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Only Businesses that THRILL win in the long term!
Around 80% of startups close down within their first year of operation. While some of these go down simply because of part time involvement of the founders, lack of persistence and fizzling out of passion, a large percentage go down during their transition from a Startup(Micro) phase to a Small Business phase.................
It would be an understatement to say that Tiger Woods is screwed. Accenture ended their contract with him and are no longer going to endorse him. The superfast and, thanks to the media, thrilling debacle of the tiger is actually an inspiring story for someone who wants to re-brand or de-brand himself.
Wiki defines a brand as a distinguishing name or symbol that determines your product or service. But brand is definitely much more than a flashy logo, a jazzy company name and a million dollar Ad campaign. For a company, its basically ‘who’ the company is. If its about a business, you are getting branded every minute – pick up the phone with a frown and a grumpy hello – you are branded, work harder to deliver on time – you are branded, default on loans – you are branded, don’t pay salaries on time – you are branded, communicate fair and honestly – you are branded, roll out a bad batch of products – you are branded, don’t do what you said you will – you are branded, have an untidy, unclean office/shop – you are branded, smile at your customer – you are branded, laugh behind his back – you are branded. So your brand is basically ‘who’ you are.
Its clear that Tiger Woods had lost his brand value. But the funny thing is, he is still what he is – he is still the bloody best golf player in the world. That’s what has made him what he is. That’s what Accenture signed him up for. I hope they didn’t sign him for “Not sleeping with wrong women”.
So you can have a flashy logo, jazzy name and be the best in the business – ‘screw’ up and you are screwed ;). And when God decides to set a freaky sensuous babe called destiny to screw you – all you have to do is just knock at the backyard of your own home, with your own car, having your own family in it, to unravel the deep secrets hidden in the hearts of god knows how many mistresses to the entire world.
This is a story about 2 brothers – Copen and Hagen. Copen is 21 and thus has a relatively ‘developed’ persona and Hagen is 15, but smart and ‘developing’ fast.
One morning, Copen and Hagen decide to go a cafe and have a chat-
Copen : Hey Hagen, how many times have I told you to stop smoking. You are too young to do that.
Hagen : Oh yeah !! but you started when you were just 12 !
Copen : And that was a mistake. And I don’t want you to repeat the same mistakes that I made.
Hagen : Aah ha ! Well I don’t listen to people who make mistakes.
Copen : Listen, I am elder to you and thus smarter and more self dependent. So I have the right to advice you.
Hagen : oh really, then why don’t you give me some more money to buy a ‘hukkah’ ! It would be less injurious you know.
Copen : Buy one?? why don’t you make one just like I have done.
Hagen : Haah, then atleast teach me how to make it or share the technology how I am supposed to make it.
Copen : Oh I will, but you have to promise you will smoke less.
Hagen : Oh yeah ! And what happened to the promise you made to mom (Mrs kyoto) few years back ?
Copen : That was an old thing. Besides, this is between you and me. Don’t get mom in between. Forget about that thing. Besides it not my fault that she didn’t make you promise that time. Who knew you were going to grow up so fast !
Hagen : Forget Mom !! You can default on your promise to her and you want me to make a promise to you !! I am walking out !!!
And thus Copen and Hagen fought happily ever after.
Climate thus remains limited to some lame essay talk given by some 13 year old that gets shared a million times and tones of people, who I hope, know what they are protesting for.
Australia is coming out to be a champion amongst the copens as they are giving in their best shot at scraping their promise to mom Kyoto and Africa is being termed as the champion amongst the Hagens as they are willing to stand tall and refuse to be dominated. Well, Ironic to a summit that should have champions termed on the basis of the vision and valor shown by a nation towards taking initiative for fixing the environment. Copens are worried that it will hamper their capitalist economies – well apparently you taught the world that capitalism is powerful and flexible – isn’t it powerful and flexible enough to accommodate the environment ???
We have reached such a point that even if some minister from some country comes up with some innovative way and decides to lead by an example, the pride and political ego of his nation will be so badly hurt, that implementing something would anyways be just a dream for him. Handling the protestors will be on agenda for a few months then. The opposition in that country would be celebrating though.;)
2 FEBRUARY, 1835
AN EXCERPT FROM LORD MACAULAY'S ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT
Last Month TED had their India Conference at the Infosys Campus at Mysore. As the videos are being published one by one, analyzing the highlights of the conference may give us some idea as to where we are going –
Pranav Mistry : This guy is mad. He is out to get rid of the laptop/desktop/iphone that you are using to read this right now, and put it on you. So your computer is going to be ON you like a parasite wherever you go. ;). On a serious note, a true genius. A true face of innovative India that I feel was lost during foreign rule and pre liberation period. Not surprisingly, he does all his research at the MIT labs. What we need to look forward is that, when we start computing in this way or may be start embedding chips in our bodies, will our educational reforms take us to a position where the pranav mistrys of tomorrow do their research in India. Not that we would not take all the credit of his inventions even if they are done elsewhere ;). Click here for his talk.
Hans Rosling : The king of data and information statistics. He predicts that if the ‘conditions’of the past 2 decades remain constant, India will be at par with the US and UK in terms of economy, health and standard of living by 2048 ! Now the skeptics disagree saying that this is non-sense and that Hans Rosling’s own findings suggest that there are discrepancies due to conditions like war, famines and stuff – but being a true Indian at heart – I like to believe that this is all true. Wow, it would be such an awesome day ! Hopefully the rupee is so strong that it pains much more to pay Rs 25 for a hair cut in India than paying $25 plus tip in the US ;).Our PM bloody has the power to go and poke his nose in any part of the world. Technology being outsourced from India to the west ;).So much power to just crush Pakistan like a fly. Speaking of Pakistan, I have always wondered why no one considers Pakistan in such surveys – oh ya, most probably, they would have ceased to exist by 2048 ;). Click here for the talk.
Mallika Sarabhai : Well here we have an activist, politician and artist dishing out something that was hard core “arty”. I am not too fascinated by slow, puzzling art films dishing out indirect messages to, many a times, very few people, who always look down at people like me who say that they didn’t really understand anything. She focused on including arts along with all the economic, social and political development and that any true development would not be possible without including the development of art. Though her performance is rated as obnoxious and unconvincing at TED, what really came out from it was how the super upper class looks at the social issues. It gave a feel of how showing to do something social is ‘cool’ for what can be called – the page 3 type people. Click here for her talk.
Sunitha Krishnan : Activist working against human trafficking and sex slavery.
I think this short, confident and humble woman represents the true face of the strong upcoming Indian woman – who is courageous, inspiring and fearless. Her talk agenda is very close to what Mallika Sarabhai speaks, but it is straightforward, no non sense and it touches your heart. It takes something for a female to come upto the stage and explain her condition on being gang raped by 8 men when she was 15 and overcoming all that anger to bloom into a super woman who has rescued more than 3200 girls who had been trafficked for sexual reasons. She rightly points out that the society is the major issue that builds walls against accepting rehabilitated women and things are going to change when we just change our outlook even within our small social circle. Well, if this is the face of the Indian woman tomorrow, we are getting there much earlier than 2048 ;) Click here for her talk.
Anupam Mishra : Look at him once and you see a true Gandhian at appearance, speech and attitude. And hell he is. He pointed out an interesting thing – of how traditional methods, in application in draught prone regions of Indian from something like 800years ago, are still working perfectly and how the million rupee projects of the government have fallen flat on their face. Well, we all know for a fact that long long time back, we had fascinating technology, architecture and probably the best standard of living – where we intend to go back again by 2048 ;). He has stressed on how we can still use these traditional and age old technologies even today and it is sheer ignorance of the government that we are not doing that in other parts of India. Now this brings us to an interesting point – if we are going ahead to become a super power, are we going to get there by being true to our roots and becoming an easternized eastern super power or are we going to adopt the west and follow their ways to become a westernized eastern super power. Click here for the talk.
Devdutt Pattanaik : Following the east vs west question above, he speaks about how east is east and the west is west and how our different history and culture have influenced our behavior and how this applies to how business is done differently in India and in the west. Eventually leads to the all important question that almost all businesses in India come across – should we put things in a process or will that hamper the innovative* quotient of the company. *Well, innovation in the Indian way can be defined as finding your way through the traffic and making it to the front, in spite of having 50 cars and bikes packed in front of you at the red light ;). Of how the best Indian companies cannot be driven by institutional demands but by individual instincts. While time will only tell how we adopt or clash when we start influencing the world more and more, I think its time to include ‘jugaad’ as an official management funda and’ jugaadu’ as an official profession.bcoz i think 'jugaading' is the second best thing invented by India ; First is the number zero.;). Click here for his talk.
Shashi Tharoor : I just love to see people like him come up the Indian political scene. He has spoken about the soft power of a country. A power that a country develops as a result of its culture, people, policies and also a sixth sense subjective matter that every country has about itself. You know, like the US portrays capitalism, rich, technology, credit ;). India - rich culture, yoga, technology , population , Australia - beaches, laid back lifestyle, nature . China – cheap quality, small eyes, eating lizards. Pakistan – terrorism. So will India, empowered by all the technology, communication, entertainment, democracy and its powerful growing economy merge these benefits with its ancient culture to come across as a consolidated super country and use all these powers, not to overpower the world, but to overpower its own problems first? May be if more and more guys like Tharoor start coming up instead of the Behnjis, and we start making use of them for their intelligence rather than concentrating on their tweets ;). Click here for his talk.
Just taking an outline from the published talks, do have to say that the Indian TEDDY is looking pretty pink and healthy and laughing all the way ;)
The US has apparently termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to US as historic. Seems there has been some good “strategic discussion” about ‘allied efforts’ that shall lead to ‘long term co operation’. But none of the news channels bothered to have proper debates or any sort of discussions that would help us know what was exactly discussed.