The grass isn't always greener on the other side!! Move from one job to
another, but only for the right reasons.
It's yet another day at office. As I logged on to the marketing and
advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines
dominated by 'who's moving from one company to another after a short stint', and I wondered, why are so many people leaving one job for another? Is it pass now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period?
Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I
get are: "Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary"; "Well, I am jumping 3
levels in my designation"; "Well, they are going to send me abroad in 6 months".
Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today
and who have reached the top- be it a media agency, an advertising agency
or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who have stuck
to the company, ground their heels and worked their way to the top. And, as I look around for people who changed their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity!
In this absolutely ruthless, dynamic and competitive environment, there are
still no short-cuts to success or to making money. The only thing that
continues to pay, as earlier, is loyalty and hard work. Yes, it pays!
Sometimes, immediately, sometimes after a lot of time. But, it does pay. Does this mean that one should stick to an organization and wait for that golden moment? Of course not. After a long stint, there always comes a time for moving in most organizations, but it is important to move for the right reasons, rather than superficial ones, like money, designation or an overseas trip. Remember, no company recruits for charity.
More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what that company offers it current employees, there is always an unseen bait attached. The result? You will, in the long-term, have reached exactl y the same levels or maybe lower levels than what you would have in your current company.
A lot of people leave an organization because they are "unhappy". What is this so-called-unhappiness? I have been working for donkey's years and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work environment-boss, rude colleague, fussy clients etc.
Unhappiness in a workplace, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense? If I think hard, the answer is "No".
Happiness is something you find with family, friends, may be a close circle of colleagues who have become friends.
What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges and get the job done.
So, the next time you are tempted to move, ask yourself why are you moving and what are you moving into?
Some questions are: * Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility?
* Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and new company? Am I as good as the best among them?
* As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile?
* Why is the new company offering me the job? Do they want me for my skills, or is there an ulterior motive?
An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career- to the top of the pile in the long term (at the cost of short-term blips) or to become another average employee who gets lost with time in the wilderness?
[Contributed by Dr. Gopalkrishnan, Chairman TATA Sons]
Monday, December 12, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Consumer Intimacy
16th Market Research Works seminar provided excellent insights on how effectively market research can be used to identify consumer needs, developing marketing mix & building customer loyalty by innovating on existing research models & theories. Seminar, organized by Market Research Society of India delved deeply into different marketing problems & situations with case studies presented by many of its speakers during different sessions.
-- Session 1 – Identifying Consumer Needs --
Exploring emerging niches in traditional landscape- The paper helps in understanding & comparing the purchase dynamics of decision-making in home delivery format other than the regular retail environment. In recent times, the retail landscape has seen growth of modern trade hence we see increased spending to improve in shop visibility making physical shopping space cornerstone of strategy to reach consumers which indeed is a departure from what is happening globally where consumers are trusting and using virtual shopping place more.
Understanding Consumer Needs- Jewellary as a category is well entrenched in Indian market but diamonds have very low acquisition rates primarily due the perception that they are extremely desirable but expensive & out of reach. Hence, a market research was performed for DTC so as to identify key triggers, which will convert desirability into acquisition also to segment the market & identify need gap so as to help drive the category growth. It was learnt that diamond jewellary purchase is not a rational purchase hence a need to understand unexpressed needs for which existing research models are ineffective & hence implicit research used.
How cultural notions of safety and risk influence attitudes to Financial products- Indian decision-making is highly unpredictable & finding answers to these contradictions will propel transformational growth. This research tries to understand the psychological triggers to safety seeking & risk taking behavior. Outcome of research will be helpful not only in financial category but also other business wherein propositions are managing risk or marketing safety.
-- Session 2 – Developing Market Mix --
Ad pre test with a difference- Ad pre testing is controversial area of Market Research particularly when the campaign is in conceptual stage. In this particular case, research was designed to replicate the manner in which Hoodibaba campaign would be broken to public in reality for client Bajaj Caliber. There was creative use of stimulus & analysis that placed high emphasis on body language & tonal excitement levels apart from verbal articulations. This resulted in giving extremely accurate estimate of how public would receive the campaign.
Greeting Card Design Evaluation- Research in Greeting card category is a unique challenge, primarily due to very low brand impact, product involvement restricted to purchase situation, heavy clutter & occasion specific nature. Due to all these considerations a mock shop was setup and total analysis was made on various objective & subjective parameters as well as pick up & final conversion were also recorded, which ultimately helped the client in increasing its range of cards as well as become the number 2 player in category.
Developing a Mix– Communication- ‘Boost’ was a highly advertised brand with well-defined positioning. For its re-launch positioning was not to change and hence within the current brand canvas communication had to be developed which had enhanced impact & stronger viewer connect. Thus a key challenge here was dimensionalizing emotional spaces so as to capture discontinuous emotions, which can be key to any communication. Thus study used metaphors to recreate children’s emotional world of sports. This helped in encapsulating insights into how different emotions are actually experienced by the consumer.
-- Session 3 – Cutting Edge Research --
Guiding Pricing decisions for Repertoire Markets- In case of Repertoire markets, where consumers necessarily don’t buy single product or brand regular pricing techniques seem inadequate hence a model was developed by extensive research for 3 product categories & research also helped in establishing the efficacy of the proposed pricing model in measuring the price sensitivity.
Cultural understanding of South India- Southern India happens to be huge market for most of the brand in India, but advertising always have had a dismal performance down south, primarily because the advertising fraternity worked on the premise that citizens who pledge single identity must also be consumer with single insight, which is not the case. Hence to understand this culture a different kind of methodology was undertaken wherein experts on culture, literature, cinema, media, communication & marketing were interviewed & also the kind of media South Indians consumed was analyzed. Above research revealed insights into the psyche of South Indian consumer wherein it was understood that they are extra cautious, risk averse, resistant to quick change, paid extra attention to details & also they are very sensitive to concept of caste.
Trance– Forming Research- All researches, however scientifically modeled are distant from the real consumer as there as aspects of his life which, either he is unwilling to share & some aspect he is unable to share as they are either repressed or forgotten. This paper delved into the modalities of using hypnosis as a tool to create conducive setting for consumers to express their innermost thoughts thereby revealing their sub-conscious motives, drivers & influences. This research was extremely useful in terms of quality of information & in process of eliciting this information.
-- Session 4– Reaching Out --
Are News consumers Culture Vultures?- Star News wanted to launch a Bengali news channel & wanted it to be positioned distinctly. For this purpose understanding & identifying cultural links was critical. A 2-phased research was conceptualized wherein cultural nuance were studied & validated by the viewer interviews. In the process it was revealed that viewers were not getting what they wanted to see and hence suggestions of content, tonality & look & feel of channel were suggested to Star News.
-- Session 5– Building Customer loyalty --
How customized Equity model helped launch a successful variant- Brand Equity Model (BEM) was effectively customized for cigarette category, which measured strengths & weaknesses of brands. Research revealed competition’s pull amongst brand ‘A’ smokers was high due to taste & strength difference. Thus the declining sales of brand ‘A’ were improved after suggestions of changing the product perceptions by changing look & feel of brand were incorporated.
Consumer Intimacy– How does research help- EBAY India wanted to segment sellers & also understand inflection points for successful sellers so as to tailor their marketing activities to the stage at which seller is. For this 2-pronged approach was adopted, which included analysis of transactional data, primary research. Analysis of transactional data revealed segments based upon product usage & selling behavior. These segments were then researched thru primary research to understand their attitudes & motives, which helped in customizing the marketing plan.
Research to provide cues for enhancing Sales performance- Motorola’s C131 offered with telecom service was under performing in comparison to Nokia’s 2280. Research was undertaken to understand triggers & barriers of purchase & role played by retailer in the whole process. To get complete picture modular approach was adopted, as it was critical to understand consumer & retailer segment. Analysis revealed TG bought mobiles for 2 reasons Functional & Status. Also analysis of purchase process revealed C131 buyers looked for cheapest mobile & N2280 buyers had a budget of 3–3.5 K. Thus it was suggested that C131 establishes some differentiating parameters for itself by increasing the price differential. The suggestion implemented, sales increased 3–4 times.
-- Session 1 – Identifying Consumer Needs --
Exploring emerging niches in traditional landscape- The paper helps in understanding & comparing the purchase dynamics of decision-making in home delivery format other than the regular retail environment. In recent times, the retail landscape has seen growth of modern trade hence we see increased spending to improve in shop visibility making physical shopping space cornerstone of strategy to reach consumers which indeed is a departure from what is happening globally where consumers are trusting and using virtual shopping place more.
Understanding Consumer Needs- Jewellary as a category is well entrenched in Indian market but diamonds have very low acquisition rates primarily due the perception that they are extremely desirable but expensive & out of reach. Hence, a market research was performed for DTC so as to identify key triggers, which will convert desirability into acquisition also to segment the market & identify need gap so as to help drive the category growth. It was learnt that diamond jewellary purchase is not a rational purchase hence a need to understand unexpressed needs for which existing research models are ineffective & hence implicit research used.
How cultural notions of safety and risk influence attitudes to Financial products- Indian decision-making is highly unpredictable & finding answers to these contradictions will propel transformational growth. This research tries to understand the psychological triggers to safety seeking & risk taking behavior. Outcome of research will be helpful not only in financial category but also other business wherein propositions are managing risk or marketing safety.
-- Session 2 – Developing Market Mix --
Ad pre test with a difference- Ad pre testing is controversial area of Market Research particularly when the campaign is in conceptual stage. In this particular case, research was designed to replicate the manner in which Hoodibaba campaign would be broken to public in reality for client Bajaj Caliber. There was creative use of stimulus & analysis that placed high emphasis on body language & tonal excitement levels apart from verbal articulations. This resulted in giving extremely accurate estimate of how public would receive the campaign.
Greeting Card Design Evaluation- Research in Greeting card category is a unique challenge, primarily due to very low brand impact, product involvement restricted to purchase situation, heavy clutter & occasion specific nature. Due to all these considerations a mock shop was setup and total analysis was made on various objective & subjective parameters as well as pick up & final conversion were also recorded, which ultimately helped the client in increasing its range of cards as well as become the number 2 player in category.
Developing a Mix– Communication- ‘Boost’ was a highly advertised brand with well-defined positioning. For its re-launch positioning was not to change and hence within the current brand canvas communication had to be developed which had enhanced impact & stronger viewer connect. Thus a key challenge here was dimensionalizing emotional spaces so as to capture discontinuous emotions, which can be key to any communication. Thus study used metaphors to recreate children’s emotional world of sports. This helped in encapsulating insights into how different emotions are actually experienced by the consumer.
-- Session 3 – Cutting Edge Research --
Guiding Pricing decisions for Repertoire Markets- In case of Repertoire markets, where consumers necessarily don’t buy single product or brand regular pricing techniques seem inadequate hence a model was developed by extensive research for 3 product categories & research also helped in establishing the efficacy of the proposed pricing model in measuring the price sensitivity.
Cultural understanding of South India- Southern India happens to be huge market for most of the brand in India, but advertising always have had a dismal performance down south, primarily because the advertising fraternity worked on the premise that citizens who pledge single identity must also be consumer with single insight, which is not the case. Hence to understand this culture a different kind of methodology was undertaken wherein experts on culture, literature, cinema, media, communication & marketing were interviewed & also the kind of media South Indians consumed was analyzed. Above research revealed insights into the psyche of South Indian consumer wherein it was understood that they are extra cautious, risk averse, resistant to quick change, paid extra attention to details & also they are very sensitive to concept of caste.
Trance– Forming Research- All researches, however scientifically modeled are distant from the real consumer as there as aspects of his life which, either he is unwilling to share & some aspect he is unable to share as they are either repressed or forgotten. This paper delved into the modalities of using hypnosis as a tool to create conducive setting for consumers to express their innermost thoughts thereby revealing their sub-conscious motives, drivers & influences. This research was extremely useful in terms of quality of information & in process of eliciting this information.
-- Session 4– Reaching Out --
Are News consumers Culture Vultures?- Star News wanted to launch a Bengali news channel & wanted it to be positioned distinctly. For this purpose understanding & identifying cultural links was critical. A 2-phased research was conceptualized wherein cultural nuance were studied & validated by the viewer interviews. In the process it was revealed that viewers were not getting what they wanted to see and hence suggestions of content, tonality & look & feel of channel were suggested to Star News.
-- Session 5– Building Customer loyalty --
How customized Equity model helped launch a successful variant- Brand Equity Model (BEM) was effectively customized for cigarette category, which measured strengths & weaknesses of brands. Research revealed competition’s pull amongst brand ‘A’ smokers was high due to taste & strength difference. Thus the declining sales of brand ‘A’ were improved after suggestions of changing the product perceptions by changing look & feel of brand were incorporated.
Consumer Intimacy– How does research help- EBAY India wanted to segment sellers & also understand inflection points for successful sellers so as to tailor their marketing activities to the stage at which seller is. For this 2-pronged approach was adopted, which included analysis of transactional data, primary research. Analysis of transactional data revealed segments based upon product usage & selling behavior. These segments were then researched thru primary research to understand their attitudes & motives, which helped in customizing the marketing plan.
Research to provide cues for enhancing Sales performance- Motorola’s C131 offered with telecom service was under performing in comparison to Nokia’s 2280. Research was undertaken to understand triggers & barriers of purchase & role played by retailer in the whole process. To get complete picture modular approach was adopted, as it was critical to understand consumer & retailer segment. Analysis revealed TG bought mobiles for 2 reasons Functional & Status. Also analysis of purchase process revealed C131 buyers looked for cheapest mobile & N2280 buyers had a budget of 3–3.5 K. Thus it was suggested that C131 establishes some differentiating parameters for itself by increasing the price differential. The suggestion implemented, sales increased 3–4 times.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Relationship Enrichment- Understanding Woman and Man
Dr. John Gray
* Differences between Men and Women are universal. Women all over world complain that “He doesn’t understand”. “He doesn’t listen”. “Only time he touches me is when he wants sex”. And men all over world complain that “She doesn’t want to have enough of sex.” (Unless the woman is around 37 years. At this magical age women want more of sex than ever before.)
* Women like affection from men much more than sex. They want to be hugged.
* Men like to be logical. Women like to share and talk even if there is no point in their sharing and talking. Men need to have an objective. They need to see the point in doing something. They can’t share for the sake of sharing.
* Men tend to do one thing at a time. Women do many things at a time. Men have a tunnel vision. 95% of their attention is focused on just one thing and 5% on checking of the environment. Women are just opposite. They are continuously taking in everything that there is in environment whether it is useful or not.
* One day, my wife asking me to get some milk while coming home from work. I forgot. She considerately puts it down to my thinking of work. She asks me again. Again I forgot. She takes it personally. It’s not that the milk was forgotten but that she was forgotten. Women behave in this manner.
* Men have their own caves on which the sign states “Please do not disturb.” Men like to retreat into their own world where they feel they are in control. Women also have caves but the sign on their caves is “I need to talk”. When a man asks a woman what’s wrong and she says “Nothing” it really means “Nothing, unless you care to listen and give me an opportunity to talk.”
* 90% of women go into therapy because they want to be listened to. They want to be asked questions. They want to feel special. Men hate to be questioned. If men want to talk they’ll talk. If they don’t want to talk they won’t. When a man is locked in his cave, the woman thinks that something is wrong with him and goes in and asks questions. This is a wrong move for the woman to make. Men hate to be interrogated.
* When a woman touches a man she may want to be cuddled. But for a man anywhere he is touched leads to Rome and he thinks therefore that it has to lead to sex.
* Men want to forget the problems of the day. Women want to remember. A man will say “Forget it, it’s no big deal.” For a woman she will not rest till the problem is talked about. Her response to the man, who wants to just forget about it and not make a big deal out of it, will be “How can you be so insensitive.”
* Men should never tell a woman how she should feel. In fact if she is unhappy, the man needs to be unhappy with her for a while instead of offering advice.
* If the man is at a loss for saying anything when the woman is feeling bad then instead of offering advice he could build her up a bit by saying “I know how much you work during day to make kids and myself feel happy. It must be very exhausting.” Her unconscious response would be “He understands.” The woman craves for understanding.
* Women make noises to get attention. Men make noises to signal “Please leave me alone.”
* To cope with stress, sometimes, women while speaking tend to speak in long sentences and then pause. Men think that the pause is a signal for saying something. Wrong. For woman the pause is just a semi-colon. Men need to restrain themselves in giving advice.
* When a woman is upset and a man tries to give a solution, 99% of the time her response will be “Yes….but”. When she is relaxed then give the solution. After she has been given the opportunity to talk about it.
* If a man tries to walk in a woman’s shoes, she will be more willing to understand his point of view. Men tend to expect women to agree with their point of view because they feel it is obviously the best point of view.
* Men are efficiency oriented. Must do it the easiest and fastest way. Women, on the other hand, feel that taking the shortest path between 2 points is boring. Women like variation. This is especially true in bedroom. Men go by same formula every time while women want variation. Men like uniforms and the same uniform. Men look good in a tuxedo or a suit and that’s it. Every time the same tuxedo or suit. Women like to change their dress; sometimes thrice or even more times in a day.
* When my book ‘Men are from Mars, Women from Venus’ was on the bestseller list for 6 years in a row, I realized how narrowly focused in life I had become. I only gloated about my book being no.1 on bestseller list. I were missing the little things of life where my wife and children were concerned. Women are able to see the little things in life and be happy.
* The more narrow the focus of a man the more stressed he is bound to get. He can’t notice anything else other than what he is focusing on at that moment. Women deal with lots of problems at the same time and the way they cope is to talk about them.
* Men use their brain sequentially viz. one part at a time. Where women are concerned it is usually the whole brain at once.
* Women lower stress through talking and sharing. The collectiveness and togetherness which they share is part of their feminity. Men lower their stress by being alone. Women’s attitude is that if we can’t do anything about it then let’s talk about it and suffer together. Men’s focus is on solving the problem. And if they can’t solve the problem then they make the problem disappear by forgetting about it.
* Men always want to be right.
* Women, unknowingly sabotage their success. They put themselves down because they want support. Women bond by putting themselves down. For example if one is late for a particular function in the office, the woman will say what an imbecile she is by not catching the right train or missing the connection because of some stupid mistake she made and so on. And other women who are also late will do the same.
* Or if a woman is having a problem with computer, she will call the so called expert from computer department and tell him that she doesn’t know anything about computers and that she is very happy that he has come to her rescue and thereby push the guy way up there. But when he suggests a solution which she tends to disagree with, she doesn’t know how to tell him because if she does it, it makes him come crashing down and he reacts by saying that she has wasted his time. In this case one needs to resort to face saving devices like ‘whatever you have suggested will I am sure help me to figure it out (even if you see no utility in suggestion).
* As women more and more enter into the workplace their need to being listened to and understood is not being met. The workplace is efficiency oriented. They are becoming more and more isolated. They have to raise their children alone. Unseen and unheard. And this is causing them to go more and more into depression. Man focuses on work no matter what the problems are that are being experienced at home.
* Man is efficiency oriented. He needs to feel needed. He needs problems to be solved. If there are no job opportunities or there is no effort called for to do something then the man feels depressed.
* When women feel nurtured they feel happy. They are happy with the small things of life. Man likes to measure himself against the goal he has set for himself. Men behave like squirrels. They focus on one thing, dash towards it and once they reach there then they turn their focus on another thing and make a dash there and so on and so forth.
* Men see news on TV especially after coming home, because the problems they hear about and see make their problems seem that much smaller.
* The truth is I deserve to be the way I am. I need not be bothered to be perfect in order to be loved. Once one lives in an atmosphere of perfect trust the more authentic one becomes, and the more authentic one becomes the more irresistible one becomes. The closer we are to who we truly are the more people will love us. There will always be people who do not love us.
* Forgiveness is the key. If someone hurts then one needn’t hurt back. As Gandhi said, An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
* Women give more. Men want to get more.
* Women want flowers to be purchased by men. And they should be cut-flowers. So that the flowers die and therefore the men have to go out and purchase them again and again. They do not want the romance to go out of relationship. Men, on other hand feel that if they have done it once there is no necessity to do it again and again. But women want things and messages to be repeated again and again.
* Women sometimes give hints viz. On Sunday, they will mention that they are getting their hair cut on Thursday. This is to be taken as a warning signal. The hair cut must be noticed. If a woman has to ask how she looks after she has had a hair cut then there is no value placed on the man’s comment. It has to be noticed without being asked. Women put in much more effort in looking good. Men put in more effort in their work.
* Man wants to be appreciated. Woman wants to be listened to and noticed. Men stress more on what they do while women stress more on their being.
* Men think that by being flexible they are Mr. Agreeable and that is appreciated by women. Really speaking women want men to take charge and suggest something which they agree on. Mr. Agreeable is boring. Ideal metaphor is to have a man with a plan and a woman with a smile.
* Sometimes, woman feels that she does everything according to what the man wants. At this point it is necessary for the woman to say “I’ll do it this time your way but next time we’ll do what I want.”
* Women are always keeping score in a relationship viz. When a woman does anything for a man she always gives herself a point. Men keep score in business. Men need to keep score in a relationship too. They need to do something for woman so that they too score points from woman’s point of view.
* At work, man’s perspective is not to unnecessarily interfere. A man feels that if he doesn’t ask then he is giving total freedom to the woman. But a woman who is a subordinate wants to be asked about her work because silence is taken to mean ‘non-involvement’.
* Women like small stuff. Chit-Chat. Occasionally ask some personal questions. Magic words are ‘What else?’
* To free a man, woman needs to say ‘You don’t need to say or do anything and you don’t need to feel bad.’
* Listening creates healing.
* Women by nature give. But when they find that they are not getting anything in return they need to give to themselves. Men have no problem in giving to themselves. Men don’t give enough to others.
* Men prefer women managers while they learn the job. After learning the job they prefer a male manager.
* Men sprint faster. Women win the long distance.
* In men testosterone lowers stress. In women, oxytocin lowers stress. Affection, considerateness, being noticed is what produces oxytocin in women. Therefore men need to learn new skills to produce oxytocin in women. Foreplay is more important for a woman than a man. A woman needs 20-30 minutes of stimulation. A man needs just 2-3 minutes.
* Women want sensitive men but the danger is that if men become too sensitive then women don’t like it. They want men to be considerate but not to be too sensitive just like them..
* Don’t try to fix or change your partner.
* When husband and wife are business partners then there needs to be clear rules. There needs to be a clear demarcated time when no business is talked about.
* Duty is important but being authentic is more important.
* Women can be compared metaphorically to the moon. When moon is full, women crave for sex. When it is half-full, a woman can have it not have it, it doesn't matter, and when it is a new moon she couldn’t care less.
* There are different types of sex viz. Healthy, home cooked sex, Ferrari, junk food sex, and Gourmet sex. Once a month one could have Gourmet sex which means bringing in romance by going out for a dinner and coming home to an atmosphere which slowly climaxes. Whenever he wants sex, and it is a quickie then give it to him. Provided on other occasions there is good, regular homemade sex. In order to arrive at a meaningful understanding one could have 3 candles signifying the 3 types of sex. Either partner finds it very difficult to know the real mood of the other. Depending on which candle is lit and by whom one can behave accordingly. The candle becomes the sign of the mood.
* Differences between Men and Women are universal. Women all over world complain that “He doesn’t understand”. “He doesn’t listen”. “Only time he touches me is when he wants sex”. And men all over world complain that “She doesn’t want to have enough of sex.” (Unless the woman is around 37 years. At this magical age women want more of sex than ever before.)
* Women like affection from men much more than sex. They want to be hugged.
* Men like to be logical. Women like to share and talk even if there is no point in their sharing and talking. Men need to have an objective. They need to see the point in doing something. They can’t share for the sake of sharing.
* Men tend to do one thing at a time. Women do many things at a time. Men have a tunnel vision. 95% of their attention is focused on just one thing and 5% on checking of the environment. Women are just opposite. They are continuously taking in everything that there is in environment whether it is useful or not.
* One day, my wife asking me to get some milk while coming home from work. I forgot. She considerately puts it down to my thinking of work. She asks me again. Again I forgot. She takes it personally. It’s not that the milk was forgotten but that she was forgotten. Women behave in this manner.
* Men have their own caves on which the sign states “Please do not disturb.” Men like to retreat into their own world where they feel they are in control. Women also have caves but the sign on their caves is “I need to talk”. When a man asks a woman what’s wrong and she says “Nothing” it really means “Nothing, unless you care to listen and give me an opportunity to talk.”
* 90% of women go into therapy because they want to be listened to. They want to be asked questions. They want to feel special. Men hate to be questioned. If men want to talk they’ll talk. If they don’t want to talk they won’t. When a man is locked in his cave, the woman thinks that something is wrong with him and goes in and asks questions. This is a wrong move for the woman to make. Men hate to be interrogated.
* When a woman touches a man she may want to be cuddled. But for a man anywhere he is touched leads to Rome and he thinks therefore that it has to lead to sex.
* Men want to forget the problems of the day. Women want to remember. A man will say “Forget it, it’s no big deal.” For a woman she will not rest till the problem is talked about. Her response to the man, who wants to just forget about it and not make a big deal out of it, will be “How can you be so insensitive.”
* Men should never tell a woman how she should feel. In fact if she is unhappy, the man needs to be unhappy with her for a while instead of offering advice.
* If the man is at a loss for saying anything when the woman is feeling bad then instead of offering advice he could build her up a bit by saying “I know how much you work during day to make kids and myself feel happy. It must be very exhausting.” Her unconscious response would be “He understands.” The woman craves for understanding.
* Women make noises to get attention. Men make noises to signal “Please leave me alone.”
* To cope with stress, sometimes, women while speaking tend to speak in long sentences and then pause. Men think that the pause is a signal for saying something. Wrong. For woman the pause is just a semi-colon. Men need to restrain themselves in giving advice.
* When a woman is upset and a man tries to give a solution, 99% of the time her response will be “Yes….but”. When she is relaxed then give the solution. After she has been given the opportunity to talk about it.
* If a man tries to walk in a woman’s shoes, she will be more willing to understand his point of view. Men tend to expect women to agree with their point of view because they feel it is obviously the best point of view.
* Men are efficiency oriented. Must do it the easiest and fastest way. Women, on the other hand, feel that taking the shortest path between 2 points is boring. Women like variation. This is especially true in bedroom. Men go by same formula every time while women want variation. Men like uniforms and the same uniform. Men look good in a tuxedo or a suit and that’s it. Every time the same tuxedo or suit. Women like to change their dress; sometimes thrice or even more times in a day.
* When my book ‘Men are from Mars, Women from Venus’ was on the bestseller list for 6 years in a row, I realized how narrowly focused in life I had become. I only gloated about my book being no.1 on bestseller list. I were missing the little things of life where my wife and children were concerned. Women are able to see the little things in life and be happy.
* The more narrow the focus of a man the more stressed he is bound to get. He can’t notice anything else other than what he is focusing on at that moment. Women deal with lots of problems at the same time and the way they cope is to talk about them.
* Men use their brain sequentially viz. one part at a time. Where women are concerned it is usually the whole brain at once.
* Women lower stress through talking and sharing. The collectiveness and togetherness which they share is part of their feminity. Men lower their stress by being alone. Women’s attitude is that if we can’t do anything about it then let’s talk about it and suffer together. Men’s focus is on solving the problem. And if they can’t solve the problem then they make the problem disappear by forgetting about it.
* Men always want to be right.
* Women, unknowingly sabotage their success. They put themselves down because they want support. Women bond by putting themselves down. For example if one is late for a particular function in the office, the woman will say what an imbecile she is by not catching the right train or missing the connection because of some stupid mistake she made and so on. And other women who are also late will do the same.
* Or if a woman is having a problem with computer, she will call the so called expert from computer department and tell him that she doesn’t know anything about computers and that she is very happy that he has come to her rescue and thereby push the guy way up there. But when he suggests a solution which she tends to disagree with, she doesn’t know how to tell him because if she does it, it makes him come crashing down and he reacts by saying that she has wasted his time. In this case one needs to resort to face saving devices like ‘whatever you have suggested will I am sure help me to figure it out (even if you see no utility in suggestion).
* As women more and more enter into the workplace their need to being listened to and understood is not being met. The workplace is efficiency oriented. They are becoming more and more isolated. They have to raise their children alone. Unseen and unheard. And this is causing them to go more and more into depression. Man focuses on work no matter what the problems are that are being experienced at home.
* Man is efficiency oriented. He needs to feel needed. He needs problems to be solved. If there are no job opportunities or there is no effort called for to do something then the man feels depressed.
* When women feel nurtured they feel happy. They are happy with the small things of life. Man likes to measure himself against the goal he has set for himself. Men behave like squirrels. They focus on one thing, dash towards it and once they reach there then they turn their focus on another thing and make a dash there and so on and so forth.
* Men see news on TV especially after coming home, because the problems they hear about and see make their problems seem that much smaller.
* The truth is I deserve to be the way I am. I need not be bothered to be perfect in order to be loved. Once one lives in an atmosphere of perfect trust the more authentic one becomes, and the more authentic one becomes the more irresistible one becomes. The closer we are to who we truly are the more people will love us. There will always be people who do not love us.
* Forgiveness is the key. If someone hurts then one needn’t hurt back. As Gandhi said, An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
* Women give more. Men want to get more.
* Women want flowers to be purchased by men. And they should be cut-flowers. So that the flowers die and therefore the men have to go out and purchase them again and again. They do not want the romance to go out of relationship. Men, on other hand feel that if they have done it once there is no necessity to do it again and again. But women want things and messages to be repeated again and again.
* Women sometimes give hints viz. On Sunday, they will mention that they are getting their hair cut on Thursday. This is to be taken as a warning signal. The hair cut must be noticed. If a woman has to ask how she looks after she has had a hair cut then there is no value placed on the man’s comment. It has to be noticed without being asked. Women put in much more effort in looking good. Men put in more effort in their work.
* Man wants to be appreciated. Woman wants to be listened to and noticed. Men stress more on what they do while women stress more on their being.
* Men think that by being flexible they are Mr. Agreeable and that is appreciated by women. Really speaking women want men to take charge and suggest something which they agree on. Mr. Agreeable is boring. Ideal metaphor is to have a man with a plan and a woman with a smile.
* Sometimes, woman feels that she does everything according to what the man wants. At this point it is necessary for the woman to say “I’ll do it this time your way but next time we’ll do what I want.”
* Women are always keeping score in a relationship viz. When a woman does anything for a man she always gives herself a point. Men keep score in business. Men need to keep score in a relationship too. They need to do something for woman so that they too score points from woman’s point of view.
* At work, man’s perspective is not to unnecessarily interfere. A man feels that if he doesn’t ask then he is giving total freedom to the woman. But a woman who is a subordinate wants to be asked about her work because silence is taken to mean ‘non-involvement’.
* Women like small stuff. Chit-Chat. Occasionally ask some personal questions. Magic words are ‘What else?’
* To free a man, woman needs to say ‘You don’t need to say or do anything and you don’t need to feel bad.’
* Listening creates healing.
* Women by nature give. But when they find that they are not getting anything in return they need to give to themselves. Men have no problem in giving to themselves. Men don’t give enough to others.
* Men prefer women managers while they learn the job. After learning the job they prefer a male manager.
* Men sprint faster. Women win the long distance.
* In men testosterone lowers stress. In women, oxytocin lowers stress. Affection, considerateness, being noticed is what produces oxytocin in women. Therefore men need to learn new skills to produce oxytocin in women. Foreplay is more important for a woman than a man. A woman needs 20-30 minutes of stimulation. A man needs just 2-3 minutes.
* Women want sensitive men but the danger is that if men become too sensitive then women don’t like it. They want men to be considerate but not to be too sensitive just like them..
* Don’t try to fix or change your partner.
* When husband and wife are business partners then there needs to be clear rules. There needs to be a clear demarcated time when no business is talked about.
* Duty is important but being authentic is more important.
* Women can be compared metaphorically to the moon. When moon is full, women crave for sex. When it is half-full, a woman can have it not have it, it doesn't matter, and when it is a new moon she couldn’t care less.
* There are different types of sex viz. Healthy, home cooked sex, Ferrari, junk food sex, and Gourmet sex. Once a month one could have Gourmet sex which means bringing in romance by going out for a dinner and coming home to an atmosphere which slowly climaxes. Whenever he wants sex, and it is a quickie then give it to him. Provided on other occasions there is good, regular homemade sex. In order to arrive at a meaningful understanding one could have 3 candles signifying the 3 types of sex. Either partner finds it very difficult to know the real mood of the other. Depending on which candle is lit and by whom one can behave accordingly. The candle becomes the sign of the mood.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Leadership Wisdom
By Robin Sharma
* Most people come to the end of their lives regretting that only a small part of their lives have really been lived with their full potential.
* The real meaning of ‘Guru’ is ‘Dispeller of Darkness’.
* Every dream starts small. Wal-Mart the largest company in world started with just one store. Fedex carried just 15 packages on its very first day of business. Today, it carries 1.1 million packages per day.
* One needs to take one day at a time. Individuals become extraordinary by taking one day at a time.
* Leaders need to be philosophical. They need to take time to think and reflect.
* Pain has been the greatest teacher.
* Fears are life’s way to help you grow. If you are a human being you must have fears. Need to run towards things that continuously frighten you.
* Whenever one attends a seminar take copious notes. Through this more parts of brain get used, retention increases and one becomes an active learner. Beethoven used to say that by writing down everything, he didn’t feel the need to read it again.
* At seminars one needs to show up100%. 'Echo Effect'-Life returns what you give to it.
* Competitive advantage of an organization should be an ability to grow leaders faster than competition.
* In a leadership culture people behave like leaders. People take responsibility for results. Everybody shows leadership behavior but knows its role in organization. Everyone feels empowered.
* One could look at each department as a small business within organization. For instance, the man in Mail Room can consider himself the chief of Mail room business where every other department and employee in company invests and therefore Mail room becomes accountable for delivering results to whole organization.
* Most people need to feel appreciated. They need to feel great. They need to buy-in to the leader’s dream. They need to see how they can contribute to it.
* People need to be themselves at work. They need to celebrate. They need to be proud of what they are doing. They need to have fun. Only when work becomes fun can an organization become a great place to work in and people will start giving off their best.
* The whole of life will be defined by the small contributions one makes.
* The choices one makes today will determine one’s tomorrows.
* Your days are your life in miniature.
* A lady who used to earn her living through washing clothes used to collect the coins she earned and deposit some of them in nearby bank on a regular basis. These would be her small contributions. Nearing the end of her life the bank informed her that she had nearly a quarter of a million dollars. And wanted to know what she intended to do with money. Besides wanting to give money to her family, she decided to set up a scholarship for ‘poor children who can still dream’. One needs to dream. She dreamt of seeing the first child who had used that scholarship pass out before she died. Her dream was fulfilled. She died at 90.
* Leadership is inspirational. No matter what your role is, one can make an impact and achieve something of significance.
* Adults are children in grown up bodies. Leaders need to learn from little children. Children are passionate. If leaders are passionate then this feeling cascades through the entire organization. Children are fearless. The limits which leaders put on themselves are not the limits of the world. Children are curious. Children ask. Leaders must realize that success is a numbers game. One needs to continuously ‘ask’. “SW x 3” means “Some will, Some won’t, So What”. One needs to fail one’s way to success. The only real failure is the failure to try. And if one thinks about it there is no ‘trying’. Either one does it or doesn't do it.
* Failure is the price of ambition. Through failure one gets to greatness. Most great businesses have failed more than the average ones. Failure is the highway to success.
* If you are not failing at least once a week then possibly you are not reaching higher.
* There are other things which leaders can learn from children. Children are open and can connect. They find it easy to create relationships.
* How do you self-remember? All of us were children. We need to capture the qualities of the child we once were. What would the child you once were think of the adult you’ve become?
* No matter how long you live it won’t be for very long.
* Leadership is not a popularity game. It’s not about doing what’s easy. It’s about doing what’s right. We are too bothered about being judged. Or about what people are thinking. We are too afraid of conflicts.
* Everyone is a leader. Everyone can show leadership behavior and thinking no matter what one is doing in the organization. Even if one has a world-class strategy one needs people to implement it. Leadership is all about creating a culture of leadership.
* Do good by your people and they will do good by your customers.
* Business is relationships.
* Show personal leadership. Organizational leadership needs personal leadership. Before one attempts to make others feel good one must feel good oneself. One needs to work on one’s insecurities.
* Leadership is about success and significance. It is about big ideas. Taking social responsibility. About leaving a legacy. About doing good by your people.
* One needs to not only do one’s part but also make a difference. It’s about absolute, personal responsibility. Every time one blames one’s boss one is giving up one’s power.
* Language shapes meaning. One can tell whether an organization’s culture is a victim culture or a leadership culture by examining the language used.
* Problems reveal genius. They offer opportunities to evolve. Only those who are dead have no problems. Don’t play victim.
* Leadership is flawless execution around the fundamentals. Leaders are consistent.
* There are 4 reasons why people don’t change- (a) They are afraid of failing; (b) They experience fears. Fear of being laughed at, fear of losing etc; (c) They do not have faith. Don’t believe it will work. People who are cynical are those who have been hurt. They don’t want to get up; (d) They don’t think it is fun.
* Transformation happens one step at a time. The 1% wins.
* Law of Diminishing Intent states that the more time elapses between commitment and action the less becomes the probability of doing something. Leaders act.
* One needs to do something to move it forward today. Only 1%. One little change leads to a chain reaction.
* First step in Transformation is Awareness. Better awareness leads to better choices and better choices leads to better results.
* Price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.
* The swan effect is when we see and admire the swans beautifully moving in the water. So smooth and graceful. What we do not see is their effort of paddling under the water.
* What difference did you make?
* Mistake is a mistake only if it is made twice. One is expected to make mistakes as part of one’s learning. But one must learn from one’s mistakes. If one does not learn from one’s mistakes the first time then it really is a mistake if committed the second time around.
* Leadership is about awareness.
* Run towards what you are resisting and embrace change as growth.
* We organize our lives around our fears. To avoid fears is to avoid growth.
* What you run away from runs towards you. Fears you do not climb become walls around you.
* We limit ourselves by our fears. On the other side of every fear-door is a precious gift. One’s highest potential. To be human is to have fears.
Top fears: (a) Fear of failure; (b) Fear of success; (c) Fear of rejection; (d) Fear of not having enough; (f) Fear of loss.
* Stay hungry. Nothing fails like success. You are most vulnerable when you are most successful. You fall in love with yourself. It’s easy to become complacent.
* Culture shapes behavior. Create a culture of leadership.
* The ways of building culture are: (a) Culture is built like conversation. Talk about culture all the time. Need to have conversations about it. What do we stand for-our values etc. More people will gradually understand and buy into it. (b) You get what you celebrate. If someone is entrepreneurial and gets rewarded and becomes a hero then everyone knows what behavior is expected. Leadership is what you do in the dark. An airhostess was asked by a passenger in flight to get some iced tea. There was no iced tea on board. But the airhostess calmly said that she would get a teabag and melt some ice cubes and get a slice of lime and prepare iced tea in a few minutes. The boss of the airline who was on the aircraft saw this interaction. The airhostess did not know the boss nor did she know he had seen her do this. At the next opportunity of a meeting, the boss narrated the incident and rewarded her. She became known as the ‘Iced Tea Woman’. Behavior rewarded is behavior repeated. (c) Rituals also help in creating a culture. Systems and processes which are religiously followed. Like the meeting every morning for 15 minutes where people talk about the values of organization and reflect on them. (d) Build culture through Training and Development. Usually companies cut the training budget when they are not doing well. The signal being given is that we are not interested in you growing. Best companies inculcate values through training.
* Always go the extra mile. They have a ‘shall be done’ attitude. They do the same things but expect different results.
* The world class audit. This is an audit which one conducts on one’s own life. It envisages 7 forms of success which are essential for any person viz. I-Inner Life, H-Health, F-Family, C-Career, E-Economical, C-Community, A-Adventure, I-Impact. When conducting the audit on oneself one needs to do the following: Assess one’s current status on each of these areas/parameters on a scale of 0-10. Then state the reason why you have given yourself this score for each of the areas/parameters. To increase your score in each of the areas/parameters you will now state 3 action steps for each area/parameter which you will practice over the next 90 days. For instance where Inner Life is concerned an action step could be “Meditate every morning for 20 minutes for 5 days in a week”. Things that can’t be measured cannot be improved.
* Most people spend so much time planning for their summer holiday but hardly any time planning their lives. Each day is a platform for choices to be made. One needs to be focused on one’s priorities. A person who chases 2 rabbits catches none.
* Make the time to think. Leaders are more thoughtful and reflective.
* You become what you talk about. When you verbalize your thoughts and feelings and concerns it brings about clarity.
* Some action step suggestions for each of the 7 life areas could be the following: (a) Inner Life- Meditation, Silence, Reading great authors. Reading great authors is like having conversations with extraordinary minds. They pull you into considering new possibilities. (b) Health- Exercise, Diet, Massage. (c) Family- Have a meal together, Become developers of one’s children, Show them whatis the best in Art, Philosophy etc. (d) Career- Set standards which are world class, plan one’s day in the morning for 15 minutes. Things that get scheduled get done. Get a mentor. (e) Economic- Get a Financial Plan done. Work with a financial Advisor. (f) Community- Build a support group. Build a system to help advance one’s life. (g) Adventure- Every 7 days inject one new fun thing to do. (h) Impact- Being kind to a stranger every week.
* Tactics to show leadership. (a) Set a personal philosophy and precise goals. What do you want your life to stand for? Nobody wants to experience the feeling that one has got to the end of one’s life and feels that one has betrayed oneself. We are continuously experiencing an Integrity gap. The Integrity gap refers to the following principle: The greater the gap between who you truly are inside and how you present yourself to the world, the less fulfillment you will experience. Life wants you to win. Therefore one needs to work towards congruence. Leadership is based on the laws of life. We experience pain when we are not in alignment with the laws of life. For instance,‘the hand that gives is the hand that gathers’ is a law of life. If one doesn’t follow the laws of life then one will not be able to experience sustained happiness. If one doesn’t like oneself what is the use of the Ferrari one possesses. What does one want said about oneself after one dies? (b) Do the difficult, first thing in the morning. Build self-discipline and self-control. Do what you don’t like doing. Finish what you started. (c) Continuously improve at least 1% each day. (d) Make time to think. Make time to get lost. Ideas are ingredients of success. (e) Build human connections. Business is about people and relationships. A Corporation is just a stamp on some legal document but its value lies in its people. They are the intellectual capital of Corporation. We need to grow their abilities. (f) The formula for excellent relationships is “Real Apples Need Excellent Fertilizer”. The ‘R’ stands for Relationships. Relationships are most important. Business is about human beings. Everybody is good. A child has an uncanny way of getting into a person and connecting. Why do we treat animals better than human beings? Dogs give unconditional love. Dogs see the best in you. Dogs are patient with you. Everyone wants to feel special. The ‘A’ stands for being Authentic. The importance of being human and removing the mask. When you are vulnerable people fall in love with you. The ‘N’ stands for Nice. Become the kindest person you know. Being kind is not a weakness. It’s the greatest strength. It gives rise to the Echo Effect. Whatever you give to the world comes back to you. Anyone can go to work and pretend that one is strong. It is difficult to be humble. Model the behavior you want to see in others. Put people first. The ‘E’ stands for being Ethical. Manage your brand. Lead by example. Nothing more important than one’s good name. The ‘F’stands for Fun. Laughter elevates energy and is contagious. It increases the passion in one’s work because work becomes fun. It helps to build a healthy work culture and helps in collaboration. Relationships are most important. We need to align the audio with the video. (g) The main regrets which people have at the end of their lives are: -They have not done enough of reflection. -They have not taken enough risks. - he deeds they didn’t do and the love they didn’t give. (h) Questions unlock the unknowing. How old would you be if you knew how old you are? Select a partner and sitting in front of your partner seeing eye-to-eye keep on asking the following question viz. What do you need to improve in your life? Answers have to be given in one-liners viz. I need to improve……The question keeps on being asked and the answers keep on being given without any repetition of answers. This exercise can be done as long as one wants. When one finds it difficult to find an answer then that is possibly a hint that a precious gift is lying behind the door. One needs to push ahead. After one has finished then the process is reversed viz. your partner asks the question and you answer. The other question which one may attempt in a similar manner is: ‘What do you want to hear said about you at your funeral?’
* Best practices for personal leadership: (a) Be devoted to continuous learning. Have to continuously work on one’s insecurities and fears. If I try I might, if I don’t then I won’t. Don’t know which book will influence you. Use one’s commute time to read. Let one’s car become a college on wheels. What you surround yourself with is what you will become. (b) Get up early and have a Holy Hour. The initial effort to leave the old thoughts and habits is hard because of gravity. If one is trying something new then one needs to stay with it for at least 30 days continuously. We all have the ability to adapt. We also need to take 60 minutes for ourselves. During this time we could think, do the treadmill etc. Through this we get a psychological start over everybody else. Most people do not get up early. The way we go through the Holy Hour will infuse our entire day. (c) Leaders do what’s right not what’s easy. ‘If everybody was satisfied with themselves there would be no heroes.’ Mark Twain. (d) Make your health your number 1 priority. You don’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard. Health is taken for granted till you lose it. Very few express gratitude for one’s health. Those who do not make time for exercise will make time for illness. (e) Balance work with one’s family. If one’s family life is strong then one is more successful at work. One needs to work on one’s family while one is growing in one’s career. What’s the point of being on top of the mountain but alone in a graveyard? (f) Leave your leadership footprint. Nurture your legacy daily. Find a cause greater than you. When you were born people were happy. When you die you will be happy while people are sad. Most of us struggle for legitimacy. For looking good. This needs to shift to wanting to leave a legacy. We should not reach the end of our lives knowing in our hearts what we could have been but never were.
* Most people come to the end of their lives regretting that only a small part of their lives have really been lived with their full potential.
* The real meaning of ‘Guru’ is ‘Dispeller of Darkness’.
* Every dream starts small. Wal-Mart the largest company in world started with just one store. Fedex carried just 15 packages on its very first day of business. Today, it carries 1.1 million packages per day.
* One needs to take one day at a time. Individuals become extraordinary by taking one day at a time.
* Leaders need to be philosophical. They need to take time to think and reflect.
* Pain has been the greatest teacher.
* Fears are life’s way to help you grow. If you are a human being you must have fears. Need to run towards things that continuously frighten you.
* Whenever one attends a seminar take copious notes. Through this more parts of brain get used, retention increases and one becomes an active learner. Beethoven used to say that by writing down everything, he didn’t feel the need to read it again.
* At seminars one needs to show up100%. 'Echo Effect'-Life returns what you give to it.
* Competitive advantage of an organization should be an ability to grow leaders faster than competition.
* In a leadership culture people behave like leaders. People take responsibility for results. Everybody shows leadership behavior but knows its role in organization. Everyone feels empowered.
* One could look at each department as a small business within organization. For instance, the man in Mail Room can consider himself the chief of Mail room business where every other department and employee in company invests and therefore Mail room becomes accountable for delivering results to whole organization.
* Most people need to feel appreciated. They need to feel great. They need to buy-in to the leader’s dream. They need to see how they can contribute to it.
* People need to be themselves at work. They need to celebrate. They need to be proud of what they are doing. They need to have fun. Only when work becomes fun can an organization become a great place to work in and people will start giving off their best.
* The whole of life will be defined by the small contributions one makes.
* The choices one makes today will determine one’s tomorrows.
* Your days are your life in miniature.
* A lady who used to earn her living through washing clothes used to collect the coins she earned and deposit some of them in nearby bank on a regular basis. These would be her small contributions. Nearing the end of her life the bank informed her that she had nearly a quarter of a million dollars. And wanted to know what she intended to do with money. Besides wanting to give money to her family, she decided to set up a scholarship for ‘poor children who can still dream’. One needs to dream. She dreamt of seeing the first child who had used that scholarship pass out before she died. Her dream was fulfilled. She died at 90.
* Leadership is inspirational. No matter what your role is, one can make an impact and achieve something of significance.
* Adults are children in grown up bodies. Leaders need to learn from little children. Children are passionate. If leaders are passionate then this feeling cascades through the entire organization. Children are fearless. The limits which leaders put on themselves are not the limits of the world. Children are curious. Children ask. Leaders must realize that success is a numbers game. One needs to continuously ‘ask’. “SW x 3” means “Some will, Some won’t, So What”. One needs to fail one’s way to success. The only real failure is the failure to try. And if one thinks about it there is no ‘trying’. Either one does it or doesn't do it.
* Failure is the price of ambition. Through failure one gets to greatness. Most great businesses have failed more than the average ones. Failure is the highway to success.
* If you are not failing at least once a week then possibly you are not reaching higher.
* There are other things which leaders can learn from children. Children are open and can connect. They find it easy to create relationships.
* How do you self-remember? All of us were children. We need to capture the qualities of the child we once were. What would the child you once were think of the adult you’ve become?
* No matter how long you live it won’t be for very long.
* Leadership is not a popularity game. It’s not about doing what’s easy. It’s about doing what’s right. We are too bothered about being judged. Or about what people are thinking. We are too afraid of conflicts.
* Everyone is a leader. Everyone can show leadership behavior and thinking no matter what one is doing in the organization. Even if one has a world-class strategy one needs people to implement it. Leadership is all about creating a culture of leadership.
* Do good by your people and they will do good by your customers.
* Business is relationships.
* Show personal leadership. Organizational leadership needs personal leadership. Before one attempts to make others feel good one must feel good oneself. One needs to work on one’s insecurities.
* Leadership is about success and significance. It is about big ideas. Taking social responsibility. About leaving a legacy. About doing good by your people.
* One needs to not only do one’s part but also make a difference. It’s about absolute, personal responsibility. Every time one blames one’s boss one is giving up one’s power.
* Language shapes meaning. One can tell whether an organization’s culture is a victim culture or a leadership culture by examining the language used.
* Problems reveal genius. They offer opportunities to evolve. Only those who are dead have no problems. Don’t play victim.
* Leadership is flawless execution around the fundamentals. Leaders are consistent.
* There are 4 reasons why people don’t change- (a) They are afraid of failing; (b) They experience fears. Fear of being laughed at, fear of losing etc; (c) They do not have faith. Don’t believe it will work. People who are cynical are those who have been hurt. They don’t want to get up; (d) They don’t think it is fun.
* Transformation happens one step at a time. The 1% wins.
* Law of Diminishing Intent states that the more time elapses between commitment and action the less becomes the probability of doing something. Leaders act.
* One needs to do something to move it forward today. Only 1%. One little change leads to a chain reaction.
* First step in Transformation is Awareness. Better awareness leads to better choices and better choices leads to better results.
* Price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.
* The swan effect is when we see and admire the swans beautifully moving in the water. So smooth and graceful. What we do not see is their effort of paddling under the water.
* What difference did you make?
* Mistake is a mistake only if it is made twice. One is expected to make mistakes as part of one’s learning. But one must learn from one’s mistakes. If one does not learn from one’s mistakes the first time then it really is a mistake if committed the second time around.
* Leadership is about awareness.
* Run towards what you are resisting and embrace change as growth.
* We organize our lives around our fears. To avoid fears is to avoid growth.
* What you run away from runs towards you. Fears you do not climb become walls around you.
* We limit ourselves by our fears. On the other side of every fear-door is a precious gift. One’s highest potential. To be human is to have fears.
Top fears: (a) Fear of failure; (b) Fear of success; (c) Fear of rejection; (d) Fear of not having enough; (f) Fear of loss.
* Stay hungry. Nothing fails like success. You are most vulnerable when you are most successful. You fall in love with yourself. It’s easy to become complacent.
* Culture shapes behavior. Create a culture of leadership.
* The ways of building culture are: (a) Culture is built like conversation. Talk about culture all the time. Need to have conversations about it. What do we stand for-our values etc. More people will gradually understand and buy into it. (b) You get what you celebrate. If someone is entrepreneurial and gets rewarded and becomes a hero then everyone knows what behavior is expected. Leadership is what you do in the dark. An airhostess was asked by a passenger in flight to get some iced tea. There was no iced tea on board. But the airhostess calmly said that she would get a teabag and melt some ice cubes and get a slice of lime and prepare iced tea in a few minutes. The boss of the airline who was on the aircraft saw this interaction. The airhostess did not know the boss nor did she know he had seen her do this. At the next opportunity of a meeting, the boss narrated the incident and rewarded her. She became known as the ‘Iced Tea Woman’. Behavior rewarded is behavior repeated. (c) Rituals also help in creating a culture. Systems and processes which are religiously followed. Like the meeting every morning for 15 minutes where people talk about the values of organization and reflect on them. (d) Build culture through Training and Development. Usually companies cut the training budget when they are not doing well. The signal being given is that we are not interested in you growing. Best companies inculcate values through training.
* Always go the extra mile. They have a ‘shall be done’ attitude. They do the same things but expect different results.
* The world class audit. This is an audit which one conducts on one’s own life. It envisages 7 forms of success which are essential for any person viz. I-Inner Life, H-Health, F-Family, C-Career, E-Economical, C-Community, A-Adventure, I-Impact. When conducting the audit on oneself one needs to do the following: Assess one’s current status on each of these areas/parameters on a scale of 0-10. Then state the reason why you have given yourself this score for each of the areas/parameters. To increase your score in each of the areas/parameters you will now state 3 action steps for each area/parameter which you will practice over the next 90 days. For instance where Inner Life is concerned an action step could be “Meditate every morning for 20 minutes for 5 days in a week”. Things that can’t be measured cannot be improved.
* Most people spend so much time planning for their summer holiday but hardly any time planning their lives. Each day is a platform for choices to be made. One needs to be focused on one’s priorities. A person who chases 2 rabbits catches none.
* Make the time to think. Leaders are more thoughtful and reflective.
* You become what you talk about. When you verbalize your thoughts and feelings and concerns it brings about clarity.
* Some action step suggestions for each of the 7 life areas could be the following: (a) Inner Life- Meditation, Silence, Reading great authors. Reading great authors is like having conversations with extraordinary minds. They pull you into considering new possibilities. (b) Health- Exercise, Diet, Massage. (c) Family- Have a meal together, Become developers of one’s children, Show them whatis the best in Art, Philosophy etc. (d) Career- Set standards which are world class, plan one’s day in the morning for 15 minutes. Things that get scheduled get done. Get a mentor. (e) Economic- Get a Financial Plan done. Work with a financial Advisor. (f) Community- Build a support group. Build a system to help advance one’s life. (g) Adventure- Every 7 days inject one new fun thing to do. (h) Impact- Being kind to a stranger every week.
* Tactics to show leadership. (a) Set a personal philosophy and precise goals. What do you want your life to stand for? Nobody wants to experience the feeling that one has got to the end of one’s life and feels that one has betrayed oneself. We are continuously experiencing an Integrity gap. The Integrity gap refers to the following principle: The greater the gap between who you truly are inside and how you present yourself to the world, the less fulfillment you will experience. Life wants you to win. Therefore one needs to work towards congruence. Leadership is based on the laws of life. We experience pain when we are not in alignment with the laws of life. For instance,‘the hand that gives is the hand that gathers’ is a law of life. If one doesn’t follow the laws of life then one will not be able to experience sustained happiness. If one doesn’t like oneself what is the use of the Ferrari one possesses. What does one want said about oneself after one dies? (b) Do the difficult, first thing in the morning. Build self-discipline and self-control. Do what you don’t like doing. Finish what you started. (c) Continuously improve at least 1% each day. (d) Make time to think. Make time to get lost. Ideas are ingredients of success. (e) Build human connections. Business is about people and relationships. A Corporation is just a stamp on some legal document but its value lies in its people. They are the intellectual capital of Corporation. We need to grow their abilities. (f) The formula for excellent relationships is “Real Apples Need Excellent Fertilizer”. The ‘R’ stands for Relationships. Relationships are most important. Business is about human beings. Everybody is good. A child has an uncanny way of getting into a person and connecting. Why do we treat animals better than human beings? Dogs give unconditional love. Dogs see the best in you. Dogs are patient with you. Everyone wants to feel special. The ‘A’ stands for being Authentic. The importance of being human and removing the mask. When you are vulnerable people fall in love with you. The ‘N’ stands for Nice. Become the kindest person you know. Being kind is not a weakness. It’s the greatest strength. It gives rise to the Echo Effect. Whatever you give to the world comes back to you. Anyone can go to work and pretend that one is strong. It is difficult to be humble. Model the behavior you want to see in others. Put people first. The ‘E’ stands for being Ethical. Manage your brand. Lead by example. Nothing more important than one’s good name. The ‘F’stands for Fun. Laughter elevates energy and is contagious. It increases the passion in one’s work because work becomes fun. It helps to build a healthy work culture and helps in collaboration. Relationships are most important. We need to align the audio with the video. (g) The main regrets which people have at the end of their lives are: -They have not done enough of reflection. -They have not taken enough risks. - he deeds they didn’t do and the love they didn’t give. (h) Questions unlock the unknowing. How old would you be if you knew how old you are? Select a partner and sitting in front of your partner seeing eye-to-eye keep on asking the following question viz. What do you need to improve in your life? Answers have to be given in one-liners viz. I need to improve……The question keeps on being asked and the answers keep on being given without any repetition of answers. This exercise can be done as long as one wants. When one finds it difficult to find an answer then that is possibly a hint that a precious gift is lying behind the door. One needs to push ahead. After one has finished then the process is reversed viz. your partner asks the question and you answer. The other question which one may attempt in a similar manner is: ‘What do you want to hear said about you at your funeral?’
* Best practices for personal leadership: (a) Be devoted to continuous learning. Have to continuously work on one’s insecurities and fears. If I try I might, if I don’t then I won’t. Don’t know which book will influence you. Use one’s commute time to read. Let one’s car become a college on wheels. What you surround yourself with is what you will become. (b) Get up early and have a Holy Hour. The initial effort to leave the old thoughts and habits is hard because of gravity. If one is trying something new then one needs to stay with it for at least 30 days continuously. We all have the ability to adapt. We also need to take 60 minutes for ourselves. During this time we could think, do the treadmill etc. Through this we get a psychological start over everybody else. Most people do not get up early. The way we go through the Holy Hour will infuse our entire day. (c) Leaders do what’s right not what’s easy. ‘If everybody was satisfied with themselves there would be no heroes.’ Mark Twain. (d) Make your health your number 1 priority. You don’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard. Health is taken for granted till you lose it. Very few express gratitude for one’s health. Those who do not make time for exercise will make time for illness. (e) Balance work with one’s family. If one’s family life is strong then one is more successful at work. One needs to work on one’s family while one is growing in one’s career. What’s the point of being on top of the mountain but alone in a graveyard? (f) Leave your leadership footprint. Nurture your legacy daily. Find a cause greater than you. When you were born people were happy. When you die you will be happy while people are sad. Most of us struggle for legitimacy. For looking good. This needs to shift to wanting to leave a legacy. We should not reach the end of our lives knowing in our hearts what we could have been but never were.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
What is brand sense!
By Martin Lindstrom
1. Branding is what goes on in one’s mind.
2. Brand is not a logo. Test is that if one removes the logo, will one still be able to recognize the brand!
3. Traditional communication no longer works because we are being over-communicated to.
4. What appeals to as many senses will be remembered.
5. The story goes that challenge given to Coca-Cola was to create a bottle that if smashed could still be recognized from its glass pieces. Therefore, the meaning of ‘Smash your Brand’ is that one needs to look at all small pieces which the brand can be broken into and see what brand can make its own.
6. Brand wheel is a tool which indicates portions of real estate which a brand can optimize and own viz. Picture, Colors, Shapes, Name, Language, Icons, Sound, Behavior, Service, Tradition, Rituals and Navigation.
7. Orange has appropriated a color. Absolut branded ‘spelling error’. So, it’s variants are Rasberri, Vanilia, Kurant and so on. Brand needs to own something else besides the logo. Absolut has also branded the shape of its bottle.
8. Icon of the ‘Idea’ brand is ‘Sumo Wrestler’. So if one removes the logo and keeps only the Sumo Wrestler the brand ‘Idea’ will be recognized.
9. Brand creates community and belonging.
10. Louis Vuitton was renovating its store in Paris. To do that it created a façade in the shape of its luggage bags and accessories. People remembered the façade. In fact, they identified with it. To the extent that when it was going to be pulled down after 2 years when renovation was complete there was a demonstration outside the store.
11. Tiffany Box is trademarked. Shade of Pantone color used for Tiffany box is owned by Tiffany. Therefore, one needs to get permission from Tiffany if one wants to use the same shade of color.
12. Branding is about consistency.
13. Today Pepsi owns the color ‘blue’. Pepsi took it away from IBM. If one wants to secure ownership then one needs to stick with it.
14. Peuguot car has branded the ‘0’ in middle of its car plate numbers. Story goes that the creator of Peugot car used to experience breaking the number in middle into 2 pieces for using crankshaft to get the car started. Because the crankshaft had to pierce that number. So, he thought that if crankshaft had to be inserted into a ‘0’ then there would not be any breakage of a number into 2 pieces. And so, all Peugot cars have ‘0’ in middle of their car plate numbers.
15. Ipod now has extended its branding to even its earplugs. By seeing a person with Ipod earplugs one can recognize an Ipod user.
16. There are certain words which are owned by Disney and are recognized by people as being associated with Disney Brand. These words are: Fantasy, Dreams, Magic, Smiles, Happy, Creativity. Personnel in Disneyland use these words. These words are built into the lyrics of Disney songs. And so on.
17. Colgate owned the smile but it has gone to Disney and Mcdonald’s.
18. One needs to create a difference in the mind.
19. We are too focused on visual aspect of branding. We need to see how we can brand ‘sound’.
20. James Bond movie theme song. In fact, James Bond has branded so many things around it. The logo, ‘Bond, James Bond’, ‘Shaken not stirred’, gadgets, vintage scenes, title introduction, character names, gun, topic, filming and so on.
21. Olympics today are no longer about the 4 rings but about rituals surrounding Olympics like carrying and lighting of flame, opening ceremony and so on.
22. Strong emotions are generated by rituals. Brands need to create rituals around themselves.
23. We need to ask ourselves the following questions: vWhich signal do we own vWhat would we like to own vIdentify top 3 vTake it to the extreme vSecure ownership vEstablish a brand manual which is human and not legalistic vBe patient v Test for ownership
24. By the age of 65 a person in USA would have watched 2 million commercials. This is equivalent to seeing TV commercials 8 hours each day for 7 days a week for 6 years.
25. TV commercials don’t work anymore. Recall level of ads has decreased from 34% in 1965 to 1.5% today. TV spends keep on growing. 20% would own a TiVo by 2007 in USA and 14% around the world. Murdoch will shortly be launching a set-top box which would be able to store all the movies ever produced in any language.
26. 83% of all information which people receive is visual. Visual is over-communicated. Branding is about all 5 senses. Benjamin Franklin said “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.”
27. We recall best what we smell more than what we see. Sense of smell emotionally affects human beings upto 75% more than any other sense.
28. Gradation of sensory importance shows that after visual there is smell and then audio, taste and touch.
29. Sense of taste and smell are one where laboratory is mouth and nose is chimney.
30. We don’t have a name for those who can’t smell or taste.
31. In an African village people didn’t have names. They knew each other on the basis of individual smell they had.
32. 90% of Japanese population have no underarm odor. Through research it has been found that Japanese are more sensitive to senses than US/UK.
33. Purex Tabs is a floor cleaner. It was a very effective product but smelt very badly. New marketing manager felt that it would be better to change the smell to a more pleasant one which he did. Sales went down by 42 %. Smell was changed back to the original. Bad smell was associated with its effectiveness.
34. Our senses are finely tuned to pick up signals that warn us of danger. Jack Holly, a US Marine stated “I am alive because of my nose. You couldn’t see a Commie bunker if it was right in front of you. But you can’t camouflage smell. I could smell the North Vietnamese before hearing or seeing them.” We need to brand our daily touch points.
35. Crayola Crayons have a patented smell. So when Chinese imitated Crayola Crayons including packaging it was very difficult to distinguish the original from imitation except through smell.
36. No.1 recognizable smell in USA is coffee. No.2 is peanut butter. And No.18 is Crayola Crayons.
37. We have been given our senses to understand our world. According to Prof. Gerald Zaltman (Harvard Business School) the brain processes smell more quickly than other senses. Metaphorically from nose to brain would require 3 to 4 jumps while for touch would require around 1000 jumps. Our sense of smell registers in our emotional brain where judgments are made. According to Helen Keller “Smell is a potent wizard”.
38. We also remember smells according to the time when we were born. Before 1930 people would remember smell of hay, pine, horse and meadow. After 1930, smells remembered would change to J&J Baby Powder, Crayon Crayola and Vanila.
39. Smell triggers memories and affects brand perception. McDonald’s smell is greasy and associated with stale oil. It makes you feel fat even before you enter outlet. Smell creates brand associations. Burger King is associated with smell of ‘grilled’. Smell of fresh popcorn is used to draw people into cinema halls. Smell impacts purchase decisions. A new car has a distinctive smell. Smell can’t be turned off.
40. Within Barclay’s Bank they brew coffee so that the customer may feel at home.
41. Smell of a new car comes about with car being sprayed 2 hours before it leaves factory. Rolls Royce has broken up its trademark smell into 800 odor components and created ‘Eau Rolls Royce1965’ which is sprayed into every new Rolls Royce. Post 1965 the sales increased.
42. Singapore Airlines patented the smell of its ‘hot towels’ in 1995. One can get Singapore Airlines smell while one is on the aerobridge and about to enter the aircraft. Cosmetics used by airhostesses are patented Pantone shades viz. SIA face color, eye color and lip color. Way the plate is placed in front of passenger is determined. There is a brand manager on every flight who notices if there is any infringement regarding any aspect of Singapore brand. If there is any infringement then person concerned goes back to Singapore brand school.
43. In an experiment conducted in Las Vegas it was found that by spraying a particular smell people gambled more and revenue earnings of casino increased. In a Nike experiment, 84% preferred pair which was sprayed with a smell than pair which did not have any one on it. And they were willing to pay extra for pair with smell. Similarly, it has been found that in part of the store where a particular scent has been sprayed people spend more time and money than in any other part of store which does not have any scent sprayed.
44. 82% felt that Coca Cola tasted better from a glass bottle than from a can. Tactile experience too is important.
45. Vodaphone owns the red color and not Coca Cola. Coca Cola has not been consistent. Coca Cola’s new colors are green, yellow and many other different shades in different countries of world.
46. In the area of sound Microsoft Windows has become the owner of its signature tune. 62% are aware of it. Similarly, Nokia has patented its own tune which is easily recognizable. It was invented 7and1/2 years ago. It takes approximately 9 seconds to locate one’s mobile phone and therefore on the basis of receiving on an average 500 calls per month, one can say that one is hearing the tune 15 hours per year. And, Nokia is making people aware of it without spending any money. Today, there is a 41% awareness of the Nokia tune against a 56% awareness of Intel tune but only after Intel has spent $320 million on advertising it.
47. Sound generates mood and memories. It promotes brand awareness. Sound also communicates brand quality. For instance, the sound of car doors closing. It builds brand recognition and builds brand familiarity.
48. We now have an advertisement in ‘People’ magazine that sings an Elvis Presley number. Ads on paper are now talking and singing.
49. According to a research done by Millward Brown it was found that sensibility to sight increases as education increases. With High School education it is 30% while with Graduation/Post Graduation it increases to 45%.
50. Sensitivity to smell is higher among women (28%) than men (19%). But recall data shows that both sexes are equally affected.
51. Memories get activated and drives brand choice. Our memories are like an untidy, overstocked cupboard. Everything is recalled at once. Senses are the keys to unlocking cupboard. Experience creates and confirms expectations.
52. Positive experience alone is not enough. Distinctiveness and differentiation also matter. Brand success is more than just a great experience. Components of brand success are: Leader, Clarity, Great experience and business model.
53. Emotion plays a role between senses and brand effect. Emotion drives attention and brand processing. Taste is most likely to create the feeling of satisfaction. McDonald’s creates a more cheerful feeling than Burger King.
54. Even among regular users there is a huge difference in loyalty. The more all of the senses are associated the more loyalty is experienced.
55. Structural Path Model is based on senses interacting and creating Leadership, a great Experience and Clarity which leads to Choice.
56. Each Brand can be mapped on which senses it is strong or weak. For instance, Dove has been shown through research to be balanced on all the senses. While Irish Spring depends more on the sense of smell. Research is now attempting to put financial values on the senses and thereby arrive on the total financial value of brand.
57. Vision is incredibly important for brands. It gives one the mandate to go beyond the normal. To do something which requires true inspiration and guts. Apple’s vision is “Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures and not subordinate to them” The Credit Lyonnaise Bank’s vision is “You can only be a partner with someone you think of as an equal.”. Vision is not enough. If at the end of vision statement one crosses one’s brand or company name out and puts competition’s name instead and one finds that there is no difference then throw the vision statement out. There needs to be a tangible difference.
58. At airport one has these racks for ensuring that only bags of a certain size are carried into the plane as hand baggage. On these racks is usually written all the pertinent legal jargon in fine print which the passenger can hardly read and hardly ever does read. Virgin Airlines thought of this as a branding opportunity in keeping with its Vision and Values. What is written on a luggage rack of Virgin Airlines is “You can have a huge ego but only a bag this size.” This is not bland branding. Need to be provocative and add a sense of humor. This becomes branded jargon vs. legal jargon.
59. We should expect enemies and we therefore need to cut off competition. Even if one’s budget is low one can do something innovative to achieve this. There was a pizza owner in Australia who had a budget of just $700. He used this amount to purchase time on a radio station and the radio spot said the following: “Take your Yellow pages book and tear out all the ‘Pizza pages’ and bring them to his outlet and get a pizza free.” Today, he is the biggest pizza owner in Australia.
60. B to B is the same as B to C. We are all human beings and therefore the principles which apply to B to C need to be applied to B to B.
61. The world’s most boring product ‘Roller Bearings’ produced by SKF whose vision statement is “Reduce friction to move the world forward.”
62. If you want to get ahead you don’t have to follow the leader’s tracks in the snow. One needs to benchmark against companies who are the best in the world and not necessarily in your industry. Optimize every touch point and compare with other companies in world.
63. We need today more and more to look at brand alliances and partnerships. For instance, Time-Warner creates content for GM cars. United Airlines serves only Starbucks coffee. DoCoMo, the telecom service provider in Japan identifies for instance people and their friends if they happen to be in same vicinity and invites them to have a tete-a-tete at nearest Starbucks outlet. This is contextual branding.
64. It has been found that no matter which brands team up viz. whether one brand is strong while other is weak or both brands are strong and so on, both will win. We need to think complementarity.
65. When products are more generic in nature it becomes essential that they team up with other brands viz. Nutrasweet with Coca Cola. Intel with the PC.
66. Create your own story and make your own presentation.
67. We need to look at evolution of branding through the following phases viz. USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in 60s to ESP (Emotional Selling Proposition) in 70s, to OSP (Organisation Selling Propostiion) in 80s, to BSP (Brand Selling Proposition) in 90s, to MSP (Me Selling Proposition) in 2000, to HSP (Holistic Brand Proposition) which is happening now with trying to sensorialize brand.
68. Brands are being used by parents to name their kids. Today there are 121 kids with name ‘Nike’, 92 kids with name ‘Canon’, 12 kids with name ‘Starbucks’ and 19173 kids with name ‘Harry’ as a result of Harry Potter phenomenon. People are getting obsessed with brands. In a research, it was found that 18.9% would like to have a tatoo of Harley Davidson, 14.8% Disney, 7.7% Coca-Cola and 6.6% Google.
69. 10 major elements of ‘religion marketing’ are the following: Sense of belonging, Clear Vision, Power from Enemies, Authenticity, Consistency, Perfection, Symbols, Mystery, Rituals and Sensory appeal.
70. Let’s see how brands have applied/not applied these elements. Vision creates community. Every brand needs a public enemy no.1. Coke and Pepsi. When one makes a choice of a brand one is automatically making a clear statement of what one is not. Coca-Cola has not been consistent and has therefore lost the ownership of its red color. Harley-Davidson stresses perfection to the extent of creating a detailed manual showing how a Harley Davidson is to be cleaned. Coca Cola formula or 7X has a mystery created around it. Opening the Champagne bottle with a pop is a ritual. It is very easy to replace the cork with an aluminium cap but the whole ritual with the traditional popping sound will be missed. James Bond ritual of wanting his Vodka Martini ‘Shaken not stirred’. The Olympics are full of rituals which have become more important than Olympic rings. How to pour beer into a glass is a ritual. Corona beer which has to be drunk with a slice of lemon is a ritual which was created by a bartender in Los Angeles to see how fast a ritual spreads. One can invent one’s own rituals and own them.
71. Today’s kids through research, are seen to be more religious than ever. More than 50% state that having religion is more important to them. They are also an Interactive generation. And, control $1.88 trillion through their influence in the purchase of brands.
72. Today kids don’t experience ‘information overload’. In multi-tasking kids outscore adults. While kids can handle on an average 5.4 channels at a time, adults can on an average handle just 1.7 channels. They are the instant generation.
73. Kids grow old young (KGOY). 44% prefer Internet. Next is Gaming and then TV. 20% have purchased products online. 20% find new friends online. Computer game titled ‘Everquest’ has 1.1 million members who spend 28 hours a week playing the game. It needs to be played continuously. So that ‘Avatars’are created. It takes 6-8 weeks to build an avatar. One can’t take a break for too long. The players earn an adult virtual salary. They then take their avatar and sell it on Ebay. There is an ‘EverQuest’ widows club. Wives divorced because the game engrossed their husbands. Entropia is a game where one purchases real estate with virtual cash. In certain games one finds that one can become a franchisee of McDonald’s and run it earning virtual cash which one can exchange for real cash on Ebay. So a kid of average age 9 years learns how to run an outlet profitably. Contextual branding is becoming more and more important. By 2010, it will be worth $1 billion. Hollywood is sourcing its ideas for films from Gaming.
74. Kids today are driven by fear because everything in their world is uncertain. More than half of today’s tweens feel stressed and can’t comprehend their daily life. More than half of the world’s tween population is concerned about terrorism. They find the past secure. They want stability, humor, mastery, fantasy and love. And, that is why sometimes one finds the old fashioned brands becoming popular. The retro effect. They are also continuously into ‘upgrading’.
75. Kids today deliberately distort language. 70% of all tweens change their language on purpose when chatting or texting. 30% of all tweens text several times a day. 15% prefer to text even if they are sitting next to one another.
76. Kids are becoming primary decision makers and therefore Toyota is targeting kids. They have become primary decision makers in upto 80% of all cases. 60% decide car brand. 58% decide clothing brands. 57% decide mobile phone brand. Kids are likely to become just as influential decision makers in households as their parents within 5 years because half of world’s married population are divorced and therefore kids will take on responsibilities earlier. They are substantially more exposed to advertising and media.
77. Kids are now broadcasters. They have their own website. They have become brands.
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1. Branding is what goes on in one’s mind.
2. Brand is not a logo. Test is that if one removes the logo, will one still be able to recognize the brand!
3. Traditional communication no longer works because we are being over-communicated to.
4. What appeals to as many senses will be remembered.
5. The story goes that challenge given to Coca-Cola was to create a bottle that if smashed could still be recognized from its glass pieces. Therefore, the meaning of ‘Smash your Brand’ is that one needs to look at all small pieces which the brand can be broken into and see what brand can make its own.
6. Brand wheel is a tool which indicates portions of real estate which a brand can optimize and own viz. Picture, Colors, Shapes, Name, Language, Icons, Sound, Behavior, Service, Tradition, Rituals and Navigation.
7. Orange has appropriated a color. Absolut branded ‘spelling error’. So, it’s variants are Rasberri, Vanilia, Kurant and so on. Brand needs to own something else besides the logo. Absolut has also branded the shape of its bottle.
8. Icon of the ‘Idea’ brand is ‘Sumo Wrestler’. So if one removes the logo and keeps only the Sumo Wrestler the brand ‘Idea’ will be recognized.
9. Brand creates community and belonging.
10. Louis Vuitton was renovating its store in Paris. To do that it created a façade in the shape of its luggage bags and accessories. People remembered the façade. In fact, they identified with it. To the extent that when it was going to be pulled down after 2 years when renovation was complete there was a demonstration outside the store.
11. Tiffany Box is trademarked. Shade of Pantone color used for Tiffany box is owned by Tiffany. Therefore, one needs to get permission from Tiffany if one wants to use the same shade of color.
12. Branding is about consistency.
13. Today Pepsi owns the color ‘blue’. Pepsi took it away from IBM. If one wants to secure ownership then one needs to stick with it.
14. Peuguot car has branded the ‘0’ in middle of its car plate numbers. Story goes that the creator of Peugot car used to experience breaking the number in middle into 2 pieces for using crankshaft to get the car started. Because the crankshaft had to pierce that number. So, he thought that if crankshaft had to be inserted into a ‘0’ then there would not be any breakage of a number into 2 pieces. And so, all Peugot cars have ‘0’ in middle of their car plate numbers.
15. Ipod now has extended its branding to even its earplugs. By seeing a person with Ipod earplugs one can recognize an Ipod user.
16. There are certain words which are owned by Disney and are recognized by people as being associated with Disney Brand. These words are: Fantasy, Dreams, Magic, Smiles, Happy, Creativity. Personnel in Disneyland use these words. These words are built into the lyrics of Disney songs. And so on.
17. Colgate owned the smile but it has gone to Disney and Mcdonald’s.
18. One needs to create a difference in the mind.
19. We are too focused on visual aspect of branding. We need to see how we can brand ‘sound’.
20. James Bond movie theme song. In fact, James Bond has branded so many things around it. The logo, ‘Bond, James Bond’, ‘Shaken not stirred’, gadgets, vintage scenes, title introduction, character names, gun, topic, filming and so on.
21. Olympics today are no longer about the 4 rings but about rituals surrounding Olympics like carrying and lighting of flame, opening ceremony and so on.
22. Strong emotions are generated by rituals. Brands need to create rituals around themselves.
23. We need to ask ourselves the following questions: vWhich signal do we own vWhat would we like to own vIdentify top 3 vTake it to the extreme vSecure ownership vEstablish a brand manual which is human and not legalistic vBe patient v Test for ownership
24. By the age of 65 a person in USA would have watched 2 million commercials. This is equivalent to seeing TV commercials 8 hours each day for 7 days a week for 6 years.
25. TV commercials don’t work anymore. Recall level of ads has decreased from 34% in 1965 to 1.5% today. TV spends keep on growing. 20% would own a TiVo by 2007 in USA and 14% around the world. Murdoch will shortly be launching a set-top box which would be able to store all the movies ever produced in any language.
26. 83% of all information which people receive is visual. Visual is over-communicated. Branding is about all 5 senses. Benjamin Franklin said “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.”
27. We recall best what we smell more than what we see. Sense of smell emotionally affects human beings upto 75% more than any other sense.
28. Gradation of sensory importance shows that after visual there is smell and then audio, taste and touch.
29. Sense of taste and smell are one where laboratory is mouth and nose is chimney.
30. We don’t have a name for those who can’t smell or taste.
31. In an African village people didn’t have names. They knew each other on the basis of individual smell they had.
32. 90% of Japanese population have no underarm odor. Through research it has been found that Japanese are more sensitive to senses than US/UK.
33. Purex Tabs is a floor cleaner. It was a very effective product but smelt very badly. New marketing manager felt that it would be better to change the smell to a more pleasant one which he did. Sales went down by 42 %. Smell was changed back to the original. Bad smell was associated with its effectiveness.
34. Our senses are finely tuned to pick up signals that warn us of danger. Jack Holly, a US Marine stated “I am alive because of my nose. You couldn’t see a Commie bunker if it was right in front of you. But you can’t camouflage smell. I could smell the North Vietnamese before hearing or seeing them.” We need to brand our daily touch points.
35. Crayola Crayons have a patented smell. So when Chinese imitated Crayola Crayons including packaging it was very difficult to distinguish the original from imitation except through smell.
36. No.1 recognizable smell in USA is coffee. No.2 is peanut butter. And No.18 is Crayola Crayons.
37. We have been given our senses to understand our world. According to Prof. Gerald Zaltman (Harvard Business School) the brain processes smell more quickly than other senses. Metaphorically from nose to brain would require 3 to 4 jumps while for touch would require around 1000 jumps. Our sense of smell registers in our emotional brain where judgments are made. According to Helen Keller “Smell is a potent wizard”.
38. We also remember smells according to the time when we were born. Before 1930 people would remember smell of hay, pine, horse and meadow. After 1930, smells remembered would change to J&J Baby Powder, Crayon Crayola and Vanila.
39. Smell triggers memories and affects brand perception. McDonald’s smell is greasy and associated with stale oil. It makes you feel fat even before you enter outlet. Smell creates brand associations. Burger King is associated with smell of ‘grilled’. Smell of fresh popcorn is used to draw people into cinema halls. Smell impacts purchase decisions. A new car has a distinctive smell. Smell can’t be turned off.
40. Within Barclay’s Bank they brew coffee so that the customer may feel at home.
41. Smell of a new car comes about with car being sprayed 2 hours before it leaves factory. Rolls Royce has broken up its trademark smell into 800 odor components and created ‘Eau Rolls Royce1965’ which is sprayed into every new Rolls Royce. Post 1965 the sales increased.
42. Singapore Airlines patented the smell of its ‘hot towels’ in 1995. One can get Singapore Airlines smell while one is on the aerobridge and about to enter the aircraft. Cosmetics used by airhostesses are patented Pantone shades viz. SIA face color, eye color and lip color. Way the plate is placed in front of passenger is determined. There is a brand manager on every flight who notices if there is any infringement regarding any aspect of Singapore brand. If there is any infringement then person concerned goes back to Singapore brand school.
43. In an experiment conducted in Las Vegas it was found that by spraying a particular smell people gambled more and revenue earnings of casino increased. In a Nike experiment, 84% preferred pair which was sprayed with a smell than pair which did not have any one on it. And they were willing to pay extra for pair with smell. Similarly, it has been found that in part of the store where a particular scent has been sprayed people spend more time and money than in any other part of store which does not have any scent sprayed.
44. 82% felt that Coca Cola tasted better from a glass bottle than from a can. Tactile experience too is important.
45. Vodaphone owns the red color and not Coca Cola. Coca Cola has not been consistent. Coca Cola’s new colors are green, yellow and many other different shades in different countries of world.
46. In the area of sound Microsoft Windows has become the owner of its signature tune. 62% are aware of it. Similarly, Nokia has patented its own tune which is easily recognizable. It was invented 7and1/2 years ago. It takes approximately 9 seconds to locate one’s mobile phone and therefore on the basis of receiving on an average 500 calls per month, one can say that one is hearing the tune 15 hours per year. And, Nokia is making people aware of it without spending any money. Today, there is a 41% awareness of the Nokia tune against a 56% awareness of Intel tune but only after Intel has spent $320 million on advertising it.
47. Sound generates mood and memories. It promotes brand awareness. Sound also communicates brand quality. For instance, the sound of car doors closing. It builds brand recognition and builds brand familiarity.
48. We now have an advertisement in ‘People’ magazine that sings an Elvis Presley number. Ads on paper are now talking and singing.
49. According to a research done by Millward Brown it was found that sensibility to sight increases as education increases. With High School education it is 30% while with Graduation/Post Graduation it increases to 45%.
50. Sensitivity to smell is higher among women (28%) than men (19%). But recall data shows that both sexes are equally affected.
51. Memories get activated and drives brand choice. Our memories are like an untidy, overstocked cupboard. Everything is recalled at once. Senses are the keys to unlocking cupboard. Experience creates and confirms expectations.
52. Positive experience alone is not enough. Distinctiveness and differentiation also matter. Brand success is more than just a great experience. Components of brand success are: Leader, Clarity, Great experience and business model.
53. Emotion plays a role between senses and brand effect. Emotion drives attention and brand processing. Taste is most likely to create the feeling of satisfaction. McDonald’s creates a more cheerful feeling than Burger King.
54. Even among regular users there is a huge difference in loyalty. The more all of the senses are associated the more loyalty is experienced.
55. Structural Path Model is based on senses interacting and creating Leadership, a great Experience and Clarity which leads to Choice.
56. Each Brand can be mapped on which senses it is strong or weak. For instance, Dove has been shown through research to be balanced on all the senses. While Irish Spring depends more on the sense of smell. Research is now attempting to put financial values on the senses and thereby arrive on the total financial value of brand.
57. Vision is incredibly important for brands. It gives one the mandate to go beyond the normal. To do something which requires true inspiration and guts. Apple’s vision is “Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures and not subordinate to them” The Credit Lyonnaise Bank’s vision is “You can only be a partner with someone you think of as an equal.”. Vision is not enough. If at the end of vision statement one crosses one’s brand or company name out and puts competition’s name instead and one finds that there is no difference then throw the vision statement out. There needs to be a tangible difference.
58. At airport one has these racks for ensuring that only bags of a certain size are carried into the plane as hand baggage. On these racks is usually written all the pertinent legal jargon in fine print which the passenger can hardly read and hardly ever does read. Virgin Airlines thought of this as a branding opportunity in keeping with its Vision and Values. What is written on a luggage rack of Virgin Airlines is “You can have a huge ego but only a bag this size.” This is not bland branding. Need to be provocative and add a sense of humor. This becomes branded jargon vs. legal jargon.
59. We should expect enemies and we therefore need to cut off competition. Even if one’s budget is low one can do something innovative to achieve this. There was a pizza owner in Australia who had a budget of just $700. He used this amount to purchase time on a radio station and the radio spot said the following: “Take your Yellow pages book and tear out all the ‘Pizza pages’ and bring them to his outlet and get a pizza free.” Today, he is the biggest pizza owner in Australia.
60. B to B is the same as B to C. We are all human beings and therefore the principles which apply to B to C need to be applied to B to B.
61. The world’s most boring product ‘Roller Bearings’ produced by SKF whose vision statement is “Reduce friction to move the world forward.”
62. If you want to get ahead you don’t have to follow the leader’s tracks in the snow. One needs to benchmark against companies who are the best in the world and not necessarily in your industry. Optimize every touch point and compare with other companies in world.
63. We need today more and more to look at brand alliances and partnerships. For instance, Time-Warner creates content for GM cars. United Airlines serves only Starbucks coffee. DoCoMo, the telecom service provider in Japan identifies for instance people and their friends if they happen to be in same vicinity and invites them to have a tete-a-tete at nearest Starbucks outlet. This is contextual branding.
64. It has been found that no matter which brands team up viz. whether one brand is strong while other is weak or both brands are strong and so on, both will win. We need to think complementarity.
65. When products are more generic in nature it becomes essential that they team up with other brands viz. Nutrasweet with Coca Cola. Intel with the PC.
66. Create your own story and make your own presentation.
67. We need to look at evolution of branding through the following phases viz. USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in 60s to ESP (Emotional Selling Proposition) in 70s, to OSP (Organisation Selling Propostiion) in 80s, to BSP (Brand Selling Proposition) in 90s, to MSP (Me Selling Proposition) in 2000, to HSP (Holistic Brand Proposition) which is happening now with trying to sensorialize brand.
68. Brands are being used by parents to name their kids. Today there are 121 kids with name ‘Nike’, 92 kids with name ‘Canon’, 12 kids with name ‘Starbucks’ and 19173 kids with name ‘Harry’ as a result of Harry Potter phenomenon. People are getting obsessed with brands. In a research, it was found that 18.9% would like to have a tatoo of Harley Davidson, 14.8% Disney, 7.7% Coca-Cola and 6.6% Google.
69. 10 major elements of ‘religion marketing’ are the following: Sense of belonging, Clear Vision, Power from Enemies, Authenticity, Consistency, Perfection, Symbols, Mystery, Rituals and Sensory appeal.
70. Let’s see how brands have applied/not applied these elements. Vision creates community. Every brand needs a public enemy no.1. Coke and Pepsi. When one makes a choice of a brand one is automatically making a clear statement of what one is not. Coca-Cola has not been consistent and has therefore lost the ownership of its red color. Harley-Davidson stresses perfection to the extent of creating a detailed manual showing how a Harley Davidson is to be cleaned. Coca Cola formula or 7X has a mystery created around it. Opening the Champagne bottle with a pop is a ritual. It is very easy to replace the cork with an aluminium cap but the whole ritual with the traditional popping sound will be missed. James Bond ritual of wanting his Vodka Martini ‘Shaken not stirred’. The Olympics are full of rituals which have become more important than Olympic rings. How to pour beer into a glass is a ritual. Corona beer which has to be drunk with a slice of lemon is a ritual which was created by a bartender in Los Angeles to see how fast a ritual spreads. One can invent one’s own rituals and own them.
71. Today’s kids through research, are seen to be more religious than ever. More than 50% state that having religion is more important to them. They are also an Interactive generation. And, control $1.88 trillion through their influence in the purchase of brands.
72. Today kids don’t experience ‘information overload’. In multi-tasking kids outscore adults. While kids can handle on an average 5.4 channels at a time, adults can on an average handle just 1.7 channels. They are the instant generation.
73. Kids grow old young (KGOY). 44% prefer Internet. Next is Gaming and then TV. 20% have purchased products online. 20% find new friends online. Computer game titled ‘Everquest’ has 1.1 million members who spend 28 hours a week playing the game. It needs to be played continuously. So that ‘Avatars’are created. It takes 6-8 weeks to build an avatar. One can’t take a break for too long. The players earn an adult virtual salary. They then take their avatar and sell it on Ebay. There is an ‘EverQuest’ widows club. Wives divorced because the game engrossed their husbands. Entropia is a game where one purchases real estate with virtual cash. In certain games one finds that one can become a franchisee of McDonald’s and run it earning virtual cash which one can exchange for real cash on Ebay. So a kid of average age 9 years learns how to run an outlet profitably. Contextual branding is becoming more and more important. By 2010, it will be worth $1 billion. Hollywood is sourcing its ideas for films from Gaming.
74. Kids today are driven by fear because everything in their world is uncertain. More than half of today’s tweens feel stressed and can’t comprehend their daily life. More than half of the world’s tween population is concerned about terrorism. They find the past secure. They want stability, humor, mastery, fantasy and love. And, that is why sometimes one finds the old fashioned brands becoming popular. The retro effect. They are also continuously into ‘upgrading’.
75. Kids today deliberately distort language. 70% of all tweens change their language on purpose when chatting or texting. 30% of all tweens text several times a day. 15% prefer to text even if they are sitting next to one another.
76. Kids are becoming primary decision makers and therefore Toyota is targeting kids. They have become primary decision makers in upto 80% of all cases. 60% decide car brand. 58% decide clothing brands. 57% decide mobile phone brand. Kids are likely to become just as influential decision makers in households as their parents within 5 years because half of world’s married population are divorced and therefore kids will take on responsibilities earlier. They are substantially more exposed to advertising and media.
77. Kids are now broadcasters. They have their own website. They have become brands.
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