India needs more free business resources

I was listening to an interview of Steve balmer in which he again and again stessed in one thing that you should do what you love. If someone wants to start something he/she should go for it irrespective of recession as microsoft and apple were also started during ressionary period and GE was started just after the great de-leveraging of 1873 which was the bubble just before 1930’s. He said that possibilities are immense specially in technology domain and software is going to touch many fields. In fact I see lots of technology startups coming up in India specially by engineering graduates. Most of the ideas which I see are good but the only concern is that these youngsters are more of technocrats and have very less business orientation. There is a need to have more of free business resources within India so that these young enthusiasts can refer to them for guidance.

Why are we lagging in internet revolution!

I was reading a news column which read that starting july 2010, every person in finland will have the right to a one-megabit of broadband connection and by 2015 it will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband to everyone. Well that is impressive considering the fact that approximately 79 percent of Finnish population used internet. In India as per the TRAI figures of June 2009 the internet subscribers were 14.05 million with the share of broadband around 47%. These figures are still very less percentage wise. Even the teledensity in India as of June 2009 is around 40% which is also less and if we take rural teledensity it is around 16% which is dismal. Though the telecom setup in India is improving but we still are far away from the world class infrastructure through which we can harness the talent available in the rural areas which still remains untapped.

Promote Entrepreneurship

Most of us would like/love to be entrepreneurs at some point in their life or at least have thought on these lines. I wonder what would happen if we were exposed to entrepreneurship right from our school days irrespective of our subjects. That is a humanities student or an art student should know as much about it as would a management or an engineering student. Only when we will involve all from various backgrounds right from early years of learning, would we see great products/services materialising sometime in future. Would that not be amasing!

Evolution of Yahoo

I was listening to the former president of yahoo Ms Sue Decker who now teaches at Harvard Business School. She tols that more than 500 million people visit yahoo per month. In the initial years ie from the year 1995 to year 2000 the main aim/strategy of yahoo was to get big fast. Then till year 2006 their main focus was to monitize through media sales and text marketing and now their main aim is to integrate all irrespective of the audience and give them a seamless experience. She also told how they feel that they should have entered much before in search. Now they are rewiring yahoo and making it open to third party developers and in this way they are hoping to cash in the wisdom of crowds. Even though their latest marketing communication of " Its you" they are promoting their customer first approach which is indeed commendable and should give them good results.

Do you know what you don't know

In your life it is very important to be aware of those things which you do not know or are not within your scope. This is important because then you can think of other alternatives of doing that thing or involving a third person who is best suitable for that job. After all , no one know everything.

Technology spreads exponentially!

If you are an entrepreneur in the technology domain and say you come up with an application of mobile phone and it clicks. One can imagine the king of value it can create for your customers as well as you in a very short time. I read somewhere that HP took 40 years to become a billion dollar company, Microsoft took 15 years, Oracle 9, yahoo 2 and Skype took 6 months only! One can imagine the kind of wealth future entrepreneurs will create.

Why some organizations buzz with energy?

I was listening to the podcast of Lynda Gratton professor of management practise of London business school in which she has explained why some organizations buzz with energy and some do not. She calls this by the name of hotspots. She says that hotspots are created when employees work in a co-operative ways irrespective of the internal competition, good coaching and mentoring practices are also an add on, behaviour of senior management as well as your hiring process also becomes important. It becomes important to screen out non cooperative people. Encourage people to work across boundaries on something that excites everyone. Strong commitment and the ability to work with different styles of people also becomes important.

Small business mistakes

I came across a great article on 101 small business mistakes and what you can lean from them. I am giving the link: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/101-small-business-mistakes-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them-gregory-go

Circus from monkey cage!

I was listening to a podcast on top management in which I came across an unusual statement by a US journalist and critic of American life henry luis mencon said that “democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage” In that way you are taking care of your employees( Similar to monkey) and also your customers( Similar to the people who have come to watch the circus). It does makes some sense.

Entrepreneurship: Few Questions

Is it seeking un-chartered waters? Are skills required at the start same as the skill required in the later stages? Is it about breaking the set mentality? Is it about risk taking? Is it about expecting the unexpected? Is it about taking feedback from your first few customers and then implementation? Does it include working in a predictable market? Is it about nurturing great people? Is it about failing fast or succeeding sooner?

Product companies Sales Staffing

How to hire your sales representatives in an IT product company also depends on the stage of the company. For example if the company has just started and has released it beta product then the best strategy will be to hire for learning and hire few good people who are interested in technology and sales so that your burn rate is not much. In the initial stages all your customer facing departments like sales, product engineering, and marketing should focus on learning from customers so as to stabilize the product. In the next stage when the product has stabilized and your revenue model has been proved one can hire more no of sales people who should be instrumental in getting as many leads as possible. In this stage some companies make wrong choices of sales people and they hire along the lines of their initial hiring which is not required. In this stage you require sales persons with decent knowledge of product and aggressive attitude to sell so that they can give as many leads as possible. They need not be paid on similar lines as the previous sales recruits. The goal should be to capture as much market as possible in minimum possible time and to reach the breakeven as early as possible with least burn rate.

Wisdom in hindsight or foresight!

A thought came to my mind that that generally people are of the view that wisdom is in the hindsight , but i feel both foresight and hindsight are inter-related. Only if you have hindsight you can gain foresight. So it become of utmost importance to analyse events which have happened in our life and internalise the learnings. This will sharpen our foresight.

Marketing our teachers

We celebrated teachers day but hardly realise that our teachers are grossly underpaid as compared to other developing and developed countries. Even when it comes to marketing them it is their successfull students who are praised and not their teachers. We hear about IIM's fat salaries but rarely hear about the effort of our lecturers/professors. Even in the media the effect is glorified. In this constant struggle between cause and effect should we not promote the cause rather than the effect!

Challenge is to be on the edge!

A beautiful thought crossed my mind that it's always challenging to play on edges. It always required more skill to stick or cross an edge of a cliff/mountain. In a similar way in an organisation how two or more functions interact with each others becomes very critical for the success of that organisation. Also inter-disciplinary problems are more challenging and require mastery of more than one disciplines.

Act of Sabjiwala

Only yesterday i heard my sabjiwala speaking through the loudspeaker and telling evryone the new prices of sabji. To my surprise more no of people came out of their houses to check him out and see his new marketing gimmick. People also bought sabji from him as the prices were really competitive compared to the mandi. In these testing times even a sabjiwala has learnt to use technology to increase his reach and thereby also increase his sales. Indeed we can learn something from him.

New story everyday

I have a habit of writing something at the end of the day in my diary. I believe that this practice can be great value add to yourself as you can think and see for yourself how you responded in a particular situation or things you have learnt. Everyday life weaves a story in which we play different roles and so it teaches us something everyday. It is up to us to take note of those teachings as well as our failures as they will someday be stepping stones to success.

Learning Accounts can help

In the time of financial slowdown reducing costs have become major priority of most firms. I personally feel that the reason why most of companies are not good at managing their costs is because they are dependent on their CFO's or person/team handling the company's finance. Managing cost should not be the pererogative of the company's finance team. In fact each person in a company should have knowledge about finance so that He/she can better contribute towards reducing the overall costs on a day to day basis. I have found this knowledge lacking in many companies where even the managers use wrong forecasting methods which can create a cash flow problems in the company- and this is irrespective of Managers being very skilled in their respective functions.

New Ideas

I believe that if each one of us can think of a need which has not been satisfied till now it can act as a starting point of many new product ideas. Those ideas then can be further researched and tested before the decision is taken to market them. This idea factory can be created within your organization and the stakeholders like your employees can be rewarded suitability. There are many organizations that are successfully doing this but this does not mean that you should completely emulate them but rather you should decide your own framework and work on it in a regular manner.

Low turnout in Mumbai

On April 30, 2009 third phase of the elections for 15th lok sabha and there was a lesser turn out than in year 2004. It really feels strange that in spite of so many actors/public personalities appealing to people to vote and after such carnage in Mumbai by militants there was such a slag response! I had not expected this out of Mumbai.

We should learn from stories

I am particularly fond of stories as they convey a deeper meaning with a message to your audience . The story I am about to tell is about a man who had to move to an apartment in the city. Circumstances did not allow taking his dog with him. He offered the dog to a farmer who turned him down. The man related the experience to a friend who was a salesman who went to see the farmer. He told the farmer that he often drove by the farm and and was so impressed by the appearance that he wanted to meet the owner. The farmer offered to show him around and pointer with pride to his building. The friend asked the farmer whether he had problems with rats. The farmer said yes. When the friend saw the heard of cattle he asked the farmer whether he had problems getting them into barn at night. The friend also asked him about robbers. He finally sold him the dog. I hope you did learn something!

Learning from a book

I remember reading a book titled “Sun Tzu- strategies for selling” by Gerald and Steven . Few things which I learned/observed from this book are as under:-

a. That selling is a trade for the ignorant and a science for the professional. Professional skills are honed through study and practice. People who think that their skills are naturally born will not focus on self improvement and their personal growth will be stalled.
b. Instead of saying “How much do you want to pay?” it’s better to say “How much are you thinking of investing?”
c. Learn from experience of others as well as from your own.
d. Strategy is an idea seeking its means of execution. Tactics are the means of execution used to carry out ideas.
e. To subdue an enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.
f. The best policy is to attack the strategy of your enemy next best is to disrupt his alliances through diplomatic means next best is to attack the enemy in the field and the worst is to attack walled cities.
g. Ask such questions if you have lost a sale “Just for my information would you mind telling me what I/we did wrong?”
h. One should use normal force to engage and the extraordinary to win.

Stimulate your brain

Very few people these days read poems but the reason behind this is that most of us have got so entangled in his/her work that we don’t have time for these things. Only yesterday when I was searching through some notes that I came across a poem by Mr. H W Longfellow, I had long forgotten. I touched my heart and I am sure it will touch yours. Here it reads:-

“I shot an arrow into the air
It fell to earth, I knew not where,
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight
I breathed a song into the air
It fell to earth, I knew not where
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke
And the song, from beginning to end
I found in the heart of a friend”

I often feel that we should more often read poems as they tend to stimulate a different part of our brain which remains rusted due to no stimulus.

Now Everyone can acquire knowledge

Internet is a great medium to acquire knowledge but you should know where to go. You can go to MIT open courseware and see for yourself what is taught at MIT(http://ocw.mit.edu), Also Edcorner at standford(http://ecorner.stanford.edu) is one of best resource for entrepreneurs. Project Gutenberg(http://www.gutenberg.org) is one such resource where you can download free e-books for free. Such a vast sorehouse of knowledge and so less time to learn!

Who says its impossible!

Only few days back I was reading a newspaper a unique story about a Japanese car maker. There was a time when the car maker had only made poor quality cars which were withdrawn from the US markets. It was way back in the year 1947 and the company was Toyota. Toyota in fact started as a manufacturer of textile machinery and moved to car production in the year 1947. But see how things have changed now. Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus has become a renowned and sought after car in its category. See nothing is impossible!

A Rickshawala knows more about our roads!

The other day I was in Chandigarh waiting for the bus when a rickshaw puller came and asked if I would be interested. The next minute I was roaming the city roads with him. He was an interesting person and engaging too. While passing by a road he told me pointing out that the streetlights I see were recently put. When i asked him why, he explained that it is because of an accident !He further said that whenever an accident happens, and somebody dies only then, the authorities take action. He told me that he is a native of UP and is pulling rickshaw for last 20 years in Chandigarh and there are many persons like him in the city. He has seen many such examples where the authorities have taken action only when someone had died or some fatal accident happens. He told me that if this had not been the case many lifes would have been saved.

I wonder why government never takes inputs from people who travel daily by city roads, specially these rickshaw pullers. They possibly are the people who know the condition of roads - which street light is not working and needs repair etc.

Things are changing!

I recently got a chance to attend FRO2009, India’s biggest multicity franchise and retail show at Nehru center, worli Mumbai. It was really a great experience to see so many new startups along with the established brands promoting their businesses and urging the young and enterprising to join them. There were many companies operating in education sector which looked very promising. I could also see big names like reliance venturing into this sector. This sector looks very promising especially at this time of economic slowdown when students/professionals are looking to upgrade their skills/knowledge. This is one of the sector which is recession proof. Also there were companies like BBX of Australian origin which is world’s largest trade exchange and has an interesting business model. Many eminent speakers also attended this show and gave talks on topics like how to start a franchisee etc. I feel that budding entrepreneurs and persons interested in starting their own businesses in future should make it a habit attend such seminars as he/she comes to know how other people are doing business, what is their revenue model?, what are their return on investments? Etc. Who knows what may click!

Recession Proof your hotel business

I was traveling from Mumbai to Delhi few weeks back when I met a businessman who was running a three star hotel. Out of curiosity I asked him how his business was doing these days and he told that though other hotels in most Indian cities are affected by this financial slowdown but his business is doing very good. He said that his hotel is in the holy city of Shirdi and in times like these most people come for the darshan of Shi Sai baba. He was even thinking of even expanding his hotel business when others are conservative in their approach! Would you have you have thought on these lines?

Meaning of life

You treasure some books throughout your life as they give you varied flavors as you read them for a second time or more. “Mans search for meaning” by Mr. Victor Frankl is one such book which offers you a much deeper advice every time you read it. The author tells us how he along with few others survived in Nazi concentration camps. He says that the people who survived in those camps still had something significant to do in their future and they believed in it also. He believes that people who can envision their future and can discover the meaning of their life will be future heroes and will survive the test. He gives it a scientific name called logotherapy. In these times when people are loosing jobs, coming under tremendous pressure and taking their life’s perhaps should take a cue from his life. Rather than belittling ourselves we should analyze ourselves and search for new meaning in his/her life. This is the time when you can think of pursuing your hobbies or can think of implementing a crazy idea! Who knows what might click!

When Going gets tough

I am writing this post because i feel that in everyone's life there comes a time when he/she feels that all the odds are against him. This is the time when your patience and your ability to fight back is tested. We should probably take cue from the life of those who have prooved themselves in such situations and should not stop. Following are few examples:-

1. The legendry " Beatles" who were turned down by many recording companies before Capitol took them as their clients. Their music has touched many.

2. "Albert Einstein" did not speak until he was four yeards old, and did not read until he was seven. His teacher described him as mentally slow but he still changed our perception of the universe.

3. " Abraham Lincoln" lost nine public elections, declared bankruptcy twice, weathered a nervous breakdown and the death of a fiance before he was elected for presidency.

4. Thomas Elva Edison tried a thousand difference materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none of them worked our his assistant complained, "All your work is in vain. we have learned nothing" To this Edison replied confidently, " Oh we have come a long way and we have learnt a lot. We now know that there are a thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb"

5. Walt disney was fired by a newspaper editor for his lack of ideas. He also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.

6. Colonel Sanders proposal to franchise his gradma's recipe was rejected several times before it lead to the creation of Kentucky Fried Chicken popularly known as KFC.

Well if these people can do wonders and can achieve what they wanted to achieve why cannot we?