Looking Inward

Being Legal or Moral?

Milind Wagh — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:17:11 +0000

The rain lashed on the windscreen of my car as my driver steered it clear of Ikeja chaos as we headed for the main Ibadan highway. Lagos had seen a lot of rain this month, but today was different. The road was fortunately clear and we hoped to reach our meeting place within quarter of an hour. This meeting was a top priority for us. A federal government funded initiative needed a full automation solution and we had approached them at the right time with the right concept. We had to showcase the concept today, the success of which could ideally take us to closure. My colleague sat grimly besides me; probably with a mix of nervousness and anxiety. The concept of this meeting did not make sense to me. Though being a federal government funded initiative, no federal representative was expected to attend the meeting. Secondly; the expected panel did not have any technical person on board. Thirdly; the solution offered by us was by no way a small solution. It simply did not jell. There was something that I was missing! I had quizzed my colleague thoroughly on this and he could not provide me any clue. I was [...]

What habit is your own business reshaping?

Milind Wagh — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 10:04:11 +0000

Our daily chores is a sequence of things that we are used to perform every day; majorly repetitive and often executed subconsciously. It would not be wrong to say that we are slaves to our habits which we have formed over the years influenced heavily by our society, culture and immediate environment. We wake up to alarms given melodiously by our alarm clocks; have morning tea/coffee and browse through the newspapers and so on – almost every single day without any major changes – and we get a feeling of having a normal morning and a smooth take-off for the day. Any disruption in our habit – like our tea being replaced by a steaming soup or our newspaper being replaced by a movie magazine – jolts us and makes us uncomfortable. Can we change? Yes we can. We need something powerful and innovative to change our habits. Who can do it? How? These are the very questions, newer businesses are addressing to ensure that they can influence our behaviour. To create habits in us that will involve their products so that they grow virally without requiring a daily effort on the same customer! Take Linkedin or Facebook or Twitter. They [...]

Hope is not a Strategy!

Milind Wagh — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:08:16 +0000

Nigerians were once branded the happiest people on earth. The situation is rapidly changing but till now; they are just about “Suffering and Smiling.” Nigeria comes across as a nation where there is too much hardship and yet the people bear it with a certain inexplicable equanimity. In the midst of suffering, they would be seen smiling. A man pulling many times his own weight in goods, with a wheel barrow, under the baking sun, with sweat pouring down his face and cascading down his body, would be expected to be looking tense with a sad disposition on his face. But this is Nigeria. Inspite of the back-breaking work that pays little, the man would be smiling while making jokes with anyone that comes close to him as he makes his way through the busy streets. For decades, there are areas where there has been no electricity and hence the people are unable to run the fans or other equipment which no longer can be summarized as luxuries but sheer essentials. One would expect them to be mad at a government that continues to fail her people in the power-delivery sector or PHCN that has failed to get its act [...]

Back to School!

Milind Wagh — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:44:03 +0000

Our car entered the narrow lane of the overcrowded Yaba area in Lagos as we proceeded to meet our prospect; a mid-size business into outdoor media. My colleague who accompanied me, had explained to me that the prospect was one of the leaders in the vertical and was in dire need of a suitable automation solution. He quickly spoke to my driver in local Youruba dialect and the car stopped in front of a dilapilated building. There was no road ahead. I gathered that we had entered a wrong lane. “Sir; Pls follow me. We are there”, he said. I was taken aback. My eyes wandered to locate the office of my prospect, but could find none. He guided me straight to the entrance of the dilapilated building! Two ‘roughnecks’ were standing at the entrance. Both were smoking and were engaged in an animated dialog. They had seen us getting down and walking towards the entrance. My heart missed a beat as their eyes sized me up from top to toe. I kept my face straight and walked past them to the building and entered a small room, which apparently was the reception! An old hawkish lady greeted us and [...]

Oga! You are Welcome!

Milind Wagh — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:04:56 +0000

The frail figure in front of me offered me a hand and spoke in a heavy voice. “Good morning sir!, You are welcome”. I gathered myself hurriedly, least expecting the blunt welcome. I struggled to put on a smile and reciprocate his greetings. He led us to a dimly lit conference room and offered me a chair to seat myself. I sat lightly respecting the fragility of the chair and turned towards my host and offered him my visiting card. He took it, but offered me none and came straight to the point of our intended visit. It was my first sales call in the day and here I was; expecting a large corporate conference room of a supposedly ‘large’ media firm in Nigeria. The decor had shaken me thoroughly and I was finding it difficult to focus on my sales pitch and presentation. My colleague in sales who was accompanying me was at his eloquent best, oblivious of the shock I was reeling under. This was not the first time that I was taken by surprise in Nigeria. But today was different. We had struggled for several days to get this appointment and I was told that entry into [...]