Reebok vs. Nike !!!

When Nike outbid Adidas and Reebok, to become the official kit supplier for Team India and used its famous ‘swoosh’ on the arms of the Indian players, every one thought it would be Nike all the way.
It spend 200 cr, to get best possible form of branding available in India, i.e. sponsoring Indian Cricket Team.

Reebok, answered they rivals in style, with the following steps,

1) Seven players of Indian Team, endorse Reebok which include, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan.

2) Reebok persuaded them to sport the Reebok logo on their bats, pads and gloves.

3) Around 50 domestic and international players sport the Reebok logo on their bats, compared to almost none by Nike.

Now compare the impact of "Swoosh" on the arms and "Logo" on the bats !

According to Subhinder Singh Prem, MD of Reebok India,

"A cricket lover perhaps wouldn’t remember the logo on Sachin Tendulkar’s jersey but ask him about his bat and pad would come the reply — is it MRF? It makes sense because according to industry estimates, a promising player who has just burst into the scene earns only a couple of lakh of rupees to sport a logo on his bat for 2-3 years. And with Rs 200 cr you can have a lot more players doing that with greater effect. The trick is to catch them young. "

For Reebok, its now, jingles all the way !!!



***In the Rs 800-crore Indian premium sportswear market, Reebok is the leader with a marketshare of 51%, followed by Adidas at around 25%. After Adidas acquired Reebok globally for $3.8 billion in September 2005, the combined share stands at 76%. The balance is accounted for by Nike and Puma, with Nike in the third spot.

Source : Economic Times

End to Early-Age Rat-Race !!!

Let's get back to memories of the childhood!
Remember, you always wished play with your friends or to watch cartoon, but were always pulled back! Remember, all the scolding that you have got, either from your parents and teachers!
And every time you protested, you were repetitively told, "Study, otherwise you will FAIL !"
From the day we entered the school, we all were victims of tuitions, coaching, peer competition, parent's expectations and what not!
Thank god, the next generation would not be victim of this "Early-age Rat-Race".

Recently, Rajya Sabha, have passed a bill, "Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008", according to which, a student cannot be failed for the reasons of poor performance, up to a certain age.

As quoted in economic times, "No school in the land can fail or turf out children for reasons of poor performance until a certain stage. The onus of responsibility for academic progress would, in fact, rest on the schools themselves. Now this is reason enough to cause rapturous joy among the youngsters, hitherto victims of the undeniable tyranny of an early-age rat race. "

Hurray !!!

People's Car - Not for people !!!

Tata Nano will be launched soon in months of January to March. But the shocking news is, it would be rolled out in limited quantity. Ravi Kant, the company's managing director announced, "We are looking at something to bring it (out) as fast as possible ... kind of an interim arrangement ... from one of our existing plants. These will be small quantities. Let a few customers at least have a touch and feel of the car."

It’s a risky strategy!
Reason, "First impression, is last impression!"

I believe, Tata Nano should not be launched in a phased approach. Because, if customers found some technical glitch (high probability) in Tata Nano, it will spread the negative word of mouth. Also, all the auto experts would be ready to give reviews on Nano. And if reports would be negative!!! This negative image would lead to sharp fall in the demand of Tata Nano, for the next phase of roll-out.

Tata Motors, have never been famous for product quality. Moreover, questions have already been posed on Tata Nano's safety features. People will rather wait for a better quality product, than a poor product.

Adding to that, it will also give competitors a chance to have "touch and feel of the car". Competitors like Bajaj could also influence in spreading negative word of mouth.

You're Still The One... !!!

One of my favorites by Shania Twain, this song is dedicated to all the love birds, fighting it out, against the biased rules of the family and society. And when everyone cribbed... their love grew stronger.
Listen to this...
"When I first saw you, I saw love.
And the first time you touched me, I felt love.
And after all this time, you're still the one I love.

Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'

I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come my baby"

Malnutrition... by Choice !!!

Kingfisher Calendar for the year 2009 is about to release. I just saw, few teasers of that.And one thing came to my mind.
Malnutrition!!!

Find the difference between the above pictures!!!

For me,

One is "Malnutrition by Choice"!

Other, "Malnutrition due to Hunger"!

One get paid to be malnutritioned, the other one, being left to street dogs!!!
Is this we call,Diversity or Adversity !!!

You decide!!!

Recession... A Boon !!!

I am fed up listening to teachers, industry, media etc. talking only about recession and its negative impact of economy. But I always believe that there are always two sides of the coin. Let there be some positivity in the environment.

So what are the advantages of recession?
Are there any?
Shouldn't they be discussed?

Few I could think of, are as follows:

1) Recession led to drop in inflation. That's a really good news!

2) Students getting jobs in this time frame, will have great future ahead. Companies are really selective in hiring students and only the best will be recruited. Earlier when companies were on a hiring spree, It was about, "Survival of the fittest". But now, "Survival of the best". And I found, students preparing themselves extremely hard, to become the best.

3) All the "Whales" of the business have been struck badly by recession. Thus, companies with better operational strategies, better management, and better marketing would only succeed, even they being a "Fish". Now the playing field is leveled.

4) Its good time to do an MBA! Those who were planning to do it, but couldn’t get time out of their jobs, should get an MBA right now. Reason? In their job, their would be no increment in salary,and chances of being kicked out. Pass these 2 recessionary years, in an MBA college, and come back with flourishing salaries again.

5) Home Loan interest rates have reduced. Buy a house !!!

6)…

7)…

8)…

Its an open forum friends! Suggest few other advantages of recession, or criticize those pointed out.
I want this list to be as long as the disadvantages of recession.

Be a step ahead, think positive, think out of the box, and think… think… think…!!!

Dare to speak in Hindi...!!!

Have you ever been scolded of speaking in Hindi ? I am sure, that the answer would be yes. It is a common phenomena in Schools (English medium) and Colleges of India. I am in a business school, and here we find students studying from every part of India. I have recently found my friends scolded of, "Murmuring" in Hindi. They believe, English is language of corporates, businesses and the industry.
Not an issue!

Languages have always helped in socializing. Let us take a day to day example. If you find your faculty, a "Bong", and you being too, you will soon find a rapport with him/her, chattering in Bengali. Similarly a "Kannadiga" would be able to please his/her "Kannadiga" teacher, "Mallu" has a good rapport with "Mallu" faculty, and the same story repeats for Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu etc.. But you cannot follow the same rule for Hindi. Dare to speak Hindi in front of your faculty! It is been considered that, English is the language of the literate, where as Hindi, "a cheap language". Similar phenomena is also seen among the students also.
Not an issue !

The issue?
Even regional languages are more respected in India than Hindi. As Hindi is considered as the language of weaker section of the society.

The reason?
Hindi is the language of the masses. And I have always felt, something which is in abundant never gets respect. Hindi being spoken in all parts of the country, doesn't get its due respect. Where as regional languages like Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil etc. are not considered as low as Hindi, in comparison to English.

The solution?
Even I don't know. Might be people associated with Hindi literature could suggest something on it. Might be, we could ever stop thinking, one language being superior to other.

But why to blog about it?
It was just an observation, that even Hindi being our national language, it never got due respect whereas other regional languages have scored much more in dignity.
And in the end, as every one believes, Hindi is our "मात्र भाषा " !!!

My dream?
Someday, the world would be striving to learn Hindi language, similar to, as we are desperately running after English!

Exciting American Bailout...!!!

My friend Manik Gursahani mailed me, these interesting facts about American Bailout. I couldn't resist it posting it on blog.Read on.

"Adding in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.
Some what around $7 trillion after auto bail out.....
People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est),Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion"

Source : http://boingboing.net/2008/11/25/bailout-costs-more-t.html

Campaign Against Terror... Perspectives !!!

I am a bit confused after the Mumbai attacks, about the rage that is seen among the media and people.But before that let's see, where were recent terrorist attack in the near future.This year, it started in May at Jaipur, then in July at Ahmedabad, in September at Delhi and the last, in November at Mumbai. So I was discussing that why there is so much rage among Indians this time. There were attacks earlier also, but we have never seen people coming to the streets as one voice, against the government (due to their lack of preparedness) and the politicians (because they being politicians). I could see two aspects to it.

One, which is popularized by the media, as "Enough is Enough". The series of attacks in recent times have affected the mindset of Indian people. Each attack has added fuel to the fire within every Indian. But this time, they couldn't resist more. Indian public, for the first time in such quantum, have came out on roads to support martyrs and to criticize the Government. And luckily, all these people on the road does not belong to any party, caste or community. Thankfully, they all acted as Indians!

Second, with which many may differ is, for after a long long time, terrorist attacks have affected the affluent and rich section of the society. This time the victims were the people, who could afford to be at Taj, Oberoi's or Nariman House. Before this, attacks at Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi, were the attacks on the "Common Man". In the Mumbai attack, there were foreigners, high profile industrialists, celebrities. At Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi, people died were poor people who use public transport, were at bus-stops, or shopping at streets of these cities. It could be possible, media is getting support of these affluent people to publicize this attack as this has affected their lives directly (for the first time).

These are just perspectives. Nothing is right or wrong.
The purpose of writing all this, is to ask the people of India, that why aren't they expressing themselves in the same way, every time!
Why aren't they coming forward, taking responsibilities, and helping a change!
And why isn't media highlighting similar issues in the same way, the way it is been this time!
I just know one fact. No matter who died, whether a beggar or businessman, we all lost a "Human Being" irrespective of his/her stature, caste or creed.

Death came in same way for all, every time!

Anand...never dies...!!!

I saw the movie "Anand" today, I guess for the n'th time.
Yes, I had tears in my eyes, I guess for the n'th time.
Yes, the movie influenced the way I live life, again, I guess for the n'th time.

Certainly, the movie is an epic. Not just because, it was a huge hit of 1970s, neither it being a path-breaking movie. Rather, adding to the above two reasons, it leaves you with a thought!

The thought is, "Life should be great, not long !!!"

"Anand" the protagonist, is the patient of cancer, and has only 6 months to live more.
And in the words of "Anand" himself,

"What’s the difference between 70 years and 6 months. Death comes in a second. But in these 6 months, I will live every moment. If you are scared of death, what's the essence of death. As long as I am alive, I am not dead."

Friends, see this movie, if you have not seen it till yet. See this movie again, even if you had.

And the mine favorite dialogue from the movie,
"Does, every smile means joy, sometimes its sorrow also!"

No "Brands"… No "Business"!!!

We all are surrounded by, Brands! Today, a person don't go to a mall or store to buy a commodity like salt or flour. They go to buy a brand. Now salt is associated with Tata salt and Flour with ShaktiBhog Atta.

But imagine a world without brands. Imagine you enter a store to buy toothpaste. And you realize that, in the shelf, all toothpastes are kept in white packaging, without names attached to it. What will you buy? In fact it could be a world without choice, moreover without competition. And the word "Business" has no relevance without the word competition.

Give me few answers.

Why a toothpaste promotes itself as Neem based toothpaste?
To differentiate!

Why to differentiate?
To gain competitive advantage!

Why to gain competitive advantage?
To gain market share and to be market leader!

But in the world without brands, where, customers have no choice, then why to differentiate, why to compete, and then why to lead!
Thus, I believe business is all about brands.
No "Brands"… No "Business"!!!

AL-QAEDA HIRING !!!

In a recession, when companies are freezing there recruitments, jobs are few. Students of 2-tier MBA colleges are waiting for companies to come for placements. B-schools have also tighten up their belts, working hard on their students to make them industry-ready (rather I would say interview-ready).
Imagine Al-Qaeda comes to hiring to these schools !



The letter from the placement office would then look like this.

"Dear Students,

We are pleased to inform you that Al-Qaeda would be visiting our campus on 30th February at 9:30 PM. The mass- recruitment process would be held at Underground Library.


Al-Qaeda, is an International Sunni Islamist Movement founded in 1988. Al-Qaeda have attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, the most notable being the September 11 attacks in 2001.Its management philosophy has been described as "centralization of decision and decentralization of execution."Following 9/11 and the launching of the War on Terrorism, it is thought al-Qaeda's leadership has "become geographically isolated", leading to the "emergence of decentralized leadership" of regional groups using the al-Qaeda "brand name."

Students of Marketing, Human Resource and Finance all can apply.
Freshers would be given preference.

The Position offered would be "Assistant Manager"

Salary Package :

4 Lakhs Basic + 5 Lakhs reward for family (yearly) + 5 Lakh Incentives per terrorist act
p.a.. Company will provide accommodation, transport & food / allowance.

Profiles would be according to various following verticals within the organization :

• The Military Committee, responsibility for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.
(Only Marketing, engineers preferred)

• The Money/Business Committee, to run business operations, to provide air tickets and false passports, to pay Al-Qaeda members, and to oversee profit-driven businesses.
(Only Finance)

• The Law Committee to review Islamic law and to decides if particular courses of action conform to the law.
(HR only)

• The Islamic Study/Fatwah Committee to issues religious edicts
(All can apply)

• Media Committee, to ran the now-defunct newspaper Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast) and handled public relations.
(Only Marketing, Mass Comm. Or advertising background preferred)

• Al Qaeda's As-Sahab, a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.
(Only Marketing)

Location would be as per students preference among the following countries :
USA, UK, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Saudi Arab, Indonesia, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt and Israel

Selection Process :

Physical Test
GD
Psychometric Test
Interview

Those of you who are interested to apply, be a step ahead, and give your names to your Placement Volunteers not later than 6.p.m tomorrow

To know more about the company read "Al-Qaeda's Training Manual".
 
Regards,

XXXXXXXX "

It's a Dirty Job...!!!

Placements are on! Everybody is busy evaluating opportunities, in this turmoil. For some, Brand is a key issue. For some Package, and for few, the Profile is important. But their are few jobs, which are "Dirty" in nature, but their should be someone to take the responsibility.

Imagine jobs like cleaning up human excrement or taking care of the dead ! Finding it Dirty ? What if, there is no one to do such jobs ? A sweeper, an undertaker does all this for us. In return, they didn't even get our respect.


And jobs like cleaning up social evils or taking care of the needy ? Finding it tough ? Again, what if no one helps the needy? What if, no one fight against the social evils to reform societies?

Yes, someone should stood up and take any one of these responsibilities ! Gandhiji stood for Harijans, Raja Ram Mohan Roy for Widows and CRY for under-privileged children.

We need to thankful to those people, who does these "Dirty" jobs !

Nowadays people are earning good money, by doing these dirty jobs.
Let's see "The top 10 high paying dirty jobs".

Educated, but Sadistic...!!!

Hmm... this is what always scares me! I couldn't find any good reason, when educated people find fun in irritating or torturing others. I guess they all study,just to get good jobs and fat salaries. For me education is not mere a mode of getting jobs. Instead, eduction is a mode to enlightenment, that helps you thinking what is right or wrong. Many people never understood this. Infact, they enjoy being sadistic and torturing people as their slaves.

Read this one friends, another example of sadistic behavior. For live examples, we have one in college!

"Couple-allegedly-tortured-housemaid-to-destress !"

Irreplaceable... DADA !!!

Just yesterday I wrote about,motivation to write. One thing, or infact I should say, one man that motivates me to write this article is Saurav Ganguly "The Off-Side GOD". He is retiring.He is playing his last test-match at Nagpur.Today we all wished him to score a century before he leaves, but Krejza got him on 85.Nevertheless, it didn't affect "Dada's" stature.

Cricket was (or is... I am confused) the game of Gentlemen. Indians took this term a bit too seriously, whereas teams like Australia snubbed it.Indians were more of "Gentle" rather being "Men"!
When Dada took captaincy,he insured Indian team should play like "Men" even if not being gentle.He injected aggressiveness in Indian line-up.He nurtured his young talented mates and supported players like Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Zaheer at the time of their despair. He fought for anti-regionalism in Indian team. He never played cricket as just a game, it was war for him. It was always about India's honor.

And not to forget about his batting.
Genius, when it comes to off-side!
Powerful, when it comes to hitting sixes to spinners!
Patience,when it comes to anchoring innings and hitting centuries!

I salute you Mr.Ganguly for motivating us.For making us believe, "Yes we can do it"!

Many people criticized you, but you were among those who came out tougher,when the situations were tough.
You taught us to be a step ahead when it's about your country, your morals, your honor.You dared to face any adversities, whether it was Steve Waugh, Greg Chappell, injuries or BCCI.

I bid you adieu Dada. You are irreplaceable!

Blogging... is what???

You all must be thinking, is blogging a fad? Why many people start their blog,write for few days...and fizz...!!!
As per me,I have an excuse.I am not finding anything that could motivate me to write and the real reason could be, that I am not reading a lot these days. For others, blogging may be a fashion, marketing tool or source of earning. But for me, it helps me propagating a thought,which I believe should be spread among all as a social necessity.Whenever I ever stumble upon something interesting, I don't forget to be a step ahead. Let me be the torchbearer.

As Mr.Seth Godin rightly comments,
"The best measure of a blog is not how many people it reaches, it’s how much it changes what you do. Changes your posture, your writing, your transparency, your humility. What blogging has done for me is made me think. I get to think about how the outside world will understand something I’m trying to do, for example.
This means, of course, that you get almost all of the goodness of a blog long before you have a lot of readers."

Fight Back Gals...!!!

Saturday evening, sitting in McDonalds, Gossips n Food!!!
What a Life!!! Life full of fun.

But if you will spare your eyes away from friends, you could see a promotional screen in most of the McDonalds. Many advertisements are shown in the screen from movies to websites.
Just a glimpse to it, and I read,"Visit www.fight-back.net".
It created a curiosity in my mind.What is this fight-back? I waited for that advertisement to repeat.And I saw something special, something of my interest.
I rushed back home,browsed the website and I was impressed! It was something which I always wished to do.

www.fight-back.net is website made to reduce gender-biasness,especially any form of female harassments. This website includes detailed information regarding helpline no.s, legal resources and forum for discussion. It teaches you how to file complaints against any form of harassment, gender biasness.

"FIGHT-BACK is finally your movement. It will take the shape that you give it. Use it like a tool box, a rallying cry or a shield against violence. Woman, man or child, gender violence has to end."

Moreover, it also includes Hall of Shame which includes name and stories of famous cases, their convicts and other relevant information. So if you want to read something about Priyadarshini Mattoo, or Manu sharma, go this website. Moreover, this website is linked to Facebook also.

This websites is really relevant for women, as they can acquire more knowledge, and they can be more alert, smart, proactive. We need our women counterparts to fight-back against any type of harassment. It may be eve-teasing, rape, molestation or something else.

So friends, go to this website, read, and spread awareness!!!

Such initiatives should be praised.
As when it comes to morality, we should always be a step ahead.

SORRY !!!

Sorry friends,for not writing a blog for so many weeks or I should say months.
I guess its been 3 months.But now I an back,and I would try to be bit more regular,even after a tight schedule these days.
In these 3 months, I was busy in my term end examinations and then a hectic TATA MOTORS internship.Internship is still on,still tough, still hectic, with more intensity. But that's where the challenge lies.
We will be meeting soon, with my new experiences and articles!

Mentos "Dimag ki batti jalaa de" !!!

Have you all seen the latest advertisement by the Mentos.It shows a Monkey as slave of Donkey. Monkey is driving the donkey through the jungle. Donkey decides to take rest. Overthere, the monkey finds a "Mentos". It offers it to the donkey. But being egoistic, the donkey refuses. Monkey eats it, and runs away. And as its tagline says, "dimag ki batti jala de". While running, evolution of monkey to a man is shown. Man meets the donkey at same place and now, Man rules the donkey.


That's the funny part. But it could be used for learning as well. I assume our Indians as monkey, and developed nations like U.S.A, U.K. etc as donkeys. We just need to take some risks, some quick aggressive moves, some innovations and soon we will be developed as Men, as referred in the advertisement. Sooner or later, we would ruling them!
In the same way, we alliance students can be compared as monkeys! And IIM grads as donkeys! Don't worry. Let them be in their dreamy world. We just need to take some risks; we need to run bit faster, work a bit harder. And soon we will be at the top, with better salaries, better profiles.

And as I always say, we need to be a step ahead!

India into "bits n pieces"....

A question to you all.
How do you identify yourself as?
As an UP bhaiya, kannada, mallu guy, or as marathi?
Or as kayastha, kurmi, brahmin or as rajput?
Or you wanted yourself to be a part of hindu, muslim, christian or sikh community?
Unfortunately, most of us,don't think ourselves to be identified as INDIAN.For them, there state, there religion and there caste comes first.From political parties to media houses, every one is using this aspect of us, to gain personal mileage.I read an article in The Times of India and that really touched my soul.Yah,the article has a hindu perspective but still, it touched the key issues of India.I suggest you all to read this article and being the youth,we should be a step ahead in changing our society.Can we make India into as ONE!!!
Read this "India bruised and shrunk"

KFC -- "Kentucky Fried Cruelty"

As soon as you enter Forum Mall, our taste buds gets flooded with a yummy feeling. Reason? KFC !!! Many of my friends, love to eat at KFC. Those who love chicken dishes, prepared in american style, can't resist KFC.But PETA has started an advertisement campaign against KFC. They have come up with very interesting billboards, print ads, posters, leaflets, stickers to spread awareness to boycott KFC globally.
PETA says,"KFC suppliers cram birds into huge waste-filled factories, breed and drug them to grow so large that they can’t even walk, and often break their wings and legs. At slaughter, the birds’ throats are slit and they are dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water—often while they are still conscious."
They raised this issue in 2001 and soon when they found that KFC is coming up with false promises to improve,they went a step ahead by using advetisement campaign. Here are some interesting ads by PETA.





source : PETA

Fastest Computer : A Myth

After the results, many of my friends would be feeling very low. But friends always believe in yourself. Every person has the world fastest computer, i.e. Your BRAIN. One just have to learn, how to use it effectively.India may have launched itself on the world's map of raw computing power with the Eka supercomputer from the Tata group, but even the world's fastest supercomputer cannot match the processing speed of your brain. Scientists reveal that the brain is made up of about one trillion cells with 100 trillion connections between those cells. Estimates put the brain as capable of handling 10 quadrillion instructions per second. Now compare that to the processing speed of the world's fastest supercomputer from IBM at over 475 teraflops (or 475 trillion calculations per second).
What's more interesting is that the world's truly fastest supercomputer - RIKEN's MDGrape-3 will probably never be officially crowned with that title, simply because it is so specialised that it can't run the software (the Linpack benchmark) used to officially rank computing speed. MDGrape-3 is the first machine to break the petaflop barrier - that is 1 quadrillion calculations per second - and is three times faster than the currently-ranked fastest computer in the world, IBM's BlueGene/L.
RIKEN developed the supercomputer along with Intel, and SGI in 2006 to carry out molecular dynamics simulations. In developing drugs, pharmaceutical companies have to analyse thousands of chemical compounds to find out how they will affect the protein-bonding structures in the human body. What takes most computers hours or days to analyse takes MDGrape-3 a few seconds. The functionality is invaluable in drug research since it can drastically cut research time involved in the development of new cures. A subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Merck has already booked time on the machine.

So friends, don't worry much about results. You might be a RIKEN's MDGrape-3 computer, and world might not be ready enough to judge you, by their officially used ranking methodology. You may be a step ahead from all these generalities. Be confident, work hard, and prove your metal.

Brand Building or Hype ???

These days, there is a lot of talk on whether or how Indian companies should go for aggressive brand-building. "Tata's should do this, Bharti should do this etc...". But sometimes brand building goes negative. Aggressive marketing and brand-building can boost stock prices by raising customer and investor expectations. Some companies create hype about their products. They go aggressive while buliding their brand. Thus brands are created much before the real product arrives in the market. But the penalties for not delivering on marketing promises are fast becoming as significant as not meeting quarterly earnings targets. Failing promises lead to demotivation among the investors. Examples like Apple and Boeing have suffered themselves.

Boeing had banked over 700 orders from 50-plus airlines when a prototype 787 was showcased to the public. Boeing marketers did a terrific job of positioning the "Dreamliner" as a step change improvement in air travel. But the 787 was behind on its production schedule, with multiple parts suppliers falling short of their delivery targets. And thus Boeing stocks went wobbly on the news, that test flights and initial deliveries of the Dreamliner would be delayed.

Same story happened with Apple.The iPhone was heavily promoted at the time of its June 29 launch, resulting in long lines and spot shortages at Apple and AT&T retail stores. Despite a retail price over $500, iPhones were quickly being offered on eBay for $100 extra.But, the reviews were mixed. At that retail price and with that level of hype, the critics were tough but a raft of concerns came from delayed activation and sluggish email. The hype had brought forward demand from the Apple afficionistas who love all things Apple. But these loyal customers were the very ones caught short when Apple announced a $200 iPhone price decrease 8 weeks after launch.This suggested iPhone sales had slowed considerably below post-launch expectations and might not meet holiday season targets. The stock price was punished immediately.Apple's stock, although it rebounded after a strong earnings report, dropped six percent when the company announced a $200 price cut on the iPhone.

So, do not risk marketing hype unless the company is sure of both, supply curve and demand curve. Hype can hurt stock prices and investor confidence when expectations are not met. So be a step ahead, be cautious, and always glued to the earth, before announcing and creating any hypes about the product.

Taare Zameen Par ...

Till now, everyone must have watched Taare Zameen Par. Was it not a great experience!!! Actually I am short of words to describe the movie's excellence. I watched it on the very first day although my exams were just 4 days away. I always felt that the movie was not about only Dyselexia but more about child labour. The movie was more about parent's expectations from a child, and the cruel competitive world.
The movie made me cry a lot. But the unusual part of it is, whenever I see the movie again, I feel like crying everytime. As if I am helpless and couldn't help "Ishaan"! As if, I am disgusted by the God's decision! As if, it is my story! As if, it is the story of every child around us! As if many Ishaans are around us,asking for help! As if every child is in the making of Ishaan. And as far as I have got the review of the movie, almost everyone cried while watching the movie. Are we all helpless?
So shouldn't we take a step ahead, and make difference through our deeds. Can't we take a day off and visit a NGO to spend some time with children suffering with problems like mental retardation, autism, dyselexia etc.? Or can't we stop spending our money on McDonald's and KFC's and donate that money to such organizations? Or the simplest thing we can do is, to make sure that no more Ishaan are created. Make sure when we will have our children, we will let them live there childhood.
Think upon it! Do it yourself, in your own way. But atleast we should do something, so that the next time, a movie like Taare Zameen Par releases, we will not cry!!!

Boot Polish !!!

Have you seen children sitting at the footpaths,and shouting "boot polish" and trying to snatch your attention? Ever thought of doing that yourself? Naa..aah! "Its such a cheap job"! And what if someone tells you, "How about starting a business of boot polish"? And your reaction would, "What a silly idea"?But never ever underestimate any thought.
Sandeep Gajakas of Mumbai,held this idea and started his business. He saw a lot of otherwise cleanly dressed people going around in expensive, but dirty, footwear. That was because age-old methods were not good enough for cleaning hi-tech branded shoes that used different materials and textures. So, armed with a knowledge of chemicals and cleaning methods and all of Rs 7,000, he started a shoe cleaning service, Shoe Laundry, four years ago. His service appealed to company brass, TV and film stars, models and politicians, among others, who did not mind spending Rs 120 a pop to have their costly sneakers looking like new. Today he has the likes of Yash Chopra and family among his clients and his turnover has ramped up to about Rs 1.5 lakh a month. While initially he did all the cleaning himself--he did not trust anyone else to do the job--he has now hired help to keep his business growing.

We the students of premier B-school,can be a step ahead, by starting with our own business idea and turning it to, an enterprise.No idea is good or bad until it is implemented well. So all you friends participating in B-plan competitions, thumbs up to you from my side.Cheers!!!

Sports and Indian IT firms : No Connection ???

Sorry, you all are wrong, if at all you believed so. There is a huge connection between sports and IT firms of India.In fact Indian IT firms are associated with sports in global level.You must have heard of BPO,KPO,LPO, but now its all about SPO, i.e. Sports Process Outsourcing. Tennis pro Rafael Nadal to the Sri Lankan cricket team, all rely on India for the formula of success through analytical software. Nadal is consulting Swantha Software to figure out how he can beat Federer, by doing frame by frame analysis of Federer's play. Chennai based Meru Consultants help Srilankan team to analyse the opponents play and devise game-plans. Even our BCCI uses a Stump Vision software called Scorite, to familiarise scorers with the world of computer scoring.And guess who owns the Stump Vision Company? None other than our captain, Anil Kumble. His company also serves Wisden, Transworld International and Singapore Cricket Association, to name a few. Now let me introduce you all with the biggest of them all. Satyam Computer Service was made the official IT service provider for the next two FIFA World Cups. And its not only about sports analysing software! Ahmadabad based IT company, Radix, sells their sports goods directly to consumers through website. Thus a little bit of direct marketing too!
So all you people thought that expansion level of Indian IT firms is over, businesses like SPO are there go beyond. Amazed? Doesn't believe so? Listen to this! SPO's currently generate revenue of about 100 crore a year with growth rate of 40% year on year.So we all can proudly say,that India is always a step ahead in IT over other countries.

Beyond Auto Expo : ROBO EXPO 2008

Auto Expo 2008,Delhi is the cynosure of every newspaper,news channel.You can find every one just discussing about Tata Nano, Dilip Chhabaria, Suzuki A-Star etc.It is affecting every Indian,infact everyone, globally.But no one knows that the 1st Robo Expo is also being held concurrent to Auto Expo, from 10-17 January at the Andhra Pavilion, Pragati Maidan showcasing world leaders of Robotics & Automation such as ABB Ltd, Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz, Kuka, Motoman Motherson Robotics Ltd, Panasonic, Precision Automation & Robotics India Ltd (PARI), Rhythmsoft and Rockwell amongst others.Of the 11 Robotics companies at Robo Expo, 5 are Indian companies. Let me introduce them to you,

Hi Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd. launched their indigenously developed Humanoid called NEEL at the show. “NEEL is capable of doing obstacle avoidance through stereovision and also recognizing human faces. It can interact with humans through speech”, said Mr. Deep Kapuria, managing director, Hi Tech Robotics. The company has also launched the Advance Driver Assistive System (ADAS), which would help enhance road safety, Intellicart for material handling which integrates patented VBL technology and Robotic Vision, which is a vision sensor that can be integrated into any robotic arm for quality inspection of manufacturing components.
Kuka Robotics (India) Pvt Ltd, is the only robotics company in the world supplying robots to the entertainment and medical sector. It also the only company with the highest number of robots variants, going up to 280. Their robot, "Titan" offers the highest payload of upto 1000 kgs and has figured in the Guinness Book of World Records”. It is one of the largest suppliers of industrial robots in the world.
Rhythmsoft Robotics & Automation Pvt Ltd, a fast growing company from Nashik has made its mark in Robotic automation by successfully completing turn key BIW projects “XENON” and PHOENIX” for Tata Motors along with KUKA.
Motoman Motherson Robotics Ltd, is showcasing DUAL ARM 13 AXIS Robots at the Robo Expo. This Robot can bring automation one step closer to human performance.
Precision Automation and Robotics India (PARI), is inviting visitors to take the “golf challenge” against their Golfing Robot. This robot plays golf with an accuracy of up to 97%. The idea is to demonstrate the accuracy of PARI systems while the visitors have some fun.

According to industry estimates, 2008 onwards, the world market for industrial robots is projected to rise by an yearly average of 4.2% going up to 139,300 units in 2010. In India the industry is expected to grow at 2-2.5 times the global average.

So those who think robotics is synonym to Japan, should reconsider.By being a step ahead, these Indian companies have given the robotics industry a much needed push.They have shown to the world that Indian robots match their global counterparts.

Career Mapping Tools in India ?

When we talk about human resource management in India,it seems we are talking of something alien.But no,things are changing.Indian companies are increasingly using career mapping tools to identify what motivates an employee to maximize performance and cap attrition.Yes, the concept of Career Anchor has arrived in India.Companies like HCL Technologies,HUL,Marico,HDFC bank,WIPRO Technologies,Dabur India and KPMG are the few names among many that use career anchor concept to craft career paths of their employees.By being a step ahead,these companies are tailoring its communication to get the best out of their employees by choosing the most effective ways to recognize and reward.Companies are understanding the importance of career mapping,as they have realised,that competitive advantage depends on competent people.Knowing what hooks the employee to work could be the way to have an extra edge over competitors.Today,career anchoring is limited only to senior level management,but soon it will start to go down to middle and junior level management.

TATA NANO : A Threat ?

Nobel Prize winner and the Chairman of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr.R.K.Pachauri says that TATA NANO is giving him nightmares.Too many vehicles on road will increase emmisions,resulting in further environment instability.Other companies like Suzuki have raised the question that how would NANO fare on the parameters of safety and environment suitability.
Moreover,if Nano will be a success then it would be very easy for every one to buy a car.Nano will be the first car for lower income group.Middle and upper income groups will buy another car for their wives and their other adult family members.Thus imagine,indian roads filled up with so many cars.Already,the roads of India are not very wide,and later on,will result in huge traffic problems.Also,petrol costs are rising high and when so many cars will be there,demand for petrol will increase by leaps and bounds.That too,cars gave mileage of 20-25 km./lt. whereas a bike gives an average of 45-75 km./lt.

Again,our government could be a step ahead,by improving the infrastructure of metros and two-tier cities especially,to reduce future traffic problems.Government could also encourage people to ride more bicycles and bikes.They could also think upon other forms of fuels like bio-diesel to reduce India's dependency on petrol and OPEC countries.

The Unsafe Women

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in India,18 women face brutalities in every hour.Two rapes, two kidnappings, four molestations and seven incidents of cruelty happen per hour.Yes,this is one of the cruel faces of we "Moral" Indians.Here we pray daily to female goddesses Laxmi,Saraswati,Durga etc.Yet we disrespect the women in our homes,in society,in world.I couldn't understand,what sense of pleasure a man gets by disrespecting women.Aren't we are two faced society.

But yes,we can be a step ahead,by respecting women around us,by giving them equal chance.And as I always believed,charity begins from home.Let's start giving more respect to our mothers,sisters,wives,friends etc.

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