Disappointing

A forgettable final befitting a forgettable World Cup. The team which was less capable of not scoring goals won.

When you have a World Champion crowned, who won their pre-quarter, quarter, semi and final by a 1-0 margin, and a team who scored a total of 8 goals in 7 matches, while conceding only 2, it speaks volumes of where the priorities lie - in not conceding goals and in not scoring goals. A highly defensive France in 1998, a flairless Brazil in 2002, a dour Italy in 2006 and now a lacklustre Spain in 2010 - the World Cup has lost its sheen.

The best game of the World Cup was perhaps the 3rd place play off match between Germany and Uruguay. It was open, aggressive football at its best.

Only saving grace is that Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball for the Best Player of the tournament. The unassuming Uruguayan was a revelation. He shouldered the responsibility of taking Uruguay to the Semis single handedly on his shoulders, scored vital and spectacular goals, was unselfish in assisting, and was an epitome of grace both on and off the field. A gentleman to the core and a highly skillful player. Perhaps the only one who really mastered the Jabulani ball in dead ball situations. He was game to the last, literally, for the 3rd place match ended with Forlans free kick just hitting the cross bar, thus narrowly missing going into the goal, that would have squared the match.

Let us congratulate Spain but let us hail Diego Forlan.

Amid the gloom, there is one bright spot. At least we are rid of the damn Vuvuzelas.

Are you in Control?

Years ago, when I was a rookie with HPCL, I used to prepare meticulously for our Sales Review Meetings held 3-4 times a year. At least one of the meetings will be chaired by GM South Zone. You need to understand that computers had not become popular, and one had to painstakingly type the Sales Presentation document in a rickety Remington Typewriter oneself. I was known for my immaculate groundwork.

There were 8 of us, Sales Officers. The meeting will start at 9 am, and the Regional Manager would decide who goes in first. I was never given the first slot, nor was Shaji, my Trichur Colleague. The first presenter will normally have a presentation lasting 90 minutes, during which most of the general issues will be discussed threadbare. But no one had any doubts that he was the target for the management (any review meeting the management will come prepared to rip one of the Sales Officer apart). The second presenter will be given 45 minutes. At around 12.50 pm, they will ask me to present with a caveat "Rajan, you have 10 minutes! Just highlight your major problems. We are hungry and need to break for lunch at 1 pm". Or alternatively, I will be given the last slot at 4.45pm, or immediately after lunch when no one is interested. 

Intrigued, and disappointed that all my preparations had gone to waste, I, once, complained about this perceived injustice to my GM when he was on a private visit to my Sales Area in Coimbatore. A very soft spoken paternal gentleman, he smiled, patted me on the back and said,

"Rajan. we look at only a few things. Are you in control of the situation? Are you aware of the problems? Have you applied your mind to find workable solutions to the problems? Have you identified those problems which need decision making at a higher level, and if so, are you approaching us in time?. In your case, you score high on all of the above. And so does Shaji. That is why we leave you to your job, give you limited time during which you normally clear up the 2-3 issues that need decision making at my level" 

That is one lesson I have never forgotten in my life. I have applied that rigorously in my professional life, and in my teaching life. I worry (and some say behind my back, reveal the Darth Vader side of my personality) only when my subordinates/students appear to be unaware of the pitfalls or when they don't think it through or when they are reluctant to approach me when they are stuck or when they approach me to solve things that they can solve on their own.

Heart or Head?

Heart says Holland and the Head says Spain

Rajasilpam-Marketing Model-1

Everyone has his own model of Marketing, starting from 4 P to 7 P, to 4 C and beyond.

Let me add my one bit to the debate.

My model is based on treating the word PRODUCTS as an Acronym. You might ask Why Products? Simple - Marketing do not have a cause to exist without a Product (or Service). It is the foundation on which Marketing edifice is built.

The first letter 'P' represents PRICE.

The price has to be viewed from two angles. The Maximum price that the Customer is willing to pay and the Minimum Price that the Seller can afford to charge to stay in business. Both do cost-benefit analysis, and would effect the transaction if the B/P is => 1 for the Customer, and P/C=>1 for the Seller - B,P,C standing for Benefit, Price and Cost respectively.

Higher B/P for customer means lower P/C for the Seller as C increases with increase in B. A very high B/P for the customer would make the transaction unprofitable for the seller, who will then back out of the transaction. Similarly, a very high P/C for the seller, which is effectively exhorbitant profit, would make the B/P considerably less than 1 for the buyer, who will look for alternate solutions, jeopardising the deal. An equilibrium point between the two will be one when the transaction is effected, which in effect means a Win-Win situation. Succesful marketing stories are all about creating these Win-Win Situations.

Quarter of a century ago, I used to visit my brother regularly while he was working with IOB in Delhi. We would go to Karol Bagh monday market for purchasing dresses. My brother would ask the price of a kurta and the salesman would say Rs 100. Brother would make a counter offer of Rs 10. Then the haggling starts. At that point B/P for my brother is very high and the P/C for the shop owner very low. It is a no-go situation. The shopowner reduces in stages of Rs 10, while my brother increases his offer in stages of Rs 5 or 10. At around Rs 35, there is an acceptable B/P - P/C trade off, and the deal is effected.

The model will be revealed in parts in the subsequent blogs. Keep coming back.

I can't believe this!!!

How can some with an iota of responsibility be so callous and unprofessional?

P(l)AU(ssib)L(e)

It is a sad state of affairs that world cup will be remembered more for Paul the Octopus's prophesies (predicting the result of all the 7 matches in which Germany were involved correctly) than for quality football, and breathtaking goals. This has indeed been a very mediocre World Cup, sans personalities.

But everyone is talking about the prowess of Paul. I came across a plausible explanation for his prediction in this article.

The middle path

I was a brash youth long ago, when I was doing my MBA and then in my job with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. I had revolutionary, off beat solutions for most of the problems and was always game to test my cranky ideas (one such idea was recounted in this post )

But one thing I lacked then, and now, was diplomacy. During my MBA, many a time, I would come up with extreme workable solutions, only to be thwarted by someone else whose idea, though acceptable, was inferior in quality. Noways, I am claiming that my ideas were always better than others. But there were numerous instances when my ideas were far superior in quality, and should have been implemented. In the end, it was that every single time only compromise solutions/ideas that were average in quality got the nod ahead of the best solution on the table. I have seen this happen to others ideas too.

The practice persisted in my jobs. The status quo, dont rock the boat ideas and solutions found favour with the powers that be, than path breaking ideas. I remember a classic case. Early in my career as a Sales Officer with HPCL, I went up to my GM and gave him an idea. The Petrol pumps (dispensing units) were always installed parallel to the road in a line. A single row will contain 3-4 pumps, with driveways on either side. This resulted in a queuing problem. Many an occassion, I had noticed that there were cars in the queue behind the last car being filled, when the 2-3 pumps ahead were lying vacant. My suggestion was to install the pumps at 45 degrees angle to the main road/main driveway. This would ensure cars will not have to queue up unless all the petrol pumps are engaged. An original, simple idea back in 1990. But I was made fun off. I persisted, send the idea to our CYI (Coin Your Idea) scheme, but never heard anything about it.

Almost 8 years down the line, after I had quit HPCL, I returned to the same office to make a courtesy call. I heard the then GM, who was Sr.Manager in the office when I proposed the idea, discuss in admiring tones, how our competitor BPCL had gone in for restructuring their outlets along the same lines I proposed all those years ago, and the benefit that they have reaped. I could but smile, and didnt say a word. At least it proved to me that my idea was not bad, after all. That was enough for me.

I was reminded of this when I read a review of the number-one best-selling novel in America today The Overton Window by Glenn Beck. It is based on a brilliant idea invented by a researcher named Joe Overton. The idea is that at any given time there is an acceptable area of ideas and debate, with things too extreme being excluded. Overton’s point was that a skillful politician can move the window. I should read the book one of these days, for then I might be able to make some sense of what happened long ago