One of the points I was thinking this week is about leadership; couple of annual reports (MindTree and KPIT) really made me to think, as how top leadership is a game changer in difficult times like the one we are in middle of.
Though the time is tough; the leadership team of every company should step up and take the company along with. Every manager should be part of the change and really motivate the team to deliver. The difficult times would throw up the need for efficient leadership.
What impressed me about MindTree is though they are hurt by the market conditions and economic slowdown; however you can feel the vibration where the leadership team and management are confident about beating the slump. This confidence, if articulated down to each individual of the company, it would make team to stand up and fight.
In “Go kiss the world”, Subrato Bagchi has mentioned, during the technology bubble burst in 2000-01; if there was no able leadership of Ashok Sotta, the MindTree might have been closed then and there itself.
I feel in difficult times, management should stand up and take the risk and take everyone along by sheer motivation. This is what management gurus’ call, “Leading from the Front”. That’s what we need.
I can’t stop getting motivated from one of the “Lead India” video; which was circulated some time back. The message is what I liked and get motivated to push harder.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
New Age marketing: The power of Zoozoo
This year IPL; in addition to the cricketing entertainment, created other news as well, the Vodafone Zoozoos. The cute, cuddly characters that featured in a series of 29 commercials that ran right through the IPL matches suddenly caught the imagination of the public.
Three other telecom companies ran strong brand campaigns — in fact new commercials- during the same period. Airtel created two pieces of communication leveraging the chemistry of Vidya Balan and Madhavan. Idea leveraged their tie-up with the Mumbai Indians to run an interactive campaign of talking to the stars. Aircel aired their MS Dhoni advertisement of ‘aur bolo’. Yet the animated Zoozoos became celebrities in their own rights and outdid the ‘celebrity’ campaigns. They popped up finally in the stands during the finals of IPL; there were lakhs of entries about them in the blogosphere. The Vodafone Zoozoos were more than an advertising piece; they created buzz for themselves that increased the campaign’s impact manifold!
Borrowing from the cartoon world, they appeal to the child in most of us — yet the contexts and situations in which they are placed and the services they sell are so adult and real. Rounded edges, weird sounds yet decipherable language, and fluidity of movement add to the ‘innocence of feelings’ in a world that is getting more and more ‘manipulative and angular’ in thought.
The fact that the Zoozoos outdid well-known celebrities this season re-confirms that advertising cut-through is not dependant on the use of known faces. A strong campaign can create celebrities and the Zoozoos provide Vodafone with characters that can not only become brand mascots but also be converted into merchandising that can be monetized. In fact, that’s the unique power of animated characters, eg Disney ones — they are brands in search of products — slap them onto anything connected especially to children and the price goes up.
It will be a good lesson for all those companies who spend huge amount to catch the eyeballs. This is sheer example of thinking outside the box.
Three other telecom companies ran strong brand campaigns — in fact new commercials- during the same period. Airtel created two pieces of communication leveraging the chemistry of Vidya Balan and Madhavan. Idea leveraged their tie-up with the Mumbai Indians to run an interactive campaign of talking to the stars. Aircel aired their MS Dhoni advertisement of ‘aur bolo’. Yet the animated Zoozoos became celebrities in their own rights and outdid the ‘celebrity’ campaigns. They popped up finally in the stands during the finals of IPL; there were lakhs of entries about them in the blogosphere. The Vodafone Zoozoos were more than an advertising piece; they created buzz for themselves that increased the campaign’s impact manifold!
Borrowing from the cartoon world, they appeal to the child in most of us — yet the contexts and situations in which they are placed and the services they sell are so adult and real. Rounded edges, weird sounds yet decipherable language, and fluidity of movement add to the ‘innocence of feelings’ in a world that is getting more and more ‘manipulative and angular’ in thought.
The fact that the Zoozoos outdid well-known celebrities this season re-confirms that advertising cut-through is not dependant on the use of known faces. A strong campaign can create celebrities and the Zoozoos provide Vodafone with characters that can not only become brand mascots but also be converted into merchandising that can be monetized. In fact, that’s the unique power of animated characters, eg Disney ones — they are brands in search of products — slap them onto anything connected especially to children and the price goes up.
It will be a good lesson for all those companies who spend huge amount to catch the eyeballs. This is sheer example of thinking outside the box.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Recession, Employee discontent and economic recovery.
Debate has started everywhere in the world so as to whether or not the green shots of economic recovery are real, whether they are sustainable and how soon the recession would over. I am not sure, if the employee discontent and low motivation level of employees have been discussed in equal eager. I am also not sure, if high employee discontent has been recognized as the issue we need to handle.
There are two hard facts; first the employee discontent across the globe, across industry is so high that this level of discontent was not experienced in last quarter of century or so. Second, today’s corporate leaders, who have been developed their careers during the last twenty-five years or so, have little or no direct experience in handling serious employee discontent. This would, in my opinion, create a larger management issue when economic recovery starts to roll.
For example, Arcelor Mittal curtailed its European steel production by half in view of the market conditions. During the annual share holder’s meeting in May this year at company headquarters, 100 odd works attacked the company headquarters. Police has to be called to control the mob. This is in spite the fact that Arcelor Mittal had not taken any major lay-offs. Also in March this year, Sony France workers took hostile of its plant CEO and kept him overnight in the factory.
There are so many examples of recent past, in India and even in rest of the world, where employee discontent has out broken. I personally feel, recent Australian out broke on Indian students and workers are the example of that as well.
Assuming that employee discontent might spoil the economic recovery; thing we need to think about it is what corporate leaders can do about it?
The solution is tantalizingly simple, but requires a huge mindset change. Start treating people like people again.
With rise of software industry, the culture of labor union has reduced, thus labor issues have been reduced from corporate leaders agenda. (I am not arguing to form a labor union here, but trying to point out the shift in the scene and priorities. Though HR regained the importance like never before with software industry). Also, more line managers should realize that HR is the job of line managers and not the HR department alone, have personal connection with your team, understand the pains he/she is going through, and have personal touch to all your answers and solutions.
And every manager should begin this right now!
There are two hard facts; first the employee discontent across the globe, across industry is so high that this level of discontent was not experienced in last quarter of century or so. Second, today’s corporate leaders, who have been developed their careers during the last twenty-five years or so, have little or no direct experience in handling serious employee discontent. This would, in my opinion, create a larger management issue when economic recovery starts to roll.
For example, Arcelor Mittal curtailed its European steel production by half in view of the market conditions. During the annual share holder’s meeting in May this year at company headquarters, 100 odd works attacked the company headquarters. Police has to be called to control the mob. This is in spite the fact that Arcelor Mittal had not taken any major lay-offs. Also in March this year, Sony France workers took hostile of its plant CEO and kept him overnight in the factory.
There are so many examples of recent past, in India and even in rest of the world, where employee discontent has out broken. I personally feel, recent Australian out broke on Indian students and workers are the example of that as well.
Assuming that employee discontent might spoil the economic recovery; thing we need to think about it is what corporate leaders can do about it?
The solution is tantalizingly simple, but requires a huge mindset change. Start treating people like people again.
With rise of software industry, the culture of labor union has reduced, thus labor issues have been reduced from corporate leaders agenda. (I am not arguing to form a labor union here, but trying to point out the shift in the scene and priorities. Though HR regained the importance like never before with software industry). Also, more line managers should realize that HR is the job of line managers and not the HR department alone, have personal connection with your team, understand the pains he/she is going through, and have personal touch to all your answers and solutions.
And every manager should begin this right now!
Monday, June 08, 2009
After many stumbles, fall of an American giant
It is a company that helped lift hundreds of thousands of American workers into middle class. It transformed Detroit in to main spot in the world economy, as symbol of American talent for innovation. It built luxury cars and car for every purse & purpose; which led to a saying “What is good for GM, is good for America”.
And now it is filing for bankruptcy, something that would have been unthinkable few years back.
It is the story of GM.
Rarely has a company fallen so far and so fast as General Motors. And while its bankruptcy appeared increasingly likely in recent weeks, the arrival of that very moment still is a staggering blow.
Analysts say, GM began along and slow process of undermining itself long back. It’s strengths like rigid structure that provided discipline earlier on, became the weakness and it lost its feel for reading the American car market it helped create as Japanese car makers took away its most loyal customers as GM was going through serious of strategic and cultural missteps starting from 1960s.
GM gave in to union demands in 1990 and created a program that paid workers even if plants were not running; forcing it to build the cars and trucks it could never able to sell. Thus GM often resorted to a practice called “launch and leave”, spending billions upfront to bring vehicles to market, but then fail to keep supporting them with sustained advertising. With market share shrinking, GM could not give its multiple brands and car models the individual attention which eventually helped Honda attract customers to Accord and Toyota to its Camry. It also lost interest and the patience and effort required to position the brands in the correct market.
During all these years, GM didn’t notice the change in the market place, where Japanese and Korean automakers are bringing- in more fuel efficient, less maintenance vehicles by focusing on innovation; but kept on building its gas guzzlers. Consumers started blaming GM for sub-par vehicles. They might have given them second, perhaps third chance, but eventually shifted the loyalty. Result of this? Through April of this year, GM’s market share was 19%, a steep drop from its peak of 54% in 1954.
This moment would reverberate beyond GM’s headquarters in Detroit, to its factory towns in Indiana, Michigan, Louisiana and rest of the world, as GM was truly a global company having presence in lot of countries.
Ultimately GM would come out of chapter 11, might form a new company which is sleek and might focus on fewer and better brands, but the bankruptcy filing is a fall of true giant, which created and ruled the industry for several years.
And now it is filing for bankruptcy, something that would have been unthinkable few years back.
It is the story of GM.
Rarely has a company fallen so far and so fast as General Motors. And while its bankruptcy appeared increasingly likely in recent weeks, the arrival of that very moment still is a staggering blow.
Analysts say, GM began along and slow process of undermining itself long back. It’s strengths like rigid structure that provided discipline earlier on, became the weakness and it lost its feel for reading the American car market it helped create as Japanese car makers took away its most loyal customers as GM was going through serious of strategic and cultural missteps starting from 1960s.
GM gave in to union demands in 1990 and created a program that paid workers even if plants were not running; forcing it to build the cars and trucks it could never able to sell. Thus GM often resorted to a practice called “launch and leave”, spending billions upfront to bring vehicles to market, but then fail to keep supporting them with sustained advertising. With market share shrinking, GM could not give its multiple brands and car models the individual attention which eventually helped Honda attract customers to Accord and Toyota to its Camry. It also lost interest and the patience and effort required to position the brands in the correct market.
During all these years, GM didn’t notice the change in the market place, where Japanese and Korean automakers are bringing- in more fuel efficient, less maintenance vehicles by focusing on innovation; but kept on building its gas guzzlers. Consumers started blaming GM for sub-par vehicles. They might have given them second, perhaps third chance, but eventually shifted the loyalty. Result of this? Through April of this year, GM’s market share was 19%, a steep drop from its peak of 54% in 1954.
This moment would reverberate beyond GM’s headquarters in Detroit, to its factory towns in Indiana, Michigan, Louisiana and rest of the world, as GM was truly a global company having presence in lot of countries.
Ultimately GM would come out of chapter 11, might form a new company which is sleek and might focus on fewer and better brands, but the bankruptcy filing is a fall of true giant, which created and ruled the industry for several years.
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