World view by Doc

Nexus Toastmasters Cricket Tournament

2012-02-10T19:16:00.001+05:30

The Nexus Toastmasters cricket Tournament was held in Bangalore, organized by Blue Expression Toastmasters Club. The tournament was won by TCS- Infosys. The tournament was sponsored by The Social people, A social media strategy firm.

Paithani Sarees: A legacy of the ancient India.

2012-02-04T20:55:00.001+05:30

(Image source: ibtimes)

Genelia D’Souza recently painted the town red by wearing ahand crafted Paithani saree designed by Neeta Lulla for her wedding. Kajol had done the same earlier for her wedding with Ajay Devgn.
Paithani Saree a legacy from the days of ancient India, is actually handmade rich sarees made in Paithan near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

There was a time when the silk used in a Paithani saree used to come from China but today the silk is sourced from Bangalore.

Paithani is characterised by borders of an oblique square design, and a pallu with a peacock design. Plain as well as spotted designs are available. Among other varieties, single colored and kaleidoscope-colored designs are also popular. The kaleidoscopic effect is achieved by using one color for weaving lengthwise and another for weaving widthwise.

The saree form almost died out but has been revived thanks to the efforts of a few designers led by Ritu Kumar.

But the history of the Paithani saree goes back more than 2000 years.
Paithan, at one time was visited by Greek traders between 400 to 200 B.C during the Satvahana era for the Paithani weave. The exquisite silk from Paithani was exported to many countries and was traded for gold and precious stones. This weaving tradition has survived over 2000 years and has been contemporarised to suit modern tastes.

Paithani sarees were worn by royalty, and were treated as heirlooms. These could take months to weave. Motifs of parrots and flowers are very popular and many of the motifs used on a Paithani sari are derived from the Ajanta Caves.
The technique is found in Central Asia, Egypt and Latin American textiles. In Central Asia it was initially woven in wool. Later, the technique was developed in China for intricate silk weaves.

It is possible that this technique came to India from Central Asia and was developed into a fine art in the Deccan. Saris from the end of the previous century and the beginning of this century, which are associated with Paithan and Hyderabad, are in a thick rich silk in royal colours like purple, maroonish red and orange with a gold metal border of thread. They usually had a gold pallu with a border pattern of curving leaves and flowers on all four sides often with a central buta of a stylised flowering shrub. A genuine handwoven Paithani can take anything from two months to a year to produce.
(Source: http://test.timenstyle.com/article/6/201105192011051917463976744d2f14d/Heritage-in-a-Sari.html)

The cost of a Paithani saree could vary from Rs 6000 to almost 7-7 Lakh, depending the quality of the silver and gold used. Also the hand work adds considerable cost to the saree.

At a recent marriage I saw the bride carry a saree from almost every popular form of saree weaving in India. I think this is an excellent way of preserving our culture and giving away traditional gifts like a Paithani saree for such occasions. Most of us often wonder what formal gifts can be given to female relatives and friends. A gift like a Paithani Saree can be an excellent choice.

The Importance of being idle

2012-01-17T01:10:00.001+05:30

I love to sleep. In fact, it’s my second favourite thing to do, tapping constantly at the heels of my favourite occupation – staying up and drinking. Sleeping is the very pinnacle of being idle. When I say sleeping, it is not the recuperative sleep that one is forced to take after a hard day’s work. I am referring to the nap that I take to recover from the previous nap. What does one do at 11 am on a Saturday morning? Have a drink and go to sleep. Wake up at 1. Have another drink. Go back to sleep. Believe it or not, that is how kings lived in peace time in the golden era of humanity, free from vices such as mundane jobs, soap operas, the internet and blackberry. When I am lying in bed, I often think about what people do in heaven. I bet they just hang out, drink and sleep. They stay idle.
Being idle is the very foundation on which the potential for true greatness rests. Luminaries, who had the greatest brain waves in the history of time, were hit by that bolt from the blue when they were idle. Picture this – Isaac Newton. Lazing around, backed up against an apple tree, sitting on the green grass at Trinity College, gets beaned on the head by an errant apple, discovers gravity, and gets knighted. Now picture this – Isaac Newton. Hard at work, in a lab, gets beaned on the head by an errant chandelier, discovers gravity, but dies within a split second of that. Gets a pre-mature epitaph. No ‘Eureaks’, No ‘Blimeys’, No Knighthood. Just extinction of life and knowledge. That calamity was averted by the fact that Sir Isaac, at the time of his greatest discovery, was sitting idle.
Erik the red landed in Newfoundland in the 11th century. Yet he is not credited with discovering the Americas. Why? Because he picked up everything he discovered, put it in the bunk of his ship, and brought it back home to Scandinavia to be displayed in his guest room or to be impaled on iron gates or to be put up in his harem. He was at work. He was obsessed with his full-time occupation of raping and pillaging. Compare this to Christopher Columbus. He had no full-time occupation. He did not even find what he was looking for. He found something cool anyways. He was under no pressure to rape and pillage. It was not his objective. At least not the stated one. It was all good in the new world till the fun and games lasted, and as we all know, it turned ugly once the Europeans decided to get busy and felt obligated to spread the word of God by crucifying everybody who disagreed with them. What’s with the aggression? Why this Kolaveri di?
Give it a thought. Who has fucked up the world? It’s the guys who work 20 hours a day – the governments, the investment bankers, the nuclear scientists, the religious folk and the likes. Who is trying to save it? People who are into chilling out and have no stated reason to exist – Rastafarians, Technology guys, bloggers and PETA. Aggressive behaviour is gaining acceptability just the way Nazism gained acceptability in Krautland back in the day. We all know how that ended. People say life is short. That is a damned lie. Life isn’t short, the weekend is short. The other five days are long as hell. The spring is short. The winter is longer than all Merchant-Ivory movies taken together. Bliss is short. Heartbreaks linger. It is important to have a dream. It is important to chase it while it still means something. However, can the pursuit of social acceptance really be called a dream worth dreaming? If our values are like our genes, are they really values? The business of being busy has been designed to crush young spirits. Institutions, all of them, have become assembly lines of mediocrity and conformism. I look at my immediate circle, and I find spirits, once free, now crumbling under the burden of degrees, designations and delusions. We get addicted to money, and then there is no going back. You can go back from cocaine, but not from money.
I wish that the generations that follow, have better conviction than ours had. I wish they are told the true meaning of freedom and of responsibility. Of honesty and of value. I wish they are allowed to have their own dreams. I wish that when they grow up, they still feel like becoming what they wanted to become when they were seven years old. I wish they are not scared of soaring high and shining. I wish they are not scared of crashing and burning in the pursuit of those heights. I wish they can be idle or busy, as and when they want to. I wish they have role models worth having. I wish some of us become those role models. I wish they can be abrupt a hundred times, in pursuit of completeness. I wish they understand the importance of being idle.

Advantages of Virtual Toastmaster meetings

2012-01-11T14:31:00.000+05:30

Can Toastmaster meetings be held virtually?

Can we use Skype or Google + Hang outs to conduct meetings.

Listen to this interesting speech that I gave on that topic in the Blue Expressions Toastmasters Club

(Source: Blue Expression You Tube Channel)

Channapatna Toys: From Tipu to the 21st century

2011-12-29T15:18:00.000+05:30

(Image Source: Deepsan Live Journal)

The old world has not able to with stand the onslaught of the modern world. In the era of GI Joe and Barbie a humble wooden toy stands witness to the paradigm shift that has occurred in the Global Economy.

Channapatna Toys manufactured at Channapatna about 75 Kilometers from Bangalore were once the pride of every child in the south Indian house hold. Made out of rosewood and sandalwood, the toys are actually an ecofriendly solution. Also as they are painted using vegetable dyes they are safe for children as well. One has to just look back at incidence of lead based paints used in the toys which was in news a couple of years ago to realize the utilitarian nature of the channapatna toys.

Channapatna toys were created due to the efforts of Tipu Sultan in the late 18th Century. It is said that the Sultan invited artisans from Persia (present day Iran) who came to Mysore and taught the local artisans the art of making the wooden toys. The tradition continued till modern times when the toys fell out of favor with the modern times.

Currently there are about 6,000 artisans working in 250 home works and 50 odd small factories making these toys. They now have had the support of the Karnataka government and the KHDC now actively supports the marketing of these toys. Also the recent Geographic Indicator (GI) status to the Channapatna Toys have added further joy to the artisans. So under WTO norms these toys cannot be copied elsewhere.
Recently I bought a series of toys for my 11 month old and she is very excited to have them. Some of the ingenuity especially in designing the caterpillar (Image below) is brilliant.

When I ask established toy shores about the availability of the toys, they mostly reply in negative. A channapatna wooden walker scientifically is the best to help the child engage in learning how to walk, but unfortunately have no takers in the modern retail format. I finally had to order one through a colleague of mine who hailed from Mysore.

So what can be done to support this iconic brand which owes its origins to one of he most dynamic rulers of modern India.

Firstly I think the industry needs a boost and that involves more of us buying the toys from the artisans themselves. Many of us in Bangalore make regular trips to Mysore, all it takes is a brief stopover at Channapatna.

Secondly these toys should be made an integral part of gifting both for birthdays and other occasions for children. Also it would make sense to make children aware of the history of the toys and its association with the Sultan.

Thirdly repeatedly ask local toy shops for the toys. This was one tactic employed very effectively by Karsan Bhai Patel of Nirma. He employed young college students who used to walk into to shops and ask for Nirma, the strategy worked as retailers started stalking up the brand.

Finally please include the toys while giving donations to all orphanages as the toys are very sturdy and don’t cause a bomb. This way we would be serving two purposes encouraging the artisans and brining joy to the little kids.

In a country where almost one child is born every two seconds, I find it hard to imagine that a local toy industry is struggling and needs government support. It is in a way our job to ensure that local industries are supported lest we face the same challenge tomorrow that the west is facing today.

Ratnam Pens: An Iconic anti- imperialist Indian brand

2011-12-28T10:11:00.000+05:30

(Image source: Satishkolluru.com)

As the year draws to a close, I have started reflecting on the brands and their history that I have covered over the year. From Pepsi to Apple, I have written, analyzed and debated the brands, their origins and their leaders.

Today I received a gift from my wife, which is an Iconic Indian brand. Ratnam Pens or Swadeshi pens were launched by KV Ratnam in the year 1932. It was an aftermath of the launch of the Swadeshi movement. In those days there were no Indian brands in the market and all pens manufactured came from England, a fact that is hard to imagine today.

But back then the principle of Imperialism was that all local Indian industries were destroyed and India used to serve as a source of raw materials for the mills and factories of Manchester and on return a source of finished goods for them as well.

When Gandhiji met KV Ratnam he urged him to consider manufacturing something utilitarian and hence was born the pioneer in the writing Instrument industry in India Ratnam pens.

Many congress leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, VV Giri, Rajendra Prasad and Indira Gandhi have used Ratnam pens. Mahatma Gandhi heralded the creation of the pen as a hall mark movement in the swadeshi industry in India.
The basic Ratnam pen is made of hard rubber or ‘ebonite’. It used an iridium tip that is manufactured in Germany. The tips are sometimes made of gold as well which is 14 carat gold, but these are made on order only. Otherwise the pen can have a gold, silver or stainless steel nib.

All pens even today are handmade and take about 2 days to manufacture. All pens are made at the Fort Gate Street in Rajahmundry. Though ball point pens are made as well, I am more keen to kep the scope of this piece on the fountain pens.

But I think hardly anyone has heard of the Ratnam pens. Why is that?

Firstly, overall the fountain pen has given way to ball points. Hence Ratnam pens have also faced a lack of demand for them.

Secondly the very nature of a handmade pen does not give it the flexibility to be mass produced. The lack of volumes affects the revenues and hence the marketing budgets required to raise awareness and promote the pens.

Thirdly the very context of made in India has a new meaning, a time when cars to computers are now manufactured domestically and our then nemesis England hardly produces anything now. As a matter of fact English establishments like Tetley, Corus , land Rover and Blackburn Rover Football Club are now owned by Indian businesses.

So what is the future of the Ratnam pens? I believe the possible steps need to be taken to preserve an icon of Indian industry.

1. Ratnam pens are a collector item, we can use it for gifting purposes to other connoisseurs of writing that we know.
2. Instead of commemorating an event using a plaque, we can get a Ratnam pen commissioned which will be in Gandhiji’s words of much more utilitarian nature than a plaque or a shield.
3. Encourage children to take up calligraphy as an art, this in a world dominated by the digital media would serve as a good differentiator and bring back the art of writing with fountain pens.

Indian industry is still a very important part of our daily lives. So before you hop across the street and buy your next ball point, pause and think again. There might be 80 years of anti-imperialist swadeshi movement buried in the buying of a Ratnam pen. And it is in our interests to keep that movement going.

From stray dogs to Taj Mahal: View of an American in India

2011-12-27T12:23:00.001+05:30

(Warren and me at the Leela Bangalore)

Last summer a 23 year old American Intern, Warren K Jones came to India to work at Wipro. I had the opportunity of meeting him and spending some time with him. These are some the excerpts from some of our conversations.

On his reason to come to India

I have always had a travelers spirit since I was a child so when the opportunity to intern in India arose, there was absolutely no way I wasn’t going to take it. Talking to my mother a few weeks before my flight, I explained to her that I wanted to go primarily for my own spiritual and mental growth along with my professional development and experience. I loved the idea of completely immersing myself in a different culture and I felt that India would provide the perfect environment to accomplish both my personal and professional goals.

On his expectations before coming to India

The only knowledge I had of India was from what I’d read in books, heard from people, or seen in movies. I sensed that it was going to be a place that would truly change my life. I am a strong believer that we all have multiple periods of incubation throughout the course of our lives that turn out to be what I call “Landmark moments”. Similar to the visual of us forming or transforming in our mothers’ womb, these incubation periods serve as a rebirth in a sense, consisting of situations in life that come to potentially define us or change our perception and perspective about certain things. They cause us to learn more about ourselves, reconcile relationships, change our profession, move to another place, or even pick up new hobbies. Each person’s situation and reaction to that situation is different, but they are landmark moments that we never forget and can identify easily as something that changed the course of our lives. My expectation for me going to India was that it would become one of my landmark moments.

Three things that amazed him about India.

The three things that amazed me most about India had to be the stray animals, the population & traffic, and the architecture.

1) Stray animals: I was amazed by the large amount of stray dogs I saw parading around every corner, shop, and street. I felt bad for some of them especially those with obvious diseases and injuries. I was also fascinated by the number of cows and other farm animals walking or lying around the city. I am so used to seeing these animals either houses or on farms in America, so it was shocking to see such a drastic difference in India.

2) Population & traffic: The population and traffic itself wasn’t what amazed me. What amazed me was how calm and at peace everyone seemed amidst all the chaos. I sensed that the population has put India at somewhat of a disadvantage in terms of its development as a nation and has led to a lot of poverty. To come from America where even the most rural or least populated area is developed and the poorest people are provided basic necessities, and to then come to India was mind boggling and truly amazing. It was amazing in a different kind of way. I realized how blessed I am and how much more appreciative I need to be. I conceptualized the idea of a developing country, but I never understood fully the magnitude of that word until visiting India.

3) Architecture & Sculptures: The architecture of a lot of the hotels, temples, some homes, and monuments really intrigued me. Specifically the Taj Mahal of course. I was amazed at its size, beauty, and detail. I can’t believe a structure so gorgeous was built so long ago.
There is one more thing that I loved about India and really amazed me. THE FOOD!!! I LOVE IT!!!
Challenges that he faced

Upon my arrival into New Delhi and after going through immigration I somehow managed to lose my passport which had my Visa inside. I was scared at first because I was always told that’s the number one thing you don’t want to do especially in a country like India. Losing the passport created a lot more challenges for the remainder of my stay. I had difficulty in getting a sim card for a phone, a data card for the internet, and domestic travel at one point was very stressful all due to my lost passport and visa. In the end it all worked out and I wouldn’t change a thing if I could, because I met a lot of great people who were nice in helping me during the process and managed to get me the items I needed. My only other challenge in India was the fact the Rickshaw drivers knew I was foreign and automatically charged me extra every time I needed to go somewhere. I got smarter throughout the duration of my visit and was able to negotiate with some of them, but I lost a lot of money from being ripped off sometimes.

Any changes to his perception after the trip

My perception before my trip derived from movies, people, and books and those didn’t do it any justice. After being back home and having adjusted to life in America my perception of India now is that it is a very beautiful despite its chaos and development battles. There is a spirit of peace and a community of warmth and love. People work very hard there and in my opinion too hard, but I feel like things can only go up for India. Slowly but surely, India will be where it needs to be.

Why community supported agriculture may help Indian farmers more than retail FDI

2011-12-17T23:31:00.000+05:30

Last month I met a colleague of mine who introduced me to a concept in farming that I think would work very well in India. The concept is called ‘Community Assisted Agriculture’ (CSA). It basically works like this, a bunch of consumers buy shares in a farm for the year. The consumers basically underwrite the farm for that year. The farmers then share the produce of the year with the consumers in the ratio of the number of shares purchased by the consumers. This model works best for produce like Fruits and vegetables which can be grown through labor intensive techniques and have short growing seasons.

Community Supported Agriculture started in Germany in the 1960’s due to fears of food shortage in the Europe at that time. In the 1966 Japanese women started Community Supported Agriculture under the name ‘Teikei’ again due to the lack of arable land and increase in food imports into Japan. It is called. Later the movement spread to Switzerland and rest of Europe. The concept was based on Bio-dynamic agriculture.

Community Supported Agriculture reached US in the 1980’s due to the efforts of German farmers who spread the concept in the US. Today North America has about 13,000 CSA projects. The largest one called ‘Farm fresh to you’ has more than 13, 000 families in California.
The system requires three important groups to work well together.

Farmers- These are the actual group that tills the land and produces the produce. The farmers work independently with little or no interference from the consumers.

Controllers- This group consists of a mix of farmers and consumers which act as a governing body. They fix the prices for the shares, collect the dues, organize for market fairs and arrange for the produce to be transported to distribution areas near the consumers.

Consumers- They form the group that buys and underwrites the risk for the farmers. Most consumers support local farmers as this also encourages the local community. An average share costs $ 350-500 for the produce that lasts for about 14-20 weeks.

All three groups work closely to ensure that the farmers are supported with fair prices, at the same time consumers get good produce, which is grown in a safe and healthy way minus all additives and chemical which might be harmful.

Now we should be using a similar concept in India. Today the biggest challenge faced by the Farmers today is the lack of fair price and no risk mitigation from crop failures and natural disasters. Especially vegetable and fruit farmers can form a logical cohort with local community to form a Community Supported Agriculture.

The benefits to both are immense. Farmers will find a ready market and can cut out the middle men who have been blamed for much of the ills of the farming community today.
So let take an example in Bangalore itself, residents of Bangalore suburbs could form a community project with the local farmers in the region. As all the produce would be consumed locally the distribution costs would be much lower. Also the local farmers can have their produce insured and also have a good price for them. Last but not the least, as the local farmers can be encouraged to follow environmental friendly practices; this would be a eco friendly solution as well.

FDI in retail, is supposed to help farmers by making corporations buy the produce directly from farmers. But rather than putting their faith in big corporations, I think the farmers are better off with the local community. This is particularly good for small and marginal farmers who can pool in together in the community scheme.

Almost 70% of Indians are in agriculture, it is time that the other 30 % pool in to support them.

Why Pakistan is important for Indian business?

2011-12-07T18:51:00.001+05:30

(Image source: Live India TV)

Pakistan always brings about a range of emotions in India. And all those emotions are founded on a very troubled history that we share with our neighbor. But has anyone viewed Pakistan as a market?

Yes a market for made in India goods? A happy hunting ground for Indian brands of almost 180 Million people?

I know it is difficult to do that but let us for a minute put aside the emotions and look at our neighbor composed of 180 million people with real and latent needs. Also let us look at them as source of raw materials. Now I can see some of you visualizing the supply chain.

I started thinking of Pakistan in those terms due to an incident. I was in Delhi a few days ago and I met one of my neighbors who was hosting some of his relatives from Pakistan. The guests had come to India to buy utensils and to be precise pressure cookers. They said that the pressure cookers in Pakistan were not of good quality. This sent my pulse racing, if there was a lack of good pressure cookers in Pakistan what about other goods?

What about automobiles? I just wrote in a piece some time ago how the auto story in India was skidding. Now imagine if we could tap into the auto market in Pakistan? I can image Indian car makers like the Tatas and Mahindra helping Pakistanis maneuvering across the streets.

What about Indian Pharmaceutical Industry, Textiles and others who can tap into this market. Imagine Indian infrastructure and cement companies helping build Pakistani cities and Healthcare companies building improving their clinical outcomes.

Also Pakistan does produce raw materials specifically cotton and dry fruits which are essential raw materials for the textiles and food processing Industry.
Culturally Pakistan is very similar to the northern part of India and if guns and politics have not been able to settle the issue I am sure economics should be tried.

Currently Pakistan allows the import of only 1900 items from India, and these are a part of the positive list. On the other hand India allows import of most items from Pakistan having a very small negative list.

Going forward Pakistan is slated to reduce their negative list as well and lists are slated to go away by 2012 end. The current bilateral between the two nations stands at $1.85 billion.

Granting Pakistan the Most favored nation status is I think a step in the right direction. I know there are challenges.

For one the military establishment in Pakistan would never want this to happen as this de- escalates the conflict with India and would curtail their budgets. Also Pakistani business partners may actually be fronts for other anti- India activities.

Currently there is a lot of cultural exchange with Pakistan specifically the Hindi pop culture from Pakistan and the Bollywood exports from India.
India is about business, it has always been. It is not for nothing that the ocean was named after us. It is time we look at our neighbor as a business partner and create a win-win situation.

Management lessons from Sherlock Holmes

2011-11-26T20:22:00.000+05:30

(Image source: Trailers.com)

Sherlock Holmes though a fictional character has been inspiration to many. He was created by Arthur Conan Doyle and based on a medical professor called Dr Bell. Dr Bell it seems used to ask his students to observe their patients carefully and use these observations to suggest the treatment regime.

Having read Sherlock Holmes all my life I do believe that he has some valuable lessons that most CEOs can learn. I would like to call the three important lessons as Observation, Deduction and Knowledge.

Observation- Sherlock Holmes was a very keen student of human psychology. He was also a very keen observer and even minute details never used to escape him. For example by the grey dust on a man’s hat he would know that this man was mostly sedentary. His sense of observation sometimes used to solve the case even before all facts have been presented to him.

Holmes also spent many hours in the field. For example in ‘The hound of Baskervilles’ he spends many days in the moors living in a small hut so that he could fist hand observe the coming and going of the so called ‘hound from hell’. As a master of disguises Holmes mostly travelled alone on these pursuits and often incognito.

For most CEOs observation is a matter of survival. But unfortunately most never spend time in the field to understand the market. Once they have the high office, CEOs have the habit of surrounding themselves with experts, consultants and analysts. This is not only detrimental but also robs the leaders from having a firsthand experience in the market place. A good example is when healthcare leaders providing services to hospitals have never been to a hospital to see how their services are impacting the patients. In other cases he had a gang of street children be his eyes and ears.

Sherlock Holmes 2 Trailer Source: you tube)

Observing the market and the competition is of key importance. This is easier in a B2C scenario but possible in B2B scenarios as well. Also it is important that the CEO also had sources of information outside the company.
A good example of a business leader who spends so much time on the field is Richard Branson, who seems to be very observant both in his company as well as the competition.
Deduction- Deduction is the key to decisions. Thought many logicians feel Inductive reasoning is also a powerful, in this particular case deduction follows from Observations which form the hypothesis or premises.
Holmes was a matter of deduction. His observations were a key ingredient into the hypothesis that resulted in the deductions. For example in the sign of four, his knowledge that the footsteps of the person were closely paced but heavy in the mud led him to the conclusion that a dwarf and not a child was used to enter the house through the chimney. This also helped him indentify that the robbery was carefully planned and not a random act by one of the street gangs.

Steve Jobs is probably the best example of a person using deductive knowledge. Though he called it intuition, it was just a pattern recall that helped him deduce the needs of the consumer. This helped him launch various path breaking products with minimal market research.

CEOs need to constantly use the information they have collected through their observations to create products and services that serves the need of their customers.
Unfortunately even here the lack of observation, leads to very poor deduction. That’s one of the reasons that most companies end up producing me too products and services rather than creating something innovative.

Knowledge- Despite being a detective Holmes had very good knowledge on the use of forensics, chemicals, music and human psychology. He also was an expert bee keeper. Holmes according to the chronicles had many academic papers to his credit.
Knowledge helped him to observe the right things and also helped him deduce the correct logic after removing the confusing signs.

This is one area that needs to be worked upon for most leaders. In my experience very few leaders and CEOs actually make the effort to understand the business they are in. Also very few could talk to experts without preparation from their sub ordinates or analysts within their firm.
In the world of ghost writers and script writers, coached by marketing and PR people, most CEOs never take the effort to build their own knowledge.
One exception to this case was the rock star CEO of Wipro Vivek Paul, who many have told me required no preparation because he was very knowledgeable in the IT services business and out sourcing.
So there is a lot that business can learn from Holmes, but the question is will they?

India VS China: battlefield Africa

2011-11-16T10:17:00.000+05:30

(Image source: Dainik Bhaskar)

India and China are at war again. But unlike 1962 the battle is far away from our borders. To be precise the battle is not even on the Asian continent. It is in Africa.

Since the 1980’s Africa has been a source of interest to both nations from a business perspective. The Chinese have traditionally looked at Africa as a source of raw materials for their manufacturing Industries. Also many Chinese entrepreneurs have set shop in Africa and some have been there for centuries.

India did see a lot of movement to Africa during the British raj and soon many counties in East Africa had Indian businesses. The others areas that attracted Indians included South Africa and North Africa. But the 1960’s changed all of that. When Idi Amin expelled the Indians from Uganda the separation was complete. But since then the tide has turned again and many Indian companies have now acquired entities in Africa. The prominent ones include Bharti, Marico and Godrej.

(Image source: chillis blog)

Many Indian companies also look at Africa as a source of their products. For example Bajaj Auto has been selling commercial vehicles in East and Central Africa. In Kenya many refer to the commercial vehicles as ‘Bajaiji’. Similarly Tata Motors has been selling commercial trucks. Cipla is selling HIV drugs and Vedanta has bought copper mines in Zambia. India is also helping countries like Ethiopia to build its infrastructure.

(Image Source: rnl.com)

China on the other hand has used its state run enterprises with the backing of the government. So most Chinese firms would build social infrastructure as schools, hospitals and community centers in order to build relations with the African governments. Though this strategy has worked mostly, it has backfired recently in Libya where China was seen as a close ally of the Gaddafi regime.

So clearly the battle lines are drawn Indian private sector vs the Chinese state enterprises. But what of our own PSU’s? Some like ONGC have been heavily investing in Africa to help jointly explore oil with African nations. Others like BHEL have been helping nations build power plants. MMTC and STC have trade agreements with many African nations. But there has been no structured approach to garner this market for the Indian firms.
Like the Indian economy the growth in Africa is privately led and not led by the government. I am sure the progress would be slow but definite. Unlike China, India has no hidden agenda’s for Africa. I am sure the Indian forms are there only to do business, but with the Chinese one can never be sure.

Two interesting channels that Indian firms can use are Cricket- the second edition of the IPL was held in South Africa and some African countries actually do play cricket the prominent ones among them are Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia.

The second channel could be Bollywood or the Indian film Industry, which is very popular in Africa and many local film industries do tend to get inspired by the Indian movies.

Africa needs investments in its economy and Indian firms would do well to guide their African partners. I see a great potential for the IT and ITes Industry in Africa. Many Indian firms might want to set up training in Africa to leverage the educated masses in Africa and to serve the global markets better.

India vs China the battle lines are drawn and who will ultimately triumph would depend on the strategy followed by both parties. Like Sun Tzu say’s in ‘The Art of War’ all warfare is based on deception. Only time will life the fog of war, to reveal the true intentions and outcomes for both nations.

Why business case studies are ineffective

2011-11-10T10:09:00.000+05:30

(Image source: rdpl.com)

Business case studies have become a totally ineffective tool. And marketers are to blame for that.
Most case studies have become like super hero stories, the client has a problem, and the services firm writing the case study steps in and saves the client.

It totally falls flat and most prospects don't believe these stories. So should we do away with case studies? Well int he current format yes.

We have to change our approach to case studies, and these are some steps that I can recommend that will increase the effectiveness and the credibility of the case studies.

1) Tell a story- Each case study should tell a story, taking into the account what was the situation, What was the business environment at that stage, What all was tried by the customer, what were the business imperatives and finally the actions that helped the customer get back on track. I am sure that most people reading the story would know that the services consulting firm would have helped the customer.

2) Focus on business impact- Most case studies talk about the process and the technology but never focus on the business impact. It is the business impact which makes a case study attractive, not the technology or the process.

3) Keeping it short- Most firms developing case studies are so much in love with their achievement that they go on for pages on the case study. Keeping it brief and to the point would help ensure that they have attention of the prospects.

4) Innovative delivery- And finally it is the delivery that falls off totally as no one has allocated time or resources to think about that. So think through innovative formats, like Apps to deliver the story, how about Tweets or Video case studies. Audio- visual format is much more acceptable than paper or eformat and all marketers have to think through this as well.

In conclusion I believe that case studies are going the way of power points, they were once innovative tools but now have lost their value due to over use and abuse. It is up to the marketer to keep things interesting.

The strange case of increasing suicides among youth in India

2011-11-02T11:05:00.001+05:30

(Image Source: Indiadaily.org)

“I was weak, I thought I could be strong but I was weak! I was so so weak, the fault is my own. Hope something good happens with my death. I have left the building”

These are not words from a Chetan Bhagat best seller though I wish they were.

These were the last words of Nitin Kumar Reddy before he flung himself from his hostel roof at IIT Madras.

As India celebrates year on year economic growth we have started putting a lot of pressure on our youth. In our rush to win we have crushed the hopes and aspirations of our youth. We have started a race to win at all costs.

In 2009, almost 3000 children below the age of 14 committed suicide. If we look at the 15-25 age group the number jumps to 50,000. But the scariest statistic is that for every successful suicide there are almost 14 unsuccessful attempts.

Clearly the youth of our country are in distress.
But the symptoms are there to see

• Toddlers are made to compete in talent shows.
• Teenagers are entering singing and dancing competitions
• High school students go through a grueling schedule to balance school curriculum with preparation for entrances to elite institutions like the IITs.

Who is responsible for this? Who killed Nitin?

Some people might say it is the system that is responsible for this, but aren’t we responsible for creating this system. We are forever drawing comparisons between our children and the others and this is just leading to a unsustainable situation.
Is this what we have been reduced to? Is that what we want? To compete and win at all costs.

A recent survey showed that almost 85% of parents in urban India do not allow children to take up professions of their choice. This is probably the greatest reason for stress among India’s youth, being stuck in professions that they don’t enjoy or are not suited for.

Like I said we all know what the symptoms are, but the challenge is to treat the disease and not the symptom. How can we change the situation for our children and the youth of tomorrow? I propose these four steps.

1. Identify- The key is to listen, observe and identify activities that the kids enjoy and are attracted to. Which activity draws them more, what they enjoy doing?

2. Analyze- based on our observations, we need to map the activities and likes of the child to sustainable careers that that activity can sustain. If we are not experts in that field, there is a high possibility that there is someone in our network that will know someone. Also councilors both in school and outside can be used for the same.

3. Decide- Once the mapping has been done, we can decide on a few career choices of the child’s liking and also something where his passion lies.

4. Monitor- Once the decision has been made it is important to monitor the children. Often they grow and once they grow their preferences change, it is important to monitor those changes and incorporate that into their plan.

People are usually very good at what they do, once they enjoy it. A good example is cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who enjoys cricket and has been the best for the last 20 years..

I am reminded of a quote as I end this piece-

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate; our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light and not our darkness that frightens us.”

Our children think of us are heroes, let’s be the light that guides them.

How environmental pollution is a detriment to our economic growth

2011-10-31T15:14:00.002+05:30

"How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man
The answer my friend is blowin in the wind"

Bob Dylan

When Dylan wrote this song to inspire us, little did he know that there will be much more than answers blowing in the winds of urban India.

Let us take the example of Bangalore

42 % of urban air pollution is caused by vehicular traffic and almost 30 % by dust.
Today Bangalore is one of the most polluted cities in India and there seems to be no plan to do anything about it.
In Manpower terms Bangalore last year lost 12 Disability adjusted life years per 1000 residents.

In economic terms we lost almost 9% of the per capita GDP for the city that is mostly due to absenteeism due to health disorders. Also we spent almost 500 Million dollars in treatment for health issues.

(Vehicular pollution Bangalore: Source Home video)

Bangalore adds about a 400000 vehicles every year. And there is no mechanism to check vehicular pollution in the city. 700 Bangaloreans will die due to Lung Congestion, Cardio-Vascular diseases and allergy due to poor air quality.

Its not that government has done anything to control the situation. It has mandated RTO officers, Introduced Bus Days and Assigned Traffic police to watch for pollution. But clearly not enough.

So what can we do to improve the situation. I suggest these five steps that all of us can to to improve the situation.

- Use public transport at least once a week. Vehicular pollution goes down by as much as 10% on every Bus Day announced by the government. Imagine the impact if it is done every week.
- Work from home. If your official HR policy allows you to work from home, please make use of the provisions at least a couple of times in a week. Again this would lower the overall emission
- Fix as many virtual meetings as possible to avoid traveling around the city to different locations through the day.
- Please get the vehicular emission check for your vehicle done every quarter. This can be coupled with the card servicing.
- Please walk for shorter distances, not only will it improve your health, but will also bring down the pollution.

In the end the business growth of Bangalore and other cities in India would depend on its citizens and a unhealthy citizen will not add value to the economy in the long run.

Why India does not need superheroes like RA One and others?

2011-10-22T22:46:00.000+05:30

(Image Source:io9.com)

India does not need super heroes. Superheroes were a creation of the Americans who did not have any history of their own old enough to create heroes. So they created Superman, Batman, Spiderman and many other men and women.

These superheroes had attributes that every American stood for. For Example Superman fought a never ending battle for truth, justice and American way, since 1932. The reason why the Americans had to create their superheroes is that they trampled all over the Native American culture not recognizing their myths and legends. In a piece in 2008 I had discussed some of the reasons and attributes of the American superheroes. http://doctersoccer.blogspot.com/2008/01/animated-americans.html

India on the other hand has a rich culture of myths and legends. Our heroes are Lord Ram, Krishna, Lord Hanuman, Arjun and the other characters from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Our ancient scriptures like the Puranas and the Upanishads are full of them.

Then why the sudden hoopla over RA One and other characters like Krrish as superheroes?
Well one basic reason is to cash on to the success of the original movies and to have an option to launch a sequel. After all Superman and Batman did inspire create a series of sequels. Also the merchandising that comes along with a successful franchise is very lucrative. For example the Superman merchandising franchise is valued close to $ 60 Million in 2002, according to a court ruling.

But now comes the challenge, Superman and Batman basically started out as comic books. But Krrish for example is a spin off from a sequel of ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. So the franchise is not that strong and might never have top of the mind recall in a country already having all the mythological heroes. And to make things worse most of these mythological characters already have been written about by comic book publishers like ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ and “Chandamama’.
So do Krishh and RA One come with these advantages?

The answer in my opinion is no and I see no way that a movie like RA One can spinoff a successful franchise like Superman or Batman. In my opinion it will be a one off sale, and the hype will die down along with the movie.

Lord Rama and Krishna stand for attributes that most Indians value. We hero worship for their qualities that help us refine our lives. For example Lord Hanuman is a super hero to most wrestlers in India. His qualities like Physical strength and Moral judgment guide the practioners.

But one might argue that most of these are gods and demi gods. But then we have characters from history like King Vikramaditya, who secured the Vethal. Known for his judgement and common sense, King Vikramaditya is another hero that many look upto.

Now I am not sure what attributes Krrish stands for? I am not sure what RA One stands for? Without a strong brand character, these Superheroes are sure to die a fast death in the battlefield inside the consumers mind, and by the way India does not need another superhero, we have plenty already.

Who REALLY is Vinay Kumar?

2011-10-17T23:14:00.001+05:30

Exactly. For those who don’t follow cricket closely enough, Vinay Kumar is a fast bowler presently very much in favour with the captain. He is also one of the heroes of today’s (or yesterday’s ...depending on when I post this) spanking of England at the Kotla.

But is that it? Is that all we need to know? Do we really know enough about this guy to let him handle one of the two new balls for our NATION, no less? Well, here is the truth, guys; here is what you NEED to know.

Vinay Kumar isn’t even his real name. According to his passport, his name is Vincenzo Frederique’ Corradi. You might be tempted to think that he is Italian, but he is not. He is from San Marino, and he continues to hold his San Maronian or San Maronesean or whatever citizenship. San Marino, as you know, is hardly a country. Actually it’s a city state sort of a thing. No prize for guessing what the capital of San Marino is – Its ‘San Marino’. Since its hardly a country, Vinay Kumar or ‘Vincenzo Corradi’ is hardly a citizen of anywhere. Since he is not a citizen of anywhere, technically, he does not exist. Why then is he playing for India? Wake up people.

Scandalized already? There’s more. On his CV, Vincenzo Corradi or Vinay Kumar, claims that he graduated from the MRF pace academy of Chennai. We contacted the academy’s head coach Dennis Lille to verify this claim. Here is what Dennis Lille had to say – “I dun ‘member him, mayte” (Irrefutable evidence no.1). Vincenzo Corradi or Vinay Kumar has lied to the entire nation. There is a high probability that he never was at the MRF pace academy. And we are letting him play for India? Wake up people.

Sacrilege. Vincenzo Corradi or Vinay Kumar has a Somalian girlfriend. He has hidden this fact from the NATION. Sacrilege even more. His girlfriend’s father’s name is Ali Al Talib. Talib is singular for Taliban. Bloody hell, he has got something to do with the Taliban. And his daughter is dating our new ball bowler. Is this what we really want? Wake up people.

In 2002, Vincenzo Corradi answered the call of nature in public view on a street in Bangalore. He was held by the local police for 22 minutes for doing this. Of course, our media never reported this. And this guy is bowling lock-in-step with Zaheer Khan? Wake up people.

Recently a former secret service agent from San Mario published his tell all autobiography. The book mentions that Vincenzo Corradi received money from San Marino’s intelligence agency for passing on crucial information on India’s page 3 scene to the San Maronese or San Maronian or whatever government. This information, of course, was never reported by our media. Wake up people.

Do you really want this guy to spearhead our pace attack? You don’t, right? Please throw the first stone. Yes..We are addressing the real issues. As true patriots, we must share this information on facebook. Can an Indian ever spearhead the pace attack for the San Marino cricket team? No, right? Then why is a San Maronian or a San Maronese or whatever spearheading the pace attack for India?

The country has gone to the pits. I am so concerned,that I blogged about it.

P.S. – This is just for fun. Please keep your political comments and philosophy for a forum that they well and truly deserve. Much respect.

Parallel Universe – IV

2011-10-17T22:13:00.003+05:30

This time its Roman

MSD reveals master plan to take ODI series against England

Speaking to the press earlier today, Indian cricket team captain and renowned model – Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed his master plan to beat England in the ongoing ODI series between the two teams. “Basically, we went back to the drawing board” MSD said. “We are counting on using the recently introduced rule changes to our advantage”. The Ranchi Ransacker went on to explain – “We want to finish the series before England understand the new rules”.

Dhoni elaborated on how the Indian team has been using information technology to decipher the new set of rules before the competition does. “Clichéd as it sounds; our boys are really good with computers. Sree, for example, has been using comps to remix Malayalam pop since he was 5.” “We will make them grovel” said MSD with his trademark grin ^TM, as a nostalgic Tony Greig looked on. “Obviously we are not early adopters” remarked Tony Greig with a hint of regret in his tone.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain, was unfazed though, and claimed that the English team will beat India to it, and will work as hard as donkeys if that is what it took to get a hang of the new regulations.

Team Anna sued for copyright infringement. Congress (I) claims moral victory.

In a turn of events which cannot be called totally unexpected, Team Anna was served legal notices by tennis star Anna Kournikova’s agents and two of her fan clubs. “We are not A-OK with these people calling themselves ‘Team Anna’. We are Team Anna, and we have been Team Anna since 1997.” Ms. Kournikova’s (Or Mrs. Iglesias’; who really knows, who really cares) agent said. Rebutting the statement, a representative of Mr.Hazare mentioned that his team never really called themselves ‘Team Anna’, while cursing Times of India for getting them into this mess in the first place.

The fans of Ms. Kournikova were irate. A spokesperson for the fan club mentioned that key search words such as “Anna Hot” and “Anna Bikini” have been yielding extremely disappointing results on Google lately. “Our sentiments have been hurt” the spokesperson said.

The Congress (I), in the meantime, claimed a moral victory in light of these events. “We have been vindicated” A congress stalwart tweeted. In a press briefing, the CWC representatives remarked that copyright infringement and identity theft are greater global issues, and judging by India’s poor track record at both, Team Anna has brought further shame upon the nation. “We have a very responsible approach to these issues”. A congress (I) spokesperson said. “We are very particular about using the bracketed I in our party’s name, in order to avoid confusion”.

Iranian President in diplomatic faux pas

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad found himself becoming the butt of jokes across the civilsed world yet again, after committing another faux pas without even knowing what ‘faux pas’ means. During an official visit to Dubai, Mr.Ahmedinejad was asked how he felt about Jews. The president replied by saying – “I love juice. I like apple juice and orange juice, but mixed fruit juice is my favorite”. The statement caused a huge uproar across the Arab world, and Iran, which for some strange reason claims not to be part of the Arab world. The Israeli government, however, was not excited by the statement. The Israeli foreign minister said – “Well, we don’t love him back”. Obviously this one isn’t going anywhere.

Why I idolize Steve Jobs but would never want to work for him?

2011-10-14T14:07:00.003+05:30

(Image source: Infogalaxy)

Steve Jobs is the greatest innovators of all times. In terms of his contribution to the propagation of technology he is second to none. He is god to many and is in the same league as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. In his death the world has lost one of the greatest leaders of all times. I idolize Steve Jobs.
But there is another side to Steve Jobs, the one that would ensure that I would never want to work with him, or someone like him. Steve Jobs was a difficult man, there is no denying it. He was great from a distance but was very difficult to work with as well.

Steve jobs once famously said, “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” Now the challenge is the operative word ‘better’. The problem is that it is a very subjective word and open to interpretation. Better by whose standards? I mean are they by the standards set by Steve Jobs? I am not sure what to make of it.

By medical standards, people do perform better when put under a strain. The common medical explanation is that the blood pressure goes up as the heart beats faster and this eventually leads to more blood to the brain and to other extremities. In extreme cases the ‘fight or flight reflex kicks in. It can be helpful if we are surviving an ordeal or sudden threat to life. But would day to day business justify such stress? I don’t think that would be necessary.

In his land mark book’ No Asshole Rules’ Dr Robert Sutton gives the twelve characteristics of a jerk at work. These are
• Personal insults
• Invading one’s personal territory
• Uninvited personal contact
• Threats and intimidation, both verbal and non-verbal
• Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems
• Withering email flames
• Status slaps intended to humiliate their victims
• Public shaming or status degradation rituals
• Rude interruptions
• Two-faced attacks
• Dirty looks
• Treating people as if they are invisible

I am not sure how many of them were used by Jobs towards his employees but I will not be surprised if he did a vast variety of them on a regular basis. But then Jobs is a genius right and he could have been an exception? Unfortunately that is not the case and work place bullies are the rule rather than an exception.
Often organizations that promote such behavior lose their way as their ‘Star’ employees drive away the productive ones.

I have personally dealt with such a situation twice in my career and on both occasions I saw the warning signs and left long before I could get affected. Many a time’s employees at the receiving end of boorish behavior end up with depression, ill health, loss of confidence, anxiety and other psychological problems.
So is it worth it?

Well Steve jobs himself gives an answer-
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life” So if you think that what you are doing and the manner in which you are doing is your vision for your future then please go ahead. But if it is not then there is point.
These are three questions that I feel are important while dealing with such situations.

• Are you learning new skills on your current job?
• Are you able to maintain work-life balance spending time for self, family
and friends?
• Are you happy and satisfied at the end of a days work?

In case the answer to any of them is no, you might have to reconsider your situation.

It is good to get inspired up by these leaders but few have the energy and resilience not to get burnt. And that is the reason I would never want to work with Steve Jobs.

How Social Media would enhance customer experience in the Medical Devices Industry?

2011-10-03T15:15:00.000+05:30

(Image source: www.healthcareos.com)

(The article was also published in 'The Write Treatment' Newsletter for October

The current paradigm in the Medical Devices Industry

Medical devices firms have been slow to adopt social media, when compared to their peers in the pharmaceuticals and health care industries. The reasons for this range from lack of corporate policy on social media usage for brand development and a lack of clear guidelines from the FDA as to what is acceptable to be hosted on social media.

However, as clients and collaborators of the medical devices firms, such as physicians and end users, adopt social media, medical devices firms cannot afford to stay behind. More and more physicians have taken their research related discussions online. To gain insights into the latest developments, it helps if medical devices firms too are on the same platform so that they can seek to develop products that meet the upcoming requirements. Connecting with users of medical devices, such as physicians as well as lay persons, is important in ensuring repeat purchases and gaining brand loyalty. Their feedback on aspects such as usability, stability and price, can help a firm develop better products by focusing on improving design, streamlining manufacturing processes and passing on the cost reduction to its consumers.

According to a research report by Forrester’s Interactive Advertising Models, companies in the US are increasingly moving from traditional advertising to more interactive mediums. The market for interactive marketing in the US is set to touch $55 billion by 2014. Social media, valued at $935 million today, is set to see spends of $3.1 billion in 2014.
(Forrester’s Interactive Advertising Models US Only)

The Medical Devices Industry today is undergoing a paradigm shift. According to a report by GBI Research, most Device manufacturers are grappling with issues like Pricing Pressure, Regulatory Change, Falling demand in Core Markets and Working to and shaping new business models. This has led to a lot of the firms looking at new models to engage customers and also news markets to sell their products. (GBI Research: Global Medical Devices Industry Outlook to 2010: Marketing and Sales Strategies and the Impact of Recession and Recovery)

Until 2009, there were few medical devices firms with a social media presence. In recent times, these numbers have improved, thanks to some firms demonstrating the benefits of getting savvy with social media.
Companies started by posting information on their products and mirroring their collateral on TV and print. This has given way to exclusive social media campaigns such as the Johnson & Johnson BTW campaign.

Current Trends in Social Media usage in the Industry

Today strategies have evolved to include opportunities for collaboration via social media. An example is Sermo.com, one of the prominent sites that are geared towards physicians. Sites like these may wish to approach a manufacturer and invite that manufacturer to participate in some way, either directly by having, for example, a medical director participate in conversations with physician users through the site, or indirectly by purchasing information from the site about what physicians are saying with respect to practice patterns and the like.

The challenges
According to Ms Coleen Klasmeier, Partner and Head of Sidley’s FDA Regulatory practice,
“The biggest obstacle confronting companies who may have an interest in exploring this brave new world of Web 2.0 is just the lack of guidance from FDA on what the rules and expectations are. FDA has been fond of saying, ever since the Internet became accessible to the average user while the same rules that apply to conventional promotional materials fully apply to the Internet. That may be true, but it’s not adequate to give manufacturers information on what, if anything, they can do to talk to physicians and talk to patients through these new, increasingly important communication mechanisms.”
(Medical Devices Today: The Social Media and the Life Sciences Industry)

The challenge from the regulatory practice that the FDA has established when it comes to promotional labeling which, might extend to the social media as well. But in social media all opinions expressed are individual which the Device manufacturer may not have any control on. Also in case of clinical trials the integrity might get compromised if the participants connected on some social medium and exchanged notes on treatment and adverse events which is again against FDA norms.

Also most Device firm do not consider Social Media as an important part of their marketing mix. In a survey done on Medical Device Companies 63% said that they use social media for job-related activities, and out of that only (16%), use social media to communicate with Customers and prospects. Of the FDA-regulated companies that use social media to communicate with customers and prospects, most have been using social media for less than six months. They are still in the early stages and are testing multiple social media venues.
(Social Media and Medical Device Industry, Medicomm Consultants Inc)

Some key areas in the Medical Devices Industry value chain where social media can be used.

New Product Development and Device Enhancement
By analyzing the analytical data from social media tools like forums, wikis, blogging, etc., the product reputation and the penetration into the market can be realized. The analyzed data inputs can be a feeder to the continual research of the product. The product can be modified according to the needs of the end client. Also engaging with the end patients rather than care providers can give Device companies the edge in new product development.

Manufacturing
The analytical data from Social media when weaved with CRM tools like Salesforce.com and others gives an elaborative view to the planning of the product. This can save on the total cost of the product which can be passed on to the End Customer.

Marketing
With the synchronization of social media tools and collaborative partnerships there will be a focus on promotional activities and internal knowledge sharing. This would save on the promotional activities cost, enrich and retain the knowledge within the organization.

But the future implications of Social Media in Devices Industry are tremendous. Below are some of the scenarios that can happen in the industry.
Scenario 1- The opportunity to speak directly to patients and physicians and to learn from them about their experiences, not just with respect to particular products, but with respect to how health conditions affect quality of life, what kinds of aspects of a particular patient’s experiences on a product are relevant to evaluating whether that product is something that should stay in armamentarium as is or needs to be tweaked in terms of dosage form or duration of effect—all of that stuff is obviously attractive for manufacturers looking at how to talk to patients and understand what their experiences are.

Scenario 2 - In the age of cut throat competition, firms should try and evolve a set of policies/ guidelines for social media, rather than, merely wait for the FDA to come up with one.

A case in point is Johnson & Johnson which has a has a 26-page social media policy guide discussing the internal SM protocol

Some of the key pillars of the policy include

• Identify one person within the organization as the “owner” of each SM activity
• Review/moderation process for all external information
• Incorporate SM policies with traditional media protocol
• Start small and prove the concept; obtain buy-in from senior management
(Source: The J&J approach, according to Marc Monseau, Director Corporate Communications and Social Media (Healthcare Social Communications Breakfast, New York University)

In conclusion it is better for Medical Device Marketers to create a business case for Social Media usage. This will help ensure that marketers have the senior leadership support and will also help them ratify against the current media policies. Also it is important that Social Media is used in sync with other marketing channels, and the process is well established under the Integrated Marketing Communication framework.

Dr Vikram Venkateswaran is a marketing professional with more than 10 years of experience in Healthcare, Life Sciences and Information technology industries. He is a blogger who blogs at www.doctersoccer.blogspot.com. He can also be followed on Twitter @drvikram. The views expressed here are his personal views and not of his organization.
Mahesh BC is a consultant with more than 10 years of experience in Healthcare, Medical Devices and IT.

Focus : Lessons from the Kingfisher Airlines exit from the low cost segment

2011-09-29T10:59:00.001+05:30

(Image Source: www.dancewiththeshadows.com)

Indian corporations have never had it so good in the last decade or so. As the west grinds to a halt, India and China are the new beacons of hope for driving the world market. But in their enthusiasm they often forget the basic rules of marketing and that is focus on the value that the customer seeks from you.

Now let us look at the recent Kingfisher Airlines announcement.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/rivals-including-spicejet-and-indigo-to-gain-from-kingfisher-airlines-exit-from-low-cost-operations/articleshow/10164653.cms

Some time ago Kingfisher airlines acquired what was earlier known as Air Deccan the low cost Airline founded by Capt Gopinath, the pioneer in Indian Low cost aviation. It was renamed Kingfisher Red. I had earlier written a piece about airlines and how they are perceived http://doctersoccer.blogspot.com/2010/09/airlines-matter-of-perception.html. Today I want to talk about how Kingfisher has lost its way in the way it is positioned.

Before we get into these details just try this exercise, close you eyes and think of the first thing that comes to your mind when you think Kingfisher Airlines?
Some of the words and thoughts that come to my mind are Opulence, Dr Vijay Mallya : King of Good Times, Lovely Air Hostesses dressed in Red, Yana Gupta in a flight attendant uniform, In -Flight Entertainment, A Guest in Dr. Mallya’s house.
But does the word low cost, economy or cheap come in your mind? The answer I am sure is no. then why the hell did Kingfisher Airlines buy Deccan and try to run a low cost airline?

The fact is that Kingfisher Airlines has lost focus, and while they somersault on their strategy, it is to be seen how the Airline which is losing money ever recover from the loss in brand equity due to the this move.

Let me take you on a step by step process on three key steps in defining a strategy

Step one- Define your market. (Segmentation)

In this particular case the target market for Kingfisher Airlines is this upwardly mobile urban traveler who values good things in Life. He/she is not a budget traveler and would fly only on a full service airline.

Step 2 – Define your offering (Targeting)

So the value sought by this class of flier is a comfortable flight which leaves and arrives on time and also he is given some services on the flight including in-flight entertainment, meals and beverages. Frequent upgrades and access to premium lounges can be the other premium services being offered. Now Kingfisher did start out by providing all this, but then in a sudden change of strategy went and acquired the low cost, economy class Air Deccan. Now this was not what the Kingfisher customer sought and was totally against the brand attributes of the airline.

Step 3 Positioning

Now the positioning was based on the above two factors. I still remember my first Kingfisher flight, I t was a great experience. The minute I got off at Delhi airport I was ushered in by the Kingfisher attendants who also carried my bags. I was referred to as a guest. The flight left on time, the air hostesses were lovely, and the in-flight entertainment was superb. The handle of my bag was broken when my checked in luggage arrived and I was compensated immediately with many apologies from the staff. On the way I watched some good programming which I loved.
Now imagine how many people I had spoken to about this flight. I have never flown Air Deccan and avoid Low cost airlines if possible. I have flown Indigo a few times and I find them very efficient and smooth.

But coming back to Kingfisher, why would a premium brand like Kingfisher align themselves with something as basic as a low cost Airline. This lack of focus on its core market and brand attributes totally flummoxes me and I am not able to understand any rationale behind it.

Also running a low cost airline would require very different operations than running a full service airline. I don’t want to get into operational details but I am sure the supply chain would be totally different.
Had Kingfisher goofed up? I would say yes. Are they right to make this about turn? I would say yes.

Will it cost them? I am not sure about that, now that Jet Airways has also shot themselves in the foot and done the same mistake I am sure Kingfisher will get time to recover the brand equity. Also The national carrier Air-India was never in the fray.

In the end it is this lack of focus that hampers corporations, Nokia lost sight of the smart phone market, RIM never thought of targeting non-office users and Kingfisher thought they could run a low cost airlines. For Nokia and RIM I think the challenges are enormous but for Kingfisher the Good times loo like here to stay.

ET Young Leader's : Does ET have the expertise to run such an initiative

2011-09-21T11:22:00.001+05:30

The article was published in The Hoot link to the article can be found at http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5509&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=19&valid=true.

ARCHANA VENKAT and VIKRAM VENKATESWARAN

If not able to access please read the article below.

Should media houses lend their brand name to activities which they cannot influence? The recently concluded ET Young Leader’s Programme builds a case for media organizations to be careful about what they promote.

Last fortnight results of the much hyped ET Young Leaders programme were telecast announcing 22 leaders, all of who would be eligible to enroll for short term executive programmes from the Indian School of Business (ISB). On closer observation, the results turned out to be disappointing. The programme had picked candidates who fit the stereotypical version of leadership.

Why did Economic Times, a market leader itself and one that has time and again identified unconventional leaders and given them their fair share of exposure, allow such skewed results? Was ET merely associating with this programme to drive visibility, mileage and potential revenues?

While there have been many commendable corporate backed programmes aimed at finding leaders (such as The Aditya Birla Scholarship and the Tata Smart Manager programme), The Economic Times is the first to undertake such a corporate focused initiative. Predictably the programme generated much interest, primarily because one expected the media’s perception of a corporate leader to be different (and broader) from the corporate perception of a leader.
The results, however, re-iterated what the CAT exam- B-School- Corporate nexus has always told us – that to be a leader it is important to have studied at a Tier I B-School and to be working in a Tier 1 company in a leading industry. (For more details please see the box).

For a brand like ET to promote such myopic thinking, does not augur well. The media in India has shaped people’s opinions, given voice to those not heard by the establishment, and identified heroes from unconventional backgrounds. In this case, ET seems to have merely promoted the corporate belief of leadership and not taken a greater role in monitoring the selection process and including candidates from diverse backgrounds to ensure all forms of leadership are promoted.

ET Young Leader’s Programme – Highlights

22 leaders were identified, all of who would be eligible to enroll for short term executive programmemes from the Indian School of Business

Two thirds of the winners come from just three industries – Financial services (5 winners), management consulting (5 winners) and FMCG (4 winners).

17 out of the 22 winners are employed at leading firms in their respective industries (ITC, IBM, McKinsey, Dr. Reddy’s Labs etc), where there are many such talent recognition and grooming programmes.

Over two-thirds of the winners have an MBA degree from a tier I B-school (including 7 from IIMs, 2 from ISB and 1 from XLRI). – Source: www.linkedIn.com

Over one-third of winners have a sale and marketing background while there are few winners from finance and IT functions and none from human resources.

There was only one winner in each of these sectors – public relations, retail, telecom, construction and engineering, pharmaceuticals and health care.

The programmeme was monitored by a panel of 8 industry stalwarts – Anand Mahindra (Mahindra and Mahindra), D Shivakumar (Nokia), Harsh Mariwala (Marico), Kalpana Morparia (ICICI), Nitin Paranjpe (HUL), Pramod Bhasin (formely Genpact), Vineet Nayar (HCL) and Adil Zanulbhai (McKinsey). Incidentally, more than a majority of the 22 winners are either from the companies that these stalwarts represent, or from their alma mater.

The assessment for the ET Young Leaders programme does not take into consideration results (as achieved by one in the course of their employment) in the preliminary levels of the selection process. The programme assesses job competency, personality, verbal and numeric reasoning and only looks at results through group tasks and role play at the penultimate stage of the programme.

This brings us to the much debated question – Should media houses lend their brand name to initiatives that they cannot positively influence?

A quick analysis of the leading English news organisations from the around the world indicates that many organizations lend their brand name to only those initiatives that are in some way aligned to their core business or where they have subject matter expertise.

Common initiatives include:

1. Events/ Conferences - Many news organizations lend their brand to events which they sponsor as a way to create greater awareness of the issues impacting their readers. Leading journalists from the organization are invited as speakers to facilitate and drive meaningful discussion and ensure that the lesser heard voices are heard. The topics discussed are often familiar to the journalist and could be widely reported by him/her.

A case in point is the Economist, which organizes conferences to bring policy makers, businesses and citizens together for a common cause. Another example is the American City Business Journals Group, which has around 40 newspapers focused on small and medium businesses, and holds breakfast events to help connect small businessmen with speakers they would like to hear from. The organization uses its relationships and/or influence to get those speakers who are otherwise inaccessible to its readers.

2. Blogs – This is a common section today in most news organization websites where journalists, eminent personalities as well as readers can post their views. At times, issues emerging from such blogs have found their way into news. Seattle based Post- Intelligencer, in fact stopped brining out its newspaper and changed it business model to blog-based aggregation of news where reporters in combination with bloggers provide extensive news coverage.

3. Job sites – The Economist recently started a job site that specially focuses on recruitment in sectors such as development, international public sector, NGO, Academia, Humanitarian and charity jobs. This reflects the jobs advertised in the print version of the magazine and gives an opportunity for many job providers to take their advertisements online to reach a larger audience. Most general news dailies either have an online section that lists the jobs which have appeared in the print editions or have a separate division that runs a job site.

In India, quiz contests are a popular activity for news organizations to promote. Quiz contests are aligned to a newspaper’s core competence – sharing knowledge. Many a time, most of the questions can come from reports / features in the newspaper.

The Hindu Group sponsors two Quizzes – The Young World Quiz and the Business Line Ad Club quiz. Business Today till recently used to run a Quiz (and a Debate) competition for B-school students and corporates called ‘The Acumen’. The entire quiz planning and execution is outsourced to specialist third parties to ensure independence. Only the event funding and part of the prize money is provided by these organizations. Incidentally, ET has been organizing the Brand Equity Quiz competition, hosted by Derek O’Brien for 20 years.

What comes closest to the ET Young Leader’s programme with respect to its objectives is The Hindu MetroPlus Theatre Festival. The festival has looked beyond the National School of Drama and its alumni and picked lesser known talents from amateur theatre and given them an opportunity to enter professional theatre. By doing so it has indicated that talent and leadership in theatre can be found outside of a professional institution.

Does the ET Young Leaders programme have similar potential to identify less known leaders? It does, provided it takes greater interest in broadening the scope of the programme to give confidence to a wider range of youngsters to compete and win. Merely outsourcing all elements of the process will not help.

For now, ET has in some way benefited from the Young Leaders Programme. It now has a database of young achievers and future business decision makers (those who registered for the programme) who it can target for selling other initiatives/ products. It also has strengthened contacts with potential big ticket advertisers, namely the companies that the winners and panel of leaders represent. Given the business savvy minds at work in the ET’s corporate office, one cannot rule out a televised version of the ET Young Leader’s Programme in the coming years.

Five crazy things that Indians do while driving

2011-09-17T23:23:00.001+05:30

(Image Source: simonwchan.com)

After my earlier post on how music affects driving in my post last month http://doctersoccer.blogspot.com/2011/08/effect-of-music-on-driving-how.html

I started wondering what is some of the other thinks that we Indians do while driving, I came up with three of the craziest things that we do.

1) SMSing while driving. This is the first on the list of the cazy things that vast majority of us do while driving. This is a step crazier than talking on the phone, at I am sure testing or messaging during driving would require at least two hands at some portion of the text. It is really not recommended and if there is choice between texting and calling someone, i think calling is better.

2) Applying make up while driving- This is the creation of mostly women and some men. Many women do apply make up while driving especially in the morning. Some also use the driving time to putting finishing touches to the make up or touching up just before finishing the drive. Though elaborate make up also has been attempted the most common culprit is the lipstick.

3) Reading the newspaper while driving- This is the work of mostly men, who feel the peaceful atmosphere of the car can be put to good use to update themselves on world affairs. Though it seems harmless, the newspaper is usually spread out on front of the steering wheel and can distract the driver. Just imagine a driver upset over the Indian cricket team's performance in England, forgets to notice a driver who can cut him off, the result is so not desirable.

4) Praying- Now this one takes the cake. Some of us are so busy and out to time to pray that we decide to use the car especially the morning commute for this. I have now encountered many people doing this and though it sounds funny in the beginning, considering our driving sense and lack of discipline, this is probably required. but still is a crazy habit.

5) Changing Clothes- Yes it is crazy enough to make the list, I have seen some folks change their shirts or t-shirts while driving. I think it is a good idea that they are gaining time by not changing but not sure, why they cant just park the care and change. This one time before a new year party , my friend insisted on changing her top while driving the car, and at the same time insisted the rest of us should close our eyes. That is the only time I resorted to crazy activity no 4 I.E Praying.

but this is not an exhaustive list, I would like to hear from you if you have noticed any other crazy behavior while driving.

Things that you always wanted to know about Toastmasters but never asked: Toastmasters 101

2011-09-14T22:06:00.001+05:30

(Image Source: The Branding Source)

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. It has more than 270,000 members across the globe. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of all backgrounds become more confident in front of an audience. Ralph C Smedley started the Toastmasters organization in a basement in Santa Ana in California. In 1930’s it became an International Organization when a club from Canada joined Toastmasters.
Today India, China and Middle East are the fastest growing regions for Toastmasters International.

The toastmasters program consists of two tracks - a Communication track and a leadership track. On completion of the basic communication track, a member is awarded the competent Communicator certificate and for completing the Leadership basic track one is awarded the competent leader certificate.
Last year 24,000 ,members were awarded the competent communicator and 17,000 members were awarded the competent leader. More details on these projects can be found on www.toastmasters.org.

Why is Toastmasters important?

The very essence of what we do in a civilized society is guided by two basic principles - communication and Leadership. Both are interlinked and effective leaders are usually good communicators. There are other organizations that teach communication and leadership skills through seminars and correspondence courses, but these mostly last a day or a few months at most.
The toastmasters program is different. It helps a person evolve into an effective communicator and leader at their own pace. Toastmasters clubs hold weekly or bi-weekly meetings to help members develop a wide range of skills essential to be an effective communicator and leader.

How can one become a toastmaster?

Toastmaster clubs are present across the world. There are 13,000 clubs globally in 116 countries. There are 70 Toastmaster clubs in Bangalore both Community and corporate clubs. Garden City Toastmasters club in Bangalore incidentally is India’s First Toastmasters club. India today has about 222 Clubs.You can check for a toastmasters club near you by visiting www.toastmasters.org.

How is Toastmasters relevant in today’s world?

Toastmasters has constantly evolved with times. In the 1930’s it went international by admitting the first club outside the United States. In 1973 they permitted women to join as members, since many women were entering the workforce around that time. In the 1990’s the Organization decided to proactively add the leadership track recognizing the need for leaders in the backdrop of globalisation. The basic Toastmasters courses cover various areas such as language, pronunciation, vocal variety, body language, using visual aids etc – all of which are relevant today. The advanced courses are designed keeping in mind one’s specific interests and career goals. Like for example if you want to enter the training and development field there are specific advanced manuals that help you do that.

Who can Join Toastmasters?

Anyone can join Toastmasters, as long as they are more than 18 years of age. Also people in prisons and hospital patients may not be allowed to join Toastmasters. The diversity that you can find in Toastmasters is very vast. Some famous celebrities who are Toastmasters include Tim Allen, host of the show Home Improvement, Napoleon Hill , Author and Motivational Speaker and Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on StarTrek

One thing that every Toastmaster has to do is be supportive of other members of the club. As a matter of fact Toastmasters has a nick name - the Clap Club – because members clap to encourage fellow members and guests. To ensure that everyone feels at home, three topics are never discussed in a Toastmasters club meetings - Sex, Religion and Politics.

Last year I interviewed DTM Lee Abrahamson as part of my Speaking on Television Project from the advanced manual and there was something he told me that that I feel would help our audience. Toastmasters according to him were a laboratory and it allows every member to experiment within the guidelines. So the best thing to do is to experiment with your speaking style.
As of August this year, Toastmasters International has embarked on a brand refresh campaign. If you go to the Toastmasters Website you can see the logo has changed, and also the Tag-line has become ‘where leaders are made’. In the last couple of years though the number of Competent Communication awards have grown by around 5%, the number of Competent Leader awards have grown by almost 25-30%. This represents the paradigm shift in the evolving needs of the members and hence the brand refresh. Also for the first time, Toastmasters International is going to appoint Brand Ambassadors including past presidents, current and former world champions to serve as influencers. The campaign was launched on August 13th, and will continue till 2012.

The best way to connect with TMI is the website www.toastmasters.org. Also they can always get in touch with their Club, area or division officers for any clarifications. Other ways to connect with Toastmasters across the globe is through Social Media. Toastmasters have a group on LinkedIn it’s called The Official Toastmasters International Members Group; currently it has about 17,000 members. Toastmasters are also present on Twitter with around 13,000 followers, Facebook with 3,000 odd members and the Toastmasters You Tube Channel has more than a Million views for its videos.

I think the most important way to improve is to adhere to the manual. The manual is an excellent guide and as long as one sticks to the guidelines they can do well. Secondly I think Toastmasters should also plan to give some of their projects outside their own club, this gives them exposure to a new environment and one can always learn something new by watching other clubs. Thirdly, practice, which is an important part of the process, every speech should be written down and practiced at least 7-8 times, in front of the mirror or even recorded to make sure that a there are no flaws when the speech is delivered in the club. Watch as many videos of International Speech Contests as possible. These feature some of the best speakers in the world like Craig Valentine, who was the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking and one my favorites. Work with a mentor, find a senior Toastmaster and ask him to mentor you, my mentor JP is a DTM twice over, and is again doing his CC, I was the 2006 National management debate champion before I joined Toastmasters, working with JP has taken my public speaking skills to another level. And it because of his mentor-ship that I was able to become the Humorous Speech Area champion twice.

Lance Armstrong envies Salman Khan

2011-09-01T23:12:00.002+05:30

Yes, it’s true everyone. Lance Armstrong envies Salman Khan. The world has not been witness to such jealousy since Achilles spurned the advances of hundreds of Greek babes and attempted to sodomize Paris, the prince of Troy. I have shared this theory with several of my friends during my recent and all too frequent bouts of drunkenness, but nobody could propose a parallel in history, post Christ.
So what exactly has caused this uneasy state of affairs between Lance and Salman? Is it Salman’s physique? His countless girlfriends? His new found hair? His earth shattering dance moves from Dabang? In fact, none of these. Specially not the last one. The reason why Salman Khan’s picture adorns the face of Lance Armstrong’s dart board is because the former has robbed the latter of his place in popular culture, and in the hearts of India’s youth. Let’s face it guys, no one in India gives a damn about Tour De France (Tour of France, for those who don’t comprehend the French language). Cycling is not even a sport for us Indians. It is indeed, below the dignity of our great emerging middle class. Who, I ask you, rides a bicycle in India unless he has a school bag, a bundle of newspapers or other merchandise placed on its carrier? And what good is a bicycle without a carrier? What kind of a wussy wears a helmet while riding a bicycle? And what kind of a heterosexual man wears stretchy Latex shorts? In this scenario, Lance Armstrong’s sole claim to fame in India were those stretchy wristbands with ‘Livestrong’ written on them.
Livestrong bands were a rage not so long ago. Anybody not wearing one, was seen as ‘insensitive’,’ inconsiderate’ and totally not plugged into current affairs and Arundhati Roy’s Literature. However, they have now been knocked off the top pedestal of celebrity-endorsed merchandise; much like Roger Federer has been knocked off the top of the ATP ratings. This is where Salman comes into the picture. The Livestrong bands have been KO’d by Salman’s very own ‘Being Human’ T-shirts. Ever since Salman sported one, the youth of the nation has embraced the Tees; much like Salman embraces his heroines in his movies. Experts have commented that this is the nation’s way of expressing approval for the fact that finally, Salman has ended his boycott of shirts. Whatever be the reason, the ‘Being human’ phenomenon has captured the nation’s imagination. ‘Being human’ T-shirts have replaced Livestrong bands as the largest selling non-digital merchandise in Delhi’s Palika Bazaar, and indeed flea-markets across the country.
The sheer genius of Salman Khan is evident from the fact that he chose something as useful as a tee to leave his mark on. What good is a wrist band anyways? This is the reason why he has been able to woo the masses as against the Livestrong bands which were the toast of the artsy –fartsy types. (Artsy Fartsy = Chetan Bhagat enthusiasts, N-Sync fans, Yahoo messenger users). Is there any surprise that he has relegated those wristbands to the 2nd spot? Is it any wonder that Lance Armstrong is seriously pissed at losing out on the India opportunity? Well, he can cry his heart out now. He should have known better.

The original Ratna of Bharat: Why Dhirubhai Ambani deserves a Bharat Ratna

2011-09-01T19:47:00.001+05:30

(Image Source: okanayakulu.blogspot.com)

"Our dreams have to be bigger, our ambitions higher, our commitment deeper and our efforts greater. This is my dream for India."

Dhirubhai Ambani

Most of us have heard such words from National leaders, Prime Ministers and politicians. We have seldom believed them as more often than not they have not delivered on their promises.Despite all the struggle from Anna Hazare we are not sure if the government will keep their word. The truth is since 1947 we have seldom seen anything tangible from our politicians and leaders. The topic in national politics today is awarding of the Bharat Ratna and a lot of names are in the fray, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, MF Hussain, Babu Jagjeevan Ram, Kanshi Ram and the list is endless. I take this opportunity to salute the original Ratna of Bharat, a true son of the soil Dhirrajlal Hirachanda Ambani fondly called as Dhirubhai.

Dhirubhai was born in Gujarat on the 28th December 1932 to a middle class family. He shares his birthday with Ratan Tata, the founder of Linux Linus Torvalds, American president Woodrow Wilson and Hollywood actor Denzel Washington. Right from the beginning he had the entrepreneurial spirit in him as he was selling pakoras to pilgrims at Mount Girnar near his village for a profit of 2 paisa. This would probably set the tone for his life later as he was always keen on making a profit whatever the venture.

At the age of 16 he left India to work for A Besse & Co in Aden, Yemen then a British Colony. He understood the petro refinery business then as Besse were the distributors for Shell then and Dhirubhai was the managing the distribution centers. During those days, the Yemini Rial was made of pure silver coins and was in much demand at the London Bullion Exchange. Young Dhirubhai bought the Rials, melted them into pure silver and sold it to the bullion traders in London. During the latter part of his life, while talking to reporters, it is believed that he said “The margins were small but it was money for jam. After three months, it was stopped. But I made a few lakhs. In short, I was a manipulator, a very good manipulator. But I don’t believe in not taking opportunities.

Dhirubhai returned to India in 1958 and started trading importing textiles and exporting spices under the name Reliance Commercial Corporation. In 1966 he started his first plant in Naroda in Gujarat to manufacture textiles under the brand name ‘Vimal’. But doing business in India those days involved getting licenses which were not easy to come by. Only the established business houses were given these due to their political connections. And these houses would just procure the licenses and not utilise them. For example the Birla group had close to 25 licenses which were never utilized.
Dhirubhai by sheer determination and manipulation broke through these cartels to establish Reliance as major player in textiles but then the retailers refused to stock reliance cloth and if they did so it would be at a very low margin this was believed to be because of the pressure exerted by Nusli Wadia and Bombay Dyeing. Dhirubhai then did something that has become the stuff legends are made of in one day he opened 100 ‘Vimal’ retail outlets, such a feat had never been seen before in India and it took all the commercial establishments by surprise who started stocking Vimal just to dissuade Dhirubhai from opening an outlet in their neighborhood.

He had a vision for India where the common man could become the owner in an enterprise and be involved in a share of the profits as well. When it came to Dhirubhai raising capital was also a very unique feat as he introduced the concept of IPO (initial Public Offering) in 1977. today IPO’s are a common occurrence but imagine thinking of this way back in 1977 Dhirubhai was way ahead of his times. He constantly encouraged the small first time investors to invest in the Reliance IPO promising to double their money. Initially only people from Gujarat invested but later others too joined in.

Dhirubhai got one of the best manufacturing units built and believed his men blindly. Once a unit that had been flooded due to monsoons and experts from Du-Pont had come down to help Reliance re-start the factory. They had said that the situation was so bad that it would take about 18 months for the factory to be fully functional. Dhirubhai then called the factory manager and told him what the experts had told him. The factory manager told Dhirubhai give me 6 months and the resources I will get it done and requested him to send the experts away as they were lowering the morale of the workers with their findings. Dhirubhai agreed and within 4 months the factory was running at full capacity.

So what I ask today is for us to think and decide. Should not the Bharat Ratna our highest civilian honor be given to such a individual, the one who started the concept of IPO’s, Retail formats, World class manufacturing units. The one person, who was willing to share his profits with the common man, Let us ask ourselves this question does not this man deserve the Bharat Ratna more than the politicians and painters? Ladies and gentlemen the Bharat Ratna for the original Ratna of Bharat Dhirrajlal Hirachanda Ambani.

(My speech on the same topic at Chennai Toastmasters in 2008)