Blogging @ a New address

Thank you for visiting & commenting in no small measure on by blog. However I have now started writing on http://anaggh.com

Sure hope to see you there!

Crisis - some thoughts that may be of use

Having faced umpteen crisis over the years, have developed some thoughts that seem to be consistent to every CRISIS and have helped me overcome most of them

1) Always assume that the problem is worse than it appears.

2) Always assume there are no secrets in the world & that everyone will eventually find out everything. This is particularly true in the corporate world.

3) Assume & accept that you and your organization's handling of the crisis will always be portrayed in the worst possible light.

4) Assume & accept that there will be changes in people & processes. Also no crisis ever ends without blood on the floor. At times it is bound to be yours

5) Accept that you & your organization will survive, ultimately stronger for what happened, maybe separately!

Anaggh

October & November

Have been extremely inconsistent or non existent over the past 2 months due to preoccupation & travel to places where access was difficult. But communication from friends kept the faith ~

28/11"What is the difference between God and Human? God gives and forgives. Human gets and forgets .

21st Century Gyan ~
"If you wish to be a Human Being; never forget your bad deeds & good deeds of others. However, If you wish to be a Professional; never forget your good deeds & bad deeds of others!"

27/11
There are only five good things that we really need in Life:

Friends

Job

Food

Sleep

&

_ UCK!

(As getting a F_ is a matter of L_, either will do!;-))

24/11 The Paradox of our WIRED world is that as People become more Connected ELECTRONICALLY, People become Less Connected EMOTIONALLY...!

19/11 A rotten egg can't make a good omlet, but throw it at an irritating person & it satisfies the purpose of driving him away. The same logic is a core managerial art: good eggs (employees) are utilized 4 omlet (fulfilling work)&bad ones are pitted against troublemakers. This is also Optimum utl'z'n of resources.

17/11 We learn lessons by being beaten. It's not just about ability, its about applying pressure all the time...only then we will win.

6/11~Law of work: The last person that quit or was fired will be held responsible for everything that goes wrong.

5/11 ~ Pay attention to your enemies,
for they are the first to discover your mistakes....


17/10 Standing for what you believe in, Regardless of the odds against you, And the pressure that tears at your resistance.......Means courage.

15/10 ~ When we do a task we've to cross 3stages - Insult - Oposition - Aceptance -Fools stop at the 1st -Losers stop at the 2nd -Winners cross the 3rd. And thats how you win life n people!

SMS, Thoughts...........September 2007 (2)

10/9 Conscience won't prevent sin, it only prevents us frm enjoying it.

11/9 Half of the 100 largest economies of the world are countries. The other half are companies.

12/9 A face can speak thousand emotions but it can easily mask what d heart truly feels..Dont b fooled by d happiest face. It may b masking the most hurt heart..!!

13/9 The Worst Thng in Life is "ATTACHMENT"
It Hurts wen U Lose it
The Best Thng in Life is "LONELINESS"
Bcz it Teaches U Evrythng & wen U Lose it,U Get Evrytng.

14/9 We have to learn to be our best friends, for we fall too easily into the trap of being our worst enemies

15/9
SUTRA: The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.

17/9 Ugela suraj kadik athmi jay che, jindagi na tofano pan kyarek shami jay che, pan DIL Nu dard kone kahiye ke, BHULATA nathi kyarey je ek var GAMI jay che.

20/9 Do not count what you have lost. Just see what u have now,because past never comes back but sometimes the future can give us back our lost things!!

SMS, Thoughts......... September 2007(1)

Koi Na Mila Aisa Jispe
Duniya Luta Dete,
Sab Ne Dhoka Diya
Kis-Kis Ko Bhula Dete,
Dil Ka Dard Dil Mein
Daba Rakha Hai,
Bayan Kiya Hota To Mehfil Ko Rula Dete!!
Have a great sunday!

The worst regret we can have in life is not for the WRONG THINGS we did..
But for the RIGHT THINGS we could have done but never did..
Think deep act now..Mornin..

Common lines after people get drunk-
1.tu mera bhai hai
2.gadi mai chalaunga
3.tu bura mat maanna bhai
4.mai teri dil sey izzat karta hoon
5.aaj chad nahi rahi hai
6.yeh mat samajh ki pee key bol raha hoon
7.yaar kam to nahi padegi
8.ek chota sa aur ho jaye
9.after 6thpeg-apney baap ko mat sikha
10.after last peg-tu bol bhai kya chahiye.,tere liye jaan hazir hai...

Every morning in africa, a gazelle wakes up. it knows it must run faster than fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. it dose not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle... when sun comes up, you would better be running.

"Give thousand chances to your enemy to become your friend..
BUT Give no chance to your friend to become your enemy."

People spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting to perfect, run with what you've got, and fix it as you go & have a great week.

Living in the Favorable & Non-Favourable situation is "PART OF LIVING" But Smiling in all Situations is called "ART OF LIVING".

Regards,

Anaggh

Online Travel in India – Myth or Reality?

Reading about web 2.0 and how it has pushed online travel with funding available so on & forth, it makes one start wondering on some points such as:

There is a phenomenal growth potential & people have embraced online bookings that have grown by more than 100% etc.
• Yes this is true but what were the bookings earlier & what has the 100% growth been.
• When numbers are bandied about, the top line airline & hotel rates look great but what is the bottom line?

Thousands of airline tickets are being sold every day claim all online sites.
• Back of the envelope calculation show that the number of flights (domestic & international) with their carrying capacity spread over 6 months & all the online players as well as offline travel agents would not aggregate to the Thousands.

Hotel Rooms are being booked online like never before.
• Great and this would be happening with those online who have pre booked or off season…. But surprisingly the hotel industry cries itself hoarse with not enough rooms…..Corporate Houses scream at the Pricing…..Wonder why all 3 cannot work together & make money! Seems to be something wrong somewhere.

Discounts, Cash back make it better?
• Not necessarily, though beneficial & economical Yes.

However the most critical element of distribution & access remains unrecognized or avoided by everyone in the industry. All figures/statistics would lead to the TOP 12 – 18 cities. Whilst the pareto principle may apply, & the marketing buck for reach also needs to be considered, the fact that there are more than 65+ cities towns where online travel is still a distant dream, whilst the Brands are still represented by the so called unbranded companies in ways they deem best.

And the Cream is in the B & C towns!

Anaggh

SMS, Thoughts......... June; July; August 2007

Some more people joining in the Hub & Spoke - Gina; Mukesh......Keep them coming guys!


"Best saying for a rainy lazy Sunday: Progress isnt made by early risers or hard workers, but by LAZY people, trying to find easier ways to do the same."

"Chela swas sudi manvi aash rakhe che,dawama ane duwama vishws rakhe che,ughadi ankho na sambandh che mitro, ahiya kaun jarurat thi wadhare lash pan rakhe che.."

"Ideas are funny little things,
They won’t work unless you do"

"Whenever you win, win as if its your habit & whenever you loose, loose as if you have enjoyed it just for a change, That’s attitude"

"Solitude is an obstinate foe. The more you become friends with it, the more the enmity."

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – choclate in the other – body thouroughouly used us, totally worn out and screaming…..Woo What a ride!!!"

"It takes two things to be a consultant – grey hair and hemorrhoids. The grey hair makes you look experienced and the hemorrhoids give you a concerned look."

"We don’t see things as they are.
We see things as we are."

"Many things can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them."

"Many people have a good aim in life, but for some reason they never pull the trigger".

"How odd is the logic of mind?
It seeks compromise when we are wrong and it seeks justice when others are wrong!"

"The hard reality of life is that – When you need advice, everyone is ready to help you, But when you need help, everyone is ready to advise you."

"A soothing fact – “We always feel bad, that good things happen only to ‘others’ But we always forget that we are ‘others’ for someone else too!!"

"Never walk away from a true friend When you see some faults, be patient and realize that nobody is perfect, its affection that matters; not perfection"

"Fate is like getting raped
If you can’t fight, learn to enjoy it

Work is like group sex
10 people are behind your ass to take your place

Education is like hiring a prostitute
It needs both money & hard work

Success is like masturbation
Only your hand can let you achieve it".

"Those who know what is enough are wealthy, those who persevere have direction, thouse who maintain their position endure and those who die and yet do not perish, live on"

"Those who know others are intelligent, those who know themselves have insight, those who master others have forces, those who master themselves have strength."

"Scotch is a wonderful drink. If you have a DOUBLE, it makes you feel SINGLE once again…!"

"No sound in this world can be louder than Silence. If a friend can't understand your Silence, he/she can never understand your Words either!"

"The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching."

"Sometimes in life it is better to keep one's eyes wide open; other times only half open, and still others shut tight.
The question is knowing which each time...."

"We learn lessons by being beaten. It's not just about ability, its about applying pressure all the time...only then we will win."

"jindgi ane maut no jo farak na rakho tme, jena hath khali chhe ae sikender lagshe tamne"

SMS, Thoughts......... The Beginning

This post goes specially to my friends:

Tehmasp Printer; Hemant Shah; Wajid Ansari; Vishal Bhatia; Bela Gupta; Aparna Gupta who have been regular in sharing their wishes & thoughts during the past so many months.

Others not so regular Hemant Gajjer; Kaushal Gajjer; Mihir Shah (All From Ahmedabad); Dilip Hemnani; Vijay Chandodikar; Ranajit Tendolkar; Shamik Vora; Bharatt Desai; Pravin Agarwal; Sampath Iyengar so on & forth who did the same, on a irregular basis.

Madhurie; Keshav; Mehul; Amal; Nirav; Bhavin; Faridi; Matthew;Soeb; Sundar & others who kept egging me on to circulate these gems & at times change & coin to suit the occasion.

Finally Snehal Kulshreshtha - for being the one to actually force me to write "Boss if all these are original - You need to write a Book - forget working for someone" (20/Aug/07)

Guys - Do not know 100% original or not; maybe book or not; But intend to start collating them. Who knows may be able to publish them! But Promise to use the Income generated to push for girl child!!

The ones in Bold are personal favorites. So keep them coming.......

May 2007

"Relationship is like a book.It takes few seconds to burn.But it takes years to write.So write it carefully and never let it burn".

"Great People Like Us Work On The Principal Of Rockets, Not That We Aim For The Skies, But We Dont Start Performing Unless Our Ass Is On Fire." (Truly Apt)

"For every 80 people who say 'it's the 80/20 rule', there are 80 nodding and saying 'yeah, yeah, I know'"

"Creativity is allowing urself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep"

"Perfecting an art for profit is the science of management"

"Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit".

"Focus on the bottleneck. Expand, find alternates, bypass or exploit".

"CRITICISM - If it is Untrue DISREGARD it, If it is Unfair STAY CALM, If it is Ignorant SMILE, If it is Justified LEARN From it.."

"The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Paco Underhill evening...24th April ‘07 Banglore

An email debate on the above initiated by Harris - Managing Director of Witco the chain of luggage speciality stores down south

My apologies for the delay in putting my comments thru, but here goes for whatever!

Books on Retail as well as case studies from a European & American perspective, may share substantial information but the education is still awaited since application is still some years away.

I endorse Mani’s views on Blanket appreciation.

Anaggh Desai

Dear Harris:

I have admired the book WHY WE BUY and PACO’s company Envirosell’s keynote presentation in the U.S. around the time the book was published.

He reminds me of author Steven Covey. If you’ve read ‘7 habits of. . . . . . ,” then you have read all his books. Similarly, with Richard Carlson (Don’t sweat the small stuff. . . . . .)

Let’s not give a ‘blanket appreciation credit’ to everything he says. Paco’s intense and empirical study of customers’ behavior in different store categories, over a period of time has given the insights, as mentioned in his first book. Based on that alone, he seems to extend his and the book’s (brand) value on to other areas of retailing.

I wouldn’t apply and go only by his words in my retailing efforts.

Cheers,

Mani

R D & M
Mani Retail Design & Merchandising Pvt Ltd W: www.rdandm.com

Paco Underhill evening...24th April ‘07 Banglore

On invitation of MINDSCAPE / Technopak India

Paco’s talk on the science of shopping with my comments in blue below:

Visual Communication is getting to be the most powerful of all other forms in recent times.

· But there is a huge overload, - clutter, therefore intense competition

· Age takes its toll on the eyes. The 40+ do not see fonts or colors as any youngster does.

Unfortunately these are not given adequate weight age in design of visual communication.

At WITCO we have always had this battle of fonts and effective colors too with our eminent consultants. Though we all talk of the younger generation the 40+ remains the most significant part of the current clientele for us. Only six words for an outdoor message is again a battle!

MANI: 40 + VISION ARE AROUND 25% IMPAIRED. AS THIS HAPPENS GRADUALLY, PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE IT (THIS IS A KNOWN AND OFT- REPEATED BY OTHERS TOO IN THE U.S.)

AD: Whilst we speak about the youngest consumer base for Jewellery retail etc. the fact remains that the big ticket is 35+ & hence PICTURES are more important than WORDS

Signs can be grossly misleading or confusing. An arrow pointing upwards means – go ahead or above??? Paco is certain that a good navigational aid signage package should enable one to walk through without stoppage and yet reach the precise destination. Be it a store, mall or hospital! Therefore positioning, font size, colors symbols etc. all are critical.

An hour before this talk I went to one of my favorite book stores on Residency Road Bangalore. The poster message on the side entrance door shocked me! “This store will close today” in two lines. I could not read the third line as I was walking in opening the door by then. The alarming news made me let go of the door step back and read the third line….. “At 7.30 PM”.

MANI: YES, YOU’RE RIGHT INDIANS ARE NOT SENSITIVE TO TIME -ESPECIALLY OTHERS’ TIME, NOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO TIME. HUMANE RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY IS AMISS EVEN AMONGST THE EDUCATED INDIANS.

AD: Mani, whilst this is partly true, why is it that the same Indians are different when they step outside their country? Positioning; Font size; Color Symbols all are critical – but tell this to the limited nos of Signage Makers in this country – Answer “Alukabond in grey & then veneer with color” which is used from the Top most retailer to the neighborhood Kirana store

Men designing stores for women are sore point with Paco.

I have heard him say that before. In Kolkatta when he visited India the first time and also before that at

NRF convention in New York, a little after his best seller became the bible for Retail Communication. One sure need to be sensitive to different consumers but not being sensitive to needs of your primary clientele is unthinkable. All of us have read enough of Venus & Mars and how people from different planets process information and convey their thoughts. Since most of us live with spouses from another planet this should not be so difficult to understand!

MANI: A VALID POINT. RECENTLY WE HAD ENCOUNTERED THIS WHILE DESIGNING RETAIL DESIGN CONCEPT SCHEMATICS FOR LINGERIE + INTIMATE APPARELS! BUT, THEN IN INDIA MOST DESIGN HOUSES DO HAVE SEVERAL WOMEN MEMBERS. RD&M HAS 40% WOMEN IN BLR, HYD & MUMBAI.

AD: Maybe true for most of the Large; multi locale Retailers, designers but not true for unbranded, semi branded retailers that out sell organized retail. A case in point being layout of a Lingerie+Intimate apparel store/s in the unorganized retail designed by; maintained by; sold by ‘Kachhis’ (AND Mani I can Prove this to youJ)

The big threat may be outside your industry. Share of wallet monitor is key.

People more “Time Poor” than “Money Poor”. Therefore the products which most clientele need to pick up in a rush must be conveniently located.

Retail needs to pay attention to where you loose money – poor productivity areas and put in corrective measures.

MANI: CUSTOMERS SHOULD GET TO FEEL / PERCEIVE CONVINCINGLY THAT YOUR STORE SAVES TIME. THEY FEEL THAT TIME SAVED AND TIME SPENT WELL IS TIME SAVED. STARBUCKS SAYS THEY ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF VENDING TIME -QUALITY TIME. THEY’VE FIGURED OUT, ON AN AVERAGE A CUSTOMER SPENDS 20–25 MINUTES.

Energy Saving - Companies like Wal Mart have proven that there are huge benefits at hand by using energy saving devices. Big investments which pay back in a year!

At WITCO we have been working on this for more than a decade. Initial efforts actually lost money! The high initial costs without the promised quality were the problem. Energy saving and environmentally friendly “VAC” air conditioners also proved a disaster due to politically controlled fuel costs. Currently 90% of our fittings & equipment are energy- saving/efficient ones.

MANI: I REMEMBER YOU FOCUSING ON THIS, EVER SINCE I’VE KNOWN YOU (1995?). THIS ASPECT IS YET NOT FULLY RECOGNIZED NOR UNDERSTOOD OR MADE AVAILABLE PRACTICALLY.

AD: Time Poor or Money Poor = our different Stores located in Malls; High Street give different results & feedback. We are yet to evaluate this. Energy Saving plays an important role that we are constantly evaluating & have been able to note a quantitative difference from store 1 to store 13

Mirrors – For the younger generation the “mobile” is a fashion accessory and not just a communication device. They need mirrors to check out “the look”

At WITCO, we have found even 40 + Martian’s (Men) like to check out ‘’their look” with the new port folio in hand. So, mirrors are definitely not for clothing, footwear, cosmetics, Jewellery alone.

MANI: TITAN UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ‘MIRROR-FIGURE’ IN 1990-91 AND INSTALLED A FULL FIGURE MIRROR. YES, ALL CUSTOMERS ARE NARCISSISTIC AND THEY WOULD LOVE MIRRORS AND THEMSELVES.

AD: Completely agree with both of you.

Self-Service need not be for self-service stores alone. Almost any store can be designed for partial self-service.

At WITCO we have added shelf talkers, specs sheets, feature highlights, navigational aids – all in relatively small stores to address this. After all you cannot staff the store based on the needs of some 30 minutes a day when you may have customer’s out numbering the store team. So, this is an absolute necessity for us!

MANI: I LIKE WITCO’S APPROACH OF EMPOWERING SHOPPERS TO DO SELF-SELECTION OR RATHER FASTER PURCHASE DECISION. IN INDIA, MAJORITY OF THE CUSTOMERS WOULD RATHER LIKE TO BE SERVICED, WAITED ON, PAMPERED, CAJOLED, ENTICED AND ENTERTAINED. DON’T TRY TO ESCAPE FROM THAT.

AD: This is a major area of discussion internally for us; however the automation factor seems to be of assistance. But this would be something that we would re visit over the next 2 years & very difficult to pin point at this time.

How come Supermarket aisles are all of the same width? The very high traffic ones need to be wider. A drug store increased sales by 18% by just handing over baskets to people who have more than two three items in hand.

Landmark book stores always do that for me! Many supermarkets, departmental stores do that here in India.

MANI: YES, TRUE.

AD: Sure does not apply to us.

Under store design he emphasized on the importance of lighting. Appropriate lighting can actually make “good products look great”. He also said we need to “prioritize the consumer needs” when designing the store fixtures and merchandising. .

This is an area we fail in, more often. The bane is that more often our “designers” function as “decoraters”unfortunately and we have stores which look good only for 3 hours not 3 years!

MANI: YES, ‘LIGHTING DESIGN’ IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN CONSOLIDATING THE RETAIL DESIGN... PLEASE CHECK TO SEE THE LIGHTING WE’D DONE FOR FIRST CITIZEN, SPENCER PLAZA. THE TIME GIVEN FOR THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT RETAIL DESIGN IS RELATIVELY SHORTER, IN INDIA. –JUST ABOUT 30% OF THE TIME TAKEN IN THE DEVELOPED ECONOMIES.

AD: Single largest factor that currently plagues us. With very little scientific information & consistency available to be applied, it is a major learning element that we are trying to breech.

Amenability equals profits – The need is to be flexible and innovate based on feedback, learning’s, and intuition. Also that in future, outstanding companies will be so not because of “visionary leadership” at the top but “champion contributors” who face the consumer regularly.

My friend and CFO –T.K. Ranganath smiled at this one and told me that I may be guilty of too much amenability / experimentation resulting in looking more like a continuous R & D Lab! – That’s a caution!

MANI: “IF YOUR CUSTOMERS BECOME GLOBAL, YOU TOO NEED TO GET GLOBAL”

-Bhaskar Bhat, TITAN April 2007

AD: Harris, you are true but do we have a choice?

Conversation standing adjacent to the customer (not facing him/her) is a great and effective “ice – breaker”. Products like televisions automatically allow for this.

My son Althaf, a retail management under graduate student of University of Surrey is now working for 1 year at the John Lewis Dept store on Oxford Street, London. He watched a customer walk in and watch the “Penguin Display” at the Christmas decorations department and remarked “Having fun with the penguins?” The customer responded with a laugh, “Ice was sure broken” Paco will approve? His manager sure did! Full marks also for the store system which captured this interaction, enquired with the “trainee” and complimented him.

MANI: I’M NOT FULLY CONVINCED TO APPLY/FOLLOW IN INDIA PACO OR ANOTHER GUY’S INFERENCE IN HIS SOCIO-ECONOMIC-CULTURAL SURROUNDING. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE DID A TITAN/TANISHQ SHOWROOM IN MYANMAR, I CAME TO KNOW THAT EVEN CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED OR PATTED ON THEIR HEAD. THAT’S GREAT INSULT IN THAT SOCIETY!

AD: Whilst Paco’s inference may need to be modified here; our learning has shown that, there is an element of servile attitude that needs to be shown to keep the Jewellery buyers happy!

In Paco’s opinion Indian Retail is trying to move from the 19th to the 22nd century. Rather than studying U.S. and Europe it might make sense to study Brazil, South Africa, Dubai, South Korea, Mexico even Moscow.

MANI: PACO DOES NOT KNOW THAT INDIA HAS SUCCESSFULLY DONE SO IN TELECOM INDUSTRY. EVEN IN RETAILING, INDIA/INDIANS WILL COME UP WITH AN INNOVATIVE MODEL, ON THEIR OWN ACCORD. BUT CURRENTLY, MOST OF THEM SEEM TO APE ‘SOME’ MODEL, SEEKING A SHORT-CUT. AN ORIGINAL AND INNOVATIVE CONCEPT OR FORMAT OF RELEVANCE HAS TO EMERGE AND EVOLVE FROM INDIA AND THAT CAN’T BE FROM OUTSIDE. (NALLI, GRT, SARAVANA BHAVAN, SARAVANA STORES AND SCORES OF OTHERS ELSEWHERE IN INDIA CANNOT BE IGNORED FOR THEIR ORIGINALITY)

AD: This is a classic generalized American statement & hence should not be just attributed to Paco.

Key concepts to look out for are - healthy, ecological and relevance as you plan for the future.

Indian Retail is rightly nervous in this age as their consumers travel the globe and are aware of the best available the world over. Establish a close linkage with the clientele is his advice.

At WITCO being a specialty store with relatively low walk-in but high conversions – the store team is accountable for every walk-in. Customer feedback obviously is optional but Team member’s comprehensive, structured feedback is mandatory. Great way to maintain the link and an invaluable resource for review and planning.

MANI: FULLY AGREE. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, KNOWLEDGE, PROMPTNESS, SINCERITY, RESPONSIVENESS AND EMPATHY ARE IMPORTANT. THE STAFF SHOULD BE TRAINED TO (BE ABLE) RELATE THE LIFESTYLE, ASPIRATIONS AND DREAMS OF THE SHOPPERS.

AD: Completely in sync with both of you.