Persuasion - To what degree one should pursue?

This is about a project that I am currently doing in my organization. The project is about doing a particular process at the factory and currently the same is done at the store. The reason for doing this is to bring in simplicity and consistency. I thought of sharing few learnings here.

BE READY TO LISTEN TO NO:

I reached out to fellow managers and expressed desire to this project. The immediate answer was

• No, this will increase cost
• No, this attracts excise duty
• We tried this 2 years ago & we failed
• All suppliers can't do this

Somehow I had a hunch that this is doable and we must do it!

BREAK THE PROBLEM IN PARTS:

I checked with taxation expert (both inside the org. and outside). After multiple follow ups we got a confirmation this process if done at factory will not attract excise duty.
HOPE came too early!

I reached out to knowledge holders and revisited all the numbers...line by line for instore costing.

Looped in SCM team for vendor capability and cost of doing the process at the factory.

There were few setbacks but situation started turning into the favour with the revised numbers.


ENGAGE WITH SENIOR EMPLOYEES:

There is always a merit in discussing the project with senior resources. By virtue of their experience, they can always add value/give helpful directions. 

DO NOT HESITATE:

I met the senior most resource of a particular function and used his influence to drive the stalled project. It gave the desired thrust to the project. 90 days has past by this time.
I presented the project in one of the key forums to get desired management attention. It worked well.

We are going to the plant for trials by the end of the month. I will make this happen. BTW, did I tell you how much we will save if we are able to get this right? Few million dollars :)

The answer to the title question is...Pursue till the end!

Vacation

The word vacation generates great amount of excitement and hope in our mind. I am planning a trip to Europe and USA and visit few cities during a month long vacation.

While I was working on the visa, air tickets etc., I realized that the hope for a good time itself is a proxy of good time.



No doubt there has been a great deal of work that has been done so far but it was done with an elevated spirit. The work did not stress me. I could narrow down on few points:

• Hope for a good time is a proxy of good time
• The destination may not be as good as expected but the hope gave you a good time already
• Work done with a visualization of fun does not stress you

I am trying to replicate this at work too...by challenging myself that if I make this presentation a little better, chances are audience will stand and applaud. 

This hope keeps me going, makes me deliver better and helping me transform without putting stress on me.

Will update you in Jan'15 on my vacation experience.

  

What goes around comes around...

In Aug 2013 were getting ready to launch a new product code named 'RB'. The product construct requires 70 gms of gravy for which a ladle was required. In order to meet the launch timelines we were forced to use a existing ladle from the restaurant which can be used to portion 70 gms gravy.

The other stakeholders in the team finalized a 1 Oz black ladle which was giving 70 gms gravy when heaped twice.

In my heart I was skeptical about team members heaping the ladle as it was tricky (the heaped liquid will slip back owing to gravity). I did voice out this concern but the squad demonstrated that 70 gms was possible with that ladle (in the lab).

The product was launched and shortly we had to rework and develop a new ladle that was giving right quantity.

I had a great deal of learning here. I knew that black ladle will give best 60-65 gms but not 70 gms. But in the interest of project timelines and to maintain the harmony in the squad I went ahead only later to rework on the ladle.

Its only in retrospect you realize what alternate you should have opted for...However these experiences make your decision making sharper.

Sudden Realizations...

Innocence Unlimited... 

Needless to say that life has picked up too much of a velocity in today's time. Only thing that's increasing everyday is no. of emails in your inbox apart from cost (inflation). Myriads of notifications, watsapp messages, linked inn updates etc... which makes life too full for anything else.

Then we have SUDDEN realizations in life in one form or the other. Today I got a phone call from my wife which I disconnected. Later I got a text, pls call back.

I called back after an hour and found that she is crying as our pet rabbit has passed away. I came back home and sat with her and realized that probably we should have cared a little more...spent a little extra time with him...

I had to bury the cute little creature. I was deeply troubled inside and pretending to be strong...

I got some relief when I poured the white salt...then came a layer of mother earth and things were calm.

Today it was a sudden pause from so called fast life. A good realization that life is certainly MORE than what it appears...

Women Drivers

I can see the wit with which you have clicked this blog post :)
Let's admit that this is one topic which attracts attention of both the gender equally.

Let me share some experiences that I had...

@Toll Plaza

Cars are queued up & almost everybody is stressed to reach office and punch in time.

Since cars are not moving at all, the lady in the car in front of me thought of doing justice with time. She tilted the central rear view mirror and picked up a lipstick.

She just started her 'paint job' and the traffic started moving. She was completely ignorant about this. When I press the horn to seek her attention, she adjusted the rear view mirror and gave a look as if I am unreasonable here.

When I pointed towards the road, she grinned and moved on.

@Office Cafeteria

These supposedly good drivers are definitely clueless about car parts. When I asked a colleague that what is piston? She said, is it in the front of the car which covers the engine? She meant bonnet

 

This gross ignorance made me laugh. And not to mention that she finished her meal in a jiffy and disappeared!

 

You can share your experiences too :)    

  
 

That feeling – I can smell it in the air!

I want to share a very intimate phenomena that happens with me every year.

 During this time of the year, when monsoons are over and winters are approaching, I feel AWESOME!

There is something about this phase. I feel elated for everything that I see or do. I feel good about the people living in slums who are taking an afternoon nap on their terrace (which I can see from my 12^th floor office window).

I feel excited about the concept called LIFE. Everything looks beautiful. It has a weird psychedelic effect on me. I can sense the upcoming festivity. I CAN SMELL THE CRACKERS IN THE AIR.

I visualize the market place decorated with lanterns, crowd thronging the streets, shops extended to the road, houses taking a shower with lights etc…

I was skeptical about sharing this concept. I did tell this very recently to someone who also experiences the same. If you feel the same do click on like button J

Contemporary design - Creating the differentiation





I wish to highlight the recent changes in  Hotel design and the impact of the same on consumer experience.

I recently experienced Novotel - Hyd and Vivanta by Taj.

Traditional hotel rooms were having a bath tub which is no more prominent in modern properties.

Well, When I use a bath tub, invariably i get up with a guilt of wasting water - close to 200 liters which otherwise could have been sorted out in 20 liters!

Things which I really like about the new design is that they are vibrant, bright and full of utilities.

I remember connecting my laptop with LCD and working on it was fun. The bedside iHome puts a smile on Apple users. The rooms are designed keeping in mind the modern day traveler. The connectivity panel which can connect the most of modern day devices was impressive. I like blackberry charging port the most!

Rooms had one touch control to manoeuver the room lighting temp etc.I was wondering if i make my parents stay here, they will spend the night figuring out how to operate !

This was reiterated when I experienced the electronic shower next morning :)

The design element was leaving a mark in coffee-shop ,conference halls etc. Well lit, bright carpets and concealed lighting's make the hall look bigger than it is.

I am happy to see the tectonic shift in hotel design. Thankfully we have moved away from maroon carpets and golden chandeliers :)

Innovation

Recently I attended a Operations Road Show. It was amazing to hear from one of the best leader of the century.

The way they define innovation is "It is a interaction of imagination with reality"

What an apt description, very true... What we see around was an imagination at some point in time.

The question is why innovate? If we don't someone will do & serve customers better by taking our share away.So, for the very own existence innovation is must.

To put innovation to action, we can use these analogies:

1)If Apply was to design...
2)If BMW was to drive efficiency...
3)South Western to take costs out...
4)Google was to develop a Mobile Interface...

What they would have done...

Now the question is all the companies are having similar strategies... meetings/summits etc.

The differentiator is the thirst for getting better and better and better and better and better...

The winner will be decided by one thing. "How badly you want it?"

Customer service

Today I went to a dhaba where I use to have my dinner when I was an intern in a prestigious 5 star property of Delhi. This dates back to winters of 2002. This dhaba wala remember me for two reason:

• The most regular customer
• The last customer (every day; He has to keep it open till 2330 hrs for me)

Well, Today I had my lunch at the same place. Some cops were having their lunch & some painters/labors were also having lunch.

What I liked was a painter who was wearing a green T shirt & white trouser (with paint marks on them, half day work result) Good amount of paint was sticking on hands also. He ordered dal and 4 thick tandoori rotis. The dhaba wala asked rudely “Makhan lega”. He said “aaj de do”. He had some good earnings for the day, so he was relishing it. It was a Rs.2/- butter packet (which was a treat for him).

The butter was divided into 2 parts

• One piece into dal
• The other was equally rubbed on all 4 rotis.

The wrapper was rubbed in hot dal to squeeze the little butter sticking to the wrapper, wiped with colorful fingers & licked with a smile full of gratification. Today was his day. He was shaved freshly , neatly combed hairs. I kept watching him eating his food with colorful fingers.

Thanks to festivals like ‘diwali’ which allows money to flow down to these people, who in turn can have some colorful days!

Dispose Responsibly!!!

We have seen this symbol on most of the electronic gadgets, batteries, cells etcetera. This symbol says do not dispose this item/gadget in the dustbin as it will harm the environment.


In India most of the gadgets carry the same symbol (might be because we are becoming global). My question to the marketing team of big brands is where we dispose them when finding dustbin is a challenge.

I would like to make a point here that why can’t we be real and practical or maybe we can implement executionable ideas.


In developed countries, there are collection days for hazardous waste and centers where people can dispose of these items. May be in India the battery companies can offer buyback for lithium ion batteries which generally goes into the dustbin.

In India the lead acid batteries are mostly recycled but in an inefficient and harmful to environment manner as checks are not there in place.


Final word is, please find out an actionable way of reducing impact on environment rather than just branding ourselves in an unsustainable manner.

My Distant mentor

David Novak;

I am a big fan of this personality who is Chairman & CEO of Yum Brands Inc.
He has authored a book 'The education of an accidental CEO'

He has written his heart out in this book and I suppose he has been dead honest in that.
Once he graduated out of college, he got a job of selling encyclopedias. He manage to sold some on day one.
He honestly admits that, he was not a good salesman but its the old women who bought this just for a chat. Probably in that age she don't need an encyclopedia but needs someone to
share his loneliness.

He was unhappy after the transaction and quit that job and later became an account executive for Frito lay.

The second instance where he has shown intense courage is when Taco Bell was in news for all the bad reasons before an investors meet.
There was a store located in New York metro station and New York is famous for big rats. The store was undergoing some pest control activities and the team worked till 3 in the night.
They left a hole in the wall to come back tomorrow and fix it up.

The big rats came in the store and some passer by filmed a clipping through the front glass door. This was one of the top ten watched video on you tube next morning; right before the investors meet.
The top management wanted to postpone the meeting. David said no and started the meeting with a rock solid confidence. He said let me appreciate the media for making us realize where we are going wrong and then he declared to cancel the store license because of location issues.

The investors responded well and nobody raised a single question about the sensitive issue.

I get huge inspiration from him.

The Indian Traffic Scenario 2020

I get excited when I foresee traffic situation in 2020.
Roads:
Roads will be widened to the maximum possible space but the traffic will still flow as a perennial stream @ 10 km/hr. Yes, the road dividers will be thin sliced to give way to traffic.
Flyovers will have multiple levels, one over the other. You will be paying a Rs.300 bill if you wish to travel from the top tier.
Every house will have a red light; you can enter the road only once it’s green!

Cars:
Nano will be big ancient petrol run car. Companies will fight to build even smaller car. Marketers from B-school will be positioning them on the grounds of sideways shock absorbers! Yes the side body of the car will contain 6” shock absorbers on all sides. Latest technology will allow 1 minute come back of dented portion guarantee. Car body will of fiber plastic till window allowing ample space for daily collision and scratches. The day you don’t get one will be considered misfortune!
All cars design will be like this:



So that bikers can ride over the car and overtake without disturbing the car driver.(Traffice rule: Biker got to overtake from the top left side of the car only as driver is sitting on right)





Car Insurance:
They will provide 30 minute guarantee to reach on site of collision like pizza guys used to do in 2010. The mobile team will be accessible on toll free number. They will inspect both vehicles and take photograph and issue cheque amounting to damage calculated by an algorithm written by IIM-A guy.
IMT marketing guys will be positioning auto insurance companies on grounds of 2 minutes claim settlement on road (collision site).


Animal fencing from the highways will be removed as there won’t be any left to come over. Guess where the animals of 2020 are, they all will be driving the car!

Mislead India Campaign

I could see a clear unethical approach towards business in the name of campaign called LEAD INDIA.

It was a scintilla which build hope across the country as if they are going to revolutionize our crippled political system.
Suddenly those leaders have disappeared and there are no updates of what objectives they are trying to accomplish.


Crores of rupees were spent on marketing the entire event and yes it paid of in a way.
They were declared as "Advertiser of the Year’’ at the Spikes Asia ’09

People voted in hope of improvement in system as they claimed in their advertisement and certainly not to get them a good Brand recognition.
I appreciate the fact that they are a business organization and the survival is profitability, but at what cost is the question here.

Now similarly their is a TEACH INDIA campaign where their is no structured format for education delivery process and under privileged kids are taught
arbitrarily by volunteers.I really doubt the improvement that the program will do in the education level.

The elections were conducted out at the people money at the rate of Rs. 7/- a minute. The other marketing materials are available online
Lead India address book Rs. 699/-
Lead India shoulder bag Rs. 699/-
Coffee mug for Rs. 249/-.

I may be sounding pessimistic but unfortunately I could not find and statistical data which could prove the improvements made so far.
The approach is purely unethical by this way of getting Brand recognition.

Post down Turn, B school should reflect on the course credit!

We saw the challenges faced by businesses in downturn of economy
The question arises, does B-school prepare future managers to face crisis? Even if they do so, how effective they are?
As a student of PGDM executive at IMT- Ghaziabad, I recently attended a 6 days marketing simulation program conducted by faculties from Austria.
Executive MBA requires people with minimum 5 years of work experience as a manager.
MARKETING SIMULATION is software based program in which teams of student form a company and compete in simulated global market. At the start of the simulation, each company sells its products in the market. As the simulation progresses, existing products can be changed or withdrawn, and new products brought onto the market, depending on how the game develops. The aim is to strengthen your own company's market position and profit situation. This makes the conflicts between a company's various goals, which arise when making business decisions, very obvious. Each company's sales strategy should reflect its unique position within the market.
There are 9 rounds to play this game and each round is a considered to be a financial year. The teams makes their strategies based on multiple variables like positioning, new product development, marketing mixes, demand forecasting etc. The variables go upto100 in number. At the end of each round, results were declared. Results include market shares, revenues, unit solid contribution margins, net profit, etc.
Now, by artificially creating recession in random periods, companies are tested. Companies which strategically build capacities, staffing, investments in R&D etc. were able to face recession well. Others were left with piles of inventories & huge fixed costs killing their profits.
This stimulation gives student managers a chance to practice handling real life scenarios without risking millions of dollars which otherwise may damage the bottom line.
I experienced that business can be taught better by putting student managers into challenging scenarios. Learning’s which comes out of such situational handling are long lasting as they change perspectives.
Simulation vs. Case based approach:
Harvard business school case base approach is highly appreciated & followed by most of the B-schools across the globe. Moving one level ahead, it will be simulation, which gives you result for your chosen strategies. It also gives an opportunity for new idea generation and application of theoretical concepts.
Similarly case studies also provide simulation, as there are multiple options that one can choose. Challenge is that you never come to know the results of your chosen strategies.
Ethics: How important they are in business?
One of the core reasons for financial downturn was excessive greed for profit. I believe that business ethics should be a core course {full credit} which should be mandatory for all B-schools students. I have studied core course on business ethics which is taught through HBR case studies. It repeatedly reinforced the fact that companies whose core ideology was ethical were at disadvantageous positions in short term, but in long term, these companies were highly admired by stake holders.

Banglore Visit

I visited Bangalore for the first time. It was found exactly as told to me over years. I visited best MNC’s in India and candidly telling you ‘I found their office marvelous’. Infosys, 3M, were ‘corporate giants’ if I can say that.
Well journey was interesting as a guy from Micro soft was there to listen to me. You see I always need good listener. Temperature was little high which was a challenge.
People are very different here, they look dangerous but they are not and are actually sweet and simple. Certain differences are there in typical NCR region and south India e.g. Morning means 5:00 am and appointment means appointment.
I must appreciate the professionalism displayed by people in this city.
Well, development is visible, very much visible. Huge IT parks and jumbo corporations expanding their business in kilometers is testimony.
All I miss is my dear one in this trip. I visited one pub called NASA at MG road. I heard about it in year 2003 and since then wanted to be there. I had a good experience at NASA and also liked the local grown wines (pretty much OK). Tomorrow is the last day of Bangalore trip. I wish to come here soon.

My stay at IMT

I landed in campus with a sinking feeling & hope together. Most of the decision that I take for my personal life turn out to be disaster. I thought, I have taken another “good decision” when I heard about the placement struggle that was going on at that time.

Well, campus was impressive in terms of greenery (people are free to derive different meaning of greenery).Somehow I had a jinx of getting superb roomies which followed me to IMT as well.My roomie will only tell those things outside to everyone which can pose a potential threat.lolz..

I was elected as CR. I was happy, possibly for the last time.

Now there was a twist in the story as we formed the GROUP-C, there was lot of learning and fun together. Something was missing to complete CR into a CRY, so I joined place com also. (I am just joking; I actually like to work a lot)

Some faculty members will not get out of my memory for reasons which you know. Like Prusty sir (conceptual clarity- I don’t know whether in this life time I will get it or not)

The man who understands India better

Here I wish to introduce you to one of my professor. Let me tell you with my conviction that I LOVE HIM.....

He is in early seventies , so you can make out how he looks. The wrinkles on his face and thick lines ;on his forehead reflects the life he has lived & he always talk about it. An IIM Kolkata alumni, worked with great Indian PSU's. Hairs all grey & skin a little loose on his face, but still look good. The lectures that are delivered in shaking voice reflects huge experience of the past. Some time when voice comes from withing it looks like fireball coming out of old cannons.

Specially when the topic is closely revolving around the labour. His views are always inclined the workforce. I don't know what he has been through, but I remember him saying him once that he has faced 400 plus gherov & handled numerous labor unions. At some point of time he used to handle as many as 75000 employees. The Hindi from Bihar add humor to the lecture & English vocabulary is just perfect.I am sure that no amount of his lecture will ever bore me.

I just love you Sir (Prof BD Singh)

Bottled beer.... its flat after all

Hello,

Me and my friend (budding entrepreneur) went out for a chat. He is setting some business in noida and wanted some consultancy out of my 6 years of work experience. The weather was right to have a beer before we get into those money making talks. Well , we went into the shop and discussed for a while and settled for a carlsberg. I felt good as I was out of my so called "prestigious"B-school campus after a while. We chatted to glory holding those green bottles,must be imported from miles to satisfy our desire.I was actually relishing the drink in the car while munching on Indianized momo's which were a little spicy.It was a tough to gulp them down but I managed it well at the same time curbing on my emerging burps............

So far, me and my friend discussed all the formats that needs to be implemented and strategies that can mint money for him.
We were about to leave and then comes a little soul. This fellow was hardly 2 feet tall, may be 5 year of age and asked for a rupee. These days I was reading "Business ethics" and ethically encouraging beggars is wrong was the concept revolving around my mind.i raised my voice and said no and go away. he immediately turned and sat on a pile of mud. i ignored and now there was another round of imported beer and the talks were on peak.

We settled the bills and were about to leave. We cleaned up our car and disposed the bottles and waste on the road side.
I saw the little guy picked it up and was just waiting for this moment to come. I was ashamed of my behaviour towards the child and offered him Rs. 2 which he readily accepted and I quickly moved from there.

I am still selfish and was imagining if I had that much of patience what this little boy was having.
Well , I came back to my campus and definitely I didn't enjoyed my dinner. All I can say is I might look "big" but I am not.

Can I do something about this????

Recognition – A force towards excelling

As a manager or a leader, our performance largely depends on our team players’ performance. With the increasing demand to excel in the tasks at work, and increasing dependency on the team members’ performance, it becomes extremely essential to take care of the team members, keep them motivated and analyzing the ways & means to help them maintain & enhance their performances. The tool of recognition, thus, becomes quite important & vital.
To ensure that the team members deliver best performance, recognition needs to be given due weightage. It is a mandate that the other hygiene factors need to be in place.
What is recognition? It’s humbly accepting and commending the contribution made by the team member, whether in person or in a forum, in an informal or a formal manner. If we ask ourselves when was the last time we recognized our employee? The answer might be inconsistent. Recognition is not just saying good job done. It is much more than that. It reinforces that good job done by the member matters a lot to the leader. It is found to be more effective when done in a forum in a formal manner.
Generally managers who build a bond with employees (9 on the ‘employee orientation’ on the managerial grid developed by Blake and Mountain) can find it easy to demand performance from employees. They build a give & take relationship and can count on employees as the level of trust is higher.
In all human beings there is an internal desire to be appreciated. When this latent need is met & the desire satisfied, people feel good and are motivated. This leads to higher level of performance and retention also goes high. Practicing recognition is not easy. Unless we genuinely believe in our employees, the recognition would not contain the due weight. If we are not genuine, the false recognition would reflect in one or the other action of ours, no matter how hard we try, all our efforts will be wasted if we are imitating it and we might invite unpleasant events.
Recognition is generally associated with rewards, but it is not compulsory to club more than one form of reward together. A genuine “thank you” might as well do the job. However in the long run, consistent recognition in various forms would leave an impact. There are different ways of doing it. “Priceless recognition” is the most difficult one to practice and the most impactful. It depends on the leader or the manager how innovatively he can think of ways and means to make the impact. An innovative way of such recognition that a manager has tried in the past is calling the employee’s parents in a forum and extending gratitude towards them. This has a very long term impact on the employees.
Most of the global firms are adopting this culture silently and exploring the power of RECOGNITION!!