Manas Nayak

when did you say "I love you" last to someone....

2007-02-06T01:05:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

Today I learnt a lesson.Most of the time, many of us say it casually and at times seriously that "I Love You".But when we say this, it comes with lots of responsibilities and a hell lot of baggages.

Thus I request you all not to use it when you don't mean it.Secondly,even if you mean it, hold for a minute and ask whether you are ready to take the responsibilities further. If your soul says "No...I am not"..then burry the statement then and there and if it is "yes"....go ahead as God has selected you among the fortunate ones who not only mean it but also commited towards it.

Thus I wanted to take a minute of my busy,hectic schedule and searched the appropriate meaning in the web from an authenticated site namely www.dictionary.com. Here are the meanings.Kindly go through it and think twice before using this statement in future.
love
noun
1.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love" [ant: hate]
2.
any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love"; "he has a passion for cock fighting";
3.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn: beloved]
4.
a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction; "their love left them indifferent to their surroundings"; "she was his first love"
5.
a score of zero in tennis or squash; "it was 40 love"
6.
sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people; "his lovemaking disgusted her"; "he hadn't had any love in months"; "he has a very complicated love life" [syn: sexual love]
verb
1.
have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him" [ant: detest]
2.
get pleasure from; "I love cooking"
3.
be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply"
4.
have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?" [syn: roll in the hay]

Warm regards,

Mr.Bay Leaf

A BOOK REVIEW OF BREAK FREE

2007-01-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

Recently I was going through this book "BREAK FREE" by Debashis Chatterjee,the famous Organisational Behaviour professor at IIM-L.This is a must for any management student,business managers and management thinkers.

The preface on Manjunath who lost his life fighting against the oil mafias brought tears into my eyes.

The first chapter talks about how the author learnt about leadership from a kolkata slum girl.Moral:-'Leaders liberate themselves and others from suffering'.

The statement of Edmund Hillary is used to explain the DNA of leadership lucidly.It goes like this,'Mount Everest has a real problem.It can't grow anymore,whereas I can'.This is what leadership is all about.True leaders exercise the choice to grow beyond the fear and hopelessness of their circumstances.

The second chapter talks about dating yourself and how original ideas paves your way to success.Third emphasing on 'a desire for success is not about making a career but about making a difference in the social arena'.

The fourth chapter is my favourate.It talks about how the sprit of team members can be rekindled at workplace/organisations as a whole."First simplify rules,Second amplify ownership and the third,multiply leaders to fill every role".

The fifth one talks about Chatterjee's three pronged formula of "Form,Focus and Flow".

Each chapter encompasses each and every aspect of thought leadership,change management with examples which are personal,regional,national and global.The Sanak Mishra case study about Rourkela Steel Plant is unique and a must read.

Overall, a great book that I come across in recent times on leadership.Definitely the knowledge acquired is enormous,enriching and gave an upthrust to my learning curve.

My Views on Legend Santosh Desai's Hypothesis

2006-12-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Santosh Desai will be a source of inspiration for all the planners in the advertising industry.His contribution to the industry can not be ignored.I believe most of the us will agree to his "Experts without Expertise" view.Many a time when I talk to my students about the careers in advertising/communication management,I fail to answer their questions about the pay package.That is why,management graduates think twice before getting into this industry.Low pay packages offered by agencies demotivate many a people.If you get 15k salary,How will the management student take care of his study loan EMI worth Rs.7-11k on an avg?Many of my batchmates left agencies and joined the client side after having a short stint within 2years."If you pay peanuts,you will get monkeys".However the pressure remains same in any industry..may it be Education,FMCG,Insurance etc.Similarly,there are agencies who have a constant clientele base due to the consistency in delivering effective communication strategies.At last,I believe "The show will go on...As after Amitabh,Shahrukh filled his place in KBC..likewise may be after Santosh..some other person will fill this place".

INDIAN ADVERTISING LEGENDS IN A GD

2006-12-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

Industry responds to Santosh Desai’s hypothesis on Indian advertising

source:-agencyfaqs!MUMBAI, December 26

A few days ago, advertising lost one of its star planners when Santosh Desai, McCann-Erickson’s president and CEO, decided to join the Future Group. But the man – known to speak his heart out – left the field after 20 years with some profound, power-packed words, which may have led many admen to question existing norms and practices. Desai stated in so many words that advertising can be frustrating and self-obsessed and is grappling with problems such as shortsightedness (with respect to results), talent crunch, recycled concepts and meagre margins. In an explorative piece, agencyfaqs! tries to uncover what ad veterans have to say about Desai’s inferences.

Arvind Sharma, managing director, Leo Burnett

Arvind SharmaWhat Santosh says sounds similar to what Walter Saldanha said 20 years ago. Fundamentally, the issues both raised are the same. However, the specifics in the two cases could be different. I’m not sure if it’s wisdom or exhaustion – advertising is a very demanding industry. The increasing importance, but declining power of specialists, time-compressed business cycles, and the need to be very sharp in identifying the talent that can cope with the industry’s needs today, are universal challenges that all kinds of leaders and managers across all walks of life face.

Firstly, Santosh raised the point that agencies don’t enjoy the respect they used to. The truth is that the ex-president of the United States of America does not enjoy the respect he used to either. Bill Clinton had to pay dearly for what Warren Harding did without any public murmur. Today’s patients know much more about medicine and ask their doctors questions they never did a few decades ago. I am citing these examples because the truth is that changing times bring changing contexts, new challenges and the need to find new answers. It is an inevitable consequence of democratisation of all forms of information and knowledge. Nobody can command respect simply because he is in a role and because, as a result, he is privy to some knowledge that others are not.

The other point I got was that there is no long-term thinking in the ad business, and things which require detailing are being made unnecessarily simple. I will give a simple example. Due to the increasing media costs, the industry has moved from 60 second films to 20 second TVCs. This proves that it is important to simplify complex things.

Thirdly, Desai says that the quality of people entering the industry is not what it used to be. I agree with him on that count. Talent – at the cost of physical assets – has become the bigger driver of competitive advantage and, therefore, the frustration becomes greater when we don’t have the kind of talent we require. On each one of these counts, the industry is less than perfect, but it is doing a much better job today than it did a decade ago. To the disbelievers I would say, choose the commercials you would like to see on air. Let’s see how many of them choose commercials they see today or those they saw a decade and a half ago.

It is a fundamental fact of our business that advertising agencies have always worked for clients’ brands and the final decision has always rested with the clients. This was a fact a hundred years ago and it’s the same today. Some of us are more comfortable working through influence, while others prefer power.

Speaking for myself, this facet of the industry has never de-motivated me. I have not always succeeded in persuading clients to my viewpoint, but the truth is, I have not always been right. I have succeeded often enough for this not to ever become an issue. The upside of the advertising business is that one gets to work with so many outstanding marketing minds.All of us go though periods of frustration in any job and I fully empathise with Santosh.

He is a good adman and it might be good to have him back in advertising at some point of time.Pranesh Misra, president and COO, Lowe India.

Pranesh Misra:-You can take Santosh away from advertising, but not advertising away from Santosh! Once an advertising man, always an advertising man: It may sound like a truism, but knowing Santosh, I would bet it will happen.I have a lot of respect for Santosh and am sorry that the ad industry is (temporarily) losing him. He has personally made tremendous intellectual contribution to our industry through his eclectic thought leadership, through which he has contributed to so much of change already.I can also understand his frustration – when you have tried so hard and the goal seems so near but elusive, it is normal to feel disappointed.But I take Santosh’s criticism as nothing more than a natural outburst.

All of us in advertising have asked these questions at some point of time or the other, usually after a couple of drinks at the bar. But we have forgotten our woes the following morning because life is so damn exciting in advertising. There is never a dull moment to navel gaze.We do try to change things. Change is possible, but slow. Two steps forward and one step back. But we stay with this business because it stops one from growing old! It is a fantastic business, where your product and your assumptions can change every day.

You are always under pressure – and always, you are only as good as your last campaign. It is impossible to let the grass grow under your feet.Advertising is not in the news for the money the business is making. It is in the news for the impact it is making for its clients and the visibility it gets amongst consumers. Money is only one way to measure success. But it is not the end of life. Spiritually, using money as a measure of success could be like chasing a mirage.

When Santosh starts in the Future Group, I am very sure he will rely heavily on advertising and communication to create and build the brands of the group. He will use advertising as a primary weapon. And I hope – knowing the business – that he will pay his agency well enough to get a fair share of their time. Because he knows that this is what could make the difference between his success and failure.

Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India

Colvyn Harris:-A perspective like this essentially comes from one’s own experiences. Yes, there is stress in the agency business, but it doesn’t manifest itself to this extent. As a quintessential adman, I can say that our game plan is pretty satisfying. Stress is common to every business/industry; even local corporations face complicated challenges. As senior executives, we have to learn how to cope with this stress. That is leadership. I must say that the issues Santosh has raised are quite true.

For one, talent is indeed an issue. In advertising, we’re pretty much operating with the same pool.

We need to invest in hiring and, more importantly, nurturing great talent, particularly on the managerial side. Other industries – retail, financial, automobile and telecom – are just waiting to lap them up with attractive packages. But on the flip side, if you’re good at what you do in the ad industry, you are well looked after. Committed, passionate people find their place here.

However, if admen don’t get recognition for their efforts, they leave. On the topic of margins allotted to agencies, I will say this depends largely on the client-agency relationship. Our industry has matured over the years and the flux that had agencies all keyed up about margins three years ago has died down. Largely, clients understand the value of an agency; if they don’t pay well, they won’t get talented teams working for them. Santosh obviously feels strongly about what he has said… catch me on a bad day and I’ll say the same things!

MG Parameswaran, executive director, FCB-Ulka
MG Parameswaran:-I strongly agree with some of Santosh’s views and differ violently with the other ones.

For one, I agree that advertising needs to move to a high ground in order to build brands and ‘become more ambitious’, in Santosh’s words. Further, I feel that providing solely creative ads is a dangerous trend. Creativity is just one aspect of our business. Our bigger job is to represent the consumer in client boardrooms.

This leads me to the next point – the awards and self-obsession charges are probably true. Santosh also said that we don’t think long term… I’ll disagree violently with that.

In the history of Indian advertising, we have built long-term brands. In FCB’s experience alone, Amul’s ‘The Taste of India’ and Santoor’s ‘Soap for a Younger Skin’ are two premises that have lasted over time and still work.

Furthermore, the talent crunch prevails in virtually every industry today; as other sectors don’t possess the requisite pool of talent, advertising is becoming a soft ground for poachers. I think strong HR practices are the only way forward if we are to retail these people. To sum up, it really comes across as a surprise that someone feels this way after 20 years in the business. I know of people who left advertising for a marketing job and came back a few years later. I am one of them. I quit the ad world to join Boots Pharmaceuticals. Six years later, I was back where I belonged. I have a lot of respect for Santosh and his thinking and writing ability. But I really feel some of the things he said were spoken on the spot, in the heat of the moment. This is why he has contradicted himself in some places; despite the ruthlessness of advertising, he leaves the door for his comeback open, all said and done.

Ashutosh Khanna, COO, Grey Worldwide
Ashutosh Khanna:-

Okay, Santosh is definitely bang on as far as the talent issue goes. Sometimes, BPOs pay higher than advertising. And whether we like it or not, Santosh is right about the fact that agency remunerations have dipped over the last five-10 years. Some clients excuse this by saying that that’s because we don’t have the right kind of people. But they’d rather hire and pay Rs 9 lakh packages to management graduates than pay their agencies. It’s sad.That advertising makes one feel ‘young’ is a fabulous insight. One will rarely find people above the age of 45 in advertising because they can’t think young. You have to find a way to be a 25 year old in your head; Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi have found that magical mantra. But I don’t think that agencies have lost the respect they once had, as Santosh points out. And meagre margins are a function of competition. As the cost of entry is very low in the ad business (anyone can start an agency with some funds), competition is high. Take the case of Alok Nanda Communications, started by veteran Alok Nanda, or Shop, an agency started by Freddy-Naved. Frankly, competition in the ad agency environment is purely the result of a demand-supply equation. These developments are fuelled when people like Santosh leave. Further, I differ on the self-obsession point. A client’s requirement matters at the end of the day and, if that was not being serviced, then we would all have been out of business a long time ago. If we were solely awards led, the industry wouldn’t exist. Even Subhash Kamath (Bates Enterprise) once said that the creative product is what matters. I had disagreed with him even then. Saying things like this is a big disservice to advertising, and particularly to the person who invests time in researching and writing the client brief. A brilliant creative product with the wrong strategy always bombs. We need to ask ourselves why O&M lost the Close Up business. And we’ll come up with the same answer. It’s sad to see Santosh go; there’s a dearth of brilliant planners in the country. So much so that the day is not far away when the quality of planners will determine the worth of agencies. Losing Santosh is as bad for the industry as losing Alyque Padamsee. But I think Santosh jumped the boat too soon. He has given a lot to the industry and I wish he had stuck around. There’s this ancient Chinese proverb that goes, ‘If you wait by the riverside with unlimited patience, you’ll see the bodies of your enemies float by’. I’m sure Santosh knows what I mean.

QUOTE UNQUOTE

2006-12-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose".

George Soros, financier, philanthropist, philosopher. Chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC and the Open Society Institute

"Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman".

Henry Ford, pioneer of welfare capitalism in the US and founder of Ford Motor Company

"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own".

"A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one. Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently".

Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and CEO of Mittal Steel Company

"Everyone experiences tough times, it is a measure of your determination and dedication how you deal with them and how you can come through them".

Larry Page, co founder and president of products at Google

"You don't need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea".

Li Ka Shing, chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings

"The future may be made up of many factors but where it truly lies is in the hearts and minds of men. Your dedication should not be confined for your own gain, but unleashes your passion for our beloved country as well as for the integrity and humanity of mankind".

Peter Drucker, writer, management consultant and university professor

"Some of the best business and nonprofit CEOs I've worked with over a sixty-five-year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders. They were all over the map in terms of their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths, and weaknesses.Executives owe it to the organisation and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs".

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's Corporation

"Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.It's easy to have principles when you're rich. The important thing is to have principles when you're poor".

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group

"I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn't really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going".

Sam Walton, co founder Wal-Mart

"High expectations are the key to everything".

Thomas Edison, inventor

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework".

shape up, or ship out

2006-12-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

1.His mandate for group companies was clear: shape up, or ship out; be among the top three players in your business or get out of it.Identify the famous Business Leader?

Ans:-Ratan Tata,
When he sold off Tata Oil Mills Company in 1993 people said he had no stomach for competition. When he exited ACC, India's leading cement company, people said he was frittering away his heritage. When he decided to build India's first indigenous car, analysts predicted ruin. Ratan Tata has proved all his critics wrong.

Neutron Jack

2006-12-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

1.He is known as the Neutron Jack in the corporate world.Identify and why is he known so?
Ans:-Jack Welch.In his persuit to change and streamline the company, over 100,000 GE jobs were terminated. For this, he earned the nickname Neutron Jack (in reference to the nuetron bomb), the guy who removed the people but left the buildings standing. In return, GE had increased its market capital tremendously.

After retirement, Welch is enjoying his new role as author. He has written two books, including Jack: Straight from the Gut (2001), and his most recent, Winning (2005).

Child Labour-Fact Files

2006-12-22T02:32:00.000-08:00

1.26 crore working children in India are between 5-14 years of age according to National Census,2001.
26 paisa per day per working child is the current budgeted allocation for rehabilitation.
Child labour contributes 20% to the GNP.
Child labour comprises about 3.6% of the nation's workforce.
Agriculture employs 85% of the children in the workforce,followed by manufacturing and service sectors at less than 9%.
Karnataka was the first state to have banned domestic child labour in 2005.
Rs.20,000/- and/or a jail term of upto 1 year if found violating the child labour act.
72% child workers are in UP,MP,WB,Orissa,AP,Assam and Rajasthan.

Quote Unquote:- "Children work because otherwise they'll die of hunger and the government has no idea about redressing the problem".

- Tapan Sen,Secy,"Centre of Indian Trade Unions".

What's wrong with our Teaching?

2006-12-22T01:55:00.000-08:00

I was going through this special issue of "India Today" highlighting on the shortcomings of Indian teaching system in schools,colleges & varsities.Thought of sharing my learning with you.

Albert Einstein once said that:-

"I never teach my pupils;I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn".

however our faulty teaching methodoly only creates some muggers who are not having a desire to acquire knowledge rather running after percentages.So that subsequently their parents can talk about their son/daughter's achievements in dinner parties.

The problem with our education system is that it is too bulky and students are made to learn too much,too fast.

The teachers need to understand that ultimately,the goal of education is not to cover the syllabus but to uncover knowledge which is yet to happen.

"The problem is that our teachers are of the 'Chalk & Talk' type.But we have to make learning much more interactive at all levels starting from kindergarten.The laboratory approach in Mathematics,Languages and Science works far better than the text book method".
*** NCERT Steering Committee for Curriculum Reforms

Thought:-

"What I hear, I forget,What I see, I remember,What I do, I understand".
*** Confucious

Precisely the teachers need to move from teaching-for-exams to teaching-for-understanding.

GK JUKE BOX-1-Answers

2006-12-22T01:37:00.000-08:00

1.Pondicherry Tourism Dept.
2.Indian Army.
3.Zee-Business TV channel.
4.Oscar Fernandes.
5.WIPRO.
6.ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE.
7.Subhiksha.
8.Style.
9.Matiz.
10.Union Bank Of India

GK JUKE BOX-1-Questions

2006-12-22T00:56:00.000-08:00

"Give time a break" punchlines used by Tourism department of which state/Union territory?
This organisation is making an effort to attract manpower to join them by saying "Arms you for a carrer..and life".Name the organisation?
This TV channel claims "Aapka Faayda"?
Identify the person.He is a kuchipudi dancer and the labour minister of Indian Govt.
"Wings within"programme allows employees to quit current job profile and take up another within the organisation for self growth?Identify the organisation?
"Diabetes Care", the first critical illness insurance for diabetics introduced by which life insurance company in India?
"Bachat mera adhikar hai"-which Indian retail giant declares so to promote itself among customers?
Maruti again launched its Zen brand as zen-Estilo.What does Estilo means?(It is a spanish word).
Which car in Spanish means 'Charming'?
This bank advertises itself as "Good people to bank with".Identify?

Reservation for OBCs-A political gimmick

2006-12-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Indians,

There are 265 universities in India,however there are only 25 varsities which produce employable graduates.If the government is actually considering the upliftment of OBC & SC/ST students, then the logical solution is to enhance the quality of education in rest of the 240 universities.This will help in enhancing the intellectual capital of India.

Many a IITs are running short of faculty at this juncture.Thus increasing the total number of seats will not be a good idea as we also have to increase the number of teachers.Or else the quality of education will be hampered.Moreover for the requisite infrastructure, the goverment doesn't have adequate funds.

In the era of globalisation,the rule is "Perform or Perish".It should be competition among the competent people.I strongly believe that intelligence is not any religion,cast or community's property.Thus the deserved ones from the lower castes will definitely prove their competencies and make it to big ones.If we reason it out, rather reservation will make these knowledgable people lethargic in their approach towards academics as any way they are secured of a job.

Reservations had led to "Brain Drain" problem before.Mandal-II will again instigate talent pool of India to move out.This will be a huge loss to us.The OBC,SC/ST candidates should try to understand that they are used as pawns in the dirty vote bank politics.If there won't be issues like reservations then the so called messiahs of lower caste will loose their credibility.That is why, the politicians are trying to create a divide between different strata of the society.The youth should cohehesively protest to gether against such a vested interest.I appreciate Navjyot Singh Siddhu,the only politician who came forward and shown his support towards the student community who are fighting for a cause.

Professional courses like Medical/Engg will be loosing its importance in few years if reservations will be implimented.People will prefer general graduation as an option.Reservation will weaken the quality of end product produced by educational institutes.This in return will downgrade the quality of services in any field namely medical services,reserach & development etc.

When the almighty didn't create any differences in the name of caste,religion etc., we should refrain ourselves from such practices.It is time to express ourselves and stop this political gimmick which is being projected as a social need to fulfill their selfish interests.

People like president APJ Kalam should interfere in this issue and save India from being paralysed.Business tycoons like Azim Premji,Narayanmurthy mobilise their own employees to protest against the same.Working professionals,senior citizens,NGOs should come forward and join hands with like minded people to force the goverment to withdraw this decision.

Warm regards,

Manas Nayak
An MBA from AICAR Business School
Regional Manager,Counseling
IMS Learning Resources Pvt.Ltd.
Bhubaneswar
Orissa
Chief Architect of a forum namely "March ahead" forum.

Coke retains top slot in BusinessWeek / Interbrand global brand rankings

2006-09-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

Coke retains top slot in BusinessWeek / Interbrand global brand rankings 1 Aug 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Delhi: Coca-Cola remains the world's top brand, according to Best Global Brands 2006, the annual ranking published by BusinessWeek and global consultancy Interbrand. Coke, the flagship brand of The Coca-Cola Company has ranked No1 since the inception of the rankings in 2001.
However, Interbrand now estimates brand Coca-Cola's value at $67 billion, a 1 per cent drop from 2005.
Google, ranked 24, was the biggest mover on this year's list, gaining 46 per cent in brand value over 2005. Nokia (6), Starbucks (91) and eBay (47) also saw their values increase significantly, while Gap, Ford and Kodak slid in the rankings.
According to Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton, the majority of the 100 companies on the Best Global Brands 2006 list are "proactively managing their businesses through a brand lens."
"They have recognised that their brand should be the central organising principle given the incredible value they represent," Frampton said in a press release. "The need to measure and manage brand performance continues to be a critical priority for senior management as evidenced by the incredible interest shown in this ranking."
Interbrand calculates brand value as the net present value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate and secure from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006.
To be considered, the brands must have a minimum brand value of $2.7 bil-lion, generate approximately one-third of their earnings outside of their home country, produce publicly available marketing and financial data, and have a wider public profile beyond their direct customer base.

The Top 10 brands:
Rank
Brand
Country of origin
Sector
2006 Brand Value ($m)
Change in brand value
1
Coca-Cola
US
Beverages
67,000
-1%
2
Microsoft
US
Computer Software
56,927
-5%
3
IBM
US
Computer Services
56,201
5%
4
GE
US
Diversified
48,907
4%
5
Intel
US
Computer Hardware
32,319
-9%
6
Nokia
Finland
Telecoms Equipment
30,131
14%
7
Toyota
Japan
Automotive
27,941
13%
8
Disney
US
Media
27,848
5%
9
McDonald’s
US
Restaurants
27,501
6%
10
Mercedes
Germany
Automotive
21,795
9%

SEARCHING FOR LEADERSHIP VALUES VIA INDIAN COMPANIES

2006-09-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

Searching for leadership values via the Himalaya, Infosys and Tata
2 September 2006

Steve Manallack* offers three insights on management to guide India's future leadership.

The search for values to underpin leadership continues, though too many western business leaders remain fixed to the view that the sole purpose of business is to "make money for investors", a narrow value that may provide a clue to community disenchantment with corporate leadership.

Despite this mantra, most leaders in the west actually have a strong social conscience, make contributions to better the society and try to solve problems or contribute to solutions in their local communities. And western business leaders remain accountable for what they do — nobody is seen to have risen "above" the need to be answerable for their actions. Is this always the case among India's leadership?

Three leadership insights provide a guide to the way forward for India's future leadership:

From the Himalaya comes the leadership advice to "climb on the mountain's schedule, not ours" and don't look for the best climbers but look for "selflessness" because this team will not leave you behind.
From the founder of Infosys, Narayan Murthy, is a call for India to be more open to adopting western business values while also "extending our family values beyond the boundary of our home".
From Tata Sons Executive Director, R Gopalakrishnan, comes the timely warning for leaders to seek results "with goodness and moral purpose" because as the community sees amorality expanding (the heart of darkness), the "natural human instinct is a craving towards light".
Teams that operate best have a higher objective than themselves and humility makes a great leader, according to veteran Mt Everest climber and filmmaker, David Breashears who survived one of the deadliest accidents in the history of Everest. Breashears told a Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, "Leadership and Change" forum that the mountain had taught him things about leadership and planning.

In May 1996 Breashears and his team were to face the double challenge of climbing Everest and making a film about it. He stressed that climbing with so much equipment meant they had to plan carefully, but that "a good plan makes you nimble, not stuck. Ours gave us options…wiggle room". They needed it, because a freak storm hit the day they were to climb the summit and Breashears and his team turned back when others went on.

While the temptation to go on was enormous, Breashears says "We had to climb on the mountain's schedule, not ours," and it was this that probably saved his life and those of his team. By nightfall, eight climbers from other teams that pushed towards the top had died. This included one of the best-known climbers, who was leading a team of "individuals" who had paid lots of money for him to take them to the top.

How does Breashears assemble his team? "I look for talented people who believe in their craft, not those who are looking for praise. The most important quality is selflessness. I know that no matter what, no one would leave me behind," he jokes.

He believes in sharing a common goal and vision and points out that "people who say 'me first' are dangerous on Everest. The kind of leader I want wakes up and asks what did I do wrong yesterday and how can I fix it today? Your team doesn't need to like you, but they have to trust and respect you. A leader who puts his interests first is a highly demoralizing force."

A successful Indian business leader who would certainly not leave you behind on the Himalaya is Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys, and for a long time he has "pondered" on the role of western values in contemporary Indian society — a different starting point in the quest for leadership.

Murthy stresses his pride in Indian culture, especially the "deep rooted family values", involving tremendous levels of loyalty. But he questions whether this attitude to family life extends to community. At one level, he points to littering of streets and right through to corruption and breaking of contractual obligations — evidence that Indians can be "apathetic to the common good".

Turning to the west, he says India could learn from respect for the public good, freedom from corruption, the will to solve social problems, acknowledging the accomplishment of others, accountability (even from those at the top), dignity of labor, professionalism above personality issues, intellectual independence and acceptance of contractual obligations.

There is no doubt a valid point in here, but it must be said that the citizens of New Orleans had to wait a long time before the will to solve social problems finally took hold, that Enron and other examples show corruption occurs, and that leaders in the West can display arrogance and be mightily contemptuous of competitors. In other words, it's not all one-way traffic and many leaders in the west are looking to the east for inspiration on the meaning of life and the basis of ethics.

For inspiration on leadership, Murthy turns to former US President Dwight Eisenhower: "People that value privileges above principles soon lose both". Murthy also borrows Gandhi's words that "there is enough in this world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed".

The search for leadership has been also addressed by R Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons, who outlined four features of ethical leadership:

Great leadership has a sustained impact on people

True leadership is institutionalised, not personalised

Leadership is never proven, it is tested each day

The public-life flaws of leaders affect moral purpose
He concludes that the gap between the demand for leadership and the supply of leadership is huge, and he warns, "The greatest mistake leaders can make is to assume that results alone matter, that morality and goodness do not count."

Gopalakrishnan sums it up wel, "Like human happiness, leadership is easy to recognise but difficult to grasp."

He provides part of the answer on leadership, "Great leaders do what they have to without regard to appearances, because they genuinely believe that theirs is but one lap in a relay race." I know where this is heading and it is a good point, but I would gently take issue with leadership "without regard to appearances" because my observation is that the best business leaders know they have to get the message across, know that the facts and the truth are their best allies in times of crisis and know that perceptions in the market place translate into additional corporate share value. Perhaps, in a way, this reinforces the shared view of these three leaders — real leadership must have a moral and ethical basis.

*Stephen Manallack is a communication consultant, professional speaker and trainer. His training programs include creating a corporate communication culture, and how managers and leaders can create engaged employees. Stephen is the author of You Can Communicate (Pearson 2002). He is a member of the committee of management of the Australia India Business Council. Website: www.manallack.com.au

MARKETING REVIEW

2006-09-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Marketing review
31 August 2006

Mitsui, Toyota tie up to retail Toyota cars
One of the world's largest trading groups Mitsui is setting up a 51:49 joint venture with logistics major TCI India, called Bussan TCIIL Automotive India to retail Toyota cars in India. As part of the deal, Mitsui will set up retail outlets apart from after-sales and other support services.

Apart from retailing Toyota cars, the JV will be engaged in providing logistic and marketing support to Toyota dealers and customers. It will also provide repair and maintenance services, including accessories, spare parts, tools, motors, bodies, beams, etc.

Mitsui already has an existing JV with the TCI group for logistics solutions for the automobile sector under Transystem. Transystem is a logistics partner for Toyota Kirloskar Motors.

Mitsui has a global partnership with Toyota, the world's second largest automaker, for promoting its automobiles and components. It handles logistics for Toyota's manufacturing operations in North America and Europe and has export arrangements for the Toyota cars in various countries.

This is the first entry into retailing of a large global MNC and could open the floodgates for various such ventures stretching across sectors like telecom, electronics, apparel, automobiles, IT, food products for major global brands.

Air Sahara offers `fly unlimited' scheme from September 4
Air Sahara has launched a unique scheme whereby customers can fly on as many days as they want in one year simply by paying Rs699 per day for the next 365 days. They will have to pay the airport charges and fuel surcharge as applicable from time to time

According to the scheme customers have to pay Rs291,635 upfront and from September 4 they can fly as many times as they want merely by paying the prevailing taxes for the next 365 days. Those who want to enjoy the luxury of unlimited flights for 30 days have to pay the airline Rs32,970, and those who want three months of unlimited flying have to pay Rs80,910.

The catch is that the tickets are non-transferable and will be in the name of the person opting to avail the scheme.

Reliance Communications to launch NGN-based services, `Home Zone' plan
Reliance Communications will soon become the first company in the country to deploy a next generation network (NGN)-enabled Internet Protocol (IP) technology across a 65,000-km-long optic fibre network.

The new network will support a wide variety of advanced IP-based services such as interactive multimedia services, including video telephony and video conferencing.
Users of the services can get telephone calls anytime, anywhere through any device irrespective of it being a mobile phone or a fixed line telephone. Consumers will also get an integrated bill for all the various communications services.

The launch of the new platform is slated for later this week. This will have the capacity to carry 12 billion minutes of ILD traffic, thus multiplying the existing capacity to carry 4.5 billion voice minutes per annum.

The network, which is being laid by Lucent Technologies, would allow the company to deploy new product and services that may evolve on newer technology platforms, which would result in a savings of almost 50 per cent in capital expenditure.

In another development, the company has announced the `Home Zone' tariff plan. As per this plan, customers from their home locations can make calls within the circle to Reliance phones (fixed or mobile) at 40 paise a minute, any mobile phone at 50 paise a minute and any fixed phone at Re1 a minute. The `Home Zone' towns are located across Mangalore, Mysore, Gulbarga, Hubli, Tumkur and Davanagere regions of Karnataka.

New range from Titan
Titan Industries has introduced its Xylys range of watches. The watches are priced between Rs8,000 and Rs33,000, and come in three collections of contemporary, classic and sports and offers over 60 distinctive models.

BharatMatrimony soon in brick-and-mortar variant
BharatMatrimony.com which has put lakhs of netizens on the path of matrimony has now decided that there is much more to the business of matrimony than the information highway.

It is looking at tapping the $15-million market for wedding planning and managing, Indian style. The company is firming up plans to set up at least 300 brick and mortar matrimony centres across India and other parts of the world, where trained counsellors and tech-savvy staff will provide the same services that the friendly neighbourhood marriage bureaus currently do.

The service will especially be targeted at parents and the elderly who often have to do the scouting for spouses for their children and visit countless numbers of marriage bureaus.

Visitors to BharatMatrimony Centres would find the experience very different from the ordinary marriage bureaus in that they would have a computerised database of over 200,000 prospective brides / grooms to search from for the right person.

The company is planning to develop these centres into one-stop destinations and solutions providers in the matrimony business and will have an array of services from horoscope matching to other value-adds. Revenues for the on-line matrimony business are expected to be Rs 80 crore this year, growing 70 per cent over last year. Next month, BharatMatrimony will open shop in the UK, adding to existing destinations of US, Dubai and Canada.

Godrej Sara Lee to launch more products
Godrej Sara Lee is planning to launch about half a dozen products over the next couple of months in the insecticide category. The last products launched by the company include Ambi Pur, a car perfume and Hit. The new products would be in the household insecticide category.

The company recently launched the insecticide product Hit, Seek and Kill created indigenously at the company's R&D centre. Priced at Rs69 and Rs135 for 250ml and 500ml respectively, the company claims that the product reaches the remotest cracks and fissures, which are the breeding ground for cockroaches.

Bipasha, Zayed to endorse Pantaloon brand
Pantaloons Fresh Fashion, the fashion retail division of the Future Group, has signed up Bipasha Basu and Zayed Khan as brand ambassadors, to endorse the retail brand.

Bipasha and Zayed will endorse the entire range of Pantaloons apparels that include casual, formal, western, ethnic, party and sports wear.

The company says Bipasha Basu and Zayed Khan will add their personal style statement to Pantaloons, which will help enhance the fashion imagery of the brand. Hence, we are proud to simultaneously sign the two Bollywood icons to endorse our flagship fashion retail brand.

Maruti tops in sales satisfaction
Maruti has once again topped the rankings in the JD Power Asia Pacific Sales Satisfaction Study 2006. The company has been placed at the top slot for the third straight year.

According to the JD Power Study, Maruti outperformed other car-makers on all the six key parameters — delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, dealer facility, paperwork and deal quality.

Skoda, which bagged 784 points on a scale of 1,000, was the only other player to rank above the industry average. Seven of the nine players considered improved their performance as compared to 2005 and the industry recorded improvements on all fronts except the deal parameter as customers expressed resentment over price hikes.

Goodyear to open shop-in-shops
Goodyear India plans to introduce its internationally acclaimed shop-in-shop sales outlets in India and said that it would open 300 international and multi-brand format exclusive shop-in-shop outlets by 2008 at a total cost of Rs50 crore. These stores would offer the customer a wider choice across various brands.

All the shop-in-shop outlets will sport a similar frontage, layout and colour theme and they will attempt to offer more than just tyres. Besides wheel alignment and balancing, the new format stores will give advise on tyre maintenance and offer accessories such as alloy wheels and car-care products — perfumes, car wash, and so on.

The company has entered into tie-ups with manufacturers of car-care products for supplying these accessories. Earlier this week, the company announced the opening of six new retail outlets in Chennai.

Goodyear India plans to open 12-15 stores in the northern, southern and western regions and 3-5 stores in the east. The company, which already has 16 showrooms in Chennai, plans to open 12 new stores by the end of 2008.

Katrina Kaif to endorse Silk n Shine
Marico has roped in supermodel and popular Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador for Silk n Shine, a post-hair wash product. The company believes that today's young woman is pressed for time wanting to pack her 24 hours with everything possible without compromising on looking and feel good. Silk n Shine gives just that, great looking healthy hair in five minutes.

The company said, "Katrina Kaif is a true representation of our brand's values and makes a great ambassador for Silk n Shine."

Nirlep enters into marketing pact with HPCL
Nirlep Appliances, one of the largest manufacturers of non-stick cookware and kitchenware with a market share of over 35 per cent in the Indian market, has entered into a nationwide marketing pact with HPCL for marketing non-stick cookware, regular inner and outer lid pressure cookers and gas stoves.

According to the agreement between the two companies, customers walking into HPCL dealerships will be offered the cookware at discounted prices. The company expects to add to its existing distribution through association with HPCL and BPCL.

Nirlep's products are already being sold through 2,000 BPCL gas dealer outlets.

Emami to turn Boroplus into a global brand
Emami, flagship of the Rs 1,000-crore Emami Group with significant presence in the personal care and health products segment of FMCG business, plans to turn its "Boroplus Antiseptic Cream", claimed to be a market leader in India, into a global brand.

The company is hiring an international ad agency for this purpose and is planning brand promotion support in 15 top international locations accounting for 80 per cent of the company's export business.

The international markets include Africa, CIS and SAARC countries. Emami also plans to introduce an ayurvedic line of products for NRIs in the UK.

The company is also scouting for international partners for marketing and manufacturing alliances. Besides new product launches, the company also plans to launch Ayurvedic Spas and Clinics abroad in a big way through strategic alliances.
Emami will also introduce a new ayurvedic line of products for NRIs in the UK.

Nokia launches the handcrafted Vertu Constellation
Nokia has launched its handcrafted mobile phones the Vertu Constellation in India. The collection showcases seven handcrafted models — in black, tan, chocolate or pink leather, made available in stainless steel and gold finishes.

The phones have a large user memory that can store up to 1,000 names in phonebooks, 220 calendar notes, and 100 SMS message. It allows one button access to lifestyle services 24 hours a day from anywhere across the globe. Through this, one can do bookings or send a gift to someone around the globe. It also has world weather facilities that informs as to exactly what to expect when you get to your destination and this requires a GPRS connection.

The mobiles are priced from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Vertu will be launched in seven malls in Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai and entrepreneurs are the main target groups.

Clothes softener launched
BSC, which is part of the SAHA Group of Thailand, has tied up with India based Pierre Sumer Overseas to launch BSC Essence cloth softener in the country. The company claims that BSC softener is a world-class fabric softener that nurtures the cloth fiber by maintaining its puffiness.

The cloth fiber looks fresh and soft when the cloths are rinsed from this chemical. The freshness of the cloth remains intact and the valuable garment looks as fresh and soft, as it was when the cloth was purchased for the very first time. It prevents the cloth from clinging on to the body, when it is worn in an air-conditioned room or during winters.

Essence softner is environment friendly and helps in protecting the worth of the cloths.

According to the company the cloth softener is environment friendly and helps in protecting the worth of the cloth, and provides soft and gentle protection to infants' clothes. Price from Rs49 onwards the product is available at all the premium stores in India.

Also available under the same brand are BSC Organic and Micro-soft Towels, BSC Essence Ironing Starch and BSC Essence Stain remover

SIM CAT-ONE-ANALYSIS

2006-08-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I hope many of you had done well and will get much more than 25 (the minimum target given by me during the SIMCAT-1 examination).Let's understand & analyse the paper,however this is my personal opinion,others may differ.I had identified some of the sitters attempting which you could have scored well,that too in a shorter span of time.

SECTION-ONE:

1,2,3,4,11,13 are the easiest.One will take maxium 12-15 minutes to solve these 6 questions.This can fetch you 8 marks comfortably with an ease.

Learnings:-Identifying the right kind of questions, is an important task.

SECTION-TWO:

31,32,33,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48 ,49,50,51,52 are easily solvable if you are comfortable in grammar,vocabs & english usage.You can accumulate 28 marks into your scorebag.These 16 questions shouldn't take more than 25-30 minutes.

Learnings:-Reading habit,vocabulary & english usage mastery can put youat the zenith.

SECTION-THREE:

I am pathetic in DI.However 61,62,63,67,68,69,70,87,88,89,90 should be tried out.One can score 14 marks.These questions may take 30-35minutes.In my opinion,in such kind of paper, the cut-offs for 6 IIMs will be:-Problem Solving:-15-18,Verbal Ability & RC:-21-25 & DI/LR/DS:-16-18

Identifying these few questions, one can easily score PS-8,VA-18-20 &DI/LR-10-12.that means a score of 30-35 is attainable.

Anyway,others may differ in their opinion...

Wishing you all the best for the second SIM-CAT-2 in advance.

Warm regards,

MANAS NAYAK

CENTRE MANAGER

IMS-MASTERCANTEEN

09338198765

09937027987

SIMCAT-A CURTAIN RAISER

2006-08-22T01:46:00.000-07:00

Dear All!!

After a long time,got some time to write a short mail to you.Please remember, CAT expects you to be excellent at some,good at someand bad at none.Thus the "mantra" to deal with the changing CAT isBRMs.Try to finish off the BRMs by 20th Aug,06.

This should be the approach to SIMCATs according to me...

The first three SIMCATs are for experimentation.You can adopt different strategies and find out your comfort zone and tune yourself to that.

Fourth SIMCAT will be to stick to one single strategy and enhancing your total number of attempts.

Fifth & Sixth one is to be accurate and minimising silly mistakes.

Seventh one is test of your consistency and the objective need to maintain the same score range and not repeating the mistakes.

8th and the last one should be enhancing your range of score by 2-5marks and clearing the sectional cut-offs also while taking care of your attempts & accuracy.Try to get the extra edge here and hiking your score from the previous one by scoring 2-5 marks from your area of weakness.That means if you have sitters from permutation,combination (assuming them not being your cup of tea),still scoring from the direct questions of this chapters is the key to success.

My sincere advice/request to all of you...consider CAT as the 9th SIMCAT of IMS.God bless & all the best.Hope the future managers will do well on the way to premier B-Schoolsof India.

Warm regards,
Manas Nayak
09338198765
09937027987

`They can`t teach you visionary leadership`-Business Standard

2006-07-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

They can`t teach you visionary leadership
WHAT THEY DON`T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL
Habil Khorakiwala / New Delhi July 4, 2006

Habil KhorakiwalaA B-school equips you to become a successful manager. What it does not and cannot teach is visionary leadership. Leadership is often confused with management.
Management is all about achieving objectives through creative ideas and strategies. Visionary leadership involves the ability to look into the future and predict the future. It requires lots of guts, courage of conviction and risk-taking ability to pursue the vision with vigour.
But that is not enough. A visionary leader is a great communicator and teacher. He has the ability to transplant his conviction to his followers and inspire them to work for the vision, with enthusiasm and dedication.
He can inspire such conviction that his people not only give their best efforts to fulfill the vision, but are even willing to undergo sacrifices to achieve the lofty goal. Gandhi was a great leader. In business, there are many examples of visionary leaders who have taken their companies to great heights.
There is lot more to visionary leadership than talent, intelligence and determination. There is a human side to leadership. The human side is evident while dealing with sensitive issues.
At the same time, the leader does not get obsessed with the human issues and lose out on the tough, relentless pursuit of the vision. One has to balance both sides — it comes naturally to visionary leaders.
To succeed, one has to accept the world as it is and rise above it. One cannot see the world in black and white. One has to operate in areas of grey and pursue objectives through uncertainty and ambiguity.
Can these be taught? Learning concepts of leadership will not make every student a visionary leader. As management thinker Russel Ackoff said, you can be taught to draw, sculpt or compose.
Doing these things well will not automatically make you a great artist, sculptor or composer. A visionary leader is a great artist, inspiring and driving everyone around to achieve his visionary goal.

Habil Khorakiwala is chairman, Wockhardt Group. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1983.

11% CEOs find job stress too much--Business Standard write-up

2006-07-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

11% CEOs find job stress too much: Survey
Our Corporate Bureau / New Delhi July 10, 2006

Here is another classic example of “What they don’t teach you at B-schools” for Indian CEOs. When under constant stress consult your doctor and do not just settle for home-made therapies. After all, investors’ confidence is closely linked to the health of the person at the helm of the company.

The latest Assocham Business Barometer (ABB) survey revealed that over 66 per cent of the 270 CEOs and CMDs polled had admitted that they did come under stress, with mental pressure being the severest of the ordeals.

As many as 22 per cent said that the stress level was moderate for them, while 11 per cent said it was too much. The worst part of the story is that 82 per cent of the medical consultants, who took the ABB survey, said company heads did not visit them unless they had visible and severe life-style related diseases.

Instead of fixing an appointment with a doctor, most CEOs read books and spend time with their families to cope with work pressure, the survey said. Corporate honchos prefer to consult doctors only when they have symptoms of diabetes, blood pressure, indigestion and insomnia, clearly indicating a lack of understanding of stress-related health complications.

About 70 per cent of industry leaders coping with work pressure suffered more from mental stress than physical strain, the ABB survey, that covered most of the industry sectors, revealed.

“Doing business in India under severe competitive conditions is not easy. It tests your physical and mental stamina,” said Assocham President Anil K Agarwal.

Severe business competition puts the maximum pressure on company heads who are always looking for “innovative” ways to stay ahead of rivals. As many as 77 per cent of the ABB respondents said severe business competition was the main culprit.

Reading books (stealing time at airport lounges etc), spending time with family and listening to music are cited as the three main stress busters. Yoga is catching up fast among corporate leaders while playing golf has taken a back seat among CEOs’ favourite stress busters.

Poll respondents also believe their peers in the US , Europe and China suffer from more stress.

March Ahead for a healthy nation

2006-05-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Indians!!

If we want to put India at its zenith and want to prosper socially,economically then we need to overcome the evils and need to fight against it.

The UPA government's reservation policy is going to be detrimental for India's development and thus would appeal to all dutyful citizens of India to protest against the vested interests of selfish politicians and come out openly and participate in the awareness and agitation against it.

Warm regards,

Manas Nayak
09937099883
Chief Architect
March Ahead Forum-An effort to create a healthy nation