Conscious Of Self-Esteem

"Hey, you ciant piark yer kyar thiees waye, kay?" Owner of neighboring parking slot in my society had picked up American accent.

Perhaps he recently had a week's stint somewhere there. A week ago I'd heard him saying, "Why can't you park your car this way?"

Do you find some people picking up a local slang, be it from a developed destination like in above case or from a rural-interior one from an under-developed geography?

Good if the purpose of such a behavior is to improve grammatical delivery. Or good if a newly learnt short-form is by design to add to personal vocabulary in order to increase productivity.

In both such cases the change might be good if it offers some corresponding functional benefit.

In case of 'American-accent' the change occurred over the week appears more to impress the 'foreign-return' stamp than any value-addition to herself or to the listener. In fact to the listener it was a non-value because the accent was difficult to comprehend. The behavior appears to be purely aesthetic.

In the latter case, corresponding person doesn't seem to be conscious of her self-esteem. She is allowing (rather choosing) it to get deteriorated inadvertently though.

Agreed that under some circumstances one does need to behave "Like Romans in Rome". But carrying Rome lock-stock-and-barrel back to your native place may not be a good idea.

It's like sacrificing your own identity merely to conform to others' expectations or purely to impress others. It's like refusing to take stock of "who you really are and are capable of doing". It's like lack of self-confidence or lack of belief in the self.

Lesson

It's fine if a change in behavior and in turn in personality is for the good or for the better. Alternatively if the change in personality leads to deterioration of current level of performance of the self or that of the others then it's a No.. No!

On this first day of the year, let me thank the year gone by for having given me so many opportunities such as above to learn from. Thank you the year to help me to reinforce as well as to enhance my self-esteem and to help me get ready to embrace the New-Year with newer zeal.

IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important? 
Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It! 
Take your career in fast lane!
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully
Do You Ask Right Questions?  
Do You Force Customers To Quit
Less-With-More Because More-Is-Sore
Should one care for value? 
Talk In Order To Listen!  
Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)
Functional-Aesthetics 

Why Do People Go To Temples

"I feel relaxed there".
"I get peace there".
"I go there to connect to God".

Above kind of responses are not uncommon to a question "Why Do People Go To Temples".

Typically, someone goes to a temple.
Closes her eyes.
Meditates on (chants) a Mantra or a prayer.
Experiences that distractions disappear.

Actually meditation done there helps to concentrate on breath. Hence it becomes more rhythmic.
The resulting feel-good effect there helps to connect with one's inner 'self'. 

Then why isn't the same phenomenon possible everywhere else other than the temple itself?

A reason may be we don't choose to make it possible at the place/s of our choice. Some make it impossible for their own selves to believe in doing so. We force it on our own selves to believe that the God¹ is present residing in the sculpted idol inside the temple. Or that the God¹ is in the stone neatly installed under a tree where people visit with flowers to worship.

In some cases the story might be that some saint had meditated there in past. So the story-teller begins worshipping the site at times for vested interests of playing politics or making business out of it. Story-teller's disciples continue it. Thereafter passer-bys join the queue and make it bigger. Eventually a temple gets constructed at the site. More the passer-bys, more the story-tellers! And more visitors  get added to the passer-bys that leave their trails and tails.

Actually, some benefit does occur in the process. At least some people do visit such places with 'belief' and some with blind 'faith' though. But their good intentioned meditation (even that of a goon visiting) must be helping them clean up their auras that in turn must be leaving trails of positive energy at 'the site'. It is resonance of such positive energies that surely must be accelerating cleaning up of the aura of other visitors.

So, why do I visit such places although I do so rarely. I do visit them irrespective of their origin of place, caste, creed, nationality. It is for the benefit of the possibility of positive auras accumulated there.

But before exercising that option I do consider practising it at my current place of 'being' myself in real-time anytime for any amount of time without waiting for a Muhurta or an agent to advocate doing so.

Footnote:
1/ God I believe is some omnipresent subtle energy of highest nature and level. It chooses to manifest itself in various forms and shapes that an ordinary may be able to (but doesn't) see, touch and feel in the material world around and in the nature itself. God exists there-and-then in the form of 'that' helping person/soul when one gets or gives a Hearty-and/or-Soulful experience in a given moment or situation .

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

कधीतरी सापडेल का शोधता-शोधता ?
I am afraid ! What do I do !!
Fearful-Of-Death-of-Birth
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully
Do You Ask Right Questions ? 
Overworked? Tension? CPU of the mind hung-up?
No Time? Micro-Meditate ! 
Talk In Order To Listen ! 
Eternally Happy !
What You See Isn't What's Made
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'? 
Deity is in the eyes of the beholder
Forgive Or Don't? 
Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity
The Business Of Businesses
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
Beware Of Political-Presentations

Macro-Micro Syndrome

"You are too much into detailing."

Many might have heard this, mostly from bosses. Sometimes same bosses are heard saying, "you lack meticulous execution."

They tend to use former one if and when their macro vision is reasonably in control. They use the latter if macro vision goes out of gear. That's exactly isn't desirable: Choosing one over the other as a matter of convenience.

Generally for any success to be sustainable, both the macro and the micro are supposed to be complementary to each other. It's difficult for one to stand the test of time without support of the other.

It's difficult to reach a desired destination within a desired time with optimum efforts in absence of having a plan and a design in the first place. Nor is it easy to reach there without taking each step meticulously.

"When batting, I was only focused on the next ball — not on the scorecard", said cricketer Rohit Sharma on notching up the highest-ever individual score in one-day international cricket hitting a breathtaking 264 runs against Sri Lanka in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

The late JRD Tata had made commitment to make improvements even on cups and saucers used on his own airlines while on flight number 109 in 1955. 

Does it mean JRD and Rohit were too much into detailing: the micros? 

Does it mean they weren't focused on macros: their goal, target or performance level? 

They very much were!

In fact every successful person always has clarity on her vision and goal before setting out to execute it. It's just that thereafter they meticulously plan for resources and execute each step each day (Nichijo-Kanri as they say in Japanese Management parlance) inching towards their goal rather than bothering about the goal itself at each and every step.

Without detailed checking of condition and level of oil and water, condition of stepney, etc. setting out in a vehicle to reach a destination is not only foolish but is risky as well. Former is about setting the process right to get the result. The latter is about expecting result without putting in adequate efforts.

Former, the micro detailing, is about calculating and safeguarding against the probable risk factors in order to reduce their impact and the risk of failure, if any, while enabling to achieve the macro goals.

Hope meticulous execution doesn't conveniently get ridiculed for it's so-called 'detailing' nor does a typical macro visioning strategy get ridiculed for it's powerful imagination as "Daydreaming".

Also read a few relevant blog-posts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 

Old-Problems, New-Reasons !

Ant Knocks Elephant Down 
Will It Work Here?
Can-changing-thoughts-change-nation?
In-big-problem-wear-hats-to-solve-it 
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important 
Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It! 
Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis 
Will It Work Here? 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Does recognition really matter 
Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ? 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
ABCD of India Shining 
Do You Ask Right Questions?
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'? 

Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ? 

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Comprehensive-Strategic-Audits

Why do strategies fail

Sometimes we get so obsessed with formulation of long-term strategy that we fail to see dangers closing-in around in immediate term.

Sometimes we fail to take course-corrective actions, PEST & SWOT analysis as they say, demanded by changes in the environment in VUCA¹ business-world.

Obsession of long-term thoughts prevents us from engaging into immediate-term actions although they are a must-do actions. We engage ourselves into good-to-do or want-to-do actions. Sometimes out of enthusiasm, sometimes inadvertently though.

Must-do actions are about giving first-aid in order to get immediate relief from a problem as well as preventing recurrence of it.

One can prevent recurrence by keeping a daily vigil on the lessons learnt.

Good-to-do actions are about preventing ocurrence itself of an undesired situation.

Want-to-do actions are about all those sundry ones of least or no consequence to the goal at all.

Secret of successful implementation of strategy lies not only in not allowing thought processes to get de-focused but also in balancing the Must-do, Good-to-do and Want-to-do actions in right proportions thereof.

It's about keeping one eye on long-range vision and the other on shorter-range planning and actions.
It's about keeping one eye on strategy, the other on tactics.
It's about keeping one eye on telescope, the other on microscope.

Footnote-1: VUCA is a Military term that characterises Volatilie Uncertain Complex Ambiguous environment in a war situation.

Also read a few relevant blog-posts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 

Old-Problems, New-Reasons !

Ant Knocks Elephant Down 
Will It Work Here?Can-changing-thoughts-change-nation?In-big-problem-wear-hats-to-solve-itRidiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-cultureWOW Work-Culture: By Telling or SellingIQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-importantTalent-Is-Latent: Enable It!Judge If It's Paralysis-By-AnalysisWill It Work Here?Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-BuyDoes recognition really matterWho Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ?Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !ABCD of India ShiningDo You Ask Right Questions?Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'?

Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ? 

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Comprehensive-Strategic-Audits

Old-Problems, New-Reasons !

There is a vast difference between the two phrases; 

One; Old-Problems-New-Reasons and, 

Two; Old-Problems-Old-Causes or Old-Problems-New-Causes.

Former reflects upon the attitude towards solving problems. 

The latter pertains to the approach towards solving problems.

Same pothole on same footpath, same time of the day, but on a different day ... a different pedestrian falls and gets injured! 

Same municipal officer gives a different reason for the same (fall in the pothole) problem instead of uprooting its causes! This reflects upon the attitude towards solving problems. 

Take another recurring problem: 

Bottleneck due to garbage thrown around the same spot (Gemba) on road causing traffic jam almost every day. 

'Crying' people, both the affected (customers) as well as the problem-solvers (from supplier-side), react with different excuses in order to 'reason out' the same old problem although it recurs due to same old causes.

Problem-solvers with positive approach, instead, dive deep in order to objectively analyse and quickly act upon the corresponding findings. They don't rest until they find out the causes of the recurrence of old causes or occurrence of new causes, if any. 

They ask 'why' the cause recurred .. 'why' it got repeated. 

They do this why-why until the root causes are unearthed and eliminated. This approach is about taking a corrective action, which is supposed to prevent recurrence of the problem. 

Preventive approach to dive deep into locating additional opportunities elsewhere in order to prevent occurrence itself of similar problems due to similar causes is called as proactivity! Problem-solvers with positive attitude and proactive approach do this!

Presumption in the latter exercise is that the proactivity of previous researchers might have had limitations in adequately predicting occurrence of the problems, the failure modes thereof as well as possible errors.

Both the proactive and preventive approaches warrant the problem solvers: One, to be time bound in executing appropriate actions and two, to review them in order to prevent those causes from recurring by installing error-proof (Pokayoke Kaizen) mechanisms; both with a sense of urgency!

Isn't it good then not to be among the people giving New-Reasons for Old-Problems with Old-Causes: the Foolish Behaviour quadrant!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
When Safety Becomes Sorry 
Drove To Hell ... Almost !  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Take Habits For A Ride 
How Many Times Do You Wash Hands
In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !!
Part-1
In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it! Part-2
How To Make A Difference
Big-Be Or Bug-Be !
A Ride To Hell
Make checklists your friends
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 
Waste-to-eat-sea-to-drink
Don't Save Water on Holi-day
Be Shame-less Or Water-less

Cons In The Market

The cell number as in attached screenshot called me today. The conversation went on as follows.

"Calling from ICICI verification department.
You're holding credit card. ICICI has stopped reward scheme. So you will be issued a fresh credit-card that you'll receive in a couple of weeks OK?"

I asked him how could ICICI make such a change unilaterally? That too merely on phone? ICICI should've sent at least a mail to me, I told him.

I warned him off taking this up with their consumer department if he sends credit-card without following some adequate procedure.

Immediately on this communication the caller disconnected phone.

His behavior reinforced my suspicion about the caller being a con-marketeer.

An example of over-smartness used for Market Penetration with wrong ethics, at wrong place with wrong person. It's worth learning how innovatively he used a close-ended question ending saying "OK?"

I may be wrong though. So in order to verify/validate my contention, I forwarded this letter to their customer.care department.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Do you keep curing your brand ? 
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality ! 
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers
Do You Force Customers To Quit
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully 
Do You Ask Right Questions ? 

Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ?

Other day in one of my sessions, the marketing staff complained about (false) sale of some products. The goods sold by the company a couple of years ago were still lying in near-unpacked condition at buyer's end. The new staff at their client company appeared non-cooperative when the seller approached to effect a new sale.

The objective of the training workshop was to improve sales revenue. The case under study turned out to be one of a wrong-sale.

Why were the goods lying in near-unpacked condition for so long?

Because the user didn't find it fit-for-use.

Why?
Because the order was finalized by purchase manager without adequate involvement of the end-user.

What had happened was the seller knew the purchase manager who happened to have 'influence' on closing the deal. So he used his relationship to materialise the order.

In the process the real user got ignored.

Not only does ego of the user gets hurt due to such indifference but also some opportunities get lost.

Opportunity to understand real needs: the voices of grassroot level customers.
Opportunity to design-in such voices in order to make the offering robust.
Opportunity to outdo competition through customized offering.
Opportunity to enhance relationship.
Opportunity to create 'word-of-mouth' publicity advocates reinforced through delightful experience of the offering.

All this loss at the cost of loss of future business.

Buyer's management might succeed in forcing the end-user to use bought goods particularly if it's a costly capital equipment. But such forceful 'selling' calls for some long-term Costs-Of-Poor-Quality (COPQ): Costs due to reluctance to use. Costs of wrong use. Costs due to inadequate serving of purpose. Costs of sour relationships among people within and without.

All this waste because of overselling or inadequate selling.

What's the learning?

Understand the difference between Consumer and Customer! End-user of the pen or pencil, the child for instance, is the consumer. Buyer, the parents, are the customer.

Consider the voice of consumer regarding functional use (her needs) first while designing an offering.

Do consider the voice of customer as well in order to design-in peripheral aspects of the offering as well as nuts and bolts of the corresponding buying process: the wants.

Sometimes however the role of consumer as well of the customer may be played by the same personality.

In any case, she might take presence of both the needs and wants for granted as a 'must'. But the seller/marketeer can't afford to because the absence of both surely won't be taken for granted individually nor jointly by both the consumer as well as the customer.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)
Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)
Functional-Aesthetics
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
How To Make A Difference
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily
Does recognition really matter
Customer or Custo-Mer ? 
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul
Do you keep curing your brand ? 
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality! 
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers
Do You Force Customers To Quit
Should one care for value ? 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Do You Ask Right Questions ? 
Talk In Order To Listen! 

Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis

A mother instructs her child not to run too fast, not to run outside the given track in the garden, not to run without sports shoes, etc. etc.

She'd seen the child injuring herself earlier in absence of observing the discipline of 'not-to' such as above.

Another mother sitting next to her appeared appreciative. She didn't hesitate to share her experience of how her non-observant son had damaged his hamstring muscles irreversibly. She was concerned that her son had been living with the pain since years.

The pathological and clinical tests, investigations, analysis and treatments are now companion for the lifetime, she said.

Question is, is the former approach, the 'nagging' one, correct?

Obviously, but not so obviously!

Former approach can be called as judgemental based on seed-stage deviations that probably were thought to lead to major deviations or crises if not kept under check. It's about commonsensical risk management.

Latter one, the one that involved accidents and treatments, is an analytical approach that reactively analyses major deviations already occurred.

Former one is based on real-time (genjitsu) observations of real-facts-and-conditions of things and people (gembutsu) at the real-place of happening (gemba).

Latter one usually needs extensive analysis. At times it leads to 'paralysis-by-analysis' that necessitates intervention of judgement in order to unlock the tie and move ahead.

Former approach is easy, fast and proactive although seems to appear like 'nagging'. Of course it is expected to incorporate factual learnings from past.

The latter is difficult, time-consuming and reactive one. It's usually a post-mortem that often necessitates involvement of specialist agencies. Most often it results into repentance of irreversible damage and costs.

Importance of structured analysis however can't be undermined particularly if it's for exploratory or descriptive research in order to study cause-effect relationship of an hypothesis on an observed phenomenon in real-time (genjitsu) or for future innovations.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
When Safety Becomes Sorry
Drove To Hell ... Almost ! 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
Take Habits For A Ride
How Many Times Do You Wash Hands
In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !!
Part-1
In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it! Part-2
How To Make A Difference
Big-Be Or Bug-Be !
A Ride To Hell
Make checklists your friends
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 
Waste-to-eat-sea-to-drink
Don't Save Water on Holi-day
Be Shame-less Or Water-less

Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It!

Business of the company that I went to assess was driven by research and development (R&D), high obsolescence of products and uniquely varying needs of customers.

High customisation was the order of the day. That in turn called for high level of customer contact and listening skills in order to capture voice of customer (VOC) precisely. This obviously calls for leadership skills to get it made in-house and get delivered before competition could do.

The need may appear unique to the company. But this in fact is the order of the day for most suppliers given the ever dynamic market place characterised by VUCA¹ and high level of competition.

While CEO of the company was keen to improve business processes to help retain their position externally, simultaneous concern was about 'attrition' he had been facing. Recently 'bought' talent also left, he complained.

Won't the training go waste under such circumstances, he feared.

Between the trained people leaving and untrained ones living (with you) for ever with their errors to annoy you, what is better?

Education, training and coaching builds people. Between 'Building' relevant skills captively versus installing 'Bought' skills as a foreign particle, what is preferable?

Companies need to understand that building pipelines of people is no less important alongside building the pipelines of products. In fact the former should be their prime agenda.

Why do people quit?
Especially those with high aspirations definitely do.

In fact, those without aspirations too move in absence of a conducive environment to hold them back. One of the major reasons of the other party leaving is indifferent treatment be it to people in general or to a customer in particular. 

So one of the most important portfolios of the CEO is not to leave HRD² to HR-D (HR-Department). Instead, creating culture that 'compels' people to stay back should be her hands-on agenda driven personally.

One can't ignore the fact that even seemingly dumb people have intelligence, so-called average though. It usually stays latent or dormant until challenged.

Leaving aside their own ego, superiors just need to facilitate unleashing it by making them feel confident and help them to realise their self-worth. They just need to be given an opportunity and a platform to shine. This can be done by encouraging them to express their thoughts, experiment corresponding changes in their work area without fear-of-failure.

It's a process of enabling³ people.

Once done, latent talent can be seen flowering and flowing-in smoothly. The pipeline of HRD can be seen getting 'built' that not only ensures employee retention but also creates a pull.

How to enable³ people?

First of all collect (Not Buy!) people who have fire-in-their-belly although with not-very-high aspirations and high-qualifications. Then enable³ them step-by-step. 

Step-1. Establish your credibility by demonstrating your actions on what you speak.

Step-2. Explain your expectations from them. Communicate your urgency and seriousness through complimentary evidences.

Step-3. Educate, train and coach them.

Education is to help them acquire goal specific knowledge.
Training is to help them acquire goal specific and industry-relevant, organisation-specific skills.
Coaching is to help them on 'Do-Why' and 'Do-How' in order to apply the knowledge and skills to enthusiastically achieve the goals of common good.

Step-4. Encourage, inspire & motivate to keep them engaged in the process. Give them a platform to showcase their talent and to shine.

Step-5. Empower them: Give them freedom-within-a-framework to experiment without fear of failures.

Step-6. Ennoble, means dignify them with high respect. Recognize & reward their achievements by actively listening to their efforts.

Step-7. Repeat the enablement cycle to take up higher challenges.

'Building' people rather than 'Buying' them is in a true sense creating a learning organisation as companies like Toyota do. It's their company level strategy driven by the top rather than merely a HRD² strategy left to the HR-D.

Footnotes:
1. VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. A term of military origin that represents warfare environment.
2. HRD: Human Resource Development.
3. Model 7-E© from Book "How To Enable A Change Process? Start-From-Self". Author: Shyam Talawadekar.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily
Does recognition really matter
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan
Take your career in fast lane!
Succession-Plans In Fast Lane! 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!  
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?
Make checklists your friends 
Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow
How To Make A Difference
Big-Be Or Bug-Be !
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality!
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers

Do You Force Customers To Quit

Insurance policy of both my car and scooter was about to expire.

I'd sold off the scooter. So when my insurance agent called me to renew it's policy, I ignored it saying the new owner will take care of it.

After a couple of weeks, when my car went for road tax payment I realised that it's insurance policy had expired. Actually my insurance agent did call me to renew car's policy but I'd inadvertently ignored his reminder thinking it was for the 'sold scooter'.

Red-tape that followed was inevitable. The procedure explained to me by the insurance agent was:

Take the scooter to the insurance company.
They'll inspect it before issuing the policy
They'll charge fine for 'discontinuation'.

Making the job 3D: Dirty-Danger-Difficult for the customer. 

While the insurance agent refused to followup with the company, the road tax agent came to my rescue saying "don't worry". May be the former was lacking motivation due to 'smallness' of business while the latter was interested in acquiring a new customer: Market development strategy as the jargon goes in management world! Theory of relativity!

The road tax agent got the insurance done from another company. Everything home delivered at just ten percent charge of the total official receipt amount.

In fact the policy issued by the competitor was priced at almost thirty percent discount.

The indifferent procedure of the previous insurance company and the behavior of it's agent (the first touch-point as it's brand ambassador) to take the customer for granted costed them business.

The Cost-Of-Poor-Quality (COPQ) to them was not only the loss of business but also a permanent loss of customers. I said loss of customers because bad-mouth publicity by every dissatisfied customer takes away more than one potential ones.

What's the learning?

More than the hard quality itself of your offering, it's the lack of soft quality, your indifference, that forces customers to call it a Quit!

So better to be-aware of behavior!!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

In-a-problem ? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!
Customer or Custo-Mer ? 
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul
Do you keep curing your brand ? 
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality! 
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers
Less With More And More Gets Sore
Should one care for value ? 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice? 
The Business Of Businesses
That's how some business partnerships work
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily
Does recognition really matter
That's How Morons Work
Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity

Not So 'Raddi' Business Model

'Raddi' is a common term used in India for scrap papers that include newspapers. As a slang when someone says it's 'Raddi' it means it's rubbish.

But the business of buying-n-selling 'Raddi' itself isn't 'Raddi'. It's actually an evergreen business flourishing with an enhanced focus on Reuse-Recover-Recycle (3R).

With varying rates in various seasons, in monsoon it fetches the least price.

Like each business has it's tricks, the 'Raddi' fellow has not so 'Raddi' tricks in his Business Model. Can you spot one in the picture?

Leaning the 'Raddi' against legs: The trick is to support it so that it weighs less than actual.

He buys at ten (10) bucks per kilogram and sells at fifteen (15).
You think he makes five bucks profit per kilogram.
Gross profit of fifty (50%).

Wait a minute! There's something more to it.
The weight 'shown' to you on scale: ten (10) kilogram is false.
If you ask him not to lean the 'Raddi' against body, his trick number-one gets preempted.
Ask him not to hold the weigh-scale by two hands. Trick number-two gets preempted.

Minus his creative innovations (the tricks), same 'Raddi' weighs twelve (12) kilogram.
'Tricky' bonus of a cool twenty percent i.e. (12-10 means) two-kilogram extra material or 0.20 per Kg that fetches him rupees three extra.
So the 'real' profit is five bucks plus 'tricky' bonus of three bucks.

Earning eight (8) bucks over ten (10).
Gross profit of eighty percent (80%) almost.

Not very difficult maths.

'Raddi' Business, but not so 'Raddi' Business Model though!

Of course with an unethical side to it that's unacceptable!!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:  Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?
That's how some business partnerships work
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Take Habits For A Ride
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
Do You Ask Right Questions? 
The Business Of Businesses
Business Eco-rgonomics

Invisible Tension

"You have to pay penalty: Rupees Two Thousand.

Why Ma'am?

Because you didn't 'declare' that you had held a passport as a child.

Madam it's inadvertent. During last visit the other 'window' advised to make fresh application under 'reissue' category instead of 'renewal'.

Then go to that window", shouted the 'cashier' (window).

"Fine. I don't have cash right now. Do you have facility to pay on-line?

Don't waste my time...". The lady reacted with an angry sermon. She kept me waiting endlessly. At the closing hours she put some remarks on the application asking to come back on Monday.

Questions that remained unanswered were:

Has she put some adverse remarks on the application?
Are they going to accept the penalty in cash on Monday?
If they do, then what are the next steps?
How many days it'll take to get the passport?
If they don't, then what? And so on.

My son returned with these thoughts that kept bothering him until Monday.

In many situations, one gets preoccupied with such worrying thoughts primarily because of lack of visibility of "what next?"

Someone borrows money but doesn't observe commitment to repay. Nor does he bother to give visibility to when he'll repay. A case of shattering trust.

School authorities don't give visibility for admission process and deadlines and so on.

A standard advice under such circumstances is not to get preoccupied with worrying thoughts. But it's easier said than done.

Isn't there some responsibility (on us as suppliers) to our customers?

Can't we bring in visibility to our role in meeting expectations of the customer and a timeline to do so?

Or is it a strategy by design to give the customers sleepless nights by forcing her to guess "what next?"

If 'Yes', then for a criminal it might be fine. But otherwise it's a criminal behavior.

Is Your Job Boring

Job gets boring if a job is a 'job'.
Job gets boring when a job gets chosen primarily for the money it pays.

When job gets boring, the output 'bores' customer. And then the employer gets axing on you. 

Very often, people don't love their job if chosen jobs are not their passions.
Mentally as well as physically they get tired faster than they think if they don't love their job... Usually so before even they begin it.

End of a typical tiring day however, most don't mind playing a game of their choice tirelessly.
While playing people don't get tired easily. Usually so because play is a generic passion.

In fact they get happy because people love whatever they do passionately.

Double whammy! 

Not-paid play... not boring!!
Well-paid 'good' job.... but boring!!! 

What do do?

Don't lose heart yet.
Don't allow emotions to overrule you.

Do continue the job as usual during week days.

Ask probing questions in order to unearth your passion.
Finance it by the earnings from the job.
Nurture the passion on week-ends.

Look for skills common to both the job as well as the passion.
Try to compliment job to passion and passion to job.
Probability of the passion becoming passionate-job one day enhances.
'Job' might become a play and career thereafter.

Play gets played passionately.
Passionate play brings in happiness holistically.
When happy, the resultant output gets more productive and value-adding.

Afterall play is a play.
Everyone loves it without bothering about Hours.
And job is a job.
Everyone hates job; watching Minutes-after-Minutes for Hours together and Hours-after-Hours for Years together.

Read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan
Take your career in fast lane!
Succession-Plans In Fast Lane! 
In-a-problem? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully
Do You Ask Right Questions? 
Overworked? Tension? CPU of the mind hung-up?
No Time? Micro-Meditate! 
Talk In Order To Listen! 
Eternally Happy!

Water-Hour: What'an-Hour

What-An-Hour it was!

On our monthly-music-meet day, suddenly power went off! 

Although the electricity company had declared timetable for load shedding, usually their poor work practices don't allow them to stick to it. In absence of power to music system our lunch had to be preponed.

I picked up my snack plate that was still around me, rinsed it a bit and reused it for lunch. I used the leftover water from my drinking glass. 

My friend exclaimed at my 'funny' behavior. I said I wash my plate regularly at home as well as wherever else possible. Whenever I wash hands, I pick up at least one utensil to wash. Two-birds-in-One: Hands and the utensil washed using same amount of water that anyway I would've used to wash hands!

While writing this post, I remembered the so-called 'countdown to EARTH HOUR (23rd March at 20.30 hrs)'. Just before it had 'begun', the same friend had reminded me to participate in it. Why not observe such HOURS every MINUTE, I had exclaimed. That I had just returned from a around where I'd put off a couple of fans including one in the toilet. It was left ON by the previous user. 

While I do appreciate importance of such HOURS, the intention can be best evidenced by making it a habit taking it beyond the HOUR.

Hats off to those who instead of waiting until such '20.30 HOUR' head right away to 'Switch-off' an appliance left 'ON' inadvertently though. 

Power generation needs human activity, water and other resources. Salutation is because such people are able to see direct or indirect link of almost every wasted human activity to that of waste of water.

Hats off to those who commit to be conscious to a cause in present tense. Hats off because they don't allow thoughts to constipate. Because they go beyond their 'knowledge' of 'zero-wastage'. They make others learn through their demonstration of 'an-action-each-moment-a-day'.

One must experience the satisfaction one derives and the respect one earns by by committing to 'Save Even-A-Little, At-Each-Opportunity, Each-day, Each-Minute...' rather than once a year on a "Happy........ Day!" 

Read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Rise-n-Fall in the Rain-Fall 

Take Habits For A Ride 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

How To Make A Difference

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Poverty-to-Power of Poetry

Bird that just chirped

Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save ! 

Soon-waste-to-eat, Sea-to-drink !

Don't Save Water on Holi-day

Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green

Not-Soon, Says Monsoon

Rise-n-Fall in the Rain-Fall   

Be Bug-Be Or Big-Be ?

Overcome The Tyranny Of Small Minds 

While reading the above spiritual article, it occurred to me that there could be four kinds of people in the corresponding context.

1/ Big people with small mind: Bugger-Be !
2/ Big people with big mind: Bigger-Be !
3/ Small people with small mind: Bug-Be !
4/ Small people with big mind: Big-Be !

First category of people (read the corresponding blogpost on the link) is the one that is powerful enough but doesn't bother about other's presence. Bugger-Be doesn't make contribution to other's rightful needs nor to the societal ones.

Last category of people (the so-called small people with big mind: Big-Be !) is the one that is not powerful at all. But it empowers itself in order to bother about other's presence. It also makes diffrence to the small world around them by contributing to other's rightful needs. Through their value adding actions, it makes others think and act!

It's actually the Big-people (the first and the third category) that can make significant diffrence to others and to the socio-economic needs.

Wheel-of-Worldly activity, however, is somehow getting managed because of presence of the last category of ('small') people. The wheel might run faster (and in a better fashion) if the quadrant of the first category of people reduces and the size of second category of people (Bigger-Be With Big-Mind) increases.

Easiest way for the Bugger-Be to turn into a Bigger-Be in this context is to copy actions of the last category: That of the Big-Be !

Big-people do have power to influence bigger circles of people at a bigger scale!!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

No Time? Micro-Meditate!  

ABCD of India Shining

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow

How To Make A Difference

Nauseous Communication Gaps

Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis

Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!

Will It Work Here? 

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

That's how some business partnerships work

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Do You Ask Right Questions? 

Andon For Visibility Before 'Andolan'

It was a huge protest (Andolan!) after the infamous Delhi gang-rape in a moving bus and another one in Mumbai. As a reactive fallout, one of the actions was strict adherence to the rule: Windows of all vehicles should be transparent.

This action is to bring out visibility, failure of which might result into crises such as above. Focus of this blogpost is to bring out it's importance generically.

Imagine there's no timetable, be it of a train or an exam or of a training classroom. And one is forced to keep guessing time of arrival/departure of a train or keep shuttling around notice boards that are usually difficult to locate/access if at all they exist at corresponding venues. 

Imagine seat numbers not marked inside an outstation train compartment or a theater.

Imagine a speed-breaker is not painted and you bump into it at 40 kilometres per hour.

Above situations may be rare in some cases. Visual systems in above cases in particular might have got more or less matured due to fear of resultant chaos. You are lucky if bogie of a train arrives at a designated location-mark on the platform. Now-a-days (inside a local train as well) they announce arrival of stations. You are lucky if 'sometimes it functions'.

In organised workplaces such Visual Systems are known as Andon: A visual communication management innovation perfected by Toyota. An example closer to you might be a display of token number in a bank alongwith an announcement and hooter sound to attract attention.

But why aren't versions on similar lines practised in other professions and places? There's a tremendous scope for bringing out visibility in order to make work predictable, prevention oriented and simpler in many other situations. The productivity benefits to customers thereby outweigh the costs of doing so in geometric progression.

A medical professional, for instance, might be able to impress upon a patient about speedy recovery if he hands over a Do-Don't instruction to be adhered to (featuring a sketch on how they work).

An electrician could display some sketches of the Do-Don'ts in case of a trouble that he shoots at. An accident may get preempted or a breakdown may get attended to faster with such Do-Don't lessons.

A computer mechanic could display, say, a sketch indicating where frequently possible loose connections can be mended autonomously.

A 'customer service' window could have 'steps' displayed with necessary sketches in case of actions to be taken during 'what-if' situations. Their office inside has signboards, labels on racks, files, etc. instead of a mess. Corresponding delays may get eliminated thereby.

An organisation, for instance, could make it's career-plan-ladder self-explanatorily 'visual'. Attrition may get reduced as a result.

Absence of practices such as above are examples of poor visibility prevalent in typically complacent organisations.

Sometimes lack of visibility is inadvertent. Sometimes it's intentional in order to protect vested interests.

Poor visibility breeds abnormalities such as defects, delays, corruption,etc. Ultimately it leads to less optimised performance as well as spoiled relationships.

That's why excellent workplaces promote visibility in innovative ways by using graphs, pictures, radiant colors, blinking lights, hooters, etc. as done in Seiton practice of Five-S's. 

They know that Andon For Visibility is better than resultant Andolan due to lack of it. They know that it's as dangerous as driving on a heavily raining day with a very very poor visibility as low as a couple of meters.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post via social media.

That's How Morons Work
Functional-Aesthetics
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
Take Habits For A Ride
Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow
How To Make A Difference
A Ride To Hell
Make checklists your friends 
Drove To Hell ... Almost !
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!
That's How Morons Work
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
Succession-Plans In Fast Lane! 
Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
How Many Times Do You Wash Hands
What You See Isn't What's Made
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'? 
Beware Of Political-Presentations
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings
Are You Good If Others Are Bad?