Applane: Gurgaon-based tech company bets big on education sector

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/applane-gur…

It’s All About People

Dan Wilson

During my corporate career I had the good fortune for many of those years of being associated with the hardest working, most dedicated team of professionals one could imagine. Not only were they extraordinarily proficient at what they did, but also innovative and adaptable to new and better processes, procedures, and technology, always open to better ways and new ideas. What was even more impressive though, beyond their professionalism and technical expertise, was their caring attitude toward the people they served. I know that for a fact for I had the opportunity to observe day to day how they fretted and sweated over doing the right thing – for people.

What I learned from that team is this, that ultimately it is all about people. In everything, all our endeavours, if it is not about people it simply does not exist. Regardless of our jobs, careers, professions, vocations, businesses or organizations – whatever products or services we provide, for profit or not-for-profit – if the ultimate purpose and end result does not benefit other people in some way, our jobs, professions, and organizations would have never come into existence in the first place.

Too often, I’m afraid, in this complex and competitive world, people are treated as commodities rather than being valued as fellow human beings. Customers are valued only by the contents of their wallets, and employees as nothing more than tools or machines, replaceable or expendable at the slightest whim– “human resources,” we call them, rather than “human beings.” And, unfortunately, when that attitude becomes too pervasive in any business, organization, or profession, eventually – eventually I say – it will falter. Consider the Enron debacle, for instance, from a few years back. Enron’s demise did not begin with the greedy shenanigans of its senior executives; it began when the company and its leadership lost sight of its true purpose, of serving and providing for people.

Take a look around this week and see if you can identify one single worthwhile endeavour that does not ultimately serve and benefit people. Can there be such a thing? It’s all about people, you see, and as long as we, in whatever we do, do not lose sight of that fact, we will flourish. But if we do we are sure – eventually – to falter.

*Competitive Intelligence *

What Does it Mean?

_The process of collecting and analyzing information about competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in a legal and ethical manner to enhance business decision-making.

Competitive intelligence activities can be basically grouped into two main types –

1) Tactical, which is shorter-term and seeks to provide input into issues such as capturing market share or increasing revenues; and

2) Strategic, which focuses on longer-term issues such as key risks and opportunities facing the enterprise.

Competitive intelligence is different from corporate or industrial espionage, which use illegal and unethical methods to gain an unfair competitive advantage._

5 ways to Focus on Healthy Progress

The Economic Times

A competitive environment is crucial for a high-performing team. However, often the competitive spirit of a professional could be perceived negatively as an ‘I-win-you-lose’ mindset.

Rica Bhattacharyya suggests how you can be competitive without spreading negativity among team-mates.

1. Let it be About Winning: Shed the mindset of stomping on others to win; instead commit to helping others win. “Ask yourself: is it about competing or winning?… Focus on winning. Winning comes across to others as positive and inspirational,” says Sarah Walton, HR director at Diageo India. Agrees VK Madhav Mohan, corporate mentor and leadership expert: “Get out of the zero-sum mindset which makes you always behave in an “I win, you lose” manner. If you do that you’ll win the battle but lose the war!”

2. Be a Team Player: To make the competition healthy and positive, it is crucial to network, share and stay connected to rest of the team. “There is now a great interdependency of ideas, competence and encouragement. We need to leverage this to achieve our own potential… Master the powerful ability to delegate,” says Mohan.

3. Don’t Run Down Competitors: Denigrating others in their absence or to their subordinates will erode your credibility. “The listener will pretend to agree while thinking, ‘This is probably what he will say about me too, so I can’t trust him’,” says Mohan.

4. Stay Humble: Take pride in your achievements, but at the same time be humble. “Rather than promoting yourself, share best practices and learnings with others. Your colleagues will appreciate it and celebrate your success,” says Walton.

5. Never Question Competence: When someone in your team goofs up, avoid an immediate emotional outburst questioning his or her competence. “Doing that is like a teacher berating a student…This will only shake the person’s confidence and self-belief,” says Mohan. Also, never cast aspersions on a person’s integrity because that is one of the surest ways to create an enemy or lose a supporter.

When tension is a good thing
Gautam Talwar

The tension caused by apparently contradictory impulses
and values can in fact make brands more engaging argues

An interesting paradox in psychology is that people go to great lengths to avoid inconsistencies in their own character or beliefs but find the tension of apparent inconsistency intriguing in others. Some iconic personalities who have left a mark on culture at large exhibit seemingly disparate qualities or narratives.

Jim Morrison was a much loved rock star from The Doors. But he was much more than just a rock star; he was also a wild personality whose run-ins with the law were just as well recorded as his achievements as a singer and poet. His seemingly contradictory projection of being a sensitive poet as well as a troublemaker makes him one of the most iconic and captivating frontmen in rock music history.

A R Rahman, the globally renowned virtuoso Indian music composer, straddles across music genres, geographies, and industries with ease. He is known for integrating Eastern classical music and orchestral arrangements with electronic sounds and world music . This makes his compositions stand apart as uniquely contemporary yet maintaining its roots in the classical.

Conflicting narratives giving rise to captivating personalities is equally true for brands. Developing a narrative tension in a brand’s personalitywhich we can call Brand Tension— helps these brands break away from the category and redefine expectations.

Brand Tension is one of the most essential elements in the model and philosophy of the Brand Asset Valuator. It captures this quality of tension in the way it measures a brand’s performance on Differentiation (reason to stand out) and Relevance (reason to adopt). Differentiation and Relevance are driven by opposing perceptual forces and are negatively correlated. However, brands that successfully build both these qualities can claim an iconic status.

The BAV allows us to quantify brand equity and identify exactly what drives tensity for a particular brand. The BAV model collects a battery of 48 image dimensions against which brands are evaluated. We see that some brand attributes hang together, while others tend to be negatively correlated with one another. For instance, Value conflicts with Style, Trust is not seen as Glamorous, and Responsible is not seen as Fun. We are sensitive to the tension between these perceptions.

When a brand taps into the paradoxical dimensions of its personality, it can completely break away from the category. These brands have not just been an integral part of our lives but have also been able to define what their categories mean. Closer inspection reveals that these are also brands that have been able to build greater loyalty, preference, and usage compared to their category peers. Britannia for example, enjoys 50% greater scores in Top Preference as compared with the Bakery Snacks category average.

Britannia has through the years successfully built its personality on the basis of two poles, Badge and Value. While it reflects and leads the category codes of being Traditional, Down to Earth, and Good Value, it has also been successful in exhibiting premium cues of Prestige, Upper Class, and Popularity.

Bajaj enjoys an enduring presence in our lives, from the days of the scooter and now as the motorcycle maker. It has held on to its perception of being Trusted and Authentic, though more recently, it has also managed to add on Distinctiveness, Dynamism, Daring, and Arrogance (unintentionally) to its brand persona and emerge as a brand with a difference in its category.

From this discussion, we may legitimately ask if Brand Tension is a necessary aspect of brand building. We know that there are large brands that are uni-dimensional in their personality, ie, they lack tension; but these brands are likely to suffer from stagnation and challenges in brand health.

State Bank of India (SBI) is the biggest name in Indian banking and stands for Trust and Reliability, but not much else. While the importance of trust cannot be over-emphasized in banking, this unidimensional approach can create challenges for the brand. In fact, the BAV reveals that the one thing the SBI brand falls short in, is Differentiation.

Brands need to be constantly reinventing themselves to stay relevant and differentiated.

One of the most powerful ways to do this is to introduce tension in your brand’s personality. This ensures that your audience is constantly engaged with newer and multiple facets of your brand. Now, it will be interesting to see if newer brands will find the right points of tensity to activate and whether pre-existing brands will take the plunge to innovate their personalities further.

20 Amazing One-Liners

1. I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life. It’s money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. – Walt Disney

2. High expectations are the key to everything. – Sam Walton

3. Timing, perseverance and 10 years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success. – Biz Stone

4. I believe in businesses where you engage in creative thinking, and where you form some of your deepest relationships. If it isn’t about the production of the human spirit, we are in big trouble. – Dame Anita Roddick

5. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.- Oprah Winfrey

6. I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had. – J.K. Rowling

7. Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration – Thomas Edison

8. When you go to buy, don’t show your silver – Chinese Proverb

9. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great – Mark Twain

10. Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company – Booker T. Washington

11. If you aren’t making waves, you aren’t kicking hard enough – Unknown

12. To win without risk is to triumph without glory – Corneille

13. Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking – William B. Sprague

14. Lend your friend $20; if he doesn’t pay you back then he’s not your friend. Money well spent – Ted Nicolas

15. Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t – A student in Warren G. Tracy’s class

16. It’s better to own the racecourse then the race horse –Anonymous

17. Go Big, or Go Home – Eliza Dushku

18. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve – Dr. Napoleon Hill

19. Example is not the main thing in influencing other people; it’s the only thing – Abraham Lincoln

20. Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. – Bill Gates

5 ways to Motivate Laggards

The Economic Times

Most ‘slackers’ in an organisation are not incompetent. Usually, a role mismatch or lack of motivation makes a professional lose interest and switch off. However, motivation, guidance and a roadmap can turn laggards into star performers. Rica Bhattacharyya finds out how.

1. Identify the Reason

A manager must start with an open mind in his or her efforts to motivate a laggard and identify the reasons behind underperformance. “Each individual inherently wants to contribute his best,” points out SY Siddiqui, COO (administration), Maruti Suzuki India. If a person is consistently performing below standards, it could be that the work content is not to his or her liking, or there is a lack of guidance. “Begin by removing all judgement about the person,” he says.

2. Collect the Facts

It is important for a manager to gather specific facts on a so-called laggard’s performance. “Collect examples of non-performance, list gaps between expectations and delivery,” says Siddiqui. “In the absence of preparation, you are likely to make sweeping statements about the person. That will leave the person unclear, further demotivated and generally worse off than before,” he adds.

3. Show a Roadmap

A mismatch in expectation between the job description and what one experiences in the actual work role typically results in ‘switching off’. “You can fill this gap through clear conversation, setting clear expectations, showing a proper roadmap, and handholding the person,” says Shaily Gupta, group head, human resources, Edelweiss Financial Services. Listen deeply, patiently and with compassion. Some people can express their views and feelings right away, while others take time to open up.

4. Make an Action Plan

If an honest conversation has taken place and the employee is in a positive frame of mind, invite him or her to create specific goals and action points with timelines. “Help him identify who will monitor that plan, and how. This will achieve a constructive closure,” says Siddiqui.

5. Let Go

If even after the best efforts of the manager or organisation the employee does not seem to fit with the fundamental value system, then be ready to let go. “Sometimes, even after your best efforts his or her skills might no longer seem to match the requirements of the team. It may also be possible that negativity has seeped in, and could adversely impact good performers. In such extreme situations, it may be advisable to part ways,” says Siddiqui.

6 Techniques to Make the Most of Your Team
Michelle Symonds

Group brainstorming can be a highly effective way of using the power of the collective mind to address a project related issue. Bringing together all the different skills and experiences of your team in this way can help to inspire different approaches and novel ways of dealing with things, and has been used for decades as a project management tool.

The way in which you approach your brainstorming sessions can be critical to the effectiveness of the process. A typical brainstorming session will involve getting your team together to discuss an issue, for which they may or may not have been briefed earlier. Notes are often taken on whiteboards or computers with projectors, and everyone is encouraged to speak out loud to the group. Whilst this works well in many cases, some team members may not be comfortable with shouting out in front of the group, or may take longer to form ideas, thinking after the event, “Oh I wish I’d said…”

Here are some of the more popular techniques for better brainstorming sessions:

• To prevent ideas being influenced away: The Stepladder Technique
Present the issue to the group together, and give them time to think it over. Get two team members together and let them discuss the problem. Add a third member to the group, and have them present their ideas without hearing the thoughts of the first two, then let the three discuss. Repeat by adding a fourth, fifth and so on, until everyone is back in the room.

• To ensure everyone has their say: The Brainwriting Technique
There are numerous variations of this, but the most popular is the ‘brainwriting pool’, where everyone writes their ideas on a card or post it note, and places it on the table. Other team members can draw a card to help them get inspiration for more ideas. A great way to have a quieter, more controlled brainstorming session.

• To get ideas from a big group when you don’t have time to discuss each one: Crawford’s Slip Method
The Crawford’s Slip Method is one of the simplest ways of getting a lot of ideas in a very quick and controlled manner. Simply hand out slips to everyone in the team, anything from five to fifty slips depending on how many responses you get, and ask them a question. Give them some time to fill in as many ideas as they can, then collect them back in. You’ll be able to organize these slips into groups and collate the responses, which can form a powerful basis for a more in depth planning session later on.

• To improve a product or service: Reverse Brainstorming
This is a fun method, and great for revealing flaws in your current products or services which might not be that easy to see. Instead of asking “How do we do…” turn the question on its head and ask the opposite. For example, instead of brainstorming “How do we improve customer satisfaction” try asking “How do we make our customers more dissatisfied”. The answers you get will be revealing, and you can then spend some time discussing whether you are actually doing any of these things unwittingly.

• For effective brainstorming in a large group: The Charette Procedure
This process involves several small groups discussing different parts of the big picture, and then passing on their ideas to the next group for discussion and refinement. Finally the ideas are prioritized by the last group, giving an outcome of several parts of the big issue having been thoroughly brainstormed by many people, and a ‘top 3’ or ‘top 5’ ideas being produced.

When using brainstorming sessions as part of the process of project management, it is important to choose a method based upon the characteristics of your team and what you think will suit them the best. Brainstorming can be used for defining the project objectives, gathering requirements or solving problems. It is used as part of a project management framework in many organizations and often taught on project management courses.

Book-Review
The elephant in the start-up
—
Surajeet Das Gupta

THE ELEPHANT CATCHERS
Key Lessons for Breakthrough Growth
Subroto Bagchi

This is essentially a book for management practitioners because it provides many practical tips on running a corporation – how to handle the media, deal with high-profile consultants, or hire the right person for the job. But it is also an interesting read for those who do not understand management jargon and yet want to gain an insight into the challenges organisations face in their journey from a start-up to a large corporation. That’s because The Elephant Catchers bears Subroto Bagchi’s trademark readable style. The veteran manager and entrepreneur knows how to tell a good story: he links anecdotes from his childhood in Odisha to the challenges he confronted as founder and CEO of information technology (IT) firm Mindtree, through to running an organisation.

So why is the book called The Elephant Catchers? The title is the heading of one of the chapters, but it also reflects Mr Bagchi’s core message. Mr Bagchi grew up in the tribal districts of Odisha, where small-game hunting was usually a simple exercise for which the entire village got together with little planning and plenty of festivity. But hunting elephants was another business altogether: it demanded planning, dividing tasks between groups and, unlike the more frequent rabbit catching, a lot of training. Similarly, a start-up is a bit like tribals chasing small game. But as the organisation expands, he says, you need elephant catchers who can tackle the complexities of growth. And the central theme of this 229-page book is the challenges of scaling up.

One could argue that Mr Bagchi has eulogised the success of his management principles in Mindtree, since the book is full of anecdotes from his tryst with the IT firm; and that he may be overstating things a bit, given that the company is still not in the big league of the IT business. One could also be sceptical about whether all these tips on running a business actually work in a cut-throat competitive environment.

Take, for instance, the controversial issue of “paid news”, which Mr Bagchi deals with in his chapter on building valuation for the company. He says a top media house approached him saying it would take equity in Mindtree and, in exchange, offer more editorial space and also go easy on any negative news that might emerge about the company.

Mr Bagchi refused the offer because he believed he would never give up equity at a discount in exchange for goods and services. Opinion on this issue, however, is divided. Many like Mr Bagchi will take a principled stand, but there are myriad small- and medium-sized companies that will not agree with him. They claim they have benefited from such an association because it allowed them to build their brand at a relatively low cost and increase the valuation of their operations.

Interestingly, Mr Bagchi is not an ardent believer in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) when it comes to growing a business, a view many large organisations would take with a pinch of salt. Indeed, they may be inclined to say his scepticism arises from the fact that his M&A experience in Mindtree was not the best and there were failures, possibly because the company did not do its due diligence well. The author, however, has strong views on the issue. He says managers look for acquisitions as an easy way out when they run out of ideas. Most M&A literature will tell you, he contends, that M&As do not work and are value-destructive and culture-dilutive.

So how should start-ups gain scale, especially when they are pitted against established players that have large turnovers and market size going for them? There is hope, the author says, because customers do not entirely base their decisions on “rational thought” even though the start-up is pitted against big entities. Sometimes, it is possible to create magic if you can connect with customers emotionally as a hungry, willing, trustworthy and interesting new player.

Mr Bagchi also deals at length with the issue of hiring. He points out that organisations need both “hunters” and “farmers”. He explains there are some people who are very good at spotting opportunities and opening doors (“hunters”), but not at building a relationship or solving problems. For the latter function, you need “farmers”.

Most of all, it is about consultants that Mr Bagchi offers some noteworthy pointed advice. Many critics argue that consultants do not provide value for the big bucks they ask for. Others swear by them. Mr Bagchi’s advice: one, do a reference check before hiring a consultant; two, be clear about what you expect from consultants; three, settle the fee, don’t keep it vague; and four, if you want to implement the consultant’s recommendations, remember that you have to fork out the same amount to do so. The fifth point, however, is the gem. According to Mr Bagchi, you will get all you need from consultants in the first six months; after that, they are merely repeating themselves. Famous last words!

Those Smart Geese

Zig Ziglar, Author of Born To Win

Surely all of us have heard the honking of a Canada goose overhead and looked up to see them flying in V-formation. Scientists in wind-tunnel tests have discovered that geese actually fly 72% farther in a V-formation than they could on their own. The goose off the trailing wing of another is flying in a partial vacuum and, consequently, is able to fly farther. You have probably wondered why one leg of the V is always longer than the other. The explanation for that is quite simple: The longer one has more geese in it.

From time to time the formation appears to break, but what’s happening is the lead goose is being replaced by another who is more rested because he’s not been fighting the same amount of headwind the lead goose has been fighting.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were as considerate of those around us as are the geese of their leader? Perhaps we, too, would get more done.

The goose is also wise in another department. If some of the geese start to lag behind, there are a large number of honks that come forth from the rest of the geese. Psychologists believe those goose honks are more than just noise-makers, they are honks of encouragement. They’re really saying, “Come one, Partner, pick up the pace! Farmer Brown’s pond’s only four miles ahead. You can do it!” So, in essence, they’re motivators giving encouragement to their lagging companion. In addition, if a goose gets sick or is wounded, two other geese will drop out of formation to follow and protect it until it either dies or is able to move on.

There’s quite a lesson in that message, too. If we were more supportive and encouraging to our associates and family members, surely there would be more unity and accomplishment.

I believe if we will follow the examples of the goose we will get more done individually as well as collectively. And if we do, I will see you at the top!

Startups add sprite to good old notebooks

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/20…

Groupthink
What Does it Mean?

A phenomenon developed in groups and marked by the consensus of opinion without critical reasoning or evaluation of consequences or alternatives. Groupthink evolves around a common desire to not upset the balance of a group of people by creating conflict, with creativity and individuality considered potentially harmful traits that should be avoided.

‘Flipped’ classroom teaching clicks with B-Schools in India

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/20…

BPOs’ new lucrative income stream: Managing Twitter & Facebook for clients

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/20…

Indian food and beverages brands relying on innovative products to take on leaders like Red Bull, Pepsico, Dabur others

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/20…

How to Make Your Own Luck

Rob White

If you’re looking for a guaranteed way to win the lottery (other than purchasing every ticket available), you won’t find it here or anywhere else. But there’s another kind of luck, and it’s not the “luck of the Irish.” You have it within your power to create your own luck. Real luck is about taking control of your life and being receptive to opportunities that come your way. And it’s about recognizing that there’s far more in life that is for you than against you. By being receptive to things that are for you and allowing them to enter your life, you’ll be able to achieve more of your aspirations and dreams.

“Lucky” people look outside the box of their daily routine; they believe that good luck is predictable if they take more chances and adopt a receptive/optimistic point of view. They understand that the more focused they are on accomplishing things that excite them, the more luck comes their way. Some would call it Providence moving in their favour. It doesn’t matter what you label it; what matters is that you embrace the concept that if it is to be, it is up to me.

Here are five tips for making your life a lucky one:

1. Be unreasonable in your thinking.

What, be unreasonable? Yes. Toss away your old “book of reasons” about why life isn’t working out as you hoped. This means seeing yourself differently, rather than looking at life in your usual way. Orville and Wilbur Wright were unreasonable when they decided to invent a heavier-than-air flying machine. Everyone laughed at their attempts to fly, but you have your frequent-flyer miles today because of these two lucky brothers. History is filled with great ideas that we initially scoffed at because they were unreasonable. Don’t buy into that thinking!

2. Look for the opportunity in adversity.

You make your own luck when you look at adversity as a source of opportunity. In this world of polarity — of complementary opposites — life cannot hand you a negative moment without a positive lesson hidden deep inside. This isn’t to say that you should be in denial when negative moments happen. Denial isn’t bliss! But when you can look beyond the negative and see the positive, that’s the beginning of a lucky moment.

3. Turn whining into winning.

When you catch yourself whining, it’s time to make a U-turn. Whining about an aspect of your life moves you to the world of “WOE” (“What on Earth”), where you see the world as largely working against you. The opposite of WOE is “WOW” (“Wonderfully Obsessed with Winning”), a world in which whining is out of the range of human hearing. When you’re Wonderfully Obsessed with Winning, luck happens because you’re motivated to take the necessary steps to succeed. Think about the old maxim, “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins.” How about this paraphrased version: “A winner never whines and a whiner never wins!”

4. Become a luck magnet.

When you think and act in optimistic and receptive ways, you attract lady luck into your life. You’re looking at your future with an attitude of WOW, which alerts you to the many opportunities that are always right there in front of you. If you think of yourself as a winner, you become a winner. Again, it’s not about waving a magic a wand and becoming the CEO of a global enterprise or the virtuoso you’ve always wanted to be. Both entail hard work and talent. But they also entail adopting the mindset of a winner. People who succeed think of themselves as winners long before they achieve their goals. That mindset is a critical element of luck!

5. Pay attention to your intuition.

When you have a hunch, pause and listen to your inner voice. Intuition is keyed into aspects of the world that are off-limits to your rational mind. Often, intuition tells the rational mind where to look next for answers. You have to leave the security of your comfort zone and feel safe in the wilderness of your intuitive self. The odds are that it will guide you to a lucky circumstance.

If you follow these tips, you will find yourself loving life. When you love life, you boldly step forward with an attitude and mood that makes you feel energetic and ambitious. Things then begin to pan out as you hoped. Is that luck or what?

Trust – Enrolment

“If you enroll one person, then you have a metamorphosis. You change someone and that person becomes able to enroll ten people. They become able to enroll a hundred people. People thought that my goal was outrageous. But after the second, third, fifth, tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth days, they saw that it’s not a statement. It’s a way of life.

“It’s like the old cowboy movies where the hero was going to make the final battle against the villain and rescue the heroine,” explained fireman. “As the hero was riding on his white horse, with one other guy next to him, a person joined in from the right. Then ten more from the left. And they keep going until finally at the end of the thirty seconds, there are seven hundred people riding, dust flying, and they’re on their way to the final shot.

“You can’t wait until you call everybody up and say, ‘Will you join me at River Creek?’ You make them want to come along. You ride. You go. And you just suck everybody else with you. The music rises. And you find that when you get there, whether you needed seven hundred or nine hundred, the point is that you’re riding. And they want to ride along.” You’ve got to make them want to ride along.

It’s a leader’s job to foster those feelings. “We are in this together.” “We are part of a team.” “What we do is valuable.” “We’re the best.” That is the soil that real motivation grows in.