Reflections

There is hardly an MBA, at least in India, who hasn’t heard of Philip Kotler. Without his book, one cannot imagine studying Marketing. Thus, on noticing a book co-authored by this Author, I didn’t have to think twice before buying it. The book in question is titled : “ Good Works! Market And Corporate Initiatives That Build A Better World… And The Bottom Line ”. It was the last few words that got my attention; CSR will likely remain an afterthought, a regulatory requirement, unless it is linked with the Bottom Line. That is the nature of the modern for-profit organization. This book is a treatise full of case studies around Corporate Social Initiatives, bunched around 6 central themes :   Cause Promotion {Persuading Consumers To Join Your Company In A Good Cause}   Cause-Related Marketing {Making Contributions To Causes Based On Product Sales And Consumer Actions}   Corporate Social Marketing {Supporting Behaviour Change Campaigns}   Corporate Phi...

Bahubali shook the nation like no other movie has done; carrying the franchise forward, SS Rajamouli has decided to create a book series filling the details and carrying the story forward. The first book of the series – The Rise of Sivagami – goes back into the story, before the time of Bahubali, providing a surprising background, a background which will provide motive, passions and flesh to the main characters in the movie Bahubali. This is a first of its kind association between a film presentation and a well known author; kudos to Team Bahubali for thinking of this THE NEGATIVES That said, at the outset, let me place on record the one or two negatives of this book, even before I lay out the basic plot; the crude and, to my eyes, ugly use of vulgarity and sexually explicit narratives in parts – for example the crude description of female body parts of captive slaves – has left a highly negative impression on my mind. These scenes seem forced, at least to me, and have no...

There are few movies that stick in your mind, entertain you & teach you a life lesson; as well as pull you back to them every once in a while… this movie, Ek Unaad Divas – is one of them. Great pity that this is in Marathi – for this is one movie that needs to be made in Hindi so that ever larger number of people can watch, enjoy and live & change their lives by it! That said, Hindi movie industry just doesn’t have the required depth to make a movie of this caliber. Sad, but true. THE PLOT The concept is simple – a highly paid, top corporate hot-shot, portrayed by Ashok Saraf, gets forced into loaning his car for the day to a client, who has just closed a 5-Cr order. And on that very day, Taxis are on strike – so he has to walk back. On the way, he runs into his childhood friend – a lower-middle class man earning 2453/- per month. The hot-shot, Vishwas Dabholkar {Saraf}, and the friend end up having lunch – a life-turning experience for the big man, as he is stunne...

One of the rising themes of management discussion is the concept of work-life balance, compounded by rising stress in corporate life in India; quite a lot has been written about how we need to lessen the stress. Another theme is the concept of how Indian Managers don’t take or get leave too often, or rising lifestyle disease incidence and about rising burnout cases and so  on. Most articles I have read emphasize on a lot of points as a solution – namely, advocating leaves / smaller working hours / de-stressing and so on… sadly, most of these don’t take the overall corporate atmosphere into account. LITTLE ALTERNATIVE TO THE STATUS QUO Let me take a divergent view – that there actually little alternative to what is taking place, at least as of now. And the reason for that is that the current realities highlighted above are actually the symptoms of a larger malaise, or rather problem. We need to examine the overall atmosphere in which a modern corporate operates, the external...

INTRODUCTION The telecom sector has been in the news of late for all the wrong reasons – rising stress, high debt, loss making or low profitability, mergers, job losses and lot… this sector is one of the high-points of the India Growth story. For this to happen in this showcase industry seems strange from the outside… the reality is, in my opinion, the exact reverse. The seeds of the stress were sown right at the beginning ; all hints to this reality were ignored, and by everyone. I do not recall anyone pointing these, self included; though I did come close, to be honest . Yet, when I now look back with my experience garnered since then – there can be no doubt : the seeds of the problems were inherent in the model itself… SYSTEMS & PROCESSES It wasn’t, for the most part, deliberate; the decisions that were reached were all rational decisions made by rational people. They may not have been the right ones, as we know from hindsight, but they were decisions reached with a st...

OUR CROWDED ROADS Roads… no, I am not talking of the quality – or lack of it – of our roads, for once. While that may still be a problem in more than a few areas, that is still small stuff, really – as compared to the far bigger issue that confronts us with regard to roads. An issue that is not too evident, and yet is increasingly a pressing concern; or, at least – should certainly be a pressing concern for all of us. Not just Indians – but every single resident of this planet. We worry about the environment – or pretend to, at any rate; that, at least, gets into the newspapers with surprising regularity – not least thanks to a certain Gentleman bearing the first name “Donald”. It does deserve every bit of news space it occupies; that I grant – the environment, I mean. That we don’t do much about it in our personal lives is another matter entirely. I don’t blame the people – those who don’t do much, that is. The environment is going to be just fine for them,  in their lifes...

As we move towards the GST implementation, the prospect of an economic distress is becoming increasingly evident, at least from a variety of economic indicators. The extreme-right wing is quick to point out the GDP Growth which is still among the better rates in the world & the numbers from Agriculture as proof that all is well; and add to this potpourri the rising stock market, laying claim that all is well with the Indian Economy. The other side is equally quick to point out the slowing GDP numbers from Q4-17 as proof that all is not well. As a middle-roader, it seems evident to me that despite all the good that has taken place, as well as the systemic changes implemented aka the GST, The reality is quite different, and calls for some deep soul-searching. A look at the complete picture, far from inspiring confidence in the state of the Indian Economy, actually raises a series of questions, and some serious doubts over the near to mid term. Over the long term, a positive out...