tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359001232024-03-08T06:31:46.644+05:30Just Thinking...Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-18388672829452112532010-03-14T18:58:00.004+05:302010-03-15T11:53:13.421+05:30My tweets from the India Today Conclave 2010In Delhi for the India Today Conclave. Lots of good speakers to entertain and educate me. First up Chidambaram & the ruler of Dubai.<div><br />Next would be John Chambers of Cisco. Was in the lift with him yesterday.</div><div><br />Aroon Purie starts the conclave with the opening passage from "tale of 2 cities" - "it was the best of times..worst of times..." #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Charles Dickens still relevant to describe the first decade of the 21st century. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Chidambaram says Maoists are a bigger threat than Jihadists. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Chidambaram: maoists aren't pro poor. Just interested in seizing power. That's why they blow up schools, roads & rail lines. #ITconclave</div><div><br />In Q&A, Chidambaram very severe on Pakistan but quite soft on China. #ITconclave</div><div><br />Pak High Commissioner to India responded by saying there were no state players who sponsor terrorism and that they want talks. #ITconclave</div><div><br />The ruler of Dubai had come to Delhi but had to leave last night. Sent his cousin to speak instead. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Arabic to English translator so bad that the sheikh has decided to translate his Arabic speech himself. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Don't confuse Dubai World with Dubai state. The former is untroubled because of it's real estate business.Getting restructured. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Kamal Nath made a general political speech. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Brilliant speech by Dayanidhi Maran on how to balance politics and growth. Says he's managed both in his teleom days. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>In 2004 it was illegal to have wi fi at home. Maran says he realized he was breaking the law. So he changed the law. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>BJP president Nitin Gadkari didn't speak about politics but only of economic needs & ideas for progress. Great. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>John Chambers of Cisco talking inspiringly about the big transformations of India and the role of tech in it. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Cisco'a goals for india. $1 doctor visits. $1 month/student. 1 million new jobs. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Interesting ad by Mail Today in it's own paper. http://twitpic.com/182b5l<br /><br /></div><div>Nassim Taleb, author of Black Swan, is on next. I feel like a groupie around a star. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Taleb is a old trader but a young philosopher. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>You can't predict which technology will do well. So you can't predict history. Taleb. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>We live in extremistan but think we live in mediocristan. Taleb. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>The banking system collapsed due to the rise in complexity and the rise of fragility. Taleb. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Debt has a 1:1 correspondence with hubris! Taleb. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Must read Taleb's article from FT that is about 10 steps to create robustness. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Taleb: the only thing more fragile than finance is the internet. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>End of Taleb's session. Clearly the best session in #ITconclave so far. Great insights with great sense of humour<br /><br /></div><div>Nilesh Arora, the 4th President of Google is on next. The other 3 are the two founders and the CEO. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Google asks how can you disrupt the world with technology. Not how they can make money. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Nilesh says he scribbled notes for his speech during the Chambers session. I think that's rude to all of us who are here. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>A great session followed by a really lousy one. I guess that's life. The Google guy was really bad. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>@Kaj186 chap called Nikesh Arora. president sales & biz Dev.<br /><br /></div><div>Kapil Sibal talking about the challenges we face in the education sector. But no vision or strategy offered. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Kapil Sibal is one of our best ministers. Made a boring speech but getting into stride during the Q&A. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Spent time chatting with Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook & CEO of myBarackObama.com. And I thought I was immune to celebs. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Aroon Purie now introducing Sir Salman Rushdie. The others need to learn from Mr Purie how to make introductions interesting. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Rushdie on the MF Hussain issue: are the forces trying to close the universe winning over those trying to open it? #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Salman Rushdie's speech proves that not everything can or should be reduced to 140 characters. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Rushdie: what are the limits of freedom? Should we tolerate those who are intolerant & might destroy society? #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Rushdie: Pakistan is a country "insufficently imagined". #ITconclave<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Prabhu Chawla complaining that he gets to chair the </div><div>tough sessions. Yesterday on politics. Today on sex and spirituality. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Swami Vedant of Osho Univ talking philosophically about sex & sexuality. I think the crowd is wishing they'd slept in. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>3 layers of sex. Biological. Psychological. Spiritual. Sex is the center of life. Not God: Osho via Swami Vedant. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Sant Ramdev is a good orator who doesn't seem to have much to say. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Did you know Swami Ramdev is worth Rs 500 crores? He says he's not apologetic about his wealth. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Having agreed that sex & spirituality can co-exist, the 2 speakers arguing about whether OK for consenting adults to have sex. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Vedant: men think of sex every 5-7 mins while women think of sex every 13 mins. "they're more conservative". #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Rahul Gandhi is here. Not as a speaker. Just as a delegate. Listening to Prof Bloom of Harvard talk about demographic dividend. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Demograhpic dividend is not automatic & may be transitory. But it helped SE Asia grow 2% PA per capita for 30 years. Bloom. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>2 breakthrough ideas of demographics: demographic dividend & healthier = wealthier. Bloom. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Bloom: demographic dividends will increase inequality between states and could lead to instability. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Ireland legalized contraception in 1979 & this lead to fetility rates falling & economic growth doubled: Bloom. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Alan Mullaly, Global CEO Ford, reading out a prepared speech. He isn't connecting with the audience. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Alan Mullaly doing a lot better in the Q&A. Says Product information is ubiquitous. The difference is the brand. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Art is under attack by those who don't understand it. So is science. Interesting session on the controversy starting up. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>If the first pdt of electricity had been the electric chair, we'd be as against electricity as people are against GM food now. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>The only reason that the Malthusian predictions haven't come true is science & tech. Michael Spector, writer. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Michael Spector making a strong case of benefits of green revolution 1.0. Says we now need green revolution 3.0. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Suman Sahai making the opposite case. Says genetic engg is a very random science. She's a genetic engineer herself. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Suman Sahai: you can make the case for BT cotton. But you can't make a case for 35 Crops with the BT gene. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Suman Sahai. This is the century of Biology. But rein in hubris. Since biology gone wrong can cause more damage than phy/chem. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Brilliant session. Both speakers convinced us they were right. And they are totally opposed to each other! #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Chris Hughes, co founder of Facebook is talking about the impact on the real world of social media. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Barack Obama did not use social media to be cool or create buzz. But to get votes. : chris hughes. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>The Barack Obama site wasn't about the candidate but about the supporters. It showed them & their reasons for supporting Obama. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>That made supporters " responsible" for electing Obama. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Stage is crowded. Youth session with Ranbir Kapoor, asin, Tanya Dubash, Roopa Purshottam, Deepender Hooda, #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Bunked the session on youth to watch Yousuf Khan hit a 100 in 37 balls. Back now to listen to James Cameron & Amir Khan. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Cameron: any technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>I don't know if Amir khan is just acting, but he seems to be spellbound by James Cameron. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Cameron talking about an awesome technique called performance capture invented to shoot Avatar. Amir looking fascinated. Us too #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Cameron: He had a problem finding theatres who would show 3D. Now with 3D TV screens, there will be a content gap. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Amir Khan simply not on the same level as Cameron. Maybe this discussion would have gone places if Raju Hirani had been here. #ITconclave<br /><br /></div><div>Cammeron & Amir having a great chat with each other. Great eye contact with each other. The audience is totally ignored. #ITconclave<br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-42149144019035273462010-03-10T05:49:00.002+05:302010-03-10T05:52:27.340+05:30Defining moments: Suman Srivastava: "It was good to learn the science of advertising at Lever"<span style="font-style:italic;">A feature on me appeared in the Brand Reporter and now in Afaqs. <a href="http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/story.html?sid=26462_Defining+moments:+Suman+Srivastava:+It+was+good+to+learn+the+science+of+advertising+at+Lever#">Click here to see the original article.</a> Text below:</span><br /><br />You may take him out of the confines of the planning department, but there's no taking the planner out of Suman Srivastava.<br /><br />Few may know that Euro RSCG India's CEO, Suman Srivastava, wanted to originally be a journalist. It took an acquaintance who spoke of his disillusionment with journalism and Srivastava's days in the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, that gave Indian advertising industry an established planner, and one who witnessed the emergence of planning as a separate discipline in India, at that.<br /><br />Srivastava's first turning point arrived while at Lintas - his first job - when he was deputed at Hindustan Unilever for a year (after working on HUL brands for three years) and was further "Leverised."<br /><br />"The rigour that Lever's had was great. In those days of the early '90s, there were very few clients who got into the science of advertising. I think it was good to learn that science at Lever's," he says.<br /><br />Among his key defining moments are shaping two start-ups: Lowe Lintas' second agency SSC&B Lintas in 1994, and Euro RSCG India. "SSC&B was a part of Lintas and at least the infrastructure was right there but Euro RSCG did not even have an office. It was an out-and-out start up. It was great fun of course. Definitely a defining moment," Srivastava grins. <br /><br />While he admits to have done a lot of "ghost planning" while working in the servicing team at Lowe (Lintas), he recalls his formal entry into the world of planners in 1999 at Euro, as one of the most important moments in his career. With planning then being a relatively new discipline in Indian agencies, there was uncertainty and his move was not considered to be a good one. Yet, Srivastava refers to the four years of undiluted planning as the best phase of his career.<br /><br />"Planning then was underrated and everybody was suspicious of it," Srivastava explains. "The client servicing guys thought that the planner would do all the 'sexy' parts of their job and there wouldn't be any fun left, while the creative people saw it as yet another layer and another person who could say 'no' and kill an idea."<br /><br />And despite being the CEO of Euro RSCG, Srivastava says he has not ceased to be a planner, and takes pride in the evolution of planning from a stage when the creative team was sceptic about it to today's theory of 'one planner for one creative'.<br /><br />Two key men who influenced Srivastava greatly include former bosses Ishan Raina, chief executive officer, OOH Media and Ajay Chandwani, non-executive director, Percept. <br /><br />"He (Raina) was my first boss when I entered advertising," he recalls. "I was interviewing with Contract Advertising but there was no befitting role for me. So when he started Euro RSCG and wanted to take Contract people with him, I was one of the first ones he took on board. Ishan is an amazing man-manager. He can bring out the best either by needling or encouraging a person." <br /><br />For Chandwani, Srivastava says, "It is tough working for Ajay but he is brilliant. Our styles were very different, but I learnt a lot from him as a strategy guy," he says.<br /><br />At Euro RSCG, another key hallmark moment for him was cracking the Set Max Deewana Bana De campaign which was all about the role of television in a person's life. "Our insight was that Max should be a friend you would like to watch movies with. We gave the channel the role of this friend who knows all the stats and is a reference point when you watch movies and cricket," he explains, and thus were born properties like Extraa Innings and Extraa Shots. The second insight was that when one watches great entertainment it stays with you for a while, which led to the words Deewana Bana De.<br /><br />(Defining Moments is a regular column which talks about the incidents that shaped great advertising, media and marketing careers.)Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-52885405348168094652010-03-08T06:07:00.005+05:302010-03-08T06:22:53.080+05:30Comparative Advertising and euphemismThis generation of youth is not into euphemism. Perhaps every generation of youth tends to use less euphemisms than the generation that has gone before. <br /><br />So is it surprising that this generation would name the competitive brand in their advertising rather than being content with referring to it as "Brand X" or the "leading brand" or whatever? My only surprise is that there aren't more commercials already that actually name their competitor.<br /><br />As for being comparative, my view is that all advertising is competitive. The whole idea of Positioning is that you try to create a distinct place in a consumer's mind <span style="font-style:italic;">with respect to all other brands</span>. So that is comparative advertising.<br /><br />My final point is that when claims are made in advertising, then they need to be backed up by scientific evidence. If not, then there needs to be strong penalties that should be levied. That would ensure greater truth in advertising.<br /><br />Once that is in place, we should refer to competing brands by name - it will save everybody a lot of time.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The above piece was written for afaqs reporter in the context of the Rin commercial shown below.</span><br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1kSO1KYbxNc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1kSO1KYbxNc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-79201940309137512582010-01-14T06:23:00.005+05:302010-01-15T15:58:02.527+05:30Everybody loves a planner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/morganzola/gfy/75450139.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 320px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/morganzola/gfy/75450139.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Clients love planners<br />Except when agencies charge for their time.<br /><br />Clients love planners<br />Except when they are too passionate about their ideas.<br /><br />Creatives love planners<br />Except when they suggest that their ideas are off-strategy.<br /><br />Creatives love planners<br />Except when they become another layer of approval.<br /><br />Creatives love planners<br />Except when they start using jargon.<br /><br />Servicing loves planners<br />Except when they are feeling low about their own jobs.<br /><br />Servicing loves planners<br />Except when they act like creative divas.<br /><br />Servicing loves planners<br />Except when the spotlight moves away from them.<br /><br />Servicing loves planners<br />Except when they get promoted ahead of them.<br /><br />Top management loves planners<br />Except when times are bad.<br /><br />Top management loves planners<br />Except when its time to promote them to general management.<br /><br />Everyone loves a planner<br />Except when they act obnoxious & know-it-all.<br /><br /><br /><br />(Written as an anonymous article for Brand Equity)Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-13433785173986901342009-09-03T16:46:00.002+05:302009-09-03T16:52:06.693+05:30Dialogue (with Exchange4Media)<span style="font-style:italic;">It’s been two decades for you being a part of advertising industry, according to you how has the industry been shaped since then and now? Any alarming fact to be observed comparatively…<br /></span><br />Over the last two decades the advertising industry has evolved for the better. I think the quality of the work we do is much superior to the work done then. Earlier a lot of advertising were derivative of western advertising. Today we can be proud of an Indian school of advertising. Earlier brand propositions didn’t need to work very hard since there was limited competition. Today the reverse is true. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Euro RSCG Worldwide per se undertakes various surveys and studies to understand the trends in advertising. Any recent studies that you have undertaken and that you would like to share with us…</span><br /><br /> We have a series of papers that are titled “the future of _____”. So we have a study on the “Future of retail”. Another on the “Future of luxury” and the most recent one on the “Future of value”. These studies are shared with clients and potential clients for whom these studies are relevant. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Do you see an increase in mergers and acquisitions by international networks of Indian advertising agencies? And does this mean that the stranglehold of foreign agencies will increase further?</span> <br /><br />Acquisitions take place because there are strong local agencies available to acquire. So before M&A can happen, you need local entrepreneurs to create strong agencies. We can see around us small boutique agencies opening up – in creative, digital, events, PR, you name it. In due course these agencies will get acquired, but that is not about a stranglehold of foreign agencies. It is more of a tribute to Indian talent.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Please share your views on the new media and digital landscape and what role advertising agencies can play to harness the potential of these mediums.</span><br /><br />Our view of new media is the same as our view of old media. We think it is wrong to think of digital or new media agencies as a separate discipline. We don’t have a separate TV division, so why do we have a separate digital division? You may have a production facility for digital that is separate and staffed with specialists. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Please take us through the growth that Euro RSCG has seen on the revenue front in the last three years? (At least in terms of percentage if not the exact figures)</span><br /><br />We have grown at more than 30% per annum for the least 3 years.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What is the growth target for 2009? </span><br /><br />It all depends on how the slog overs pan out (we have a Jan – Dec year). We are optimistic about the next 4 months and expect to end the year with a small growth over last year.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">How much has the current economic slowdown affected the Indian advertising industry? </span><br /><br />We have had our share of problems. In general the multinationals (clients and agencies) were more cautious than the Indian companies when the downturn started. That negativism spread through the whole economy. But now things are looking up again.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">During the slowdown, many advertisers took extreme steps to brave the recession. When things are back to normal, how do you think these steps would have changed the industry?</span><br /><br />It would make us leaner and meaner. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Speaking about talent and the slowdown, there was a sudden hiring freeze. Now as we are seeing some sign of recovery, there is again a buzz of hiring happening across levels. And on what criteria’s are these hirings taking place?</span> <br /><br />Agencies are now making the most critical hires. In our case we are also hiring some people to accelerate growth.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">How is Euro RSCG tackling the problem of talent crunch in the industry and retaining skilled people? Is there any specific strategy for that?</span> <br /><br />Yes we are doing a bunch of different things to retain people. Covers a wide gamut from better structured salaries, to training programs, to welfare activities. The objective is not to reach 0% attrition. The objective is to ensure that people are happy and contribute at a high level when they are with us.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Lately, many agencies including Euro RSCG have announced internal elevations/promotions. But these promotions have come without any increments. How do you view this development in an agency favour of retaining your talent? It is believed that many have otherwise quit agencies due to this. Is this an advantage or a disadvantage in regards to retaining talent?</span><br /><br />Recognition is often as important as rewards in retaining people. When you can’t afford to reward, you can still afford to recognize. Rewards will follow soon.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What are the weak points of the Indian advertising industry today that you feel need to be addressed? </span><br /><br />I think we are still very TV centric and need to grow our capabilities in other disciplines. Also while we tend to do great work for theme ads, we treat tactical advertising like step children. That’s not how the consumer sees it. We need to handle those with the same love and affection as the theme ads.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What are the areas that Indian advertising practitioners need focus on to create a wider global impact?</span><br /><br />Our people are smart and many have already created a mark on the global scene. But we need to be a little bit more process oriented and much more punctual in our work. If we tighten up on those areas, Indians can dominate the global arena.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What are the two things that you would like to change about the Indian clients?</span> <br /><br />I don’t want to change anything. I just want more of them.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-51852261727605060922009-09-03T16:41:00.002+05:302009-09-03T16:46:03.597+05:30My Profile - Written for Campaign India's A List<span style="font-style:italic;">Current position held (designation and company, official address)</span><br />CEO, Euro RSCG India. 1, Brady Gladys Plaza, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Office land line number</span><br />24952326<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Place of birth</span><br />Patna, Bihar<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Career highlights</span><br />Have been at Euro RSCG for the last 13 years. Before this I was at Lintas for 9 years. I joined Lintas straight out of IIMA. During my Lintas stint I spent 2 years in SSC&B Lintas. Behind this high inertia career path lies a lot of interesting assignments. I have been part of two start ups (SSC&B and Euro RSCG), run strategic planning for a region, been on deputation to HLL, worked on a variety of interesting and challenging clients.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Why are you good at what you do? (Answer in 10-15 words)</span><br />I fear failure and so I work hard and learn more. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Greatest influence: 15-40 words</span><br />My maternal grandmother. She was out of the box in her thinking before the term was invented.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Fantasy business partner</span><br />Steve Jobs<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Biggest risk taken</span><br />None – I play safe.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Best job outside advertising/ media/ marketing</span><br />Being a father.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Favourite media</span><br />Podcasts.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Favourite gadget</span><br />Amazon Kindle<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Clubs you are a member of</span><br />MCA Bandra, Club Millennium Juhu.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Most admired politician</span><br />Barack Obama<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Perfect day</span><br />Sunday<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Fictional hero</span><br />Phantom – the ghost who walks.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Who should play you in the film of your life?</span><br />Sidney Poitier (some people said he looked like me in “To Sir with love”)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Hidden talent</span><br />Making cocktails<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Most expensive purchase</span><br />An apartment in Bandra<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Desert Island favourite objects</span><br />Kindle, iPod, Laptop, power for everything.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-18479508349867003022009-09-03T16:37:00.001+05:302009-09-03T16:41:06.760+05:30LEADING AN AD AGENCYEvery suit thinks he is creative. Especially suits who have risen to the top of an ad agency and therefore no longer considers himself bound by the confines of a department. So most suit CEOs don’t understand what the debate is about – you need to be creative and a suit to be the leader. ☺<br /><br />Of course, the biggest trait you need to become a leader is to live in a distorted reality world and convince enough other people to believe in that distorted reality. It’s usually called “Vision” which is nothing but an attempt to twist the current reality into a desired one. If you are successful, you are a great leader. If not, you are considered a cracked pot. <br /><br />The best leaders in every field lived in a distorted reality world. Buddha, Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs, Ratan Tata, Barrack Obama, Piyush Pandey. All of them set out to change their existing realities in ways that perfectly reasonable people thought couldn’t be done. Who thought that India could achieve freedom thorough non-violence or that a black man could become President of the United States or that a stodgy old “people-friendly” advertising agency could become a cutting edge creative shop?<br /><br />At this point, it would probably be appropriate to list out a set of traits that a good leader should have. I am going to resist the temptation.<br /><br />I read a book some time ago called “Why should anyone be led by YOU?” This is the best book on leadership that I have ever read. It simply says that you can’t model yourself on any other person and still expect to be a leader. To be a leader you have to be yourself; to be authentic and real. Even have warts and weaknesses. If people like what they see, they will start to follow you. <br />I found this a really refreshing argument, because so many leaders fall into the trap of trying to be perfect. Leaders try to be this brilliant all rounder who could be in the team just for his batting, bowling or fielding. Not to mention his captaincy. This kind of a leader gets insecure when others appear who are better than him in any discipline. And that puts off a whole lot of followers, who tend to drift away. Thus damaging the organization. <br /><br />Coming back to the central point of the debate of suit versus creative. The point I am making is that you need to be authentic and have a clear vision. If the suit is a faceless bureaucrat then he is unlikely to get any followers and therefore will not be able to achieve much. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(This piece was written for the 5th anniversary issue of Impact magazine)</span>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-160654781098490062009-05-30T10:55:00.007+05:302009-05-30T11:54:28.525+05:30Right Sizing The CabinetThe voters have given a clear mandate to this government to govern effectively. The people have made it quite clear that we value performance about all else.<br /><br />In light of this I am dismayed to see the size of our council of ministers and the way it has been put together - with the focus being on pleasing allies and balancing regional interests. In any case, the way the government is structured is hardly conducive to good management.<br /><br />Management gurus say that a manager should not have more than 7 direct reports into him. Our PM has 40 direct reports just in the council of ministers. This is not including other advisory bodies such as the Planning Commission. Clearly he cannot do justice to supervising all these people.<br /><br />Several of the ministries exist for legacy reasons. Why do industries like Shipping, Mines, Coal, Textiles, Chemicals and Petroleum have separate ministries when there is anyway an Industries ministry and a labour ministry. Not to mention Finance and Commerce (although the latter is more about Exports, notwithstanding its name).<br /><br />Clearly, the Cabinet and its performance would improve if we were to issue a few pink slips. <br /><br />I spent a few minutes playing God (or Sonia) with the ministries and came up with these two diagrams. Figure 1 shows the 10 super ministries that would report directly into the Prime Minister (click on it to see a larger version).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zShTSO8ZSQ5vhyphenhyphenlAULE5K8OkgfMUau6OvexltUIZkXTzEZSjQ2reSVMpTkdXMdiYJ0YK_5oXGVjWuPXk0lHdWCKwoBP_3HQn80eobK1nTYlJr7YxEXp_uo41TJWRIutR9tle/s1600-h/Cabinet+(2).JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zShTSO8ZSQ5vhyphenhyphenlAULE5K8OkgfMUau6OvexltUIZkXTzEZSjQ2reSVMpTkdXMdiYJ0YK_5oXGVjWuPXk0lHdWCKwoBP_3HQn80eobK1nTYlJr7YxEXp_uo41TJWRIutR9tle/s400/Cabinet+(2).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341487315546142946" /></a><br /><br />The logic for the above is quite simple. To begin with we need a ministry for internal affairs and a ministry for external affairs. Those are obvious. Given our focus on development, it would be best to have ministries focused on the three main sectors of the economy - agriculture, manufacturing and services. <br /><br />Next is HRD. Clearly India's big strength is its people and we all talk about the demographic dividend. Clearly there is a need to focus on people. Also I felt that in a large country like ours, transport is important enough to justify its own ministry. And going forward, we will have to find a way to grow without polluting the environment, so we need a ministry to focus on that. And finally, we need a finance ministry to focus on the money.<br /><br />Those, then are the 10 super ministries. <br /><br />Figure 2 shows what happened to the various other ministries. You will definitely need to click on it to be able to read it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvZBLVyBuafQFdrw9Mk-gdu3kL9eb0xWwgV0732TpiPc4jqMe1e1jyrlNkY0WFmtWCgkC3pZLWgtaZk2LguPybAIzkBrq9fThpdGj1zArQHGs0k29IJShP3rJh1QwAmUgAhzO/s1600-h/Cabinet.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvZBLVyBuafQFdrw9Mk-gdu3kL9eb0xWwgV0732TpiPc4jqMe1e1jyrlNkY0WFmtWCgkC3pZLWgtaZk2LguPybAIzkBrq9fThpdGj1zArQHGs0k29IJShP3rJh1QwAmUgAhzO/s400/Cabinet.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341487667251482034" /></a><br /><br />Most of the above seems obvious to me. The only one that I debated for a while was whether Defence needed a separate ministry. I decided against it because I feel that war is the last resort for the diplomat, and so I thought it would be best to combine the two into one ministry. <br /><br />I am quite pleased with my last hour's work. Let me know what you think.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-56625185383244226892009-03-21T11:09:00.002+05:302009-03-21T11:15:09.650+05:30The Importance of GritI have always felt that in order for a brand to sound authentic it is critical to have a little bit of dirt - something that is less than perfect. It is like Betty's sandwiches that Jughead doesn't like until they have a little bit of sand in them! <br /><br />I follow a blog about fund raising for non profit organisations that found this "commercial" for Trader's Joe that sounds really authentic. Follow the words and you will see my point about grit.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OdB7GDZY3Pk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OdB7GDZY3Pk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-14932911392592247722009-03-06T21:17:00.001+05:302009-03-06T21:17:42.988+05:30BJP has better oratorsI'm sitting in the India Today Conclave 2009. Just heard a brilliant speech by Shivraj Singh Chouhan (CM of MP).
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<br>Last year I was impressed by Narender Modi. Another year. Another BJP Chief Minister.
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<br>Congress is represented by Ashok Chavan (CM of Maharashtra). Omar Abdullah (CM of J&K) represented the middle front.
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<br>Both spoke well, but read from prepared speeches. Shivraj had no notes but had better turns of phrase & more data.
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<br>Notice that the self made politicians speak better than those who are products of dynastic democracy.
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<br>Sent on my BlackBerry® from HutchSuman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-70007666054204461642009-02-10T15:14:00.001+05:302009-02-10T15:17:17.192+05:30Brands need to have social valueFriday, April 2, 1993 was supposed to be the day that brands died. That was the day when Marlboro cut its price to compete with generic brands that were 50% cheaper. The marketing world reacted with shock and promptly started funeral preparations for brands.<br /><br />But brands haven’t died. They have just changed character. This article proposes one way in which brands have changed.<br /><br />The starting point of the argument lies in Internet brands. Arguably the strongest brands in the world today are web brands like Google, Facebook, Second Life etc. Equally strong, perhaps, are brands like BlackBerry and iPod which have a strong web component to back up their physical products. The question arises, what is common between these brands and what can older brands learn from them?<br /><br />All these brands have a social component to them. They help people connect with each other. They also create communities of users who can bond with each other. Very much like smokers of old, who could bond with each other while smoking, sharing a light etc.<br /><br />Is this only a phenomenon of on-line brands or can it be taken into the real world too? I think that several brands have shown that the idea of creating social value around brands can be useful in the real world too.<br /><br />The idea obviously works for Starbuck, Café Coffee Day and the like. But it goes much beyond. <br />My favourite example in India is the Jaggo Re campaign for Tata Tea. It is creating a community of young people who are concerned about the future of their country and want to influence its course. There is a strong product connect and it is based on a strong insight of how Indian youth thinks. The campaign for Idea is on a similar line.<br /><br />We at Euro RSCG have experimented with portraying the new “chalta-nahi-hai” attitude of youth in our campaign for Dainik Bhaskar – Zidd karo. Before that we created the “India ka dil, India ka AC” campaign for Voltas.<br /><br />So what do the success of the above commercials mean? We are used to thinking of the rational value of a brand and the emotional value of a brand. Now we have to think also of the social value of the brand. <br /><br />This social value helps define the users and fans of the brand into a community. Once the community has been defined the brand needs to provide its “members” (not just consumers) with a platform through which they can communicate with each other and with the brand. This is how the strong brands of the future will be built.<br /><br />In conclusion, I don’t think that brands are dead. They have just acquired an additional layer – the social layer. Brand handlers now need to be conscious of this new rule in the game.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The above article has been written for the Mint, but they will probably not publish it as it is. </span>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-68181684592059731802009-02-07T18:53:00.002+05:302009-02-07T18:58:54.943+05:30License to harrass<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2872619210_a34fda925a.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 332px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2872619210_a34fda925a.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>There are numerous road blocks in the city which slow down traffic and cause huge traffic jams, but which are not manned by any human beings! So why are they there? <br /><br />The one I see most often is the one at the airport just as you come out of the Terminal 1A. 4 lanes of traffic has to slow down to squeeze through the road block one vehicle at a time. While the cops who are supposed to be checking the cars are presumably having tea somewhere.<br /><br />Of course, everyone has often wondered what they are checking for anyway. But we'll talk about that another day. For now, I just wish that the cops would open up the roads at least when they are not on duty there.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-68997189242246488082009-02-07T16:25:00.001+05:302009-02-07T16:30:50.280+05:30Warren Buffet's Thoughts for 2009:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.topnews.in/usa/files/Legendary_%20American_Investor_Warren_Buffett.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 389px;" src="http://www.topnews.in/usa/files/Legendary_%20American_Investor_Warren_Buffett.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organisations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.<br /><br />Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.<br /><br />Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.<br /><br />Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.<br /><br />Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.<br /><br />Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.<br /><br />Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.<br /><br />Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.<br /><br />Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.<br /><br />Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.<br /><br />Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.<br /><br />Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.<br /><br />I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.<br /><br />Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-39426236304744582782009-01-18T20:06:00.001+05:302009-01-18T20:15:08.265+05:30Late-comers are from Venus<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdIwjl-EMofpdv0TYJhD5qWgyof1NKrlt6Lldh4rrUaoZcXBgw6mEer_2uUjljIC4KBEGC8Njus2vYlaCqLAMOKoHgwao6YVW_2CgBGbArFbpH4vvxlE-RnaFBWhWrQxGPHY6/s1600-h/83392319.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdIwjl-EMofpdv0TYJhD5qWgyof1NKrlt6Lldh4rrUaoZcXBgw6mEer_2uUjljIC4KBEGC8Njus2vYlaCqLAMOKoHgwao6YVW_2CgBGbArFbpH4vvxlE-RnaFBWhWrQxGPHY6/s320/83392319.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292644594657514434" border="0" /></a><br />I think too much has been made out of this men are from mars and women<br />from venus thing. I think if you really want to study two different<br />species, you ought to look at people who are habitually on time and<br />those who are always late.<p>I belong to the first species and have been surrounded by people who<br />are habitual late-comers. At home, in office, among my friends – this<br />other species dominates the population nearly as much as right handers<br />do.</p><p>In order to further the cause of science, I offer below a few<br />characteristics of this species. To begin with let's give them a<br />name. I like to call them Homo Latiens to distinguish them from the<br />rest of us Home Sapiens.</p><p>1. Home Latiens always make you wait, but hate to wait themselves. <br />They make sure that they find something else to do that takes a little<br />longer than what you are doing, so that you end up waiting.</p><p>2. You can't out-late a Homo Latien. This is a corollary of the first<br />statement. If you think you can be later than them, all I can say to<br />you is "Ha!"</p><p>3. Homo Latiens are amazing at multi-tasking. See picture above.</p><p></p><p>4. Homo Latiens are absent minded. They always forget the most<br />important things. Their wallets. The projector. The file. The<br />gift. The keys. Then they have to go back and get it while you wait.</p><p>5. Homo Latiens think they are super efficient. They think everything<br />will get done in 5 minutes. Or in a jiffy. Whichever takes less<br />time. Home Sapiens tend to think in much longer time segments.</p><p>6. Homo Latiens think the last lap takes the most amount of time. <br />Having delayed themselves and everybody else, a typical Homo Latien<br />will sprint the last lap to the car, the door, down the steps or<br />whatever. Thus making up for lost time.</p><p>7. Homo Latiens are emergency prone. Somehow emergencies always seem<br />to crop up in their lives. That's actually what makes them late. <br />Somehow Homo Sapiens don't have so many emergencies. Please note that<br />going to the loo at the last minute counts as an emergency.</p><p>I would welcome further study into this species and in how the two<br />species – homo sapiens and homo latiens - interact with each other.</p>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-72074634200175018452008-12-09T15:32:00.001+05:302008-12-09T15:36:53.817+05:30Trousers take over the dhotiThe Economic Times of December 6, 2008 reported that 55% of all <br />readymade trousers sold in India were sold in rural areas. This is <br />good news. It shows the depth of our retail market, the increased <br />prosperity of the rural areas and a welcome spread of modernization. <p>Some may bemoan the erosion of our ethnic culture. But since most of <br />the people who will so crib, will do so while wearing western clothes, <br />we needn't take them seriously.</p><p>Now the only people wearing dhotis would be the smart set. Like <br />friend Amir!</p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69bfqH5OKoWxbdIWYxKiJ74Pn1-YoKYUuIlQixY17wY69XF-9XbE2K9GbTyM-OSknrJxKkhKoRFfe5V4WcCXoGdjDWaw4bTaMIDS7Y9wZaYai5v56SeC40KEIa_LCmd-esQVl/s1600-h/Dhotis_815-719139.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69bfqH5OKoWxbdIWYxKiJ74Pn1-YoKYUuIlQixY17wY69XF-9XbE2K9GbTyM-OSknrJxKkhKoRFfe5V4WcCXoGdjDWaw4bTaMIDS7Y9wZaYai5v56SeC40KEIa_LCmd-esQVl/s320/Dhotis_815-719139.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277728912274452802" border="0" /></a></p>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-52746449660684236542008-11-29T13:40:00.005+05:302008-11-29T14:35:50.244+05:30Professionalize politics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObqQ91HBRBYo5FLp_-a0v9xMy8hID9J7dSrtnkx34wQ-y6EkFYWPFDo7jGURNfasaz3ic9DcSjtryMG0a3eLwn9VQFRYpQO0L2SqvUV1W6Bxr2tfC0UgndMY2Nr-RLVO8W2A1/s1600-h/83852950.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObqQ91HBRBYo5FLp_-a0v9xMy8hID9J7dSrtnkx34wQ-y6EkFYWPFDo7jGURNfasaz3ic9DcSjtryMG0a3eLwn9VQFRYpQO0L2SqvUV1W6Bxr2tfC0UgndMY2Nr-RLVO8W2A1/s320/83852950.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273994759989581714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAUnZT_os6QH-WWp9W1e4WBKqslEABPdjED0bFKP6dy4Jv8XCjfKTyUITDV69gJeKa-7vKhq06QpQUZ5_assnlZyIQ_gSjihn3-dI1uXIORJoexMYnWc2S-iVG6zl4bPcE9Bz/s1600-h/83851380.jpg"></a><br />Right now we are all angry. We want something to be done. Something that will protect us in future. That will prevent a recurrence of what has happened.<br /><br />And then we look at the people that we have elected to do something. That sends us into a new bout of despair. How can these people be expected to perform? These people are the dregs of our society. Remember that someone said that "politics was the last refuge of the scoundrel". That someone was right. Just look at them, their backgrounds and their track records.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAUnZT_os6QH-WWp9W1e4WBKqslEABPdjED0bFKP6dy4Jv8XCjfKTyUITDV69gJeKa-7vKhq06QpQUZ5_assnlZyIQ_gSjihn3-dI1uXIORJoexMYnWc2S-iVG6zl4bPcE9Bz/s1600-h/83851380.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAUnZT_os6QH-WWp9W1e4WBKqslEABPdjED0bFKP6dy4Jv8XCjfKTyUITDV69gJeKa-7vKhq06QpQUZ5_assnlZyIQ_gSjihn3-dI1uXIORJoexMYnWc2S-iVG6zl4bPcE9Bz/s320/83851380.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273993040035053698" border="0" /></a><br />So what is to be done? Clearly better people need to join politics. But why would better people join politics? What's in it for them?<br /><br />Today politics is a career that does not pay if you are honest. The assumption is that you already have a career and having achieved all that you wanted to, you are now willing to work for the good of the country. Or that you are so selfless that you are willing to work for society without worrying about your own comfort.<br /><br />This is clearly not working. This idealistic model is precisely what has led to the scoundrels ruling us. And that leads to the kind of disastrous situations that we have gone through. <br /><br />So are there any better models that we can think of?<br /><br />Plato said that the ruling elite were a different kind of a breed and suggested that they be identified when young and bred separately. They would be educated in a special kind of a way to ensure that they were good leaders. They would not marry, not would they need to earn a living, but their needs would be taken care of by the state. <br /><br />Plato has been condemned as being idealistic and impractical. So his idea has never been seriously considered.<br /><br />But is there something in there somewhere? Can we modify it to suit modern needs?<br /><br />I think we could easily evolve an aptitude test that tests competence of people to be national leaders. Every politician should be required to take such a test before he can file his election papers. <br /><br />Having identified a core set of people who have the interest and aptitude to rule, we need to find a way to ensure that they can make a living without being corrupt. Each politician who has passed the exam must get a salary that enables them to live comfortably while focusing on social work. There must be incentives to make these people rise up the hierarchy and ultimately become national leaders.<br /><br />That way we would ensure that the country is ruled by a set of competent and professional people. People who we can trust to do a good job.<br /><br />This idea is simplistic at this stage. But I think there are elements that are interesting and deserves to be developed into a workable system. Clearly the country needs it.Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-82161735238719288802008-11-08T14:33:00.003+05:302008-11-08T14:53:05.123+05:30What A Cry Baby<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.abc.net.au/thesportsdesk/images/2007/12/22/chappell_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 464px;" src="http://blogs.abc.net.au/thesportsdesk/images/2007/12/22/chappell_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Australians can dish it out, but can't take it. This has been proven several times on the cricket field. Here is the latest instance.</div><p style="text-align: justify;"> Ian Chappell is on air complaining about India bowling with 8 fielders on the off and using "over rates as a tactic". If Australia had been using these same tactics, he would have been praising their professionalism especially if the tactics had paid off. Well the tactics have paid off for India and Australia is in some trouble (at tea time on day 3).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Come on Ian. Don't be such a cry baby just because you guys are in danger of losing the series. Remember that last ball bowled under arm by your brother Trevor, on instructions from your other brother, Greg?</p>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-45598665323222640442008-10-18T10:33:00.000+05:302008-10-18T10:34:00.569+05:30Insights into the young Indian<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Everyone born before 1980 in India is a foreigner in his own country. The current generation thinks and behaves so differently from its predecessors, that it is OK to feel bewildered. Here are a few commonly held myths and the reality as captured by repeated studies done by Euro RSCG in India. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Before we get into the myths, a few words about the source of our data. We have interviewed over 4000 people in 20 cities over the last two years. We have a technique that predicts trends by studying what opinion spreaders think today. The "reality" below are not universal realities yet, but reflect the trends that we have spotted in the Indian market.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Myth: Young people always rebel against their parents.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">That is so 1960s. Flower power and all that. Today's youth thinks that the most important role models for them are their parents. Parents rank way higher than iconic figures like Shahrukh Khan, Mahender Singh Dhoni and Barkha Dutt. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Dhoni and Barkha Dutt. Keep those two names in mind as you read further.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Myth: Trends trickle down from the big cities like Mumbai and Delhi.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Don't even mention this to Dhoni. Or to Sunil Mittal. Or the champion boxers from Bhiwani. These stars of today are not learning from their big city colleagues - they are teaching them. Teaching them the softer skills of winning. Teaching them values and a new work ethic. It is for this reason that we believe today's trends are not trickling down, but bubbling up.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Myth: Young people in India need help to succeed.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The stars we spoke of earlier, back themselves with an extremely high level of self belief. They are confident, almost arrogantly so. And they <i>know</i> that they will make their dreams come true. No matter what.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Today's youngster believes that she doesn't need to be born into a privileged family to achieve greatness. Apart from the usual sporting heroes, they point to a Barkha Dutt who has already had a movie made on her life. And she is still young!</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Myth: Youth dream of America.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">No longer. Even before the sub prime crisis and the economic meltdown, Indian youth had cooled off on the great American dream. They would still like to visit Firangland, but they don't want to go and live there. They are proud to be Indian and want to raise their families here. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Not only that, they no longer want to pay premiums for the "Foreign made" label. They actually believe that products made in India are more suited to local conditions and local hair and skin types. Quite a far cry from the days when even "export reject" products commanded a premium. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Myth: Indian women are either doormats or militant feminists.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">For societies to change, women have to change first. Indian women are experiencing really dramatic changes. All the above insights apply to her, of course. But in addition we have to understand here new balanced approach to life.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Earlier women defined themselves by their roles. She was somebody's wife, mother, daughter or daughter in law. On the other extreme, she became a militant feminist like Rajani or Lalitaji. Today's women have developed a whole new approach. They have strong views on everything and a pretty clear set of objectives to achieve. However they are flexible in the route to achieving those objectives. They try to take others along rather than just bulldoze through the system. This "strategic" approach can be seen in movies and TV serials. Jassi in "Jassi jaisi koi nahin" was a good example.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So why are these dramatic changes taking place? Why is it that older people have become foreigners in their own land? Our belief is that there is a violent cultural remixing taking place in India and some other emerging markets. Global culture is colliding quite suddenly and dramatically with a strong entrenched local culture. The resultant is a hybrid that is as new and exciting as the culture of the flower power years.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">But why now? There are a few reasons why the remixing is happening more now than ever before. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Older people are used to thinking of India as an agrarian economy. Jai Jawan Jai Kisan has been a slogan from the mid 1960s at least. Today that is no longer true. Only 21% of our GDP comes from agriculture and around one third of our people derive their incomes from it. India is today a service economy and people haven't quite got their heads around that fact.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The second big change is the rise of the backward castes in India's economic and political life. This is a politically incorrect subject to discuss, but I believe that today's business leaders all have a brahmanical view of the world, which is out of sorts with the current reality.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Aside from the two big changes, there are several smaller changes taking place. This is the third generation of nuclear families and so the ties of the joint family system are all gone. And with it are gone the old traditions and customs. Indians are seeing the world more - either through travel or through the media coming into their homes. This is broadening their minds and extending their horizons. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">All these changes have taken place in a very quick time. Just a little more than a decade. In the context of cultural changes, that is a mere instant. </span></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Optima; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">No wonder, us old fogies are feeling disoriented.</span></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-54665702537252530032008-10-12T09:57:00.000+05:302008-10-12T09:58:23.998+05:30Sad<div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> </div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; "><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="position: static; z-index: auto; "><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="100%"><span class="headshow" style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><arttitle>JP, who? Today is Big B's birthday</arttitle></span><br><span class="headingnextag" style="font-size: 12px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-weight: normal; height: 20px; ">11 Oct 2008, 0311 hrs IST, Sanjeev Kumar Verma,TNN</span></td></tr><tr><td height="10"></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#EEEEEE"></td></tr><tr><td><div id="t"></div></td></tr><tr><td height="7"></td></tr><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><div class="KonaBody"><div class="section1"><div class="Normal" style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Jayaprakash Narayan, or JP as he was widely known, gave the historic call for Sampoorna Kranti or Total Revolution from Patna's Gandhi Maidan in 1974. However, Sampoorna Kranti is today known more as a Patna-Delhi train and JP's birthday, October 11, is revered more as cine star Amitabh Bachchan's date of birth by most of Patna's sophomores. <br><br>Ask Abhimanyu Kumar Singh, a Class XI student, what does he know about Sampoorna Kranti, and pat comes the reply, "It's an express train between Patna and Delhi." His classmate, albeit in another school, Mausam Shreshta offered a similar answer. <br><br>Even clues couldn't help Abhimanyu and Mausam come up with any knowledge about JP. Ironically, even college students TOI spoke to were no less ignorant. <br><br>"Sampoorna Kranti is a train but there is something more about it which I don't know," candidly confessed Brajesh, who is doing honours in History from a local <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/JP_who_Today_is_Big_Bs_birthday/rssarticleshow/3582348.cms#" class="kLink" target="_new" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static; font-size: 12px; color: blue !important; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; font-family: verdana; border-top-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-top-color: transparent !important; border-right-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: transparent !important; border-left-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-attachment: initial !important; -webkit-background-clip: initial !important; -webkit-background-origin: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; text-transform: none !important; display: inline !important; font-variant: normal; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; background-position: initial initial !important; "><font color="blue" style="color: blue !important; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; position: static; "><span class="kLink" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; position: static; border-top-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; color: blue; background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; width: auto !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; background-position: initial initial; ">college</span></font></a>. "October 11 is the day when Big B was born," was how most of the city youths described the import of the day. Only a few could recall it also happened to be JP's birth anniversary, but only after they were given clues. <br><br>"Big B immediately hits your mind as his birthday is widely covered by the media," one of them thus explained his ignorance. <br><br>Student leader Ramashanker Sinha is not amused. "The state has been ruled by JP's disciples for so many years, but none of them bothered to do anything concrete for making the young ones understand the importance of the leader who is credited with ushering in a new era in Indian politics," Sinha said. <br><br>Agreed state's public health and engineering department (PHED) minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, himself a product of JP movement. "While the previous governments having JP's disciples at the helm did nothing to educate the young ones about JP and his ideas, even our government in the first three years of its rule has not been able to do much on this front," he said. <br><br>Choubey said there is a need to organise special programmes in schools and colleges at least four times in a year — on the birth and death anniversaries of JP; on March 18, the day he led a silent procession in Patna in 1974 and on June 5, when he coined the concept of Total Revolution the same year. "Our youngsters would thus know JP," he said. <br></div></div></div></td></tr><tr><td height="7"></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div align="right"></div></td></tr><tr><td height="7"></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table><br></span></div></div><br>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-92085137522660648802008-09-27T14:10:00.004+05:302008-09-27T14:31:03.336+05:30Browsing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jHvo3RzzaS6XDsmULnWCZ7ozzQpdE_ETLLg6W2jdgpTrzfGc_PG2QHYakdhc-OvaR6prqRgiltTQgHW7mgFbVL5mF1OdFJ7Tp20AT07Q5sGDnZHqN8-GfCh_GW546B_zarkQ/s1600-h/Business+World+Sept+2008.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jHvo3RzzaS6XDsmULnWCZ7ozzQpdE_ETLLg6W2jdgpTrzfGc_PG2QHYakdhc-OvaR6prqRgiltTQgHW7mgFbVL5mF1OdFJ7Tp20AT07Q5sGDnZHqN8-GfCh_GW546B_zarkQ/s400/Business+World+Sept+2008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250623222513491602" /></a><br />The good thing about blogs is that there are no editors around. Editors are the natural enemies of writers. Magazine editors are the worst of the lot because they have a space constraint in addition to their natural instinct to "improve" the piece.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Business World magazine asked me to write about books I was reading and, in general, about my reading habits. My responses are given below. They then published an "edited" version that is shown in the picture alongside. You judge whether the editor did a good job.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Q</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">: Which book are you reading at the moment and why did you pick it up? </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A: I am reading “The last lecture” by Randy Pausch. I watched the video of the lecture just after Randy Pausch died. I found the lecture absolutely fascinating. I have therefore bought the book to read in greater detail.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Q: What you have learned so far from the book? </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A: Fascinating book about the values that helped him achieve his childhood dreams. These are the lessons that he wants to tell his children about, but had no other way of communicating since the author was dying of cancer. I find such books inspiring and uplifting.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Q: Is it the kind of book you normally read? If not, what is your preferred reading (fiction, management, self-help, spiritual etc)? </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A: I normally read non fiction books that cover a wide range of topics from physics to philosophy, from Indian culture to management, from biographies to humour. I firmly believe in the dictum that facts are stranger than fiction. If you want to know more about the books I read or recommend, go to my blog (</span></span><a href="http://sumansrivastava.blogspot.com/" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span style="font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Verdana; text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">sumansrivastava.blogspot.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">) and look at the “Favourite books” box on the left hand side. I have a list of books that I have read with my ratings for them. Among my all time favourites: </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">May you be the mother of a hundred sons by Elisabeth Bumiller</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">What should I do with my life? By Po Bronson</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Q: How do you buy your books (based on reviews, browsing on the Net, favourite bookstore etc)? </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A: I buy books almost indiscriminately much to the despair of my wife. I enter book stores whenever I can - there is a Crossword very close to my house in Bandra, and I also go into book shops in airports. I buy whatever catches my fancy. I also read a lot about books in magazines and hear podcasts about them. One of my favourite book reviewers is NPR (National Public Radio). I listen to their book reviews via podcasts.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Q: What are some of the other books on your reading list at the moment. </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A: I get nervous if my “to read” shelf at home is empty. So I always keep it stocked. Currently among the books bought and waiting to be read are:</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Billions of Entrepreneurs by Tarun Khanna</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Myth = Mithya by Devdutt Pattanaik</span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:11px;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-56535828735697474662008-09-24T12:21:00.002+05:302008-09-24T12:26:47.507+05:30Rap your way to knowledgeEducation is getting more fun all the time. My son is in an IB school and I marvel at the teaching techniques that they use. So much more interesting than the rote method that people of my generation had to ingest.<div><br /></div><div>Here is a rap video about the new CERN collider. A lot of nonsensical stuff has appeared in the media about this, but the video talks about what they are really looking for. It is probably over simplified, but it is still not easy. But turning it into a rap song may help the scientists connect with a lot more people in the younger generation than scholarly articles.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j50ZssEojtM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j50ZssEojtM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object></span><br /></div><div><br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-68217813789736712452008-09-03T12:41:00.004+05:302008-09-03T12:49:16.781+05:30The Last LectureI have been hugely impressed and inspired by "The Last Lecture" of Randy Pausch. It is funny in parts, entertaining and educational. I have seen the video and am currently reading the book. If you haven't seen the entire lecture yet, please do see it here.<div><br /></div><div>Randy died last month. I wish I could talk as well as he does.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ji5_MqicxSo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ji5_MqicxSo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object></span><br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-81497266121907285072008-07-29T21:14:00.003+05:302008-07-29T21:31:50.397+05:30Resist the two year itch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/aba0388l.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/aba0388l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I sound like a stuck record when I tell young people that frequent shifts in jobs may get short term gains, but is not a wise long term career strategy. I point out as evidence the number of agency heads, creative heads and office heads who have been with their current agencies for a long time. <div><br /></div><div>Now there's a study done by a global research and analytics firm that supports my statement. An article on this was published in today's Business Standard (<a href="http://business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=329844">click here)</a> The study shows that across industries, senior executives look warily at people who change jobs too often. It also shows that people who have changed jobs very quickly don't get sufficient training and other developmental inputs from their companies and hence suffer in the long term. </div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder if young people would heed advice such as this or just dismiss them as typical rants from old people. I know that my own young relatives often look at me as a creature to be pitied rather than censored. I am equally sure that saying "I told you so" is not going to improve my image. </div><div><br /></div><div>I guess the only way young people will learn is by making mistakes themselves. It may well be too late.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-71288217502363771352008-07-15T09:27:00.002+05:302008-07-15T09:34:12.089+05:30Let's not talk ourselves into bad times<div style="text-align: justify;">For the last few weeks the media is full of stories about the bad times coming to India. There is data to show lower growth rates in many sectors, the stock market indices are going down, the real estate boom seems to have plateaued and there are features about how consumers are buying less than before.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not quite sure whether all this is media hype or a reality. I have tended to think that it is hype. When growth rates fall from 9% to 7.8% that is not a recession. Especially when you consider that in a previous decade a growth rate of 7.8% would have been a huge cause for celebration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, there is a comment from the Chairman of ICICI Bank, KV Kamath, which points out that it is too early to talk of a slowdown (<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Its_too_early_to_make_a_slowdown_judgement_Kamath/rssarticleshow/3234135.cms">click here</a>). I am so happy to see this statement - even though it is a little half hearted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slowdowns are about human sentiment and therefore if we all believe that there is a going to be bad times, then there will be. The secret is to stay positive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cheers</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35900123.post-5373070402740954242008-06-28T09:43:00.002+05:302008-06-28T09:52:03.350+05:30Alternative. Entrepreneurial. Community service.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/images/fullimage/ver1/k/kaushalendra.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/images/fullimage/ver1/k/kaushalendra.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I just read about this IIMA graduate from Bihar who has gone back to his village in Nalanda to sell vegetables. He has designed an ice-cooled pushcart in order to market them and hopes to do so across the country. Read the whole article <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080054348&ch=6/25/2008%209:21:00%20AM">here</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Wow. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our studies at Euro RSCG India have been looking at some trends among Indian youth. We keep talking about Indian youth looking for alternative career options. We believe that Indians are entrepreneurial (jugaadu). And we believe that today's youth wants to serve society if he can (Rang de basanti, Munnabhai). </div><div><br /></div><div>This one story highlights all the three trends. Its the sweet spot of the three trends.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was attracted to this story because it is so different, but also because of my IIMA and Bihar connections. So that's another sweet spot!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Suman Srivastavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11902857845214970630noreply@blogger.com1