Business in corona crisis

Think if the Covid19 isn't the last virus threatening to wipe out human race in 2020? What would you do to prepare for the threat? Therefore the coronavirus would surely create new businesses aimed at providing solutions to the threat of fatal viruses. Mind you when in crisis the majority shrink the activity portfolio to very basic things like food, clothing and shelter rather than seeking pleasures of life. Luxury products industry may contort beyond rational explanations leading to very low quantity higher prices. One feature that all passenger vehicle would be hollering about would be virus proof interiors from upholstery to filters etc. 

Almost a decade ago while prospecting I sought a meeting with a major shoes manufacturer in Punjab something happened that you must know. This shoe manufacturer is himself an MBA and was launching a line of products aimed at health wellness like shoes with acupressure benefits. India being a dumb country hell bent on leveraging the capital rather than the idea you don't find any trailblazers. Next time you eat a healthy biscuit ask yourself how's that different from a parontha or Indian sweets. Well I called up this charismatic hardworking shoe manufacturer for a meeting, obviously thru someone else, and got a chance to explain him why he should hire my services to market the shoes with health benefits. He listened to me for ten minutes and politely told me to let me know later about the decision. Don't you know that when someone don't want to decline the offer he substitutes it with tell you later smile? I told him since India is a poor country therefore there's only niche market for the health benefits segment and hence it would be better if the marketing strategy aims at niche rather than mass. He didn't see reason in my advice against his ideas, hence never hired me at price which was not even 1% of the cost of failure he faced with his health benefits shoes launch. Basic reason why any MSMEs should hire a business consultant is to get a second opinion on his plans and hold hands going forward. I don't advise my clients, I work and toil with them to ensure that my clients earn more and spend less than what they had planned on their own. Hiring a business consultant should lower the cost not pad it up. 

Do you wonder how it's possible that how can an entrepreneur save money and spend less? Imagine a pharma industry business that requires sophisticated laboratory having expensive tools like HPLC, Spectrometers etc. One of my client into the Phytochemicals and nutraceuticals manufacturing told me that his lab executive wants new software for a non functioning HPLC machine and it would cost him a couple of lakhs. Yes people still can sell you blotting paper for million rupees. It took me two minutes meeting with the HPLC supplier to bring the cost to zilch because I have long experience of working with Phytochemicals manufacturering businesses.

What can small business owner do if his tried tested sales team tells him that no further sales are possible with same product mix? Well make your sales boss meet with someone like me to share fresh tactics and latest practices in business. Anyone working on one job for couple of years can develop a tunnel vision and would need help to get fresh ideas about what else is happening in other industries in similar situations which could be implemented in many verticals. Well I took me few months to design a plan that would expand the sales to new heights mom. 

India has too many MSMEs and need many more to deal with the mayhem in the market due to lockdown. Restarting a unit is more complex than setting up new one. I would humbly recommend a thorough inspection of all critical components of the plant so as to avoid mishaps. A boiler doing great service before for a while must be inspected before going on steam again with the easing of lockdown restrictions. As we all know that the best time to launch a product is the off season so that you could double check every little detail in the supply chain. Therefore setting up a manufacturing new unit in Corona pandemic period can't be a bad idea. Let's get down to business and factor in the precautions for Corona.

Jai Jawan Jai kisaan - Elections 2019 India

Elections in democracy were meant to search and appoint someone among us to translate our current demands into reality. But the elections have degenerated into an excercise to select most competent capable by the less competent people. How can the inferior guys know exactly who is superior than them? Can you appoint a pizza delivery guy thru elections process? Can you dare elect, rather than select, soldiers for military? You would agree with me elections in India don't offer a level playing field wherein each citizen can present her/his candidacy for the most lucrative public jobs available in India. Politics in India isn't a public service instead it's the most paying job without any requirement of minimum education and work experience. Elections are held in China also with compulsory voting rule. And Narendra Modi's RSS loves the Idea of compulsory voting.

China didn't let narender Modi led India to proscribe Azhar thereby deflating the Balakot strikes campaign baloon. Had China not blocked the move Narendra Modi could have rode on the nationalism wave  to a second term in office. This is the only critical outcome of the Chinese action on Azhar ban issue. When Sikhs were massacred in chittisinghpura Kashmir then the Hindu Rashtar extremists RSS didn't launch any strikes in Pakistan?  India knows that if china had let Azhar be declared a UN global terrorist there would have no impact on Pakistan or Azhar's freedom popularity in Pakistan. But.

Noisy Hindu radical journos went into frenzy, just as per what the Riots Shikshan Sanstha RSS taught them so reciting Hindu Rashtar chalisa in hindi, since the day a liberal Sikh scholar Dr Manmohan Singh won a second term as the PM of India. How can RSS and their Hindu Rashtar media not cry wolf having to see a non Hindu occupy the Prime Minister's office in their cherished ramrajya? The Hindu Rashtar media launched an orgy of violent journalism to bismerch a hard earned impeccable reputation of Dr Manmohan Singh. Hindu Rashtar extremists message is clear. They will prefer a Narendra Modi like Hindu Rashtar hero over a hugely competent liberal scholar honest person from minority to occupy the CM or PM chair. No wonder that Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar wasn't elected to the PM job or President chair. Hinsutva soft versus extreme seem to have become the highway to political success in India, as prescribed by the RSS. But I am amused by the enigma of nationalist edifice being offered as sure shot way to political nirvan.

Many politicians from castes involved in farming in India have become CMs but none of them could make it to the top job. Chaudhry Charan Singh occupied the office briefly and Tau Devi lal rose to the dyPM. So much for the farmers class that employ largest number of people. The real political power in in Hindu India  remains in hands of the Bania- Brahmin firmly since Mohandas Gandhi era. This power has been nurtured thru the RSS which is moat powerful business club of traders class.

Therefore there have been no real celebration of Jai Jawan chimes in the PM office till now. Indian military designed by the British empire have been most disciplined unlike other armies in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mynmaar etc. India is the only country in the subcontinent where the military hasn't seized power or influenced the politics. Salute such grace of the men in uniform.

In my opinion 2019 general election should focus on electing those who directly or through their family contribute to the national security in India. If the Riots Shikshan Sanstha RSS want a real nationalist in PM job it shall order its members and employees to vote for soldiers who contest elections from any party. If Hindu Rashtar supporters actually want a true n nationalist political leadership then why not elect only those who serve the nation as soldiers. Jai Jawan Jai kisaan mustn't he empty slogans. Let's vote for real soldiers than jumla version of them. Let's hope to see a military guy become the PM of India in 2019.

Amazon Reliance & Ikea : Online Retail war in India

Who will rule India in future? A homegrown behemoth Reliance not Flipkart armed with might of Walmart has been projected in media as the probable main competitor to global online retail giant Amazon. When Sumos fight its audience who gets to enjoy the fight without fear of any loss. On the other hand there is rise of another global DIY online retailer IKEA on the horizon in Hyderabad. Don't we know that the share of online sales revenue is as low as 3% of the real brick & mortar version.

Question is who will win the war on online sales in India which has huge population under 35%? I have always maintained that the large population in India provides no dividend to the economy. Moreover a morbidly superstitious Hindu population in India is another drag on the growth of economy to make it attractive to the global investors. Hindu mythologies confuses the kids who grow up becoming parasites rather than net contributor to the economy. In the age of innovation & ideas you have to allow kids become a modern citizen who could challenge the existing cultural rituals and ancient utopias. Indian kids grow up be become unskilled confused and superstitious adults who wait for some gods to solve the everyday life problems.

The hankering for bygone utopias and funny gods make Indian kids completely useless who neither enjoy fruits of their hardwork as their legitimately earned outcome nor take responsibility for their actions. Innovations are the main driver of any economy and innovative minds needs a liberal and progressive culture. Can any Hindu tell how Imran Khan has reduced the fuel prices by 17 rupee while Indians continue to pay brutal prices to the Hindu supremacist govt?

Reliance may be the largest firm on the basis of market cap but does it enjoy the trust of the Indian population? I meet lots of current and old employees of the Reliance industries asking them about their satisfaction about their employer. Ask any Reliance employee to know how much they fear and distrust it. Can any form of retail operation sustain without earning the trust of its customers and employees? No way. Amazon may have several dissatisfied customers but it has won trust of customers as well as employees. IKEA may face cultural barriers as Indians are not known for DIY lifestyle. India being a Hindu caste-infested society which looks down upon those who work with hands by castigating them as low caste its herculean task to inculcate DIY culture. But IKEA can benefit from low cost labor in India offering great potential for sourcing base.

Reliance may have many managerial & strategic challenges compared to the professional approach of its competitors but it has the might of Indian govt on its side that it can deploy to get an unfair advantage in the market. But in the long run as we all know the market competition wins the race. 

King Khan at helm in Pakistan

"When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity." - Napoleon Bonaparte

The quality of political leadership in a country has both long & short term influence on its economy politics and culture. You could conclude that the quality or the lack of it determines the very survival of a country. Therefore citizens in a democracy must vote very consciously on merit alone than any other consideration of religious beliefs, cultural identity without personal or social bias. The difference between developed and under developed countries could be attributed to many factors including the nature & quality of the local culture/s followed by the majority population. Social scientists and sociologist agree on the positive impact of great leadership on team performance.

A poor leader without verifiable competence and sans an inspiring track record may end up damaging the team prospects & its future productivity also. People tend to emulate the feat of their achievers who lead them to victory in sports, literature, economy or politics. Between India & Pakistan which country has better quality PM? Who among the two has better achievements in education, sports, career and life? Management or administration is a craft that requires leadership qualities which can't be imbibed through hard work and superior intellect. David Ogilvy warned his colleagues to differentiate between pygmies and giants and depend upon on giants alone for success. India clocked stellar economic performance under Dr Manmohan Singh who became PM after a great educational attainments and a scintillating career full of inspiring achievements. 

Can you point out what Narendra Modi achieved in education & professional front? Modi was not even a MLA before LK Advani appointed him CM of Gujarat. The RSS don't claim to be a university where its missionaries learn & teach the craft of designing excellence in any field. Numerous vociferous RSS guys are seen pontificating in mainstream media that they want to turn India into a Hindu Rashtar that lives only on ancient Hindu superstitions and rituals. Funny that 'Good Day' is a biscuit brand from Britannia India  not by Modi's favourite enlightened yoga exponent Ramdev. 

Despite his expensive publicity blitzkrieg Modi failed to strengthen the Brand India in global market. Has Narender succeeded in keeping the economy on track or failed to match the performance of his illustrious predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh? Nobel laureate Dr Amritya Sen has recently remarked that Narender pushed the Indian economy into wrong direction. If you wonder why current PM failed to perform then look at his educational and work record. Why Modi didn't achieve success in education, career and social life before he was made the CM of Gujarat by his political mentor? 

Unlike Dr Manmohan Singh the current PM was lucky to be born in independent India and that too in its richest & most successful state? On the other hand Dr Manmohan Singh excelled in education & career despite pains of the partition of India. Imran Khan too achieved world class success as a sportsman winning the cup for Pakistan. Successful people inspire billion others to work hard and achieve success in their chosen field. Only success offers assurance of survival and growth, failures only leave behind bitter lessons. 

The Hindus were always in majority in Indian subcontinent & have substantial achievements much before RSS came on the scene and took upon itself that task of saving Hinduism in India. Unfortunately Narender Modi wasted his youth in RSS camps whiling away precious time doing nothing. How can a man who failed to get a regular job in his youth understand the employment situation in India and provide jobs to fresh graduates? Didn’t Dr Manmohan Singh do first class jobs throughout contributing to economy of India? Dr Singh got the jobs of Finance Minister and the decade long stint as the PM purely on personal competence and merit? There are many CMs in various states of India who neither studied nor worked hard in their youth. Can such guys lead the society towards a better future? RSS Hindus can learn from Pakistan where no religious extremists have won in elections this time also. Why should Hindus elect those people who are accused of spreading Hindu extremism in India? Its disgusting to see that in the post industrial modernist world the Hindus of India continue to promote dubious characters by electing them into power.

Political leaders like Imran Khan have the potential to inspire a whole generation to emulate him and create excellence. Imran has earned a name for himself with his stellar contribution to cricket winning the world cup for Pakistan. He married a jew lady which confirms his secular credentials. Narendra Modi never worked on any job before becoming CM and has no record of achieving any success in any field whatsoever prior to getting the chair of Gujarat CM. Modi earned his Hindu Rashtar Hero image post 2002 Godhra riots which gets him Hindu votes since then. 

Victory of Imran Khan in 2018 Pakistan elections would certainly help the people of Pakistan aspire for a better life and greater future. A country can lose a lot and struggle to survive if the people at the helm have no winning track record. Pakistan is lucky to have Imran Khan in the driver’s seat to lead it to greener pastures.

Earn a Million Dollar from Blogging?

Strategy is the key to make a pile of money from blogging. But you can't earn a cent unless Google or Facebook makes many times more from your efforts. Those who started blogging in their youth expecting to net a catch someday could be found reading Moby Dick after a decade of rigorous work. well isn't it true that waiting for Godot was written almost a century ago? How could one forget the truth of the Happy Prince or the fiction of Atlas Shrugged? But then who could you blame, the writers of blog posts or the social media dictators who don't bother to promote anything except entertainment?

Reading writing is a serious business that fails to entertain the masses. In a world marked by the Trump-ting USA and Modified India its rare to find somber logical debates and discourses on life and living. Perhaps the masses have lost the faith in existence of God & the goodness. Perhaps the rapidly melting glaciers on the poles have led to an opposite effect on humans leading to freezing of human mind. How could iconic markedly successful people like Kate Spade & Anthony Bourdain refuse to travel the entire mile?

How could successful smart Kate & Tony shatter under the weight of living life every moment of it? Come on pump up some more entertainment that could dampen the glare of arc-lights so that humans could keep their eyes open without strain. Achievements make people stronger worthier but those can't be the only goals of life. Failures are sexy too, failing repeatedly may kill the most of us.People earn money through hard toil so that they could burn it on lazy pursuits. Well this sums up our life in the post truth world.

People are no longer entertained by the serious tales reflective of the realty of banal existence. The laborious reading-writing activity of humans have shrunk by the rise of mass media and instant pleasures of social media revolution. Human heart desires more entertainment to find meaning in the digital life. Anyone can live long if she doesn't differentiate between success & failures. No day can be boring monotonous or wasted if you know how to entertain yourself with words. Pictures can kill, embrace the words to wade through the oceans of life. 

You certainly can make your first million from blogging on the web if  the masters of the digital universe Facebook & Google permit. Mythologies are interesting but can't help in living a win-win life in the post truth world. The hoopla scores over the golden silences. Would you like to know how much money a blogger like me make after 10 years on the blogpost? Hold your breath, take a sip of cold water. I have yet to reach $10 in 10 years. Phew can someone teach me how to make a  million dollars from writing? 

Cambridge Analytica & Data driven political marketing

Just because Cambridge Analytica has been credited with influencing the American voters in favor of successful flashy business magnate Trump it would be wrong to extrapolate the effects to explain the rise of Hindu Hero Narendra Modi in India. First unlike Trump, Narender has been continuously winning elections post Godhra riots 2002 that earned him the title of a Hindu hero. Agreed that Narender had never won any election before 2002 Gujarat riots. Mysteriously people tend to forget that Narender's mentor his senior LK Advani lost elections to Dr Manmohan Singh in 2009. Second the American mind has no resemblance to that of the Indian mind because the USA is extolled as the land of free & undisputed Global leader since the WW2 unlike India which have been ruled by people from all over the world hence can be described as the plaything of any who would dare to challenge the natives. The culture of people in an area is most critical resource than any other resource like minerals & location. The success or failure of an economy is also predicated on the characteristics of the people living in an area.

No one is born strong, rich & successful one has to plan and work for fulfillment in life.

If you wonder why the Hindu media in so called secular India has been wasting so much primetime TV on boring puppet shows on topic of the impact of political marketing on voters then shut your eyes observe two minute silence mourning 39 hardworking young Indians in Syria driven to death by Hindutva forces led by RSS.

Think why Indians have to go abroad to provide for their families back in India? Ask why RSS forces Indians to chant Bharat Mata ki jai while doing nothing to create jobs in India. Ask yourself who is forcing Indians to risk lives for earning a livelihood in dangerous places outside Indian subcontinent? Who would respect Bharat mata if she fails to take care of its progeny? The hindutva propaganda is the single biggest distraction, obstruction, away from the development politics in India. How can India grow when RSS want Indians to bend to tantra mantra of Hindu way of life? China and the west have grown by embracing liberal values, scientific temper assuring universal equality and justice for all which are anathema to RSS Hindutva lifestyle. How can India grow if continue to slide into abyss of ancient morality of bygone utopias?

Neither Narendra led RSS or Rahul’s Congress can win an election or influence substantial enough Indian minds even if they have access to adhaar database which is way more destructive a weapon than any databases generated thru some app or Facebook. Wont majority of Indians willingly sell their personal data for a ration card or food for work program? Hunger is maddening and unemployment fatal. Don’t we know how booze, money and gifts can get votes during election in India? Data driven marketing is just another tool among the vast array to influence consumers or voters to have a positive opinion about an offer in the market. Narender Modi as Hindu Hero has been sold to almost one third of India and 70 percent of Hindus by the mainstream media not which is owned by RSS inclined Hindus. Digital media may had one tenth of impact as mainstream media in the 2014 win of modi. Did you ever come across any journo or channel critical of dangers of a Hindu Rashtar? 

Never. Some political science puritans and academics keep worrying about an ideal world where people could live freely but that’s nothing but an utopia. If Trump had engaged Cambridge Analytica to collect data and use it to market his campaign in an open manner then it was no crime. Similarly if Narender or Rahul use their app to collect info of Indians to send them their messages it’s a fair game. Facebook and Twitter are media firms and like their ilk the brick & mortar avatar they wouldn’t mind maximizing their profitability at any cost. To all those who balk at involvement of foreign hands in their national affairs I would ask think again and note how their lives in India are directly controlled by other govts. Indian subcontinent has never been really free like USA and you know how expensive freedom is. Let’s worry about how to take India towards freedom than worry about use of digital tools for effective political marketing.

Stockholm syndrome & Ramdev Patanjali Ayurveda marketing

Ramdev can’t hope to win in fmcg space dominated by women power. Yogis who consider women as bad influence thus refusing to respect them as wife or a life partner must not hope to have a bright future. I appeal Ramev to come clean on this and clarify why he refuses to love women as life partner. To those women who suffer from Stockholm syndrome my humble appeal would be to stand up and fight for equality. Don’t by products sold by celibate religious people of any religion because they stand for misogyny that makes life of women difficult on earth.

Agreed India remained under foreign rule for centuries. Accepted the Indians didn’t get independence as result of war against the occupying power, like USA or Vietnam get.  Despite 70 years of independence Indians fail to become globally competitive society as reflected in dismal performance in Olympics, FIFA world cup, Oscars or Nobel prize to name a few. Therefore many scholars tend to conclude that Indians in general are not ready to shoulder the leadership responsibility thus preferring the follower role.

Countries in Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have already seen women head of states as PM & President, unlike the USA, despite the fact that women in the USA enjoy far better socio-religious freedom as compared to their pitiable plight in India. How could women rise to the top political jobs in countries that are notorious for subjugating women? It’s no brainer. All the women who occupied top political posts in Indian subcontinent came from political families who succeeded their male relations. Ms Mamta Bnnerjee, CM of west Bengal perhaps the only top political leader in Indian subcontinent who rose to top on her own merit sans any male patronage. Don’t you think Hillary Clinton would have won against Trump if she had not been seen as an ex-Presidents wife? All right thinking people must strive for an equal world, a culture where when women have same freedom to commit mistakes and still get accepted as equal as men have enjoyed for centuries. Women and men are made equal by Gods and no decent man can find an exception to the rule.

If you wonder how the above enumeration relates to rapid rise of a controversial uneducated religious bigot popular as Swamy Ramdev in the business world? Well Ramdev have entered low technology FMCG trade to sell commodities and packaged products which were already available in the market. Ramdev has used religious Hindu fundamental appeal to sell commodities and low technology semi processed items. His rise can be seen as ripple effect of rise of Hindu fundamentalism in all spheres of life in India from politics to education. Although rapid rise of Patanjali products of Ramdev looks logical in charged atmosphere of Hindutva fundamentalism in India but its future remains surrounded in mystery.

Will Ramdev be able to sustain his trade in the low tech and low margin trade of commodities with highly substitutable product categories sans differentiation if the wave of Hindu fundamentalism wanes in next 2-3 years? Serious business managers would seriously doubt the future prospects of Patanjali trade empire. Why would a customer buy Patanjali products sold by a religious Hindu fundamentalist Swamy when there are many normal Hindus are already marketing such products of equal quality? What will happen to Hindu fundamentalist appeal if India has to go to war against China or Pakistan? In my opinion a war with China is almost round the corner. Secondly I would like to draw attention to more fundamental and pervasive contraction threatening the future of Patanjali products.

Ramdev is riding a tiger in the low technology fmcg world. Ramdev a celibate won popularity as a religious man who didn’t marry because yogis consider women as distraction in achievement of higher goals of life. Unfortunately for all Hindu fundamentalist yogi and Swamys like Ramdev it’s the women who decide the fate of fmcg class of products. Will the women continue to buy products endorsed by a guy like Ramdev who considers women as distraction and refuses to give them equal status as life partner? In my opinion no self respecting educated women would by products from those who insult and disparage women. Ramdev can’t fool all the women for all the time. Let’s wait for the moment when women launch a campaign to boycott Patanjali products in their fight for dignity and equality in India. I am sure Ramdev has not hired a professional advertising agency or discussed the branding with an expert. No one can sell products/services to those who the seller don’t respects.