Roti in breakfast?

I am a rather unconventional eater - I'd eat chapati in breakfast, and may eat an omelette in dinner. However, it's worth spending a few minutes on who defines what we should eat at different times of the day?

Our body has different calorie requirements at different times of the day, and hence, our breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be tailored to meet those requirements. Now, obviously, we have a range of food items that can meet those requirements. But how did we learn that we should eat flakes, bread, omelette in breakfast, and curry, rice, chapatti, lentils in lunch/dinner? Put in more contrast, how did we learn not to eat rice and lentils in breakfast, or not to eat an omelette in dinner? :-)

I am tempted to pass on the blame to the marketing of the products. When a new food item is launched, it's tied to an eating habit. Consider adverts of flakes telling us how good they are for breakfast. Most of us do not think critically and challenge the biases that these adverts introduce us to. Perhaps, it's the marketers way to enable purchases. :-)

Time for Indian firms to run Diversity and Inclusion program

I was reading some text on how some top companies in the world (and few in India) are now moving to the next impactful HRM initiative - that of, Diversity and Inclusion. Diversity and inclusion are close to my heart - perhaps, they provide me an avenue to contribute to the society. Some suggestions:

1. Next time you have a job requisition in non-Engineering group, determine whether you can hire a person with some disability (pardon me if I appear brash, but I prefer to talk straight and not comply to euphemism). For instance, if the job is sedentary, perhaps you can hire a person who is physically challenged, but fit enough to do the sedentary job.

2. I was reading a research report that states that North East of India produces competent technical writers. Next time you need a technical/content writer, prefer resumes of candidates from North East.

3. Another research tells me that people from South India excel at customer service. Next time you have a customer-service job (say, in Admin department), consider choosing a person from South India.

Once an organization achieves diversity, the HRM pros should run programs to include the diverse set of people. I resolutely believe that such actions will make us better people. Sadly, since the Indian economy is still emerging, most firms have not focused on diversity and inclusion. But then... every thing has to have a start. :-)

Impact of self-published "failure" stories of corporations on prospects and customers

Most organizations publish their success stories in their marketing collateral. However, I wonder what if organizations were to publish their failure stories.

Will the stories generate empathy in the prospects? Will they provide a (more) human look to the organizations? Will prospects better identify with organizations?

Will the influence be different if the stories are published at different times?  (What if the organization were to acknowledge and publish their mistakes during economic recession, or during its own tumultuous times?)

Will using a celebrity (who has failed, and later risen through the ranks) to communicate the failure stories make a deeper impact?

Will the answers to these Qs differ if the organization is non-profit? Does the concept apply in B2B marketing?

Impact of patent disputes between tech companies on the ecosystem

In the last few days, I read about the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Samsung.
I thought about the impact (of this dispute) on not only the disputing parties, but also the ecosystem - particularly, Nokia (an ex-leader that is trying to come back) and MSFT (a new entrant that is strong in allied industry).

We can also look at the patent battle between Google and Oracle in the past.

Patent dispute is one event that can change the ecosystem. There can be other such events. However, the recent courtroom trysts between tech cos perhaps makes this topic all the more fitting.

We can extend the topic to see whether the Marketing function at Nokia and MSFT can do something differently to derive value out of this legal battle. The Marketing objectives of Nokia and MSFT are different, and hence, the resulting strategies could be different, too.

We may also provide a cultural angle to this discussion. The fight is between a Korean firm and an American firm - and we are talking about a European firm and an American firm taking advantage of the dispute.

TVCs are dead; long live TVCs

TV commercials (TVCs) have long been the frontrunner vehicle of advertisements. Historically, TV viewers paid for the content in two parts (alternatively said, the producers of content earned in two parts): directly in monetary terms, and indirectly by watching TVCs.

However, the TV content industry is undergoing change - much due to the disruptive, inclusive digital technology.
TV viewers now pay for specific content, and prefer to pay monetarily, and hence, do not watch TVCs. The other way is to record the content, and then fast-forward the TVCs.

Does this make TVCs obsolete?

Will this make other avenues of advertising such as product placement more popular? If yes, will the audience feel cheated?

What steps can Marketers take to strike a balance in the changing ecosystem?

Performance Management > Career Review

I recently finished reviewing the performance of my direct and indirect reports, and also getting my performance review. A key argument that I delved after those review is whether the phrase "performance management" is appropriate.

1. Most often, there is little "management" in the exercise. The exercise is more of a review or an evaluation, and little of management. (As such, I put my guard the moment I see/hear the word 'management' because more often that not, the usage is stupid.)

2. Please note that supervisors review "past" performance, and that, in my opinion, makes for the rather limiting perspective. Most, if not all, organizations pay lip service to what the employees want to do next. As a matter of fact, most employees (and particularly, in emerging economies) have little clue on that thing called career.

Given these two points, I advocate that organizations use the phrase "Career Review."

While change of phrase is the starting point, what I advocate is change in perspective. Employees should be counseled to determine what they really want to do, where their passion lies, and match all that to the right jobs.

I may sound utopian, but I resolutely believe that this move will benefit the employees and the organizations. And at the end, an organization is nothing but the set of employees. Also, this will put greater emphasis on the employees to dig deeper into their interests and the matching jobs/roles at the organization.

Please note that I am not advocating against review of past performance. That is a must. However, I prefer that the annual/biannual review also consider the wider career of the supervisees, and not only what they did (and how well they did) in the last 6/12 months.

So, the next time you are reviewed, will you have the courage to ask your boss to review your career, and not only what you have done in the last review cycle? :-)

From a rather myopic perspective, a business school is in the business of providing business-management education. Like in any other business, the stakeholders for a business-school are wide and diverse – students, the parents of students, the society, the recruiting corporations, the academia. To understand the core objective of a business-school, we have to understand the expectations of these stakeholders, and that’s where the game changes.

It’s fair to say that students expect ‘sellable’ education that should translate into well-paying jobs. The academia expects well-paying, respectable, and satisfying jobs. The corporate world expects ‘industry-ready resources.’ The society, the most significant and often the least influential stakeholder, expects the students, the academia, and the corporations to make the world a better place.

In this bigger context, the core objective of the b-school looks scary, complicated, and wider in scope. However, the decade of 2011-2020 will force this perspective, and it’s only natural for schools to refine themselves based on this bigger context.

Increased competition, globalization, the reducing significance of the industrialized countries and the increasing importance of countries such as India, China in the world economy are some of the reasons why this decade holds much promise, and ironically, may lead to much debacle.

Most schools have adapted their structure and offerings to satisfy the changing business climate, and many now claim to be international. A school that wishes to serve this need should internationalize its curriculum, its student body, its faculty, and its presence across the important economic regions of the world (Asia, North America, Europe, and Latin America). Such a school can be seen as a global meeting place where there is no dominant nationality. The exchange program for students and faculty-members needs to be extended to support staff. Those schools that have more than one (for example, INSEAD) need to better synergize the campuses.

The shortage of faculty can be addressed by offering increased incentives to prospective PhD students. Additionally, as an example, the schools can hire PhDs in psychology for HR area of study. Further, the PhD courses can be programmed such that the student learns the subject from the allied department (say, department of psychology) and the application of that subject in business through the b-school arm of the university.

The curriculum should be expanded to include softer skills to impart the right behavior and social awareness. Students should be taught that the end result of any business is to make the world a better place. A business cannot and should not succeed at the expense of the society, the environment, and ethics. The behavioral and societal aspects should not be taught separately, but instead should be made part of the mandatory course in each function (say, corporate finance, organizational behavior.)

The schools also need to make the most optimum use of information and communication technologies. Another vital point is that government-funded schools should strive for alternative sources of revenue. Given the current state of sovereign debt of a few industrialized countries, the schools should be proactive in their sources of funding. Philanthropic funding from alumni and corporations are a proven avenue. But to sustain this avenue, the schools need to change their governance structure and include alumni and corporate representatives on their management board. This can have an excellent side-benefit - that of closer integration between the industry and the academia.

In summary, while the future looks challenging, it’s also opportune for schools to rethink and invest in themselves. The b-schools are critical for the success of not just corporations but also the society and humanity. I sincerely hope we all contribute towards the success of these schools, and in turn, the society of ourselves.

Lost my friends... to marriages:

Yesterday, my good ol' mate, Deepak Garg, came down from Gurgaon with his family, to meet me and Neetu.

While we were talking about sundry topics, one obvious topic was the gang of men we had before our marriages. And we couldn't agree more that we've lost quite a few friends to (their) marriages. It sounds so weird but nonetheless, it is true. Some of my chaddi-buddies have stopped corresponding after they married. Whatever their reasons are, and howsoever veritable they are, the fact remains the same.

After Deepak left, I wondered that if this is the state in case of all-men gang, what would be the plight of both-gender gangs? I mean... I might understand if a lady breaks her ties with her male-friends after her marriage, or if a man breaks her tied with her female-friends... but for God's sake, why should a man avoid her male-friends.

Neetu had a good ol' buddy from her early career days. He was a fine gentleman... quite sophisticated. However, after he married, he kinda estranged his ties with his friends. Well... I kinda understand this logic. But I really feel sad when I am unable to correspond with my good ol' male-friends. Interestingly, in my and Neetu's case, we've stayed well-connected with quite a lot of our "other-gender" friends :-).

jab jis waqt kisi ka yaar juda hota hai, kuchh na poochho, yaaron, dil ka haal bura hota hai,
dil pe yaadon k jaise teer chalte hain... a ha ha, diye jalte hain...

I'd been working with a customer for the last few months. He had reported quite a few bugs and use-model improvements in the software.

In one of the e-mails, he asked me how to use a particular feature of the s/w. I gave him the info, but knowing the kind of practive and thoughtful person my customer is, I wondered why he did not consult the User's Manual of the s/w. In a follow-up phone conversation, I let my inquisition get out, and asked him whether he didn't find the info in the UM.

To my surprize, he told me that he did not consult the UM at all. As a matter of fact, he had stopped reading UMs of not just that s/w, but a lot of others. He asked me whether I know how to use MS-Word, whether I know how to drive my car... and then he asked whether I had read the UMs of MS-Word or even my car.

It dawned on me that what he was arguing was whether we really need to read a UM to learn how to use a product (be it a s/w, or a machine). In other words, a s/w, or from a rather broad perspective, a product should be developed so that its use-model is intuitive. And that means that UMs should not be needed.

Well, I wish life were so simple, and that such products could be developed. The point to be taken home is that we should try to simplify use-models and make them as intuitive as possible. The other point is that the era of orthodox UMs is gone. My customer wants an online UM where he could type his Q, and the search engine could give him the answer -- did I say, google? :-)

Why does it happen to me that when I've typed 1 post, I get the urge to keep typing? And know what... I often type once in a few months :-(.

A while back, I was discussing the abysmal performance of Indian cricket team with a neighbor. We'd joined the rhetoric for a few minutes when a passer-by popped-up this brilliant Q -- "what will happen if IND win the series?"

My neighbor and I were surprized, and tried to get underneath the Q to understand what answer the gentleman was expecting. Well, that chap saved us from embarrassment, and helped us by giving the following clues -- "If IND win the series, will it make IND the best test team in the world? If yes, for how long? Cricket is just a sport, and like in life, no victory or defeat is final. There will always be a better player tomorrow, and one fine day, people will stop missing you... like people have stopped missing SRT (Sachin). So, if that has to happen tomorrow, why not let it happen today?"

Well, he then smiled back at us, and made his way to the lift.
He left us with a valuable advise. Cricket is a sport. Period. It might be better to talk about other aspects that affect our lives, our nation, the world... or for that matter, human beings. But then, what better timepass in IND than cricket and Bollywood. But yea, time for Indians to get a hang of life... the real life.

kal aur aayeinge naghmon ki khilti kaliyaan chun ne waale,
mujh se behtar kehne waale, tum se behtar sun ne waale,
kal koi mujh ko yaad kare, kyoon koi mujh ko yaad kare,
masroof zamaana mere liye, kyoon waqt apna barbaad kare...

My lead at HSS sent this note in his farewell e-mail... thanks, Suti :-).

Customer Satisfaction

You talk about any co (not just IT), and it boasts of a high CSI (customer-satisfaction index). But interestingly, most customers still stay dissatisfied. So, is that high CSI a cooked-up figure used in the marketing management, or are customers not doing their job when giving feedback?!

I work at Cadence, and like most IT cos struggling in the competitive environment, Cadence is trying to improve its CSI. But the catch here is "trying".

Recently I took upon myself to figure out why my customers are not as happy as I'd like them to be. Now, see this... if a customer finds a problem (be it a bug, or a challenge in the use-model), there are 2 ways for him -- correspond with an FAE, or call 24x7 Customer-Support. I extracted the data on Service-Requests (SRs) created by Customer-Support (CS) engineers based in SJ and Noida offices for my software product, and did some analysis on that data.

I found a startling fact! 60% of the SRs could have been avoided! They happened because the customer did not know the rudimentary info. Worse: neither did the CS AE.

I am yet to see my customers reading User's Manuals. They tell me that they want someone to tell them the solution to the problem, and not teach them how to use a software. Given this feedback, isn't it time for the cos to relook at what purpose the User's Manuals serve in today's world?!

Well, coming back to the point... it is not that AEs are not trained on a software! It happens; it happens all the time. But then the problem is that the training happens months after the customers have started using the software, and in the interim period, AEs stay blissfully ignorant. There is such a huge disconnect between R&D and AE communities that they just do not correspond. The AE creates an SR, and then a change-request (CR) for the R&D engineer, and thinks that his job is done. No. That is simply wrong. His job is to get a solution/answer to the customer, and get it done ASAP. The R&D engineer thinks that his job is to look at this schedule, and then see when he can implement the CR.

In this entire mess, the customer suffers. I really get pissed off when I see such stuff in the business of CS&Q. There is absolutely no sense of urgency. I guess that is the price of working in a big (and dare I say, stable) organization. I am at arguably the best company to work for, but at times, I really wonder whether it is best... for me!