This is more of self analysis , more of maturing over years which has given me this feeling that the biggest evil in the journey of entrepreneurship is 'Procrastination' . Success definitely depends on a lot of factors but something which is essential is discipline , a focused approach and most importantly a feeling that 'There is no tomorrow'
There would be a lot of stumbling blocks, lot of enticements but as a entrepreneur you need to just move ahead thinking that a a momentarily delay can cause a huge impact on your overall plans.
At a personal I have faced may instances where not taking quick decision or not reacting has made many trivial things go complicated, almost out of hand so you need to check that
They say Success has no magic sauce , a focused approach , a burning desire to attain success and most importantly a never say die spirit is what you need to hit the Stars
Cheerio
M
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Intelligence Vs Information
I have had a brain wave tonight and couldn't help sharing it through my blog. How do you differentiate between Information and Intelligence. We all perhaps know and understand how raw 'Data' is differentiated from Intelligence. In fact there are plethora of BI and Reporting tools in the market who claim to just do that albeit using different names and tags. They follow the basic thumb rule of Information ( unambiguous, contextual, accuracy, speed of retrieval etc etc). But guess the challenge is how do you create Intelligence blocks which is one layer above conventional information
So how about a Business User looking at Sales Forecasting data for his/her items for the next 6 months using trends, customer buying pattern, inventory for those items etc and then applying a market pulse to that analysis so that he/she can add more 'Confidence' to that analysis
Thats intelligence as it is just not data aggregation or roll-ups it goes one step above and adds feedback to the whole process by applying data driven and localized patterns.
Got an opportunity to present Business Intelligence concepts in a MS BI event
More in the next blog
Cheers
So how about a Business User looking at Sales Forecasting data for his/her items for the next 6 months using trends, customer buying pattern, inventory for those items etc and then applying a market pulse to that analysis so that he/she can add more 'Confidence' to that analysis
Thats intelligence as it is just not data aggregation or roll-ups it goes one step above and adds feedback to the whole process by applying data driven and localized patterns.
Got an opportunity to present Business Intelligence concepts in a MS BI event
More in the next blog
Cheers
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
How free are you...
This post gets dedicated to one of my mentors in the Industry...
He was doing a mentoring session with the CEO of an emerging startup company and the first thing he asked to him was 'How free are you?', at first I was amused but then I understood the deep insight which was wrapped.
In today's world if you really want to make a venture, an enterprise successful you need to be 'Present'. As they say the 'MBWA' , Management By Wandering Around, where as a CEO you are just meeting people ( Clients, Prospects, Investors, Mentors) , fine tuning your pitch and business model and of course you have a strong operational team to back you up.
Gone are the days where you can get a mileage by pitching in with your offerings quality or uniqueness unless they are relevant to the business.
I was hearing a interesting video of one of Guy's book on pitching where he says, imagine that old man sitting on your shoulder and whispering in your ears 'So What', if you can pitch your offering keeping that old guy happy you have made it
It is a journey move on .....
Cheerio
He was doing a mentoring session with the CEO of an emerging startup company and the first thing he asked to him was 'How free are you?', at first I was amused but then I understood the deep insight which was wrapped.
In today's world if you really want to make a venture, an enterprise successful you need to be 'Present'. As they say the 'MBWA' , Management By Wandering Around, where as a CEO you are just meeting people ( Clients, Prospects, Investors, Mentors) , fine tuning your pitch and business model and of course you have a strong operational team to back you up.
Gone are the days where you can get a mileage by pitching in with your offerings quality or uniqueness unless they are relevant to the business.
I was hearing a interesting video of one of Guy's book on pitching where he says, imagine that old man sitting on your shoulder and whispering in your ears 'So What', if you can pitch your offering keeping that old guy happy you have made it
It is a journey move on .....
Cheerio
Friday, October 29, 2010
How passionate are you about the work you do
Sorry a long lull in my blogging due to 'Durga Puja' and other stuff. So first of all Subho Bijoya to you all.
This though suddenly popped up in my mind that perhaps one of the key elements of achieving success depends on the fact that 'How Passionate are you about your work', how much 'good feeling' does it generate , how much closeness do you feel when you do those things.
Yes, there are other important things like how scalable is your stuff , how much financial benefits can that generate but paramount importance is 'How much are you enjoying'
So measure that happiness before you embark on a journey because that will decide as to how long can you persist to realize your vision , how much struggle are you ready to face...
More on my next blog..
This though suddenly popped up in my mind that perhaps one of the key elements of achieving success depends on the fact that 'How Passionate are you about your work', how much 'good feeling' does it generate , how much closeness do you feel when you do those things.
Yes, there are other important things like how scalable is your stuff , how much financial benefits can that generate but paramount importance is 'How much are you enjoying'
So measure that happiness before you embark on a journey because that will decide as to how long can you persist to realize your vision , how much struggle are you ready to face...
More on my next blog..
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Do you have 'CPO' in our organization
Was watching 'Chak De India' and a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Guess what is a 'CPO', Chief Passion Officer, surprised, intrigued .. trust me very soon we will have an official role like this.
What does a CPO do in an organization. He is the one who is responsible to percolate the dream and the vision of the organization at different levels and layers. My personal take is that you need more than one CPOs as you grow big as the challenge of an organization once is grows big is to tie up the organization in one thread.
I know a lot of thinking has been done in this area so thats why you hear about things like company day, annual day, offsite gatherings , CSRs etc but for me they are like one of things , you need to have this on a continual basis
My personal experience says the biggest challenge is to make each and every one in your organization feel important in terms of what they are doing and give them a dream and trust me it is a very difficult stuff to achieve
I know a company in Mexico where every employee is a partner of the firm :)
Keep commenting
Cheerio
Mitul
What does a CPO do in an organization. He is the one who is responsible to percolate the dream and the vision of the organization at different levels and layers. My personal take is that you need more than one CPOs as you grow big as the challenge of an organization once is grows big is to tie up the organization in one thread.
I know a lot of thinking has been done in this area so thats why you hear about things like company day, annual day, offsite gatherings , CSRs etc but for me they are like one of things , you need to have this on a continual basis
My personal experience says the biggest challenge is to make each and every one in your organization feel important in terms of what they are doing and give them a dream and trust me it is a very difficult stuff to achieve
I know a company in Mexico where every employee is a partner of the firm :)
Keep commenting
Cheerio
Mitul
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Experiment to Enterprise - A Journey
Been a bit irregular in terms of blogging as have been involved in a few very challenging but time consuming activities.
Suddenly had this thought in mind, how does an experiment, a concept evolve into an Enterprise. How many such journeys lead to destination and most importantly what is that 'Destination'
last 3 years of my experience with such journeys have been very insightful and though every such journey is an unique one but still if one does observe minutely there are certain common patterns
- One trend which is very prevalent in such journeys is the fact that at one point of time the happiness and joy of seeing your concept getting accepted in the market has to be replaced by the concern that your coffers are getting empty
- The mundane* aspects of these journeys are the ones which become the key impediments if not handled properly. So kick start the 'How do I get funds in my business' track at the earliest in your journey. It has dual advantage a.) Of course it gives you a cushion b.) It gives you an early validation of your direction
- 'When do I accelerate and how do I accelerate' is perhaps another common area which hits these journeys. Scaling up has to be planned properly and right timing is the key
- Finally it is important to have an image of how your journey will look like say 3 years from now; so you know whether you would end your journey at that point, or merge yourself in a bigger journey or may be chase another destination, have that in mind as that will act as an checkpoint to how you are doing
would love to hear more from you all ...
Cheerio
Mitul
Suddenly had this thought in mind, how does an experiment, a concept evolve into an Enterprise. How many such journeys lead to destination and most importantly what is that 'Destination'
last 3 years of my experience with such journeys have been very insightful and though every such journey is an unique one but still if one does observe minutely there are certain common patterns
- One trend which is very prevalent in such journeys is the fact that at one point of time the happiness and joy of seeing your concept getting accepted in the market has to be replaced by the concern that your coffers are getting empty
- The mundane* aspects of these journeys are the ones which become the key impediments if not handled properly. So kick start the 'How do I get funds in my business' track at the earliest in your journey. It has dual advantage a.) Of course it gives you a cushion b.) It gives you an early validation of your direction
- 'When do I accelerate and how do I accelerate' is perhaps another common area which hits these journeys. Scaling up has to be planned properly and right timing is the key
- Finally it is important to have an image of how your journey will look like say 3 years from now; so you know whether you would end your journey at that point, or merge yourself in a bigger journey or may be chase another destination, have that in mind as that will act as an checkpoint to how you are doing
would love to hear more from you all ...
Cheerio
Mitul
Monday, August 9, 2010
Intelligent Passion
Hi,
Back to blogging after a span. It has been a Topsy turvy ride in terms of my medical condition so have decided to skip health blogging henceforth ;)
Yesterday while I was taking bath it suddenly stuck me that what makes you indispensable in the industry. Technology acumen, communication, ability to multiplex, client handling blah blah, may be they all contribute but for me it is one single attribute 'Intelligent Passion'
A person who can infuse passion and charge in the group, somebody who can create that madness, that drive is a key, intelligent because that passion has to be aligned with a long term vision/direction rather than just trying to achieve some sort term goals.
Specially for a start-up you need a bunch o such people who can instill that 'we can do it and lets do it' attitude in the group. To become such a person one has to love his work and be proud of it without thinking of any immediate gains , thats when you can drive a team a set of people into it ...
Cheerio
Mitul
Back to blogging after a span. It has been a Topsy turvy ride in terms of my medical condition so have decided to skip health blogging henceforth ;)
Yesterday while I was taking bath it suddenly stuck me that what makes you indispensable in the industry. Technology acumen, communication, ability to multiplex, client handling blah blah, may be they all contribute but for me it is one single attribute 'Intelligent Passion'
A person who can infuse passion and charge in the group, somebody who can create that madness, that drive is a key, intelligent because that passion has to be aligned with a long term vision/direction rather than just trying to achieve some sort term goals.
Specially for a start-up you need a bunch o such people who can instill that 'we can do it and lets do it' attitude in the group. To become such a person one has to love his work and be proud of it without thinking of any immediate gains , thats when you can drive a team a set of people into it ...
Cheerio
Mitul
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Health is wealth :)
It has been a long gap. Last 2 weeks of my life has been some sort of a 'Wake Up' call. It started of with a 'dull ache' in the lower abdomen which gradually increased, so much so that was sleepless for almost 4-5 days.
Went through a battery of tests USG, Blood and CT Scan and thanks to the good wishes of all my friends and family and of course the almighty there is nothing very serious to it.
In this period there have been some major realizations and I am sure that going forward they would help me to shape myself or rather prepare myself well.
If you are in a long term game you need to preserve/care for your body (unless innovation can bring in a case where you can have a creative mind without the need for a body :) ), so a bit of daily exercises, less of alcohol and smoking and most importantly a good and health diet should at least take basic care of your body.
I am planning to join 'Tai-Chi' courses...
Changed Mitul ;)
Went through a battery of tests USG, Blood and CT Scan and thanks to the good wishes of all my friends and family and of course the almighty there is nothing very serious to it.
In this period there have been some major realizations and I am sure that going forward they would help me to shape myself or rather prepare myself well.
If you are in a long term game you need to preserve/care for your body (unless innovation can bring in a case where you can have a creative mind without the need for a body :) ), so a bit of daily exercises, less of alcohol and smoking and most importantly a good and health diet should at least take basic care of your body.
I am planning to join 'Tai-Chi' courses...
Changed Mitul ;)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Building an Enterprise - Team Dynamics -I
The first 2 formation years of an startup is very critical as it lays down the road map of how the organization is going to evolve in the next 5-10 years time span. This is the time when you know whether your organization would become a Global enterprise or merely exist as a lifestyle business.
Now what do you do in the first 2 years, you formalize your service offerings, identify your market segment, identify and close your first n customers and most importantly you look for funding options.
In midst of all these perhaps we all tend to ignore a critical piece, a piece which can make or break the organization in the long run, TEAM
To start with you have your core team, a team which has 4-10 people depending on the nature of the organization, they are the nucleus of the organization and mostly are people who have very strong association/linkage with the organization. The sample profile of these people would be Co-Owner/Share Holders, Evangelists, Academician, Advisors, Tech/Marketing Gurus , Industry stalwarts, Angel Investors. This group brings in a lot of experience/exposure/innovation to the table and it's extremely important that you handpick this team based on how you want your organization to evolve.
As with any other aspect of life we need to take some measures to see that this group is aligned and connected. It is not important that they all think in the same line ( of course not we are talking of a multi discipline team not robots coming out of assembly line ;) but it is definitely important that they share the same Vision.
Regular tractions, participation in common forums, involvement in common activities is the key to ensure that this group is working in tandem towards building a world class organization.
Even a small questionnaire could help at times to do a quick check on the common goal part
for e.g.
1.) Describe the organization in 10-20 words
2.) Who are you in the organization, what is your role and how do you think you are linked with the other people in the organization
3.) When you think of your org now you are ( Content, Excited, Worried, some other feeling)
4.) If you get 4 Crs in your hand right now , how would you spend it for your organization
5.) What is the worst nightmare you have regarding your org
6.) Describe the organization 5 years from now in terms of all the aspects ( Resources, Spread, Revenue, IPs) etc
Float this and you would be surprised that how often we fail to instill a common goal and trust me that hurts once the organization grows big.
Bye for now...
Now what do you do in the first 2 years, you formalize your service offerings, identify your market segment, identify and close your first n customers and most importantly you look for funding options.
In midst of all these perhaps we all tend to ignore a critical piece, a piece which can make or break the organization in the long run, TEAM
To start with you have your core team, a team which has 4-10 people depending on the nature of the organization, they are the nucleus of the organization and mostly are people who have very strong association/linkage with the organization. The sample profile of these people would be Co-Owner/Share Holders, Evangelists, Academician, Advisors, Tech/Marketing Gurus , Industry stalwarts, Angel Investors. This group brings in a lot of experience/exposure/innovation to the table and it's extremely important that you handpick this team based on how you want your organization to evolve.
As with any other aspect of life we need to take some measures to see that this group is aligned and connected. It is not important that they all think in the same line ( of course not we are talking of a multi discipline team not robots coming out of assembly line ;) but it is definitely important that they share the same Vision.
Regular tractions, participation in common forums, involvement in common activities is the key to ensure that this group is working in tandem towards building a world class organization.
Even a small questionnaire could help at times to do a quick check on the common goal part
for e.g.
1.) Describe the organization in 10-20 words
2.) Who are you in the organization, what is your role and how do you think you are linked with the other people in the organization
3.) When you think of your org now you are ( Content, Excited, Worried, some other feeling)
4.) If you get 4 Crs in your hand right now , how would you spend it for your organization
5.) What is the worst nightmare you have regarding your org
6.) Describe the organization 5 years from now in terms of all the aspects ( Resources, Spread, Revenue, IPs) etc
Float this and you would be surprised that how often we fail to instill a common goal and trust me that hurts once the organization grows big.
Bye for now...
Strategic Thinking - The key to success
A lazy day today, great weather ( my favorite) coupled with some very long wait to get a few customer approvals to start new engagements was tickling my neurons...
I was thinking of one key parameter which differentiates between a top notch executive and a mediocre manager and according to me it's 'Strategic Thinking' or ability to see the big picture.
Whether you are a CIO or a Business Development head or a Entrepreneur the key differentiator is how big/deep can you think/visualize and then of course you need the capability ( self/team) to draw an measurable implementation plan based on that thought.
I know of a person ( a very close friend of mine) who own a company which has an offering on the Infrastructure space . I was generally discussing about his vision in terms of the product/company and to which he mentioned that in the next 100-150 years the amount of data which will get generated will surpass any storage technology available today and so if we can leverage this need we are in the game. The beauty of his answer is in the 'Big Picture' thought which talks about a period where neither he nor his next successors will exist but then thats what depth thinking is all about...
Just like any other capability of human beings 'Big Picture' thinking also needs to be nurtured, groomed, protected and exercised and it's very important for people who aspire to make it big in their life.
To end this blog with an incident which happened very recently where a person whom I know personally had invited me and then realized that he had forgotten keys to his home. He then said you know I don't remember where my keys are because thats an information which is of no use to me and I would prefer keeping that bit of brain free to absorb something which is meaningful
Thanks.....
I was thinking of one key parameter which differentiates between a top notch executive and a mediocre manager and according to me it's 'Strategic Thinking' or ability to see the big picture.
Whether you are a CIO or a Business Development head or a Entrepreneur the key differentiator is how big/deep can you think/visualize and then of course you need the capability ( self/team) to draw an measurable implementation plan based on that thought.
I know of a person ( a very close friend of mine) who own a company which has an offering on the Infrastructure space . I was generally discussing about his vision in terms of the product/company and to which he mentioned that in the next 100-150 years the amount of data which will get generated will surpass any storage technology available today and so if we can leverage this need we are in the game. The beauty of his answer is in the 'Big Picture' thought which talks about a period where neither he nor his next successors will exist but then thats what depth thinking is all about...
Just like any other capability of human beings 'Big Picture' thinking also needs to be nurtured, groomed, protected and exercised and it's very important for people who aspire to make it big in their life.
To end this blog with an incident which happened very recently where a person whom I know personally had invited me and then realized that he had forgotten keys to his home. He then said you know I don't remember where my keys are because thats an information which is of no use to me and I would prefer keeping that bit of brain free to absorb something which is meaningful
Thanks.....
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Scary Thoughts - Hope it is just a nightmare
suddenly Woke up at 4 in the morning. It was a horrifying dream. In my dream I saw that suddenly all my thoughts, insights, secrets have become publicly known to everybody. Even before I do anything or speak any stuff people know what the content or idea would be. In my dream I had a sweat attack.
But is it just a nightmare, just the other day I was thinking that it would be a good idea if I can do something in my free time and I don't even recall discussing that with anyone. Suddenly I got an sms which said ' wanna earn a few bucks sitting at home '. That was a mere coincidence may be.
I was evaluating a accounting software on the web and I din't like it and the next day I had a marketing brochure of a accounting software provider company having the exact feature which I had desired.
Sometimes I get scary thinking that a single force/power is controlling this entire information highway spread across the web and all our interactions ( 1000s per day) are getting filtered through a powerful BI engine and finally your creativity, personality , thoughts , desires, secrets are getting persisted for the entire world to access
Seems like I have been watching too much of sci-fi or is it.....
But is it just a nightmare, just the other day I was thinking that it would be a good idea if I can do something in my free time and I don't even recall discussing that with anyone. Suddenly I got an sms which said ' wanna earn a few bucks sitting at home '. That was a mere coincidence may be.
I was evaluating a accounting software on the web and I din't like it and the next day I had a marketing brochure of a accounting software provider company having the exact feature which I had desired.
Sometimes I get scary thinking that a single force/power is controlling this entire information highway spread across the web and all our interactions ( 1000s per day) are getting filtered through a powerful BI engine and finally your creativity, personality , thoughts , desires, secrets are getting persisted for the entire world to access
Seems like I have been watching too much of sci-fi or is it.....
Monday, May 31, 2010
Validation - Key to success
The last 2-3 months leading to your entrepreneurial journey are very critical ones as thats the time when you need to go all out to validate your concept, the business model and should at least have a rough sketch regarding how the organization will shape up in the next 5 years
Today with the advent of platforms like Google Ad words, social media , business forums it has become much easier to attract a larger crowd to put their comments on the viability of your model. Along with that meet/talk/chat with as many industry people as possible to dry run your model from different aspects.
The most important part is to do your homework right, draft a basic model which highlights what you offer, why are you offering that, why do you think you can only offer that, what are the risks and what are the numbers and then just put that in front of as many people as possible
Be discreet on the how part but never feel that someone can take your idea just by hearing it. If that happens return back home happy thinking that you had a very loose business model and good that you didn't start anything with that
Remember the key to your success is a strong business model which can't be replicated easily and which can give you a long term market advantage.
More in my next blog
Cheerio
M
Today with the advent of platforms like Google Ad words, social media , business forums it has become much easier to attract a larger crowd to put their comments on the viability of your model. Along with that meet/talk/chat with as many industry people as possible to dry run your model from different aspects.
The most important part is to do your homework right, draft a basic model which highlights what you offer, why are you offering that, why do you think you can only offer that, what are the risks and what are the numbers and then just put that in front of as many people as possible
Be discreet on the how part but never feel that someone can take your idea just by hearing it. If that happens return back home happy thinking that you had a very loose business model and good that you didn't start anything with that
Remember the key to your success is a strong business model which can't be replicated easily and which can give you a long term market advantage.
More in my next blog
Cheerio
M
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Learning to drive a car / Building an organization
Sitting in CCD ( an Indian version of Starbucks The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary
) I was trying to think the various phases which an organization grows and how we can map different strategies like ( Deal Space, Negotiation, Customer Acquisition etc) to the stages of the organization. In the process I could see an interesting analogy with the way we drive or learn to drive .... :)
Stages of Organization life cycle
1.) Conceptualization and Planning Phase-> The process of selecting a car and doing estimation in terms of 'cost of acquisition' vs the benefits; excitement, dreams ....
2.) Inception Phase-> Driving the car with 'Learners' tag; fear, inhibition, frustration, bootstrap
3.) Sustain Phase -> Driving the car removing the 'L' tag and surviving any major crash; learning the nuisances of driving the rules, the people, the road...
4.) Stabilization Phase -> Driving the car with Music and AC on; enjoying long drives, loving the journey
5.) Growth Phase -> Switching to a bigger model or getting a chauffeur to drive; innovation, funding
The challenges are both at the micro and the macro level, to successfully cross the various phases and also knowing upfront the checkpoints for jumping to the next stages
More in the next blogs
Cheerio
Mitul
) I was trying to think the various phases which an organization grows and how we can map different strategies like ( Deal Space, Negotiation, Customer Acquisition etc) to the stages of the organization. In the process I could see an interesting analogy with the way we drive or learn to drive .... :)Stages of Organization life cycle
1.) Conceptualization and Planning Phase-> The process of selecting a car and doing estimation in terms of 'cost of acquisition' vs the benefits; excitement, dreams ....
2.) Inception Phase-> Driving the car with 'Learners' tag; fear, inhibition, frustration, bootstrap
3.) Sustain Phase -> Driving the car removing the 'L' tag and surviving any major crash; learning the nuisances of driving the rules, the people, the road...
4.) Stabilization Phase -> Driving the car with Music and AC on; enjoying long drives, loving the journey
5.) Growth Phase -> Switching to a bigger model or getting a chauffeur to drive; innovation, funding
The challenges are both at the micro and the macro level, to successfully cross the various phases and also knowing upfront the checkpoints for jumping to the next stages
More in the next blogs
Cheerio
Mitul
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Bootstrapping your business - Part I
I have been through a lot of seminars and conferences on 'Start-ups' and 'Entrepreneurship' and it seems everywhere there is an agreement that 'You need to run your business for a period , validate your concept/business model and before you can approach for funding'.
The key challenge lies in terms of keeping your offering small ( in terms of the capital/operating cost) yet affective and accelerating it through a very aggressive Sales model.
So it's very important to nail down your concept/idea in terms of 'Revenue Projection' and 'Expenses' and then see how much you can spent vs how much you will get.
Searching for ideas which can generate investors interest right at day 1
More in the next blog
The key challenge lies in terms of keeping your offering small ( in terms of the capital/operating cost) yet affective and accelerating it through a very aggressive Sales model.
So it's very important to nail down your concept/idea in terms of 'Revenue Projection' and 'Expenses' and then see how much you can spent vs how much you will get.
Searching for ideas which can generate investors interest right at day 1
More in the next blog
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Understanding the 'People' mind
While we move forward in the Sales and Marketing journey, one key differentiation comes from the power of reading minds of people. with time you have to grow a very strong observation power, will need to have the ability to create complex decision trees and most importantly will have to be a good judge of people behavior.
I had a very interesting episode very recently, we were trying to negotiate with a very senior person and the call went very bad but somehow I had this feeling that this guy is in our favor and is just trying to create his weight. we kept an watch and within a week we got a call from that person and the deal was through.
No this is very challenging and it needs a lot of people interaction , a lot of reading ( books like
can be of big help) and most importantly going through such real life situations.
Cheerio
I had a very interesting episode very recently, we were trying to negotiate with a very senior person and the call went very bad but somehow I had this feeling that this guy is in our favor and is just trying to create his weight. we kept an watch and within a week we got a call from that person and the deal was through.
No this is very challenging and it needs a lot of people interaction , a lot of reading ( books like
can be of big help) and most importantly going through such real life situations.Cheerio
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Early Adopters - Beware
Well 'yes', however strange it sounds as a S&M team you need to really plan your Early Adopter/Free Trial phase of your product very well. Because this not done well can lead to a weak market positioning.
Couple of key pointers
1.) Encapsulate your free message with something more meaningful so that your brand doesn't get diluted; anything free is not good that's market for you
2.) Even in this phase be very comprehensive about your offering else you may run the risk of being perceived as a company which is looking for a customer just to test their Beta product
3.) The mantra is to 'engage', so once you have an early adopter just engage him with periodic discussion/training etc. and make him feel that you are looking forward for him to become your customer
Cheerio
Mitul
Couple of key pointers
1.) Encapsulate your free message with something more meaningful so that your brand doesn't get diluted; anything free is not good that's market for you
2.) Even in this phase be very comprehensive about your offering else you may run the risk of being perceived as a company which is looking for a customer just to test their Beta product
3.) The mantra is to 'engage', so once you have an early adopter just engage him with periodic discussion/training etc. and make him feel that you are looking forward for him to become your customer
Cheerio
Mitul
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Has your effort made a difference ?
I was a part of a very interesting discussion today and had a very important take way. As IT guys we also take a pride in terms of the technologies we know, the design frameworks we are familiar with , the complex algorithms we can run but o we ever take a back seat and think all this whatever I am doing is it making any difference to anybody.
I think this should be the best way or method to judge whether what you are doing is of any significance or not. I am not saying that at all levels it is really a possibility to judge but then if this thought is there in the back of your mind you are actually somebody who is helping business with IT rather than tweaking business to accommodate IT.
Next time I do something develop/sell or market I would surely have this at the back of my mind :)
[Thoughts for this blog has been inspired by Rahul Sharma ( Decipher Information Systems)]
I think this should be the best way or method to judge whether what you are doing is of any significance or not. I am not saying that at all levels it is really a possibility to judge but then if this thought is there in the back of your mind you are actually somebody who is helping business with IT rather than tweaking business to accommodate IT.
Next time I do something develop/sell or market I would surely have this at the back of my mind :)
[Thoughts for this blog has been inspired by Rahul Sharma ( Decipher Information Systems)]
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Networking and Philosophy
What is the key to be good at Networking, how can you build a network which enables you to get access to key information, market trends etc. Is it your personality, your knowledge , your charm ?
Could be, but my opinion is that the most important parameter to network is "The ability to HELP" . "Ability To Help" has to be imbibed in your character so that when you network with people you are just not focusing on how I can leverage this meeting, person, network etc. but you are trying to find areas where you can be of help , you can contribute , trust me it works and in the process what you create is just not another business contact but a relationship in the truest sense.
And to achieve this you need to work on your hearing skills, you need to look beyond your needs and most importantly you need to spot the essence of that meeting in spite of the fact that it may not have anything to do with your current needs.
Finally have been going through a magazine called 'Frozen Thoughts' and am quoting an excerpt which has really moved me
It' s called Triple Filter Test of Socrates
Before talking about anybody to anyone, there are 3 tests to follow
1.) The first filter is of Truth: Are you absolutely sure , what you are about to say is 'TRUE'?
2.) The second filter is of Goodness: Is what you are about to say something good
3.) The third filter is on Usefulness: Is what you want to say going to be useful to me or the other person?
Cheerio
Could be, but my opinion is that the most important parameter to network is "The ability to HELP" . "Ability To Help" has to be imbibed in your character so that when you network with people you are just not focusing on how I can leverage this meeting, person, network etc. but you are trying to find areas where you can be of help , you can contribute , trust me it works and in the process what you create is just not another business contact but a relationship in the truest sense.
And to achieve this you need to work on your hearing skills, you need to look beyond your needs and most importantly you need to spot the essence of that meeting in spite of the fact that it may not have anything to do with your current needs.
Finally have been going through a magazine called 'Frozen Thoughts' and am quoting an excerpt which has really moved me
It' s called Triple Filter Test of Socrates
Before talking about anybody to anyone, there are 3 tests to follow
1.) The first filter is of Truth: Are you absolutely sure , what you are about to say is 'TRUE'?
2.) The second filter is of Goodness: Is what you are about to say something good
3.) The third filter is on Usefulness: Is what you want to say going to be useful to me or the other person?
Cheerio
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
why would someone buy my service/product
While you trace the path of Sales and Marketing, for the first few months/years you are busy with things like Branding, creating a strategic network, start calling people to explain your offerings, feel good once they give you time blah, blah but then suddenly a time comes when something hits you and you start feeling "Why would someone buy this service from me" and even if somebody does "Why would the next person buy that". This happens for good because now you are not just thinking of Transactional S&M :) but you are putting your creativity to analyze what makes a customer buy a service and how can I be that seller.
Different things can influence this , you could be the first one to sense the unmet needs of the market and create an offering around it, you may be the only one in that space ( very unlikely but can happen) , you could have the best cost of offering or simply you may have a selling team which can influence any buyer.
The crux is to understand what ticks the customer and is my offering good enough to keep a lot of customer ticking for a long period if not better get back to the drawing board to re plan
Different things can influence this , you could be the first one to sense the unmet needs of the market and create an offering around it, you may be the only one in that space ( very unlikely but can happen) , you could have the best cost of offering or simply you may have a selling team which can influence any buyer.
The crux is to understand what ticks the customer and is my offering good enough to keep a lot of customer ticking for a long period if not better get back to the drawing board to re plan
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Operation Excellence @ Mystery Shopper
Learned about this amazing concept of FACQS , the key for evaluating operational processes for a Retailer. Friendliness (Crew), Accuracy of Service ( Crew), Cleanliness ( Store), Quality of Items ( Items) and Speed of Service (Crew) is what FACQS is all about and the best way to measure them is by using services of a Mystery Shopper. A mystery shopper is just like any other ordinary shopper but with a subtle difference as he/she is armed with a set of training and guidelines to observe and monitor the processes in the store.
Oh did I mention that I am a registered Mystery Shopper now :)
Oh did I mention that I am a registered Mystery Shopper now :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Networking - The 'Brahmastra' of a Marketing Guy
Though with the advent of new technologies and tools 'Marketing' today has become lot more structured and process oriented but still one thing which gives the Marketing Guy a strong competitive edge over his peers is his ability to create Networks and leverage them according to their characteristics
In my 2-3 yrs as a Marketing person, I have come across several types of networks such as Bozo Network, Power Network, Information Network and the most talked ones like Social Network.
The most important 'know how' for creating/managing a network is (a) Ability to position yourself as a saint ( who has no intent whatsoever of leveraging that network and just wants to be a part of it :) ) (b) Communication, both from quality of content and regularity (c) Leverage Knowledge ( When, How and What)
The best part is when you can act as a "Strategic Node" who has access to mutually exclusive networks and provide 'Match making' services , it seriously is FUN :)
In my 2-3 yrs as a Marketing person, I have come across several types of networks such as Bozo Network, Power Network, Information Network and the most talked ones like Social Network.
The most important 'know how' for creating/managing a network is (a) Ability to position yourself as a saint ( who has no intent whatsoever of leveraging that network and just wants to be a part of it :) ) (b) Communication, both from quality of content and regularity (c) Leverage Knowledge ( When, How and What)
The best part is when you can act as a "Strategic Node" who has access to mutually exclusive networks and provide 'Match making' services , it seriously is FUN :)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Art of Marketing - II
Just like the internet where you can get a lot of information provided that you don't get lost in the "Information Highway :) " , Marketing too faces a similar kind of dilemma. Numerous channels , abundance of events and now with the advent of social media it's getting increasing difficult for the Marketing team to keep a tab on their strategic priorities while getting involved with their day-day transactional stuff.
Given the scenario it is becoming increasingly important to marry "Process Orientation" and "Marketing" whereby the Marketing Team can list down their key objectives or deliverable, identify the different paths/routes to achieve them , do a proper risk and impact assessment and most importantly fit in every investment or activity in that broad plan.
Somebody said I chose Marketing because I hate processes :)
Given the scenario it is becoming increasingly important to marry "Process Orientation" and "Marketing" whereby the Marketing Team can list down their key objectives or deliverable, identify the different paths/routes to achieve them , do a proper risk and impact assessment and most importantly fit in every investment or activity in that broad plan.
Somebody said I chose Marketing because I hate processes :)
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Art of Marketing
It has been 1 loonnng year that I have been trying to decipher the "Magic Formula" for successfully marketing an organization it's product and services. Suddenly felt like introspecting something which has been there somewhere deep inside me, how do you define or profile a successful 'Marketing Guy' . Somebody who has got strong Market Research, interpretation and forecasting ability or somebody who can nail down any idea or though into a set of numbers ( so boring !) or somebody who can create messages and processes which can reach the right people ( Customers, Partners) .
For me the most critical and interesting part in designing the "Blueprint" an overarching term (like our Mr. Enterprise Architecture, which seems like covering anything and everything) whereby anything the organization does in terms of growth (organic, inorganic) fits into that blueprint. That for me is the beauty of "Marketing".......
For me the most critical and interesting part in designing the "Blueprint" an overarching term (like our Mr. Enterprise Architecture, which seems like covering anything and everything) whereby anything the organization does in terms of growth (organic, inorganic) fits into that blueprint. That for me is the beauty of "Marketing".......
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Excellence - The Power Of Context
In his provocative and inspiring book , Malcom Gladwell explains "Excellence & Success" from the perspective of context. He argues that, when we try to understand success, we normally start with the wrong question. We ask 'what is this person like?' when we should be asking 'where are they from' ? The real secret of success turns out to be surprisingly simple and it depends on things like - culture they grow up in and the way they spend their time
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
