring goals with your CV

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:41:00 +0000

Imagine if Lionel Messi will ever have the misfortune to apply for a job through bdjobs.com what would be key strength of this CV? If you and I are singing from the same hymn sheet then we are right to say that it will be number of goals that he has scored throughout his career as the world’s best footballer. Same goes for your CV too. The more CVs I receive and get asked by people I know for a quick glance makes me want to reiterate the fact that what you have achieved in your previous work experiences is more important than what you have actually done, the processes you have followed to achieve those results. In other words, results in a CV stand out than mere blabbering about processes and description of your role. Coming back to Messi, may be it is of less importance how many games he appeared in or may be how many times he helped setup a goal which got scored by his teammates in Barcelona or Argentina. Even less important would be how many times Messi appeared in the...

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Talent Haat

noreply@blogger.com (Sabih Ahmed) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:26:00 +0000

Where's my haat? Thanks to my dad's overly hopping career (unlike the majority who's reading this) I've had the privilege to experience what the gram bangla'r haat is, first hand. From the Sunday haats in my village home to other weekly haats in various towns across Bangladesh, they have always been appealing in their own ways. Its a must visit for all who cherishes the famed picturesque Bangladesh. Since that day is not far when we might actually have to re-live the haat experience through word of mouth alone. But I am not a policymaker nor am I the golden son of the soil who stands up to a "haat bachao" movement. If anything, I am the geek who resorts to a blogging platform and power of words to use haats to get reader's attention to my demeaning diary. To us, the masses... the aspiration to go digital by 2021 was an ambitious dream by the Government. But a good dream, indeed. I mean at least through that our policymakers and citizens could at least go to...

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Happy new year of customisation dear customers!

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:55:00 +0000

A very happy, prosperous, fruitful and personalised new year for you dear readers! Yes, did you notice that? It is all going to be about personalisation and customisation of your choices as a consumer, that is what I predict and sincerely hope for 2012. If the Times magazine can dedicate the cover page for the person of the year to the 'Protester', what holds us back from claiming business products and services exactly the way we want them to be? Remember technology is bringing down barriers and mobile phones are small devices with big powers in our hands, so don't be shy to consume a product or service from a business in Bangladesh the way it suits you, your family and your needs. Hell with economies of scale, if I am going to spend my money on your product and services, I very well demand it to be as per my name on it, to suit my moods and needs - on demand ! Otherwise, I am just a click away to tell the whole world what your business is truly is all about. Happy new...

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How to Globalize your Market - Guest blog by Carolyn Knight

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:53:00 +0000

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Can you select all (CTRL+A) to be a Bangladeshi adult?

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:20:00 +0000

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Jolkona - how micro-donations can lead to macro impacts

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:36:00 +0000

In a country where we have 26,000+ NGOs, it is always expected that innovative solutions to alleviating poverty will come from within the country first rather than only from foreign aid, foreign know-how and foreign goodwill. If necessity is the mother of all inventions, then it has really produced inventions such as micro-credit and luminaries like Dr. Yunus and Sir Abed. While it is appreciated what esteemed individuals like these have contributed to the world and to the fight against poverty, let us also look around and see what a relatively younger generation, with less grey hair than Yunus-Abed, is doing in relation to fundraising, poverty alleviation and technology. Jolkona Foundation is such an organisation which I have been following for a while now. Assuming you have checked out what they are all about, let me delve straight into my thoughts about their venture. The Bangla link With due respect to the globalised team they have, we can take pride in the...

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Dhaka Tweetup and Bloggers Meetup Featuring Mark Hillary with ITC and BASIS

noreply@blogger.com (Asif Anwar - SEOExpertBD) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:53:00 +0000

Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and International Trade Centre (ITC) jointly organizing the first ever Tweetup for bloggers, microbloggers, and tweeters in Bangladesh featuring Mark Hillary. This might turn out to be a great event for all bloggers and tweeters in Bangladesh. About Mark Hillary Mark Hillary is a British Blogger running his IT Research Company in São Paulo, Brazil. Being a part of the generation when Brazil was a developing country, he has been widely experienced in technology, outsourcing, and globalization. He blogs for Reuters and the Huffington Post from UK. Mark has authored a new book on Twitter Features Interviews, which includes case studies that includes many social media elites - including David Cameron, the British Prime Minister. He is shortlisted as the "Blogger of the year" by Computer Weekly, UK's leading technology magazine. However, the results for...

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What else to do in a Barista in Dhaka?

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Pretty much like aggressively growing mushrooms, I was not surprised to see Barista coffee shops in happening locations in Dhaka. Having walked into the shops in Uttara and Gulshan on two different occasions, it reminded me of my good old days of under-graduate studies in Delhi, India, when hanging out in Baristas with my yaars during 2000-2003 was a cool thing to do. Other than the great coffee experience and checking out coffee lovers of the fairer sex, there were also that acoustic guitar waiting patiently round the corner for a gentle strum, board-games such as chess and Scrabble for people to play and pass away their time sipping over great blends of coffee. I wonder why I only found guitars in the Barista outlets in Dhaka. There were no board games made available. Is it because that the Barista franchisers think that the Bangladeshi customers should only be limited to doing a karaoke-harikiri of themselves at their premises and limit the damages? Or is it because they are...

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Why Mahfuz Anam's job is easy?

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:15:00 +0000

In a bid to encourage me to learn better English, my late grandfather used to urge me to read the Daily Star on a regular basis from when I was as young as 15. So having read the leading English daily of Bangladesh for an ardent 17 years, I have now realised that the job of the editor Mr. Mahfuz Anam has been very easy – almost tantamount to a walk in the park (Ramna, Chandrima etc.). A few hypotheses to support my assumptions are here. Use of copy-paste, find-replace I am sure the Daily Star editor makes use of these computer functions since their establishment in 1991. It seems that nothing much have changed to report differently regarding the following issues from 1991 till 2011. So what Mahfuz Sir does is simply have a cycle of these stories to appear on his prestigious daily on a programmed basis, changing the names of actor involved, dates, locations as they happen– Political accusations and counter accusations by Bangladeshi polishitians*, Allegations ...

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Four 'how cow' business tips for this Eid

noreply@blogger.com (Shehzaad Shams) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:38:00 +0000

Eid Mubarak! Now that the major part of day’s Qurbani related activities are done- it is time to reflect on a few ‘how cow’ business tips which could have been really interesting to realise as a run up to Eid ul Azha –as it is celebrated in Bangladesh. #1 Let it not go to waste In my opinion, waste management, environmental and recycling services should be next big business in Bangladesh where to both make money and preserve the nature at the same time. Having a few trips around Dhaka in a few cattle markets and noticing the immeasurable shit being literally wasted – both at the ‘haat’ premises and during the walking from the ‘haat’ to home – is really a big waste. Since all the ‘haats’ being built as a run up to Eid ul Azha are make-shifts, little planning could have made sure to have some sort of a raised platform to keep the cattle to safely dispose cattle waste, accumulate them or drain them to a storage for turning into compost or natural fertiliser, bio-fuel etc. Cows...

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