My Posts

Top 5 Management Mistakes

We all look up to someone, to guide us, to give us directions and instructions when we are stuck. In our office we call them Managers or Management. Does this make them the holy grail? The pious people who are not prone to make any mistakes? Off course no, they too can make mistakes and below are a few, I have seen many of them, make.

Communication in today’s world is a Sorcerer’s stone; you may hit gold every time if you use this tool to perfection. Concise and crisp communication at all levels is the need of the hour. A lot of corporate companies, I have seen are losing ground on this. This keeps you miles away from the realistic situation.

At times managements are worried about issues and discuss at length in meetings. These issues actually did not crop up as someone took actions nobody knew about.  Or even complete reverse, an issue which was never discussed and crops up to lose a lot of valuable resources.

It’s advisable to have a crisp 15 min call / week with all levels and stake holders.

Managements should never refrain from communication, never shy away from interaction. Customers, employees, suppliers, labors, all this communication builds a sense of confidence and camaraderie towards the organization & its goal.

Solutions are always simple; our perception of the solution is complicated. There is a widely circulated story of a Soap Production line, many a times the soap box used to be dispatched empty. Multiple experts worked on this problem, fancy machines, X-Ray tech was all implemented to avoid the same. When a labor was asked to suggest a solution he simply put a table fan on the assembly line. Empty soap box was light and so used to fly away.  Solutions are always simple.

No one does this on purpose, but we all human beings are evolved, thinking that problems should have a difficult solution. And that’s the reason why the problems exist, in the first place. We need to satisfy our Pseudo Ego.

The Best thing for any management is to keep things as simple as possible. Instead of talking heavy jargon’s that do not make anyone understand the data being discussed; focus should be on conveying the information. The message about the ethics, strategy, expectations, directions, etc.  should reach deep down in the hierarchy of the organization. The onus is always on management to percolate these messages. This helps everyone contribute to one goal, else people work as per their perceptions of priorities.

It is always a tendency to think “let’s clean our house and then focus on the world”. But, this doesn’t come true always. Management should have a balanced approach towards inward and outward focus. Yes, it’s important to put the house in order, but how much time and energy to be spent on that, what time should you dedicate, what approach, how much resource, etc. are also issues to be looked into.  The organization should not lose the lead in the market to clean the house.

Any business thrives only on a thriving customer base. So, the major focus of any management should be Customers: their views, their expectations, their choices, their preferences. If you focus to deliver these, internal operations must automatically fall in place.

Managements often feel that they are in control of their business, without even setting the foot outside their elite glass cabins and corner offices. This is seldom true. There has to be an industry feedback system. Whether it comes from customers / suppliers / competitors / peers / colleagues, but interaction has to happen.

Only when you move in market meet your customers, suppliers, peers do you really get the feel of where the industry head & tail winds are.  Are your plans aligned to it or not? Is your organization ready for that, in that time frame? Is there a need of course correction?

Many a times, managers are driven with a concept of self-righteousness about their decisions. This is a classic trap many managers walk into. The key here is to understand the realities and facts rather than a blind faith on people or self.

It’s important to trust employees, but it is as well good, to check directly with the customers or subordinates. Whether the employee you trust is still in-line with them? Is he portraying the factual picture to you or just his perception of the same? I do not advocate distrusting your team members. But its always good to have a reality check.

This simple trick can save millions for organizations, which could be simply lost in focusing on a wrong market segment, wrong resource allocation, improper product launches, inappropriate capital investments, etc.

Decisions should be based only on facts and facts alone. A simple principle, to drive a profitable business.

Hope you agree with my point of view on the things Top Management (or for that matter any manager) should refrain from? I would like to know your views / any additional points you want to add to this list. Please feel free to comment below or write to me.

The Illusion of LOVE.

Jasmine picked up a ringing phone, it was from Dr. Chaddha’s clinic. They wanted to confirm her appointment today for 5:00 PM. Dr. Ravinder Chaddha was a very reputed Gynecologist and was one of the best in his field. He was about 40 or 42 years of age, well-built about 6 feet height, fair complexion, smiling face. Always treating his patients with high empathy and care. A friend had recommended him to Jasmine.

Jasmine was a bit skeptical while on her way to the clinic. She had not felt very comfortable on her last visit. she had her own apprehensions about the doctor, but his reputation was spotless for more than a decade. But somehow the way he looked at her, touched her, made her feel uncomfortable. Call it the woman’s hunch or intuition but she felt anxious while the doctor was around.

On reaching the clinic she found that there was no one at the reception and no one at the waiting lobby as well. She was nervous and had butterflies in her stomach. She peaked in and found that doctor was all alone. She knocked at the door and doctor welcomed her quite warmly. She calmed her nerves and went in. Doctor inquired about her travel and initiated other general discussions to comfort her. When she felt at ease doctor asked her about her issues. She apprehensively shared her troubles and doctor asked her to lie down on the inspection table. She hesitatingly did that.

While she was on table and the doctor was inspecting, she felt that there was an injection given to her and she got surprised and scared. She got up and asked the doctor what was happening, and doctor almost rejected any such thing happening. She was very angry and picked up her stuff to leave. She was just about to reach the door while she felt that everything was rotating around her, and she was unable to reach the door. She fell on the floor.

Jasmine was slowly gaining consciousness. She was feeling great pain in her abdomen. Her eyes were refusing to open, head was feeling heavy and hands had restricted movements. She was unable to grasp on what is happening to her. Where is she lying? Why is she suffering such gruesome pain in her private parts? When she opened her eyes completely and tried to remember what last had happened. She was in shock now; she knew doctor has done some thing bad. She got annoyed at her fears coming true. She cried a lot out of pain and for help, but it seemed no one was listening.

Jasmine remained tied and pinned to the bed and was in this condition for quite some time. No one had visited, no water or food, etc. Her daughter Riva’s face was floating in front of her eyes. Jasmine had never left her 5-year-old daughter alone. Her husband Karthik would be taking a good care of her but he would also be searching for her by now. She kept on shouting and crying but all was in vain.

Jasmine was cursing herself and her luck, she did not know how to react or what to do to get away from here. Every now and then she found Riva and Karthik in front of her, she felt like they were just their and Riva would jump on to her and Karthik would cuddle them both in his arms. He had promised he would never let them both get hurt.

She heard footsteps approaching her, she realized that her abductor would be coming to her. She did not know what to do and so she enacted being unconscious. She sensed the person coming closer to her, she felt his hand on her body, moving, pressing. The touch was making her feel mortified. She still pretended unconsciousness. The man said, he knew she was awake, and he had heard her screams. Her judgement was absolutely correct, it was the doctor. He now started to push himself on her, she kept begging of him to let her go. Doctor kept on thrusting himself on her, not bothering about her physical or mental pain. It was like he was a completely changed man. Devil could be a more appropriate word. He left her in pain, again.

While she was going through this agony only one thing kept her hopeful and that was her faith in Karthik and his love. Once while they were on a trip they were walking on roadside in the mountains and incidentally Jasmine slipped into a small valley along the road. He panicked so much that he jumped on the rocks to hold her from falling. He injured his ribs to save her from bruises. This was before they got married. Eight years into marriage but Karthik was still like the kid who loves his toys. Tears would roll on his cheeks, if jasmine got hurt / had small burns in kitchen.  She had all those moments floating in front of her eyes while she surrendered into the arms of sleep.

Karthik, though was feeling very worried, he thought that his wife would have been at work or could have been to a friend. But when it was more than 24 hours and no communication from her, he knew something was not right. He went and did a police complaint, but police asked him to wait for another day and then they would take some actions. Till that time, he kept calling all the known people to check for her. Some of her friend told her about her appointment with the Doctor. He kept calling the clinic and the calls went unanswered. He fed this information to police the next day.

Police checked up and found the receptionist at the clinic. She informed that Jasmine did have the appointment with the doctor, the last one of that day. But the nurse had left early that day, and no one was sure, whether Jasmine came or not. Doctor being out-of-town for a few days, so the clinic had been closed. Doctors mobile as well was not reachable. He used to take these kinds of vacations to stay away from the rush of life. The CCTV of the building showed Jasmine entering the building but not leaving, and doctor leaving the building in his car. But this was inconclusive.

Jasmine woke up next morning by the approaching footsteps, and Jasmine got petrified. She thought now what? But to her surprise the doctor had bought some food and medicines. He cleaned her with lot of care, made her upright, fed her. Jasmine was so shocked that she could not utter a word, she was hungry, so she ate. She was feeling dirty, so she got cleaned up. Her mind was numb she was unable to understand what was real, the monster who raped her or this Doctor who took care of her. He left without speaking a word but displayed his poise and care. Jasmine’s mind was still to come to terms with reality. While she got confused at her state of mind and body, she was unable to forget her angel daughter Riva.

Since Riva’s birth Karthik started being more caring and protective about both. While Jasmine was delivering, he stood all the while next to her, holding her hand in his. He cried like a baby holding Riva in his hands for the first time. He was very sensitive about Riva & Jasmine. Once while Riva had just learnt to walk and seemed lost in a mall, Karthik panicked so much that he was almost running around the mall, talking to all security guards and other people. Finally, she was found in one of the trail rooms. He almost did not sleep the whole night and kept blaming himself.

Jasmine thought she had a wonderful family and now she might never be able to see them. They all loved each other so much and could not live without each other. She gathered courage and started asking, the doctor to let her go, she knew he was listening. She pleaded him for her daughter and husband and tried to bring in the emotional angle, but the doctor did not respond. She was thinking what would Karthik be going through at this time and thinking this she surrendered to sleep.

With the CCTV footage it was amply clear and both Karthik and police were sure that Jasmine and the doctor got missing from the same time, but they did not know whether this is linked or coincidence. While the doctors schedule looked planned and there was nothing to doubt. Police came up with a theory that Jasmine might have an affair with doctor and so they both vanished at the same time in his car. So, CCTV captured doctor leaving the building but not Jasmine. Also, the CCTV did not clearly show whether Jasmine was there or not in the car, so the theory could just be flawed. The only way this could be verified was by talking to the doctor. Police promised to do their best and asked Karthik to stay put at his home. Karthik left from police station and went back home.

Riva had her questions for him, but he had no answers to them. He told her, a princess story and put her to bed after promising that her mother would return home by the time she wakes up. He knew that he had lied but what else could he do. He himself was so confused, and worried and multiple thoughts troubled him, what if Jasmine got kidnapped, killed. What if she had an accident and no one knew, what if police theory was correct and she had run away with the doctor. Karthik felt like all these thoughts are doing a devil’s dance in his mind and he was like a child who has seen a ghost.

Jasmine had almost lost her hope by now and was thinking that once doctor is done with his lust, what will he do to her? She was terrified with the thought that he could just inject her with poison and let her die. She would never ever be able to see Karthik or Riva ever again. Now she was getting terrified, while a thought came to her mind, what if she lets doctor do whatever he wants in return to letting her live, will he agree? What if she pretends to have fallen in his love and try to escape? She decided to take a practical approach, so she can live and take care of her princess and Karthik.

When the doctor arrived a few hours later, she was a completely changed women. She courteously started conversing with him. She made him feel that he was so lonely, and she would make him feel cared and loved. She tried to touch his heart. Doctor was very reluctant with this, but finally he let his guard down. He started having some long conversations, Jasmine was still restrained. He did not trust her completely but had started opening-up with her. Jasmine made love with him and kept hammering him with his loneliness and how she could be the game changer in his life. The only thing floating in Jasmines mind while doing this was, she had to get back alive to her family, Riva and Karthik.

The next day doctor, freed Jasmine. He had brought her a nice dress; he took her to the bedroom. Once she got dressed, he accepted his love for her, and she reciprocated the same. He asked Jasmine to love him with all her heart and that if she agrees he will take her home, but she will have to keep up the relationship. She agreed and made love with doctor. She made promises and agreed that if someone asks her about her 5 days absence, she will tell that it was mutual. She had a strong belief that Karthik will trust her and she had faith in his love.

Doctor recorded all this on video and showed it to Jasmine. If she tried to go to police or tell her husband about the truth, he will show them the video of her making love and accepting her relationship with him. Jasmine told him that he did not have to do all this and convinced him that she really loved him, but she now knew that she got trapped in her own trap. The only thing she got worried about now, was the safe return to her daughter Riva and Karthik, so she kept playing along.

After exploiting her for one more night, they both left for there homes. Doctor knew he was going to receive the police as soon as he hits town, so he made the love story public. Police informed Karthik of the same. A few hours later Jasmine came home and hugged Karthik tight, while crying like a baby. Karthik was standing like a statue, he got shocked with what police told him and how jasmine was reacting. He decided to give her chance to explain. She just kept crying and hugging Riva for next several hours and spoke nothing. Karthik kept asking her about what the police said or what is her part of the story, but she felt elated that she is back and feeling guilty of what she has traded to come back. She fell asleep while making Riva sleep.

The next day, she woke up and Karthik was nowhere to be found. He has left for office and had left her a letter. He had accused her of adultery and asked for explanation. He had held her guilty for breaking his trust. He had accused her of being a bad mother. Surprised, she never thought of Karthik being so judgmental. She had faith in his love, there love. She tried calling him, but he did not answer. He avoided her. He came back home very late that night and that too drunk. Jasmine was never expecting this. She kept awake the whole night and waited for Karthik to wake up. In the morning, when he woke up, she faced him. She told him her part of the story, he was listening, but his disbelief was all over his face. She begged him to trust her, this is when he said that doctor has showed him the videos and all this fake tears and drama is of no use now. He just left.

Jasmine felt shattered, the man she loved so much got fooled by a 3 min video, the trust she put in him, the years of love and care, there daughter, all has vanished in thin air like a puff of smoke. She started thinking, was it ever real? Or was it just an illusion of love? She lost the strength in her feet and fell on ground. Her whole life was ruined. She felt like not living any more. She decided to jump of the terrace and end this agony once and for all. Just when all this havoc was going through her mind, Riva called for her, she came running to her with a bright smiling face and hugged her tight. It was like suddenly the sun shows up from the dark black clouds and changes the whole landscape. Jasmine was brought back to senses. She realized that she had been through this whole trouble to be with her princess. Though Karthik did not believe her, she must live for her lovely daughter.

She now decided that she is not going to let the doctor walk over this crime, and he will have to pay, she will make him pay. She knew this was not going to be easy and he is not going to just hand over the details to her so easily. She decided to trick him the same way he had tricked her. She told the doctor she wanted to meet him privately. Doctor was cautious but also a bit overconfident after all he had the video and he knew her husband believed it. He agreed to meet her in a hotel room. He said he will confirm her the room number once he has checked in, to remove the angle of foul play. She was more than ready.

At about 8:00 PM he called Jasmine to Hotel Angel room number 701. She was aware that this could be another trap for her. But now she was not worried as she had nothing to lose, after all she was dressed to kill. She went in, doctor was cautious, and he was weighing all his words and actions. She was very forthcoming, she had to catch the doctor pants down. She asked the doctor for drinks and he obliged. While the first two drinks the doctor still was skeptical, but she made him lose his guard by caressing him and kissing him. Females from any species could be very fierce when they are cornered.

With three drinks down, she tickled the right spots to make the doctor talk, she softly asked why did he abduct her, when he could have just asked her to love him, and doctor explained that he got fascinated with her beauty on the first look itself, he even fantasized about her. Now he was talking. She asked what the injection was, he used to make her unconscious and then take advantage of her. Slowly and carefully she made him accept all the wrong doings, also how he took that video and why. Once all of this was said, she called Karthik to the hotel room.

She told all to Karthik with the proof and that made him ashamed for not trusting her. Jasmine told him that this was not for earning his trust back, but to put things in perspective. She said she would be leaving the next day morning with Riva. Jasmine also realized that the feeling that Karthik had for her, what she thought as love was more possessiveness than love. Therefore, she thought that continuing with him will cause her and Riva more damage than good.

As to what could be done with the doctor, she left that call to Karthik. Jasmine also mentioned that no one knew he or jasmine or Karthik were in this hotel, no CCTV, no correct names, so it was all perfect. She hinted that she would have pushed him out of the window and with this much drink, no one can control himself. She left with tears in her eyes.

Power of Persuasion

This is a 5th Video from our video series – #Sales & #Marketing – The #Success Mantra. In this video we talk about How a sales and marketing person can leverage the Power Of #persuasion by following 5 Steps. This is an step by step guide in following:

1. How to turn the #apprehensions customer have to his confidence.

2. How to build rapport & #interpersonal relations.

3. How to persuade without being stalker.

PODCASTS

In this podcast we deal with the first aspect of Sales & Marketing. Customer Intimacy: We discuss about following: 1. How can you utilize this most potent tool to satisfy the customer needs & Organizations goals. 2. How can you work the ladder up for gaining the customer confidence for your brand / product.

This Podcast is about #SALES & #MARKETING. How one can utilize some basic steps or suggestions given here:

  1. To keep the #CUSTOMERS engaged.
  2. Keep customer loyalty & retention.
  3. Basics of #Market Mapping.

Facets of Personality – Communication: Effectiveness of Communication is the most important aspect in success, whether it is #corporate world or #life.

The Guardian Angel

Preeti had this special habit and emotional need to have a good cup of tea in the morning, with her loving husband Arun. She had made this as a ritual, waking up around 6:00 AM, getting ready and preparing tea. Arun however was a lazy starter of the day, he used to love being in bed as long as he can afford. Yet the pursuant Preeti used to always convince his presence at the table for tea. Arun as well would sacrifice his sleep a bit to see the glowing face and sparkling eyes of Preeti.

Both had married for almost 15 years now, yet the love was only growing. It was 15th marriage anniversary and Preeti was very excited, she was looking gorgeous with her new beautiful saree, hairs tied neatly on one side, the long earrings touching her smooth cheeks, just like what Arun loved. She had also planned a candle light dinner at home, and was waiting for Arun. The doorbell rang and she was happily surprised as it was early than the usual time of Arun. Preeti opened the door and she was let down a bit, as it was not Arun but Ritesh.

Ritesh, a smart, handsome young man, an IT Professional who worked at the same company where Preeti worked. He also stayed just in the adjacent society. Preeti used to share the ride with Ritesh.

Not expecting Ritesh – She was a bit irritated, but holding her feelings, she tried being courteous. Ritesh was carrying a bouquet of flower to wish her, on her anniversary. Though she was uncomfortable, she invited Ritesh in, offered him snacks. His energy was pushing Preeti’s discomfort out of the scene, his jokes and approach was making the atmosphere lively. After about an hour, he asked for permission to leave, Preeti was brought back to senses and she agreed. He left and she closed the door. She turned and found that Arun was standing in the balcony – she was taken aback.

She went to Arun and asked him when did he return? how long has it been? Arun mentioned her that she was so happy, he did not intend to interrupt the flow. She was feeling a bit guilty & she apologized for the same. Arun made her comfortable took her in his arms and soothed her.

In the morning, Preeti found herself in bed. What she could only remember was some great moments shared with Ritesh and a blank evening with Arun. She was unable to recall what happened after she went into the arms of Arun and closed her eyes with tears rolling down the cheek. She got up surprised to see it was 9:00 AM and she was all alone at home. She got up, got ready and saw a few missed calls from Ritesh, she quickly guessed, the same was to go to the office as they shared the ride. It was already 10:30 AM, so she guessed, that Ritesh would have already reached office, so she rushed to the office, hiring a cab.

On reaching she got greeted by others with a smirk, Preeti felt that, odd. She went to Ritesh’s desk and apologized, he shrugged it off. Rather he tried to pull her leg, asking what did she do with Arun last night, as she looked tired? She laughingly neglected the questions and moved on to her desk.

That evening it was time to go back home, after a tired day. Preeti tried calling Arun a few times but there was no response. Preeti and Ritesh started back home and were having a casual chat, the radio was playing “Pal Pal dil ke paas tum rehte hon” and this took her on a trail in past. This was Arun’s favorite song & he used to sing it for her, now and then. She was wondering on where, those wonderful days got lost? Why is it that she feels so stressed and tired by the end of each day? Why is it that she tends to forget Arun each day while on work and then evenings look vacant without him? She had some very compelling questions and no answers to them. She was so engrossed in her own web that Ritesh kept on talking and she did not even listen. It was her drop point and she got off the car. They shared good byes and Ritesh asked whether he should go with her to home as it was late, but she refused and left for her home.

On reaching home, Preeti found Arun in kitchen, cooking their dinner. She was furious on him for not connecting with her for all day long. He got on his knees and apologized. Took her hand and pushed her to wash room for a hot water bath. Once she was back he served her steam Rice with her favorite Thai curry. This brought a smile on her face and she had now lost her anger. Both of them had a great evening together, they kept chatting and she felt mesmerized.

She got up next morning with the cell phone ring from Ritesh. She got ready hastily and rushed to office thinking the great evening spend yesterday. She was also surprised to have not found Arun at home but she thought he would have left for his office.

Ritesh seemed very happy today, his happiness was making him a bit belligerent and he was not driving as his usual self. He was a bit more casual and punchy. He started racing the car and to their surprise, on came an old woman from one of the lanes. In an attempt to not hit her, Ritesh swinged the steering and the car banged into a parked truck. When Ritesh came to his senses he realized that Preeti had been hurt badly, while he was mildly hurt. He stopped the Taxi and moved her to hospital, she was still unconscious.

Doctors started the preliminary treatment and asked Ritesh to get Preeti’s relatives. He checked with office colleagues and no one really knew any relatives of Preeti. None had ever met any one or seen her with anyone. The only information everyone had was, that she had a husband by name Arun. But no one had the contact details of Arun. He also tried to get the details of her relatives from her society or the landlord, but mobile numbers were not in service. He left the message for Arun to get in touch with him on urgent basis.

Ritesh was now really surprised at how could this be? Can someone be so mysterious in today’s world of social media? How can one know a person for years and yet they remain unknown? He went back the memory lane and realized that he as well has never seen her with her husband or any one else at her home. He now had no alternative than to wait for her consciousness to return.

It took one whole day for her to come to consciousness, Ritesh was praying this all time. Once she became conscious he went to her and apologized for her condition. She was still not very conscious but kept on asking for Arun. Ritesh asked her to share the contact details and she asked him to get the mobile. She opened the phone and dialed Arun’s number and it did not connect. They tried several times and yet there was no connection. Ritesh asked Preeti for the company details where Arun worked, she shared the name.

Ritesh called the company and as the office had closed for the day, there was no response. He thought he will catch Arun at home and so he rushed back to Preeti’s home, but there was no one at the home. He waited and inquired but no one saw anyone enter or leave. Now Ritesh was really getting irritated at Arun. Preeti had been missing for almost two days and even after leaving so many messages with different people Arun had not contacted him.

Ritesh went to Arun’s office the next morning and inquired about him. To his surprise he came to know that, no one named Arun worked there. This was shocking. He lost his temper and was shouting at the receptionist. A man passing heard the names Arun and Preeti and inquired. He was Raj an old employee of the company. He said that there was a man named Arun working in this company, he also happen to have a wife by same name Preeti, but he had died in an accident about two years ago. Both Preeti and Arun were riding a bike and were hit by a speeding truck on highway and Arun lost his life. Preeti was pregnant and she also lost her child. She was quite shocked and went into complete silence.

Her parents took her back to himachal where they belonged. Ritesh’s mind was now numb. He was not being able to decide on whether both these Preeti’s, the one in his life and one in Raj’s story are same or different? Can this be so complicated or is it just a coincidence?

He asked Raj for a photo of Arun or Preeti. Raj said he can check with HR if they have a file photo. HR shared the photo and it was same Arun as seen in photos at Preeti’s home and her mobile. Ritesh was now absolutely stunned at this turn of events. His mind was unable to comprehend what exactly was happening? Did Preeti knew about this and faked a person for this long? Is she negating the fact that Arun is no more? Has she lost her mind? But how can a women so seemingly calm and composed, be mentally disturbed?

Getting some more details from them Ritesh got in touch with her parents, called and explained them the situation. Her father said that they do not respect any relationship with Preeti now. She is as good as dead for them. He tried to understand in details why her father was so skeptical about Preeti? Her father explained him that, Preeti had been very silent since Arun’s death. They tried to cheer her up and bring her to normal life but she never responded. She remained alone and kept on talking to herself. Even the Psychologist was unable to help her as she behaved erratically. To make it better we decided to re-marry her, she agreed and then ran away from her marriage. Since that day we have never contacted her and we do not care if she is alive or dead. He banged the phone and disconnected.

Now Ritesh was really anxious and wanted to know everything. His anxiety and questions could be put to rest only by one person – Preeti.

Ritesh rushed to hospital to meet with Preeti. When he reached there and told Preeti that Arun was found nowhere, she laughed and said “you have just missed him?” She mentioned Arun was here all night taking care of her and probably that is why he could not find Arun at home or office. Ritesh was short of words now and decided to hold on till she gets better and out of hospital and then take this topic for discussion.

Days passed and Ritesh took complete care of Preeti, may it be feeding her or helping her to walk or making her hair. Preeti still felt that Arun was around, but she also realized that Ritesh was always there to help her. Almost in last few days at the hospital Preeti complained that Arun is spending very less time with her now, Ritesh understood that she is remembering Arun less now. The scenario was still quite complicated as Ritesh had to pretend that he also saw Arun. In all of this Ritesh found that Preeti has taken a special place in his heart. He was in love with Preeti, but now came the biggest task, to make Preeti aware to the fact that Arun was no more and then try winning her heart.

Ritesh gathered the courage and started dropping hints about Arun’s absence. He used to hint at how about if Arun was not there? He used to refer Preeti as his wife, in casual way. She got to be a bit irritated but now was getting used to it.

It was time to take Preeti home and Ritesh had made all the arrangements for the same. On the way back Ritesh softly informed her that Arun is no more in her life. She was furious and cursed him for such a joke, he kept reminding her of that the incidences when she felt Arun’s presence were all her imagination. She was fighting with him for a few minutes and then felt heart broken. All her energy and anger drained off in tears. She surrendered to the fate and went into silence. Ritesh took her home, made her comfortable. He then made her tea & assured her that he will take care of her, for life. He tried to make her very comfortable and left after putting her to sleep.

Next morning, knowing that Preeti likes a hot cup of tea in the morning reached her home, but no one opened the door. He kept ringing her and banging th door, all in vain. He then broke through the door in the house to find Preeti dead in the balcony with a cup of tea, a letter besides her that said,

“Ritesh thanks a lot for being my guardian angel you are a gem of a person. I would have loved to be with you but I can not breach Arun’s trust hence I am leaving with him. Forgive me.”

FUTURISTIC SKILLS: DATA SCIENCE

“Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.”

– Peter Sondergaard of Gartner Research.

The world we will live in tomorrow will be significantly different from what we live in today. I would not be surprised if the house maid gets replaced by a robot or your newspaper gets replaced with a tablet based online news or the chauffeur gets replaced by a self-drive car or your assistant would be your cell phone / laptop. The list of jobs which will eventually get replaced by Technology can go on. We have already seen the move from call centre operator to a IVR format. Visits to Bank branches have reduced.

This change is happening relentlessly. Even right now while you are reading this article, some one somewhere in this world is getting replaced by technical advancements.

Today more than any time earlier the distinctions between the different domains are vanishing. Mechanics is merging with Electronics to form Mechatronics. Doctors are coding the software’s that will give medical advice / Lawyer’s will code software’s to give legal advice.

I do not mean to scare you with this thought. With the advent of new Technology there will also be advent of new Skill Sets that will be in demand. To name a few:

  1. Data Science.
  2. Artificial Intelligence.
  3. Mechatronics.
  4. Supply Chain Management.

The list here as well is long, though it is debatable whether the human intervention / need will increase of decrease? But still there will be some strong skill sets which will increase in demand.

In this series of Futuristic Skills, I will take you through a few skills, I suppose will form the back bone of the future job markets. To start we will discuss first about DATA SCIENCE. So let’s dive-in:

Wikipedia defines Data Science as: An inter-disciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from many structural and unstructured data. Data science is related to data mining, machine learning and big data.

So just to simplify the same, we are all aware that we are drowning in data today. We have far more data available compared to time for analyzing, processing or scrutinizing the same. Data Science is a field which uses algorithms (computer programs) along with some statistical models to give you what you are looking for in a data.

Kind of Finding a needle in haystack.

Imagine

How does a Mall around the corner decide on which products to keep for sale? / Which products to be placed at which location?

How does Tesla decide on how to market their cars?

How does Amazon / Flipkart decide on where to keep stocks of which products?

How does a bank decide the location of their ATM’s

All of the above are examples of Data Analysis. They gather data of there customers / orders / Target audiences, then they analyse the same with cost of marketing / stock / location, then they arrive at a winning proposition of Low Cost to High Conversion and implement the idea.

This basically is what Data Science is all about.

Let’s start to understand a bit more in details:

DATA: Data is a Raw Information. Where does this data come from? It is collected all around us, every moment. Example:

  1. When apply for a job, you give your preference for a City, domain, years of experience, educational qualification, etc.
  2. When you buy a product / cell phone card, you give out your address, birth date, alternate no, etc.
  3. On Social media platforms, we unknowingly disclose our Birthdates / Anniversaries / Kids Birthdates / names / Age / Travel locations / Political preferences, etc.
  4. Now a days there are umpteen online Quizzes’ – which celebrity do you look like? / What house will you live in? / How will then older you look like?
  5. There is umpteen data collection avenues.

All of this is Unstructured Data – In its Raw form no one can make any major use of it. But when you structure the same data, it can be of amazing use. We will see this in details in our case study further.

SCIENCE: So utilizing this unstructured data and using some scientific and logical steps – we can form a string of statements, which can be used to define Business Strategies.

So what are the steps in Data Science:

  1. Configure the correct question.
  2. Compile the Raw Data post processing & cleaning.
  3. Primary Data investigation.
  4. Scan the Data with one or more Models and Algorithms.
  5. Derive results using the Data Science techniques of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence & Statistical Models.
  6. Discuss and improve on results with stake holders feedback.

CASE STUDY: Let’s take a very simple case study for the Data Science:

  1. Question to be answered: Target Customer for Old Age Medical Services.
  2. Compile Raw Data: Hire 10 People who collect the following data by visiting all household in a certain defined area.
    • People in Household.
    • Their age
    • Any Ailments – e.g Diabetes / High BP / Low BP / etc.
  3. Primary Data Investigation: You sort all those houses that have Older people living.
  4. Scan the Data with Models: Then you apply Specific Age / Disease criteria to find your Target Homes.
  5. AI: You feed these Nos to your Auto SMS / whats app messages service and keep pushing notifications / Advertises of your Services.
  6. Compiling the results of your 1 Month / 3 Months response you again fine tune the above process.

I hope that I was able to bring clarity to you on the topic of Data Science. I will take on a new topic for the next article on the series of Futuristic Skills.

Do let me know in comments below in case you need any more information / have some thing more to add to this topic.

If you want to know more on the subject and courses that you can do, please check the following links:

EDUCATIONAL REFERENCES: Please find the links for more articles and courses.

Upgrad: PG Diploma Course from IIT B  

Simplilearn: PG Diploma Course with IBM  

Edureka: Article & Courses

Udacity: Courses on Data Science

Video Posts

Market Mapping

Third Aspect to series The Success Mantra – S & M, which helps understand the Basic but 3 vital steps of Market Mapping.

Sensory Intelligence

Second Aspect to the series, which explains the ways by which one can achieve strong Sensory / Market Intelligence.

Customer Intimacy

First Aspect to the series, which explains the ways by which one can achieve strong Customer Intimacy

The Success Mantra – S&M

First of the 6 video series, explaining the details & importance of Sales & Marketing Departments.

Change is coming – Are you Ready?

In this video I try to put front the disruptions that will sway us in coming years and how we can tackle them.

3 Ways to do Market Mapping.

This is a 4th Video from our video series – #Sales & #Marketing – The #Success Mantra. You can watch the earlier videos from links below / from video page.

In this video we talk about

How a sales and marketing person can do #Marketmapping by following 3 Basic Steps. Also there are examples correlated with the Steps for #HUL or #Renualt or #Tesla or #Mahindra.

How can you map the Markets effectively?

How to decide & execute a winning #Strategy?

How to keep #leading & #winning in the field?

Refer the Other videos from this series – you will surely like them.

4P’s Analysis: Model S – TESLA

What kind of a persona are you? Flaunting your possessions or silent and heavy, who does the possessions do the talking? Well CAR is one of the tools that does exactly that. Define the owners persona.

Do you love the BMW / Merc? Or Are you the quintessential “Kitna Deti Hain?” guy? Or Are you more of a value for money kind? Or maybe  the Environment Savior? This is where the concepts of Marketing like Target Marketing, Product, Promotion, Positioning, Price etc. comes into picture.

Let us just analyse the Tesla Model S for the Marketing concepts mentioned above.

So what is the Target market for a Tesla Model S. It’s a young & mid aged crowd of 26 to 50 years, great job and a good family income of approx. 90 to 100K USD per annum. People who needed a Luxury vehicle & have around 2 to 4 hours’ drive time each day. They wanted this long rides to be luxurious and enjoyable.

Tesla positioned the Model S, as a vehicle with Style, comfort, luxury, safety and reliability. They have developed a product that addresses, both the wants and needs of its customers. Their target customers wanted a stylised car with comfort and safety. They also needed the car to be luxurious and reliable. So Tesla has positioned themselves in both segments the Luxurious and Electric Cars, with the kind of features it offers.

So looking at the Product offering with Model S. It offers following – 3 battery pack options – 40 kWH, 50 kWh, 85 kWH, drive range of more than 300 miles on single charge, Top speed of 125 miles, 0 – 60 in 5.6 Seconds, 17” LCD touch screen to control the entire vehicles, navigation, communication, cabin controls, vehicle data, etc. Steering mounted controls that seamlessly integrate with the above features. The ease of plug and charge with 120V wall sockets is also an appealing product feature.

This huge list of features, at a price point of slight more than USD 60K makes Model S a steal compared with its competitors. So similar to Model S is a Lexus GS which is just below the USD 60K mark, Mercedes Benz hybrid S400 is priced at USD 90K+ & Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid is priced at USD 65K. So all in all it an be said that Tesla is calling the pricing shots in its segments and competitors have to align themselves to the Tesla Pricing strategy.

Click here to know more on : Tesla’s Product Specs / Features:

When last year Tesla mentioned that they are in no hurry to launch in India, it makes one thing very clear, that they have also chosen there locations very smartly. Tesla has launched their operations primarily in US, Europe & China.  It shows that it is aware that for EV’s to be sold, what is important is the strong and reliable power grid and experimenting rich people. They are in no hurry to push their product in wider areas and then get in trouble for service. This appeals a strong Place strategy similar to their Promotion strategy.

Tesla is not a mass market car and thus they refrain from Television promotion, the promotion has been more to the target market with print media like in magazines – Business Week, Forbes, etc. Also they have promoted their brand with a message “We do not inherit EARTH from our ancestor, we borrow it from our children.” Pushing the envelop of being a environment caring company. Apart from advertising Tesla also arranges to that their vehicles on a documentary road trips – to make the cars feel more popular. This is a quite innovative and efficient promotion strategy.

Tesla has a heavy trust on Social Media Marketing. Elon is master at this tactics of attracting & building the audience, may it be smoking weed or breaking the glass of his launch cars, he does that with such fluency and then you are glued to his rebellious personality.

Elon Musk: Leveraging the Social Media to effortlessly promote TESLA

On Typical basis – Tesla is taking the Technology sales approach than the product sales approach. You see the launches are similar to Apple iPhone launches / Windows launches. They are not taking the typical Automotive launch / Marketing approaches at all.

We are all aware that the traditional marketing campaigns are going nowhere now and for Technology Products (non-mass products – to start with) will only dent your pockets without the traction on sales.

Refer another nice article on: Tesla Marketing Strategy

So to conclude this article, In mere 16 years what Tesla has achieved against its well established competitors on there own turf is absolutely appreciable. They have been making great headway in the field with strong out of the box marketing and product strategies.

They are disrupting not only the Automotive Market but also the whole value chain & reinventing the process making it more interactive than unilateral.

If you have liked this post do check another similar one:

4P’s Analysis: iPhone – Apple