After seeing spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations of Chinese drummers; one question we need to ask; how did China managed to put together such a spectacular show? And what it means to the rest of the world?
One thing is sure; China didn’t build this overnight; there is a hard work of 7 years (It was decided in July-2001 that China will hoist these games), there is a meticulous planning, spectacular management. Entire China has been preparing for this moment.
Let’s reflect on how China and USA have spent last seven years; China has been preparing for Olympics and USA has been preparing for al-Qaida. China has been investing in sports infrastructure/nation building and USA has been investing in installing metal detectors and security processes. I am not saying, what USA was/is doing wrong, probably it was required to fight terrorism. And as a country USA was supposed to respond to 9/11.
But, results are there to see for all of us. Lets look at the infrastructure China has built up, super speed electromagnetic trains; ultra modern airports, spectacular high-ways and great industry revolution. On the contrary USA seems to have missing the ‘Nation Building’ activities; for which America has been famous for.
For argument, we can say, though cities have good infrastructure; but rural China is like old; lacking proper facilities; in fact no one knows more about how China is! But point I am making is; under the banner of 2008 Olympics, China started a domestic revolution and a nation building process and I am sure; they will only stop when entire nation building process is complete. Now they have a proven process in hand.
I think, entire world need to take a note of it; though it is too early to say any thing. There could be a competition to US in technology, engineering, education and infrastructure.
It might be a good idea to start teaching Mandarin to our kids! Probably they might have to go to China to see future as we are seeing our future in US!
Who knows?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A ‘Golden’ Business Opportunity.
First of all, congratulations Abhinav Bindra; you made us feel great! We, all Indians; salute you for your hard work, dedication and determination. It was an incredible job!
Coming to business side of it; I feel it is a ‘Golden’ business opportunity. In fact, for two individuals; one Abhinav and second one is Michel Phelps.
This is a right time for our brand guru’s to focus on sports other then cricket. With Abhinav being a house hold name now; corporate world can utilize his fame to market their brands. There is other side of the story as well; if Abhinav gets promoted by corporate; non-cricket sports get more visibility. Though there is no history in India of non-cricket brand ambassadors; it might just start, who knows?
Phenomenon Phelps made history in this Olympics; and I am sure his brand is now ready to explode. CNN reported his current brand value is $30 million! Phelps has become a synonymous to swimming as Born Borge (Arguably) was to tennis or Tiger Woods is for Golf. By doing nothing; Swimming will get more popularity in whole world by Phelps name. That is the fame and brand he has created himself.
Corporate America is famous in catching such great players and builds the branding around him/her. Sports Marketing is very systematic there and I am sure Phelps will en- cash this.
I believe; both these cases are real golden opportunities, if done right.
After seeing Olympics this time; I can’t help myself but jump the lane and ask myself; how much our city (Pune) is prepared for an international event like CYG?
Do we really care that we want to be a good host?
Coming to business side of it; I feel it is a ‘Golden’ business opportunity. In fact, for two individuals; one Abhinav and second one is Michel Phelps.
This is a right time for our brand guru’s to focus on sports other then cricket. With Abhinav being a house hold name now; corporate world can utilize his fame to market their brands. There is other side of the story as well; if Abhinav gets promoted by corporate; non-cricket sports get more visibility. Though there is no history in India of non-cricket brand ambassadors; it might just start, who knows?
Phenomenon Phelps made history in this Olympics; and I am sure his brand is now ready to explode. CNN reported his current brand value is $30 million! Phelps has become a synonymous to swimming as Born Borge (Arguably) was to tennis or Tiger Woods is for Golf. By doing nothing; Swimming will get more popularity in whole world by Phelps name. That is the fame and brand he has created himself.
Corporate America is famous in catching such great players and builds the branding around him/her. Sports Marketing is very systematic there and I am sure Phelps will en- cash this.
I believe; both these cases are real golden opportunities, if done right.
After seeing Olympics this time; I can’t help myself but jump the lane and ask myself; how much our city (Pune) is prepared for an international event like CYG?
Do we really care that we want to be a good host?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The High Performance Entrepreneur
This is the title of a book I just completed reading, it is by Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of MindTree consulting, a mid-sized IT and consulting company.
On top, this book is about guidelines of creating a company, from a business idea, to IPO. The start, the VC pitch one need to make, branding & marketing etc.
In addition to above tips, this book gives enormous amount of learning for building a team; managing customers and managing difficult times; especially times like 9/11 and global recession. This book runs through different stages of a company, from a start-up from an apartment to multi-million dollar company. The author narrates MindTree story while he speaks these different stages. It catches because you can actually co-relate a theory with an example.
MindTree story is real amazing by itself; in terms of the way it progressed to achieve $100 million in a span of 6 years. This book gives a detailed description of culture and value system MindTree has and why it was build in that way. Author stresses the need for quality of services and gives instances as why this is important in today’s world.
In all, it has very good tips about starting and building a company. And it is an inspiring story to read. And more important lesson I learnt is following the dream you have, even if you face difficulties. After all, all MindTree founders were from pretty general middle class background and it is their hard work and resilience made their dream come true.
Building a company and watching it grow is like seeing your kid growing and going to college!
On top, this book is about guidelines of creating a company, from a business idea, to IPO. The start, the VC pitch one need to make, branding & marketing etc.
In addition to above tips, this book gives enormous amount of learning for building a team; managing customers and managing difficult times; especially times like 9/11 and global recession. This book runs through different stages of a company, from a start-up from an apartment to multi-million dollar company. The author narrates MindTree story while he speaks these different stages. It catches because you can actually co-relate a theory with an example.
MindTree story is real amazing by itself; in terms of the way it progressed to achieve $100 million in a span of 6 years. This book gives a detailed description of culture and value system MindTree has and why it was build in that way. Author stresses the need for quality of services and gives instances as why this is important in today’s world.
In all, it has very good tips about starting and building a company. And it is an inspiring story to read. And more important lesson I learnt is following the dream you have, even if you face difficulties. After all, all MindTree founders were from pretty general middle class background and it is their hard work and resilience made their dream come true.
Building a company and watching it grow is like seeing your kid growing and going to college!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Nano: Tata’s Costly Promise?
There should be no doubts about that innovative idea, market it is targeting and given the technology and process knowledge, Tata Motors will bring out the Nano as designed. But, question need to answer is, is it going to be a costly promise?
Back in January, when Tata first unveiled the Nano at the Delhi auto show, this would-be king of econo-boxes grabbed more attention than anything shown at the North America International Auto Show in Detroit held the same month.
No matter. The Nano, a 623cc-engine compact that will get 20 KPL, instantly won kudos as a showcase of frugal Indian engineering. It sent shock waves through the auto world as carmakers reassessed how cheaply they could make small vehicles. For Ratan Tata, the car symbolized something much grander than just another product.
Steel Prices:
One problem is that Tata's cost concerns with the Nano are more serious than those faced by other automakers. First, at a time when global steel prices are touching record highs, prices in India are rising even faster.
Singur Plant:
Rising input prices aren't the only factor increasing costs. Tata Motor admits that its Nano plant in Singur is not ready yet because of protests and it might drag a bit, adding the costs, or it’s manufacturing has to be shifted to Pune site; which can’t handle Nano production yet, adding to total cost of operations.
No surprise, then, that analysts are wondering how Tata Motors can earn a profit on the Nano.
Supplier:
One obvious answer is to look at suppliers. But suppliers, already scrambling to make parts as cheaply as possible, can only be squeezed so far. So, this option will not going to yield more.
Volume:
Other option would be to look at volume, as per one analyst, until production volumes hit 500,000 units, it's difficult to be optimistic about any profits.
Passing rising costs on to car buyers through higher prices looks to be more difficult. With the 100,000-rupee price not up for negotiation, one option is to sell a larger proportion of higher-specification Nanos, which come with electric windows, air conditioning, and central locking. But while luxury Nanos will be more profitable per vehicle, higher prices risk edging out many customers who until now could only afford two-wheelers. One difficulty is that as the price edges closer to the Maruti 800, the Nano becomes less of bargain.
Business is all about such catch-22 situations!
Back in January, when Tata first unveiled the Nano at the Delhi auto show, this would-be king of econo-boxes grabbed more attention than anything shown at the North America International Auto Show in Detroit held the same month.
No matter. The Nano, a 623cc-engine compact that will get 20 KPL, instantly won kudos as a showcase of frugal Indian engineering. It sent shock waves through the auto world as carmakers reassessed how cheaply they could make small vehicles. For Ratan Tata, the car symbolized something much grander than just another product.
Steel Prices:
One problem is that Tata's cost concerns with the Nano are more serious than those faced by other automakers. First, at a time when global steel prices are touching record highs, prices in India are rising even faster.
Singur Plant:
Rising input prices aren't the only factor increasing costs. Tata Motor admits that its Nano plant in Singur is not ready yet because of protests and it might drag a bit, adding the costs, or it’s manufacturing has to be shifted to Pune site; which can’t handle Nano production yet, adding to total cost of operations.
No surprise, then, that analysts are wondering how Tata Motors can earn a profit on the Nano.
Supplier:
One obvious answer is to look at suppliers. But suppliers, already scrambling to make parts as cheaply as possible, can only be squeezed so far. So, this option will not going to yield more.
Volume:
Other option would be to look at volume, as per one analyst, until production volumes hit 500,000 units, it's difficult to be optimistic about any profits.
Passing rising costs on to car buyers through higher prices looks to be more difficult. With the 100,000-rupee price not up for negotiation, one option is to sell a larger proportion of higher-specification Nanos, which come with electric windows, air conditioning, and central locking. But while luxury Nanos will be more profitable per vehicle, higher prices risk edging out many customers who until now could only afford two-wheelers. One difficulty is that as the price edges closer to the Maruti 800, the Nano becomes less of bargain.
Business is all about such catch-22 situations!
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