Visuals are more powerful than words!!!

Flying False Economy

Na na na..

Dont even think i have copied this blog. I just likes this blog so much that i would like to share it with you people

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/suhasinihaidar/218/53798/flying-false-economy.html

Why innovation during a recession?

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” The moments of economic recession brings with it an opportunity for every business leader to understand business from a whole new prospective. Only during recession the true nature of market can be understood. Every dollar counts and therefore the customers are willing to spend only if the product or service is really valuable. The market speaks its soul during recession .A business executive can use recession as an opportunity to understand this aspect of market and make fundamental change in the business activity. This is where innovation comes into play and becomes so important.

Innovation at the time of recession is the creative response by the business entity, after understanding the real nature of market. During the normal economic period it is difficult for a business manager to understand the real value of his product or service and the benefits it can provide to the consumers. Thus lot of energy and resource is wasted on enhancing the aspects of product and services which are of no value or give provide less value. Recession acts as a filter to bring before the business managers, the real needs of the consumers .Now the business managers are equipped with more valuable information and can guide the innovation through proper research and development. Therefore it is necessary and inevitable for a healthy business unit to innovate in recessions. Many business leaders in past have used recession to innovate and were able to turn recession into an opportunity.

The biggest mistake many organizations make during these turbulent times is that they stop listening to the market. They cut back on research and development and the time when market is speaking most loudly. According to A.G. Lafley, former Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble “It’s more essential to innovate through a recession, and certainly what we’re trying to do at P&G is to continue to bring sustaining and even disruptive new brands and products for our consumers, to make their lives better, to offer them a little more value.”

At the time of recessions and depressions not only the magnitude of market response is large but many unmet demands also come on surface. A business manager can make use of these unmet demands to steer the organizations to new horizons. Henry Luce launched the Fortune magazine on February 1930 just four months after the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. Throughout the great depression Fortune magazine made good fortune for the Time Inc. By 1937, the magazine netted a half-million dollars on its circulation of 460,000. By the end of the decade, Fortune had become required reading on Wall Street.

Why did Fortune worked? It worked because of the great insight of Luce who listened to the market and created a product which met an unmet demand. During recessions or depressions the market demand does not disappear but they become more even more exposed. In case of fortune the stock market fall increased the interest of general public in the business culture. There appeared an unmet demand of knowing what happens behind closed doors, in boardrooms, and in the hallowed halls of corporate America. Luce identified this demand and fulfilled it. The stories that could be found on the pages of Fortune were not available in Wall Street Journal or in any other corporate magazine. While many companies were filing bankruptcy Luce created a whole new market of business journalism. He gave a new direction to the Time Inc. and was able to steer the organization not only safely but successfully out of the great depression. Like Luce many other executives who listened to the market and responded innovatively to it, were able to create a fortune out of the great depression of 1930.

Historically many companies have invested in innovation during recessions. Thus were able to not only recognize and meet the consumers demand but were also able to leave an impression which lasted long. Remember that at turbulent times not on the business managers but the consumers are also equally worried. A business organization by innovating at such times sends a very positive signal to the consumers that they are being taken care off. Innovation and launching of new products keep the consumer and employee motivation and they remember this in long term.

In 2003 when companies were cutting back following the Dow’s historical low, Apple continued to invest. Steve Jobs recall “What has happened in technology over the last few years has been about the downturn, not the future of technology. A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of [customers], they would continue to open their wallets. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve been turning out more new products than ever before, and Apple is one of the only two companies making money in the PC business. We’re not making a lot, but other than Dell, we’re the only one. Others are losing money – a lot of money.”Apple has a long history of innovation in recessions. Through strong innovation and new launches Apple has always maintained the belief of its costumers .It always strived to identify their need and fulfilling it successfully through innovation, especially at the times of economic downturns. And customers have responded well.

It is important for business organizations to cash upon the opportunity of recession to widen the gap between them and their competitors. While competitors are cutting back on research an organization can work on improving its products, invest in new opportunities and thus by meeting the customers demand valuably can leave their competitors far behind. What is required at such a time is integrity and belief on oneself. In 1929 after the stock market crash Adolph Ochs of The New York Times, issued a memo to his staff: “We must set an example of optimism. Please urge every department to go ahead as if we thought the best year in the world is ahead of us.”The New York Times faced the depression with optimism and kept innovating. It increased the quality of editorial though there were less advertisement contracts. By increasing the quality of editorial it became a paper that contained less advertisement and good editorial. Ochs evaded the lay off by using the surplus of 1920’s.Thus the employees of New York Times responded positively to him and remained motivated to perform. Once the great depression ended New York Times emerged as a newspaper with highest readership in the country which also increased the advertising volume.

Thus an executive can take recession as a signal to introduce cutback on technology, fire staff, stop product development, reduce risk, avoid globalization, retreat from investment and finally get walled into safe castles of traditional markets but he/she does not realize that by doing so they are increasing their venerability to recession as all these actions lead to dilution of customers base. The other path is of self belief and innovation, investing with strategy, providing more value to customer, keeping the morals of employees high through investments and new product/service launches. History has proved that the executives who followed the latter path have come out brilliantly from the downturns. They have not only saved their organizations from potential mergers or bankruptcy but have also opened a whole new market. They won the belief of customers and were able to translate it into long term profits.

Recession is not an abnormal behavior of economy but it is an integral part of the economic cycle. We can’t avoid it. We can only make ourselves ready to cash upon the opportunity it brings. When a business managers start seeing the recession from this prospective, recession becomes a boon not a bane as it is usually perceived. It requires a little courage, and an ability to transfer it to the staff, especially the ones who are involved in research and development. Recession is the time to cut loose the research team so that they can innovate without restriction. On the other hand it is also the duty of the manager to strategically analyze the financial health of the organization to support such an innovation.

Deja vu....

Finally I am in a B-school after trying hard for two years........but after spending a month here, things seems to be overhyped........Dont understand whether it really is or just my frame of mind..

Anyways...now I am in one of the best B-schools of India so I should also start doing things,learning how to cook problems which fits my solutions,making groups and taking the feel of organizing it but in the course disorganize it......

If I define my learnings from B-shool as of now in one liner,it would be
"I am defining things i have been doing from a long time" and it is just these definitions which makes one apart from an average manager.....Though I dont know ABC.. of what is being tought , i still have a feel that i know everything , confidence that i will sort out things,may be thats is what we have to learn here....and sometimes I am so weak i feel that i am at wrong place between wrong set of people....

But whatever it is,it is my life for 2 years now and wil be going to effect it for the whole life..lets see how things turn out for me...

IPL-Funda

When Lalit Modi started it last year,many senior players were against it and many a questions were raised about its feasibility.but now we are in the second season of the IPL successfully.

What have not being done for this tournament.Governments have been forced to provide security for the players and finally when it didnt happened ,the whole tour has been shifted to South Africa.Wohh!!! a game has got such an importance, it is more important than the general elections taking place.People may or may not be aware of which party is winning or losing but they have whole data abt IPL on thrie fingertips.

But see this is democracy , you have rights to exercise, the right to freedom,So what if we are not obeying our duties.I am not against IPL and even not in favour of any arguments against it but i stood against the timing of IPL-2 as this cicket fever have covered the Election drama and we are not seeing major participation from youth of our countries in the ongoing Elections..

Change in mentality

As most of us know our country was initially called Hindustan, which when broken means a place where hindus live.Now we call it India- land of people of various religions,almost all of those who exists in the world.We can found people speaking different languages and living together understanding each others emotion well.

I heard people feared about the increasing population in India but i can bet even if you double the rural population of india people will still coexist but this is not the case with urban India.I have this feeling with my experience not any guesses.I have noticed this change in my thinking only. Initially when i lived in rural , i was more adjusting and less demanding so creates much less problems but now i being an urban citizen need more space for everything and became less adjustable.

I have observed same changes in the people near to me but the people i know who lives in the rural still have same attitude towards life,they still live in small place,fight with natural disaster,always together helping each other and making our country a nation.They though being less literate have more moral values than we urbans.This is one of the many things we need to learn from them.I have started ,have you?
I have read a statement somewhere "A country is known by its people and their behavious" and i found it true....

BJP's Election Game...

Well here it comes..........."BJP Election manifesto".

Some day back, I was thinking about the Vote War which is about to begin in April i.e.. General Election. This time we have third contender along with two mainstream parties. Wohh!! Don’t jump to conclusion, today I am in no mood to write on Third front, it can wait I suppose. I am willing to throw some light on our own Hindu party BJP.

From a long time BJP is suffering for a election issue as there main tools didn’t seem to work as expected. Talking of their so called ideology of "Hindutav", leave about any other religion even Hindu community doesn’t accept it anymore. Their second agenda of "terrorism" also seems to be failed because BJP wouldn't have handled Mumbai issue any better way.

So great minds in the BJP alliance had spent few sleepless nights during last month to tackle UPA and third front, a new zeal. Finally today They are out with a poor agenda in which they have given a lot of unrealistic promises like giving wheat/rice at rs 2/kg to poor etc. But the big question is “Is it feasible to fulfill some promises?” . From where will money come for them?

Well that only God knows or may be BJP leaders but I just want to make people aware of such traps. Rest final decision to vote to which party lies obviously with individual...

Just remember your Vote matters to the future of our country, so do Vote!!!