I have decided to put this story on paper now for easy reference and fond recollection about our days at work. I realize that I have told this tale to so many of my friends already - especially when we are discussing the apathy shown by many Employees at many Workplaces.
I had read it long back in a Reader's Digest or something similar, and I think this approach probably holds true now more than ever - thanks to the dynamic job market, where getting another job is so easy. You just hang around at your current workplace as long as the patience & feel-good factor lasts - yours and theirs. When the going gets tough (i.e.tough questions start getting asked), you just move on.
Today, spending 3 years at a single organization is considered to be par for the course. Anything more than that and people (read: other prospect employers) begin to look upon you with suspicion. This is where the "Story of 3 Envelopes" actually helps. It tells you how you can play out these 3 years at work.
Here goes:
A fellow had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation. The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes. "Open these if you run up against a problem you don't think you can solve," he said.
Well, things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and he was really catching a lot of heat. About at his wits's end, he remembered the envelopes. He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope. The message read, "Blame your predecessor."
The new CEO called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO. Satisfied with his comments, the press -- and Wall Street -- responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him.
About a year later, the company was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope. The message read, "Reorganize." This he did, and the company quickly rebounded.
After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times. The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope.
The message said, "Prepare three envelopes."
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Knowing & Understanding Business-Industry History
Working in the very nascent & just-born (5-years old I would like to estimate) Indian Retail Industry, I am increasingly running into the "Indian Retail Doomsday Predictors" everyday - within and outside of my own Workplace.
Typical Conclusions are:
- 3 Years on, What a Mess it is & How it is Not Going to Work.
- They should have done This and That and Even That.
- How the Likes of IT, FMCG & Telecom are doing so well (!)
- There is no Positioning & Strategy.
- And so on...
These conclusions could turn out to be right in the long run alright (yes, things are bad in Indian Retail at this moment), but it is frustrating to see how easily one can be so disillusioned & dismissive about a Sector one was so bullish just about a Year back.
The sense of Doom is accentuated just because 3 Things happened in the Last Year - No increments, No variable pay and Sad job market (which doesn't allow you to quit easily and move on). [As far as Retail Industry growth is concerned, it is still progressing as smoothly (read: slowly) as it was envisaged last year.]
Typical Conclusions are:
- 3 Years on, What a Mess it is & How it is Not Going to Work.
- They should have done This and That and Even That.
- How the Likes of IT, FMCG & Telecom are doing so well (!)
- There is no Positioning & Strategy.
- And so on...
These conclusions could turn out to be right in the long run alright (yes, things are bad in Indian Retail at this moment), but it is frustrating to see how easily one can be so disillusioned & dismissive about a Sector one was so bullish just about a Year back.
The sense of Doom is accentuated just because 3 Things happened in the Last Year - No increments, No variable pay and Sad job market (which doesn't allow you to quit easily and move on). [As far as Retail Industry growth is concerned, it is still progressing as smoothly (read: slowly) as it was envisaged last year.]
- People loved it when despite being on "Zero" Revenue, Retail companies gave them "Awesome" Pay hikes, to join the Retail Bandwagon. And they loved it when the company gave them their 1st year Variable pay-offs in full - despite still being on Negligible revenue. This Sector rocked and held promise...
- But now that the Retail Environment has toughened and the Company cuts back (big-time) to manage Survival better, the Sector is headed for Doomsday...
- Comparisons are being made with the likes of IT, Telecom & FMCG (and whichever industry which gives out pay-hikes & variable pay) Sectors and I can probably even see regrets on people's faces, questioning the Choices they made and the Opportunities they may have missed elsewhere.
I have this thing to say: Know & Understand Business History.
1. Every "Brand New" Business/Industry goes through the "Up-Down-Up" Cycle:
- Irrational Exuberance about Business/Industry Potential,
- Overboard Vision,
- Too much Investment,
- 100 Models of Working,
- Glitches & Errors & Outright Mistakes,
- Learning & Rationalization,
- Moderated Vision,
- Re-organization & Improvization,
- Re-ignition & Renaissance.
Take any Industry (and the business leaders of their time) - Automobiles, IT, FMCG, Telecom, Oil, Manufacturing - and they will have gone through this cycle. Even Retail - in US, Europe & Asia-Pacific) - has gone through such a Cycle. Things don't Change quickly enough - for the worse or for the better. It takes Years of Effort - to fail at it or to make it work.
2. No "Two" Industries are the Same, nor are they Completely Different:
- Breakeven in one Industry may happen in 3 years and in some other still it may take 7 years. We cannot compare Apples & Oranges.
- A company in Industry A may take 3 Years to become a 'Leader', whereas a company in Industry B may take 7 years to become a 'Leader'. The important part is that both of them are 'Leaders' eventually. So, in the interim 4 year period, one simply has to be Patient.
3. There are No Absolutes:
- Good to Great & Build to Last Companies have failed (Circuit City in Retail, Motorola in Manufacturing) and Written-off Companies (Amazon.com in E-Business, Cisco in Telecom Hardware) have to come to rule the Businesses they operated in. And, within a decade of them having being written about either which ways.
- When any Company is in a Business with "Serious Intent", the time frames have to be measured in Tens of Years and not in Single Years. To specifically quote Retail Examples, it is worthy to note that the Walmarts & Tescos of the world became 'World Leaders' after nearly 20-25 Years of "Competitive Existence". They didn't start at # 1 and they did not make Zero mistakes along the way.
I hope this is not coming across like a sermon, but I have read a lot of Business Magazine "Archives" (Fortune, BusinessWeek, BusinessWorld, Forbes) in the last few months and I have seen how so many of today's favorite companies (as well as the industries they were in) had had it so tough during their 'initial' lifetimes. It was encouraging & insightful to evaluate them through the complete Cycles and understand that "Uncertainty" always prevails in a Business Environment - Be it a Brand New Industry or the Old.
"Brand New Industry" types can probably take heart from these Old Business/Industry History Lessons and stem a little of the Impatience that prevails in the Indian Retail context today. Walmart, and for that matter, Mr. Biyani's Future Group, wasn't built in a Day.
Go, Kiss the World
I just finished reading Subroto Bagchi's "Go, Kiss the World" and it turned out to be much better than my expectations. Especially appealing are his observations related to a person's Career moves. I have noted some of the gems as below:
§ It is not necessary that everyone has wanderlust in their soul like me. But it is important to know that quite often displacement is the key to progress, and we need to develop comfort with it. My early life experiences helped me build a high degree of comfort with displacement. Water in a pool is stagnant; only when it flows is it energized. The entire universe is in constant motion; even a moment of motionless is inconceivable in the cosmic state of things. Many professionals shudder at the thought of physical displacement, yet crave rapid mobility and growth in their careers. When you are continuously displaced, you make friends easily. You have low expectations from the unfamiliar; hence you are more pleasantly surprised than frustrated when faced with life’s many ups and downs. You explore everything around you, develop curiosity – new lands, customs, food, and ways of doing things begin to draw you in. You learn to survive on the strength of who you are, just for this day, today. You build ingenuity in order to survive. You trust strangers and, hence, strangers trust you. You build intuitive capability to sniff trouble – which can tell you when leave a bar! You become an interesting person, because you have lot of stories to tell. Finally, you learn to move on.
§ … I learnt that our achievements are only as good as the value they create for others.
§ There are two futures, the future of desire and the future of fate, and man’s reason has never learnt to separate them. – J.D.Bernal
§ (Someone once said) Most men take more out life than they give to it. A few give more to life than they take out of it. The world runs because of such men.
§ Our lives are like rivers – the source seldom reveals the confluence. Does a river fret over the long journey and about its end just as it is about to spurt? It simply does not do that, caring instead to flow, to begin its journey, and on its way builds a beneficial relationship with anyone who comes in contact with her.
§ Life sometimes deals you a blank cheque. However, it pays to defer its encashment.
§ Sometimes, in our moments of conflict, we come across a sign that, in a flash, helps us reach a decision which hours of frustrating reasoning cannot achieve. Almost magically, options become clear.
§ Sometimes success is just so close, it looks unreal.
§ When people make mid-career changes, I always hear them ask for a job that impacts corporate strategy, seeking a corner room with a large window, preferably close to the CEO, examining closely the organogram of the organization and hair-splitting on the exact nature of the job. No one says, ‘give me the challenge of a tough, dirty, and strategic role that no one is willing to take, something that may be keeping the CEO awake at night’. But when the outlook changes from ‘what is good for me’ to ‘where is the organization hurting and how can I make a difference’, your professional landscape changes.
§ Only when you are 120% loaded will you be 100% effective. – Azim Premji
§ While it takes time to build perceptions, it takes even longer for perceptions to change. – Sridhar Mitta
§ (Azim Premji) wanted to me stay back. I told him that one of my reasons for leaving was that we were very different people, we thought differently. He answered: ‘That is the reason we should work together’. When we look to hire people, we invariably look for sameness. It is so much more comfortable. But progress requires intelligent friction, push back, points and healthy counterpoints. The job of leaders is to build high personal comfort with contrarians who think differently, create alternative points of view and have the power to question the state of things.
§ It is not necessary that everyone has wanderlust in their soul like me. But it is important to know that quite often displacement is the key to progress, and we need to develop comfort with it. My early life experiences helped me build a high degree of comfort with displacement. Water in a pool is stagnant; only when it flows is it energized. The entire universe is in constant motion; even a moment of motionless is inconceivable in the cosmic state of things. Many professionals shudder at the thought of physical displacement, yet crave rapid mobility and growth in their careers. When you are continuously displaced, you make friends easily. You have low expectations from the unfamiliar; hence you are more pleasantly surprised than frustrated when faced with life’s many ups and downs. You explore everything around you, develop curiosity – new lands, customs, food, and ways of doing things begin to draw you in. You learn to survive on the strength of who you are, just for this day, today. You build ingenuity in order to survive. You trust strangers and, hence, strangers trust you. You build intuitive capability to sniff trouble – which can tell you when leave a bar! You become an interesting person, because you have lot of stories to tell. Finally, you learn to move on.
§ … I learnt that our achievements are only as good as the value they create for others.
§ There are two futures, the future of desire and the future of fate, and man’s reason has never learnt to separate them. – J.D.Bernal
§ (Someone once said) Most men take more out life than they give to it. A few give more to life than they take out of it. The world runs because of such men.
§ Our lives are like rivers – the source seldom reveals the confluence. Does a river fret over the long journey and about its end just as it is about to spurt? It simply does not do that, caring instead to flow, to begin its journey, and on its way builds a beneficial relationship with anyone who comes in contact with her.
§ Life sometimes deals you a blank cheque. However, it pays to defer its encashment.
§ Sometimes, in our moments of conflict, we come across a sign that, in a flash, helps us reach a decision which hours of frustrating reasoning cannot achieve. Almost magically, options become clear.
§ Sometimes success is just so close, it looks unreal.
§ When people make mid-career changes, I always hear them ask for a job that impacts corporate strategy, seeking a corner room with a large window, preferably close to the CEO, examining closely the organogram of the organization and hair-splitting on the exact nature of the job. No one says, ‘give me the challenge of a tough, dirty, and strategic role that no one is willing to take, something that may be keeping the CEO awake at night’. But when the outlook changes from ‘what is good for me’ to ‘where is the organization hurting and how can I make a difference’, your professional landscape changes.
§ Only when you are 120% loaded will you be 100% effective. – Azim Premji
§ While it takes time to build perceptions, it takes even longer for perceptions to change. – Sridhar Mitta
§ (Azim Premji) wanted to me stay back. I told him that one of my reasons for leaving was that we were very different people, we thought differently. He answered: ‘That is the reason we should work together’. When we look to hire people, we invariably look for sameness. It is so much more comfortable. But progress requires intelligent friction, push back, points and healthy counterpoints. The job of leaders is to build high personal comfort with contrarians who think differently, create alternative points of view and have the power to question the state of things.
How Tesco beat Sainsbury - 4
3.7 Lean Thinking
Retailer Share of UK Grocery Market
Year Tesco Sainsbury
1993 18% 19.6%
2000 25% 17.9%
2007 31.3% 16.5%
(Sainsbury, however, was aiming to be first with a warehouse delivering goods directly to Online Customers.) Since its acquisition of the Quinnsworth chain in Ireland in 1997 Tesco has also expanded into Eastern Europe & the Far East (and, most recently, the United States). The cornerstone of its international strategy is exporting culturally customized versions of its marketing formula for hypermarkets, the popular department store–supermarket combination that sells massive amounts of food and household goods in a single store.
Tesco is opting for depth — dominating in contiguous countries — rather than the global breadth Carrefour (and Sainsbury) had sought. By forming clusters of shared costs, Tesco hoped to build regional economies of scale. Geographic proximity maximized efficiency by enabling stores to share resources, even if they didn’t operate in the same country. Tesco stores in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, for instance, imported up to one-third of their products from each other. The company had also calculated that it needs 15 stores in any single country to be profitable. To offset the costs of localization, Tesco management has focused on standardizing management methodology to achieve gobal economies of scale.
Retailer Share of UK Grocery Market
Year Tesco Sainsbury
1993 18% 19.6%
2000 25% 17.9%
2007 31.3% 16.5%
- The rise of Tesco over its rivals is often credited exclusively to its Clubcard Loyalty program launched in 1995. 1995 was the year when Tesco overtook Sainsbury to grasp the “No 1” supermarket slot in the UK.
- Few column inches have been given over to the fact that Tesco started to employ “Lean” experts earlier in 1995 to review their Supply Chain and Supplier Relationships.
Insights from these “Lean Experts” were shared as early as 1996 in the book “Lean Thinking” and the techniques used in Tesco’s roll-out of the high street Metro stores are revealed in the publication “Lean Solutions”. - Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco has even been quoted to this effect: Lean Thinking has been an enormous influence on my Business Thinking. It shows how you can fundamentally transform your business.
3.8 New Technology
3.9 Growing Abroad
Tesco is opting for depth — dominating in contiguous countries — rather than the global breadth Carrefour (and Sainsbury) had sought.
3.10 HR Strategy
- With an enviable track record when it comes to HR and Leadership Development, it was arguably Tesco's investment in its People - its 'Every Little Helps' slogan summing up the sort of mentality it was trying to engender in its staff - as much as its ethos of 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' that had been behind much of its growth in the past few years.
- “What really helped Tesco get off the ground in the 1990s was that it recognised that its staff were not as well trained as those at Sainsbury's,” commented Andrea Cockram, then Analyst at Verdict. “It put a lot of effort into that, and it paid off.”
How Tesco Beat Sainsbury - 3
3.6 Brand Building & Advertising (As a Strategy Enabler)
Mike Pearce, then chairman of marketing agency TSM, summed it up: "Tesco has done to Sainsbury's what New Labour did to the Tories. It has hijacked its ideas, added some value and stolen the hearts of Middle England." Although Tesco made radical structural changes to its operation, a fundamental turnaround in Tesco's brand image was key in making these changes meaningful to consumers and other stakeholders alike. This was in sharp contrast to Tesco's key competitor, Sainsbury's, whose image declined over the same period. In the early 90s, Tesco had an unappealing reputation of “pile it high, sell it cheap, and watch it fly”. This was a legacy of its shrewd and bargain-driven founder Jack Cohen.
Tesco's brief to its ad agency Lowe Lintas in 1989 was, "We are looking to smash away preconceptions about our business with advertising to develop an image campaign which will lift us out of the mould in our particular sector."
Yet Tesco had set its sights on market leadership. It launched a major programme to counteract its key weakness in terms of quality. This was Sainsbury's strength.From around 1983, Tesco started to upgrade its stores and the quality and range of what it put onto its shelves. By 1990, it had failed to dent Sainsbury's dominance. Although the changes in store were evident to existing customers, they had not affected Tesco's image amongst non-shoppers. By now Tesco was as good, if not better, than its competitors. But it had an image problem. The UK supermarket price wars of the 1970s were more closely associated with Tesco than any other retailer and were still top of mind for consumers. Non Tesco shoppers had a significantly more positive image of Sainsbury's than they did of Tesco since many of them shopped at Sainsbury's. But the fact that people who did not shop at Tesco had a much worse view of Tesco than people who did not shop at Sainsbury's did of Sainsbury's, is testament to Tesco's image problem at the time. By 1990, non shoppers did not appreciate the quality improvements that Tesco had made. Consequently, only a few new shoppers had been persuaded to give Tesco a try between the beginning of the Quality Programme (1982) to the launch of its new campaign in 1990. In addition, people had to want to shop there on an emotional level to be comfortable carrying a Tesco carrier bag. Tesco needed to present its changes in a way that would build a more positive identity for the brand as classless, confident, bright and innovative, in order for it to change perceptions in its particular business sector. The campaign adopted a deliberately (and, at the time, unusually) lighthearted approach. It starred Dudley Moore as a Tesco buyer who scoured the world in pursuit of an elusive flock of French free range chickens. En route, he discovered other surprisingly high quality products in the Tesco's range. Products were obviously chosen to demonstrate Tesco's newfound quality. The idea that it would stock free range chickens was astonishing at the time. But there was nothing too exotic. Each product needed to appeal to the aspirant taste buds of the average Brit. They included French camembert, Colli Albani (Italian white wine), Scottish salmon and tiramisu. The campaign was highly impactful, peaking at 89% awareness. Non shoppers even remembered the campaign more than they remembered advertising for the competitor stores they shopped at. The key message was understood and started convincing people that Tesco was improving its quality. Importantly, they enjoyed the advertising more so even than Sainsbury's Recipes campaign and this began to affect the way they felt about Tesco. The main message consumers took out of the campaign was that Tesco strived to provide the customer with the best quality and most interesting variety of products. The company realised that none of its competitors was making serious attempts to improve the whole shopping experience. Tesco capitalised on this key insight by launching 114 new initiatives which included mother and baby changing facilities, the removal of sweets from till points, the One in Front till opening system, a new value range and a loyalty Clubcard. The new strategy required new advertising, as Dudley was associated purely with the products sold by Tesco. Whilst publicising the new initiatives, it needed to continue to build affinity with shoppers who had not experienced the new Tesco for themselves. The advertising idea was that whilst not everything in life goes perfectly, Tesco was doing its best to make at least one aspect of the shopping experience a little easier. Each of the 20 commercials focused on a different initiative, but the payoff line, "Every Little Helps", was used across all advertising and communications tools to encapsulate Tesco's new consumer-oriented philosophy of always doing right by the customer. Awareness of the new campaign peaked at 64%. It successfully communicated each new initiative to shoppers and non shoppers, with high proportions claiming their awareness was a result of the advertising. These included One in Front, and, importantly, Clubcard (which helped attract the final tranche of new shoppers that secured market leadership). At the same time it helped to build a more positive overall impression of Tesco among shoppers and non shoppers. What happened? Tesco's turnover increased by 38%, enabling it to overtake Sainsbury's in early 1995.
In contrast to the period before 1990 when Tesco's instore changes had not affected non shoppers' image of Tesco or their willingness to shop there, 1.3 million extra households were now persuaded to choose Tesco between 1990 and 1995. Significantly, this penetration growth is not simply the result of more stores and increased floor space. Tesco's floor space grew by over 4 million square feet during the Dudley and Every Little Helps advertising. Nonetheless, the penetration gained per additional square foot was significantly higher during the latter than in the initial years of Tesco's expansion programme. The belief is therefore that the advertising was instrumental in the improvement of Tesco's fortunes between 1990 and 1995. Tesco made massive changes to its business between 1990 and 1995, not least of which was the increase in its sales area. However, attracting new customers was fundamental to achieving market leadership. It seems reasonable to suggest that without the benefit of advertising which not only publicised Tesco's new approach to shoppers and non shoppers, but also helped them like the brand, Tesco may not have attracted so many additional new shoppers. Tesco certainly believed this was the case. Whilst Tesco continued to develop these initiatives, the advertising needed a change.
Britain had come out of recession. The advertising could now try to mirror the public's increased confidence. But for the consumer-oriented strategy to succeed, it was important that the public still believed Tesco was on their side. Alienating customers was more of a risk as top dog than as Number 2. So Tesco turned the tables. Instead of focusing on Tesco's attitude to its customers, it concentrated on customers attitudes to Tesco. And this was no ordinary customer.
The new campaign centred on the mother of all shoppers, Dotty Turnbull, who regarded each of Tesco's initiatives as an opportunity to put the store to the test. She did it in 25 commercials that kept her one frustrating step ahead of her long suffering daughter, Kate. In testing it to the limit, Dotty gave Tesco and, importantly, its staff, the opportunity to shine. The flexibility of this idea allowed Tesco to communicate service, quality, range, value for money and Clubcard, yet remain faithful to the core "Every Little Helps" philosophy.
Whilst Sainsbury's has very publicly experienced the difficulties of injecting value into its quality-based positioning, Tesco had seamlessly integrated this message because lowering prices for the consumer was as relevant to "Every Little Helps" as offering better service.
An average execution typically reached 88% of housewives at 6.2 OTS (opportunities to see). The quality and relevance of each OTS was maximised by the following strategy:
1) More top programmes were on the schedule in order to maximise attentiveness.
2) The campaign was skewed towards populist programmes where Dotty fitted in most naturally as a commercial break.
3) More centrebreaks were bought than by its competitors, again, to reach the captive audience in the middle of a programme they enjoyed.
4) More spots were first in and last out of each break for the same reason.
What happened?
Over the period of the Dotty campaign, Tesco considerably strengthened its brand image versus Sainsbury's.This was reflected in its widening share advantage over Sainsbury's. The growth was principally because more people were encouraged to shop at Tesco and, in contrast to the previous five years (where loyalty was static), those who did shop there also became more loyal.
Using Tesco's average operating margin over that same period of 5.9%, the campaign delivered an incremental operating profit of £130-million.
So every pound spent on advertising generated an incremental 38 pounds of turnover and 2.25 pounds of operating profit.Thus the campaign paid for itself more than twice over, delivering a 225% return on investment. This is a significant payback to operating profit, given the Dotty campaign accounted for less than 1% of Tesco's operating costs over fiscal years 1995-1999. Expansion in non-staple categories is essential to Tesco's continued growth. The advertising has helped transform Tesco's brand image to the point that it is able to operate more successfully in grocery categories such as wine and gourmet food (via the launch of its premium range, Finest), where brand affinity is particularly important. This transformation in Tesco's credibility enabled it to expand into new non grocery categories (such as financial services, children's educational toys, cosmetics, medicines and computers). The Tesco brand could now be used to sell almost anything. From wine through to DVDs, home, pet and car insurance, cellphones, petrol and banking. Tesco has moved into one sector after another.
Tesco's brief to its ad agency Lowe Lintas in 1989 was, "We are looking to smash away preconceptions about our business with advertising to develop an image campaign which will lift us out of the mould in our particular sector."
Advertising helped improve Tesco's image in the minds of 3 audiences:
1. Tesco Store Staff, whose competent delivery of Tesco's initiatives was vital.
2. Marketing Community, an important source of talent to drive its development.
3. City Analysts, who directly influence its share price.
There are 2 phases to Tesco's Transformation:
1. Pursuing and Achieving Market Leadership (1990 to 1995).
2. Consolidating this Position (1995 onwards).
3.6.1 The Pursuit of Market Leadership (1990 to1995)
Yet Tesco had set its sights on market leadership. It launched a major programme to counteract its key weakness in terms of quality. This was Sainsbury's strength.
The Opportunity for Advertising:
The Quest for Quality: (May 1990 to Dec 1992)
Every Little Helps (Nov 1993 - March 1995)
In contrast to the period before 1990 when Tesco's instore changes had not affected non shoppers' image of Tesco or their willingness to shop there, 1.3 million extra households were now persuaded to choose Tesco between 1990 and 1995.
3.6.2 Consolidating Leadership (Mid 1995 onwards)
A New Campaign
Britain had come out of recession. The advertising could now try to mirror the public's increased confidence. But for the consumer-oriented strategy to succeed, it was important that the public still believed Tesco was on their side. Alienating customers was more of a risk as top dog than as Number 2.
The new campaign centred on the mother of all shoppers, Dotty Turnbull, who regarded each of Tesco's initiatives as an opportunity to put the store to the test.
Whilst Sainsbury's has very publicly experienced the difficulties of injecting value into its quality-based positioning, Tesco had seamlessly integrated this message because lowering prices for the consumer was as relevant to "Every Little Helps" as offering better service.
Media Strategy: Making Dotty Popular
An average execution typically reached 88% of housewives at 6.2 OTS (opportunities to see). The quality and relevance of each OTS was maximised by the following strategy:
1) More top programmes were on the schedule in order to maximise attentiveness.
2) The campaign was skewed towards populist programmes where Dotty fitted in most naturally as a commercial break.
3) More centrebreaks were bought than by its competitors, again, to reach the captive audience in the middle of a programme they enjoyed.
4) More spots were first in and last out of each break for the same reason.
What happened?
Over the period of the Dotty campaign, Tesco considerably strengthened its brand image versus Sainsbury's.
3.6.3 Advertising and its Effect beyond Customers
Since the beginning of the 1990s, Tesco's advertising helped change the image of Tesco for the better in the minds of two other important audiences, i.e.: the staff and professional marketers.
The impact of Tesco's Advertising on Store Staff:
- Tesco had close to 200,000 employees. The effect of the advertising on them was fundamental to the success of the Every Little Helps strategy and to securing their loyalty and support. The advertising helped ensure that staff lived up to the promise of Every Little Helps.
- Since Every Little Helps was introduced in 1993, the advertising had been a very public statement of the kind of experience Tesco will deliver in store.
- The new customer-oriented strategy was launched to the staff in a video which used the advertising to demonstrate what was meant by the new strategy. Ads were run on a loop in staff canteens and they were regularly featured in further First Class Service training videos and the First Class Success service bulletins that were issued to staff.
- It was an efficient way for Tesco to train its staff, since the advertising is effectively a free training tool. Using advertising to train staff was not only efficient, but also effective.
The value of advertising in attracting better quality Marketers to Tesco:
- Great marketing has been instrumental in Tesco's success and it was essential that it continued to attract the best marketing talent around. Yet retailing was not regarded as a particularly attractive or lucrative sector in which to work.
- However, Tesco's positive public image had helped it shrug off the limited attractions of retail, enabling it to attract new talent easily. The advertising had been instrumental in transforming this image.
Using Tesco's average operating margin over that same period of 5.9%, the campaign delivered an incremental operating profit of £130-million.
So every pound spent on advertising generated an incremental 38 pounds of turnover and 2.25 pounds of operating profit.
How Tesco beat Sainsbury - 2
3 Tesco Moves
3.1 Strategy
They felt: ‘It’s great to be in the middle, because that’s where the mass market is.’ They knew if they did a good job in the middle, they would win.In 1989, Tesco began gathering data from shoppers on what they wanted from a retailer. The most common responses were Lower Prices, Better Service, More Selection, and More Non-food Products. In the early 1990s, the company began to accelerate its construction of Superstores, bigger than its traditional Supermarkets, to allow for greater selection at lower prices. Tesco was first to react to customers' frustration at long Check-out Queues, initiating a "One-in-Front" policy - if there was more than one customer in front, they would open another check-out. The policy is still in place. And Tesco also removed sweets from Check-outs, pleasing parents bullied by their sweet-tooth children. 24-hour Shopping: By 1999, Tesco had more than 100 stores open round the clock. Sainsbury had 30. “If you ask an employee where something is, they will not only tell you; they’ll take you to the spot,” said the then Tesco Corporate Communications Manager Ian Hutchins. In 1996, it launched a dot-com delivery service. Unlike the fabulously funded, now departed grocery-delivery dot-coms — Webvan, Streamline, and HomeGrocer — Tesco.com has not only endured, but become profitable. It all gave shoppers the impression that Tesco chiefs had their interests at heart.
3.1 Strategy
They felt: ‘It’s great to be in the middle, because that’s where the mass market is.’ They knew if they did a good job in the middle, they would win.
3.2 Acquisition of William Low
In 1994, Tesco beat Sainsbury's in the race to buy supermarket chain William Low - giving it an important presence in the Scottish Market.
By 1995, Tesco had overtaken Sainsbury's as Britain's biggest food retailer. The William Low deal certainly helped.
3.3 Store & Service Improvements
3.3.1 Assortment Expansion & Diversification from Grocery
- It introduced New Economy-lines under the “Tesco Select” Private-Label. This gave shoppers the chance to save money on Basics.
- The group also pushed Non-food Sales, including Clothes and Home Entertainment.
No items were out of bounds, it seemed. At one stage, it offered some of the cheapest PCs - with the added incentive of earning Clubcard points on a major purchase. It had even been selling Mopeds. - Then, Tesco took on designer brands such as Levi's and Nike, offering their products at Cut prices. Even England and Scotland Football Shirts went cheap.
- It introduced house brands for value-conscious and more indulgent shoppers, and focused on customer service.
- To satisfy upper-end shoppers, it introduced Organic Food Products.
- The group also launched a wide range of house-brand goods differentiated by Price or Quality, first under the Value brand, and later under the Finest gourmet label.
- As supermarkets strode into the personal finance sector, Tesco was the first supermarket to offer Personal Pension Schemes, aimed at people unfamiliar with buying any financial products.
- Also in the 1990s, Tesco began to experiment with new products and channels. It moved into gasoline retail, placing convenience stores by the pumps. Through a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland, Tesco also started offering a wide range of financial products, including car and pet insurance.
3.3.2 Out-of-Town Superstores as well as High Street Presence
- It was the first UK retailer to realise that the future lay in giant “Out-of-Town Superstores” of 100,000 square feet or more. By the time Sainsburys and its other competitors woke up to what was happening, Tesco had grabbed most of the best sites.
- In fact, many of the sites were purchased by Tesco specifically to block competitors getting their hands on them, and they either remain undeveloped or were sold on with restrictive covenants preventing the new owners building shops on them.
- When out-of-town shopping trend, with higher fuel prices and increased traffic congestion, had almost certainly peaked, Tesco had anticipated this development. It had built up its Tesco Express and Metro Convenience Store Formats.
- Tesco realised the value of keeping a High Street Presence and as of 1999, it had 41 Metro stores in prime spots in the centre of Towns and Cities.
- It returned to the High Street by opening smaller Tesco “Metro” Stores. The idea was initially dismissed by Sainsbury's – which was then forced to play catch-up - with decidedly mixed results.
- For years, Sainsbury ignored the trend back towards convenience, but later caved in and decided to set up "Local" shops. They still had only two in 1999.
- Tesco had the facility to listen more than Sainsbury, through the Clubcard. The idea was dismissed initially by Sainsbury who was then forced to play catch-up.
- {Lord Sainsbury famously dismissed the idea as nothing more than an "electronic version of Greenshield Stamps". He lived to regret that comment. Sainsbury's was forced to make an embarrassing U-turn and introduce its own loyalty card when the Clubcard became a roaring success.}
- They were 18 months behind in launching their own Reward Card, which had opened the door to a massive amount of Market Research for Tesco.
- Whilst loyalty had risen in recent years, Tesco's ability to attract new shoppers was been essential to its success. Just over two million more households chose to shop at Tesco over this nine year period. (TGI based on female housewives).
3.5 Price Management
Tesco had repeatedly captured more headlines by firing more shots in the Price Wars. The cuts would have cost it more than £1m in total (in 1999). Earlier then, it had announced it was reducing the price of more than 300 goods. To which, Sainsbury said it would "probably" match the cuts and boasted of having price guarantees on key lines.
How Tesco Beat Sainsbury - 1
I am starting a series on "How Tesco Beat Sainsbury", based on my Research and Notes on the said Topic. I found it a very interesting subject to study, because Tesco did the "Awesome" during a "Recessionary Period" - something that we probably are in today.
My sources of information are:
- BBC News The Company File Profits a store point for Sainsbury's
- BBC News The Company File Shake up at Sainsbury's
- BBC News The Company File Stores at war winning secrets
- Marketingweb - ADVERTISING - Case study Tesco - Pedro de Gouveia of Salient Strategic Advertising & Design
- ResQ Management Resources
- Supermarket sweep Nic Paton
- Tesco leaves them trailing
The (Insightful) Takeaways:
1 Market Leadership by Tesco in 1995
Between 1990 and 1999, Tesco's turnover increased from 8-billion to 17-billion pounds sterling and its share rose from 9.1% to 15.4%, overtaking Sainsbury's to become market leader in 1995. (Institute of Grocery Distribution, Grocery Market Shares: Dec 1989 to June 1999).
2 Sainsbury Faux Pas(ses)
2.1 Red Tapism
While Tesco extended its lead at the top of the supermarket table (in 1995) and Sainsbury's was left languishing in its wake – Analysts believed the group had been dogged by bureaucracy and an old-fashioned management style which left it without the fleetness of foot enjoyed by its nimbler rival.
2.2 Bad Advertising
New Technology Demos in Retail
Some interesting Technology Developments that I have come across in the recent days and which is likely to boost Customer Services like wow, if successfully deployed & implemented:
- Check this video out on "Unveiling the Sixth Sense - a Game-Changing Wearable Technology": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421jDx4ROZg
- Metro"Future Retail Store": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUcuqhduWao
- Metro "Smart Dressing Room": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VII-xdg5Ak&NR=1
Very impressive developments these.
Organizational Best Practices
I am just penning down some "Organizational Best Pratices" that I would love to implement in any Organization I am involved with - someday - when I do have the Power to do so:
- Work from Home – based on Role, Feasibility, Convenience etc. - This is such a time, energy & motivation-saver that I am really amused that this trend has not caught on like bushfire, across the corporate world. In an increasingly Internet, Mobile & Videoconferenced world, it is really easy to replicate the physical workplace and have Quality output - even when working from home. (In fact, I think the Quality would be higher because one is so much more relaxed.) And the likes of IBM have already proved this time & again. I don't why others haven't caught onto this.
- 5-day Week - I would give Saturdays off, even if I may extend working hours between Monday-Friday. Everybody I know agrees to this concept, yet some organizations simply won't change their Saturday-working routine - even when they know that employees don't do much on Saturdays except waste their resources.
- Flexi Hours - With traffic & travel becoming increasingly cumbersome, I cannot imagine why companies won't extend the "Flexi Hours" concept to their employees. Set a simple mandate of, say, working 8 hours a day irrespective of the time you clock-in and clock-out. This not only relieves the pressure of late arrivals & absenteeism, it also gives the employee the time to make the most of his day.
While I have experienced all the 3 Options I have noted above during my Work Experience so far, I am even really impressed and inspired from Best Buy's ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) Practice: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013001.htm
Wow, if a $40-Billion Retail Company like Best Buy can make it work, why can't others?
- Ask New Joinees What They Think is Wrong with the Company - within a Month - I can't help noting that it is Human Nature to gauge quickly (and probably instinctively) what is wrong in some place (or in some body). This trait must be captured for an Organization's benefit, as New Joinees are likely to come up with insightful observations on improvements which the Old-timers probably miss on a daily basis.
- Track Work - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Macro - "To Do" Lists, Status Reports, Notes, etc. must be shared within a Team on a regular basis - to gauge the efficacy of the work that is being done and develop new perspectives. Wasn't it said by someday - what gets measured, is what gets done.
- Clear Job Descriptions, KRAs - Nothing is more irritating to an employee than to not know his Job Deliverables & KRAs. Organizations often do not outline and communicate these items to their employees - with the idea that they can then dump any work on the said employee, at different points in time. However, I have noted that this actually is counter-productive because the employees then begin to set boundaries on their own and wash their hands off on tricky assignments, playing on the role ambiguity. Not only does the organization suffer, but it gives the employee also a chance to get away with rewards (and without punishment) for a performance that wasn't measured.
- Empower, Treat as Equals - I would assume and trust that every employee in an Organization works for its betterment, because it eventually helps his cause in the long run. Hence, I would empower every one of them "to do the right thing" all the time.
- Share General Information Regularly - They say Knowledge is Power. So, exploit it. I don't see any point in one employee not sharing data with other employees. In fact, in the highly dynamic business environment today, it is imperative to let everybody know what's working or not working for the Organization. The quicker people adapt to the new information, the better it is for the Organization.
- Lunch Together, Once in a While (Say, Friday) - It really helps build a Team Spirit, like no other. In fact, some of the best conversations and learnings in my corporate life have come through such Informal sessions at Pizza Huts. I guess, everybody will agree that there is more to be learnt in a group of people hanging out together, than from the confines of a cubicle.
- Visit Individual Seats and Chat Up - A variation of the above point, I think there is much to be learnt about business & life (in general) through a 1-1 dialogue over coffee, at somebody's cubicle.
- Variable Pay Disbursements > Quarterly - There are companies who give out the Variable Pay Component (based on Performance) on a Yearly basis! When your business results are being tracked and reported to the world on a Quarterly basis, why should the Variable Pay be made at the end of the year? Quarterly payments are not only a morale-booster for the employees, but it also relieves the company of a huge payout at the end of the year by breaking these down in 4 sets. Also, it is easy to track and comment on Quarterly basis, than it is to summarize performance for the entire year.
- Give Free Time - Google pioneered this concept, by allowing its employees 20% of their corporate time to pursue their individual experiments - which could aid the company in the long run when they institutionalize any particular successful concepts, under the Google umbrella. Variations of this practice, can be extended in every company. For example, a Retail Company can probably ask its employees to go Mall-Hopping once a week and check out what other retailers are doing. A Financial Services firm can sponsor refresher courses for its staff. And so on.
- Track ‘Best Companies’ Annual Reports - Annual Reports of companies provide with fantastic insights on Growth Strategies, Business Environment, Risk Management, Philosophy & Objectives, etc. So, these reports should be actively read and takeaways be summarized for your own business.
- Benchmark Key Operational and Financial Ratios Openly - These should not only help you keep a watch on the Market and Best Practices of other companies, but also act as an inspiration for improving performance at one's own company. For Retail, these could include Footfalls, Revenue/Sq.Ft., Inventory Turnover, GMROI, Average Ticket Value, etc. and these ought to be benchmarked against figures from the likes of Walmart & Tesco or Pantaloon (in India). Communicate the 'Target' figures to every employee and highlight them on a periodic basis, to enable a Organization-wide focus on a goal.
Indian Retail Naysayers & Specialty Retail
I am really tired of Indian Retail Naysayers, these days.
Their typical 2 comments are on these lines below:
Their typical 2 comments are on these lines below:
- X, Y & Z companies had announced that they will open 500 stores each. Ha! They've opened just 50 each. And, they're shutting down 5 of them. (What Losers!)
- Food & Grocery Retailers are struggling - Despite all their investments, Ha! They are not able to offer the same or superior proposition (Fresh Food, Credit, Home Delivery) as compared to the Vegetable Hawkers & Kirana Shops littering the streets of India. And this is true for all types of Retailers.
I have these thoughts to convey:
- Yes - X, Y & Z companies majorly erred in projecting their business plans. When the likes of Walmart & Tesco, with all their retail experience & resources, speak about opening only tens of stores a year, it was really silly for Indian Retailers to talk about 100s of stores every year. But, as I have noted and quite a few peers & seniors of mine have confirmed - these figures were always supported by the Top Management & Consultants across the Retail industry. It was almost a case of "Emperor's New Clothes" - where everybody was afraid to call the Emperor's Bluff. These people were recruited to guide and execute the business plan, but they did not deliver. Everybody just played along with fantastic numbers and experimented expensively, as long as the Promoters pumped in money like there is no tomorrow. It was only when the Promoters started looking at Returns and efficiency of their Operations, did everybody start screaming that this current business model is unsustainable. And now, everybody's applying full brakes, because they do not have an estimate on "real" demand. I have this to say - forget comparing the retailer's achievements with respect to their business plans, but look instead at their achievements from Zero. One might have achieved only 10% of the grandiose business plan of 500 stores, but 10% still means 50 stores out of nowhere in 2 years. And they are generating revenue, if not the bottomline just yet. So, big deal. It only means that the plan is delayed and the proposition flawed. Reworking it should help stabilize and grown the industry again.
- Because Food & Grocery Retail constitutes the majority chunk of the Indian Retail scenario today and was the focus of most Indian Retailers who wanted an easy win (and probably even wanted to make a difference) - notable failures in this section are used to paint brush the entire Retail industry as a failure. However, note that there is something called as "Specialty Retail". I think specialty retailers (Electronics, Apparel, Books & Music, Footwear and so on) are doing pretty well and the growth of "organized specialty retail" figures (extracted from IRF 2009 Report) below highlight my reading:
- Apparel Retail - 13.6% (2004) to 22.7% (2007)
- Footwear - 25% (2004) to 48.4% (2007)
- Health & Beauty - 6% (2004) to 14.3% (2007)
- Consumer Durables - 7.8% (2004) to 12.3% (2007)
- And so on.
- (Food & Grocery Retail is the smallest lot with only 1.1% as Organized).
So, while Food & Grocery Retailers may be struggling, I see a silent & steady move by customers towards Organized Specialty Retail Players.
The neighbourhood J.K.Textiles & Gohil Tailors are being steadily run out of business by the likes of Shoppers Stop & Pantaloons. The neighbourhood Adarsh Chappals is being steadily run out of business by the likes of Bata & Metro. The neighbourhood J.K.Electronics is steadily run out of business by the likes of Croma & Vijay Sales. And you are telling me that organized retail is failing in India. I don't think so.
In fact, going by the above reading, I actually think all the Indian Promoters should really look to spruce up their presence in Specialty Retail rather than chase volumes in the Food & Grocery (and where anyways the requirements of people change every 1 km). Specialty Retail not only gives better numbers, but growth trends above also show that it is the place to be in.
Pace of An Organization
"I am fast, but my car isn't" - Narain Karthikeyan, Formula 1 Driver. Most of us F1 aficionados had laughed dis-believingly when we had heard this statement sometime in 2006 when Narain raced for Jordan. We laughed at the inherent conflict that existed within the same statement. Our common sense logic retorted that: If you are not fast, your car won't be fast. Or, if your car is fast, you would be fast. So, you cannot really have a mis-match situation like the one above. At least in F1. And we all knew how Michael Schumacher could take out at least 2 seconds out from the same car.
But yes, I think that scenario does exist in the Corporate World today. Everybody I know seems to think that "my Company moves too slow for its own good and for my own liking". Yes, it is a phenomenon of my generation (yes, I am party to these sentiments myself - at sporadic intervals) to get frustrated at work within a year - thinking not much is happening ever since I've joined in - and we laugh coyly about how our parents spent decades with the same organization without much of a fuss. We tend to jump jobs, thinking the next company is likely to be 'more' fast-paced than this one - only to find out that it's the same 'slow & steady' everywhere.
Curiously, no matter how slow we think our organization is, it has been around for a while and seems to be making good money and making a difference somewhere. And it didn't matter much to the previous organizations when we quit in despair, as it lived to see another beautiful day. Where then are we missing the point? I am making an attempt to figure out this dilemma of our lives with this note.
First up, the likely causes of our disillusionment:
1) Great Expectations: Anybody who joins an organization after multiple rounds of interviews - where a lot of his ideas impressed the panelists - and with a significant pay package - is bound to feel important. He comes to the organization almost thinking they've recruited him to 'save the organization from doom' and that great initiatives are expected of him. Only to find out that the seniors have their plans (and resources) in place alright and you are expected to only aid the execution exercise. It doesn't matter what you think and there are no KRAs for your "strategic inputs". Your KRAs only evaluate your execution skills. Whoa! I was supposed to be a "Thinker" and not a "Labourer". Depressing.
2) The Need for Speed: "I feel the need... the need for speed (movie quote from Topgun)" could very well summarize our state of mind, as soon as we join an organization. We want to do a Marketing Assignment in Month 1, Sales & Distribution in Month 2, Finance Assignment in Month 3 (probably a M&A), Strategy & Planning in Month 4, Earn a Bonus in Month 5 and Play Golf by Month 6. Armed with an MBA, we know it all (don't we?) and are really surprised when organizations don't seem keen to tap into our Multiple Skillsets. What we don't realize is that real life business execution doesn't get over in a 1-hour presentation that we typically made in B-schools. I remember how in most of our Marketing Case Studies & Projects, we made the same lame recommendations again and again: increase distribution, advertise, brand, reduce costs, introduce new products & services, beat competition, and so on. All these recommendations took just an hour to present and earn an easy A+. In real life however, each of those single initiatives takes a 6-month effort. So, the 6-7 items which I took an hour to execute earlier in B-school, now takes me 3 years to execute. So, much for speed.
3) Media: With tens of Business Channels on TV, tens of Business Newspapers and tens of Business Magazines and of course the Internet - reporting business developments all around the world - mostly in real-time - we tend to believe that the entire world is indeed moving really quickly and we are missing out. The point that we miss is - these are developments of Scale. There are thousands of 'big' businesses (not even counting the smallers ones) out there in the world and with millions of people employed by these companies, there are likely to be 100 significant business moves on a daily basis. We tend to forget that these 100 moves are not a result of speed, but rather a natural outcome of business Scale. If we really looked at an individual's role of a 'moving organization above' under a microscope, he is also probably working on things just as slowly as we are. But, we tend to worry about our Lack of Speed, as if were really missing out something in our lives.
4) Lack of a Noble Mission: This is easy. I don't think any of us who joins any organization today really does it with a "Noble Mission" in mind. We don't really want to change anybody's lives - except our own. Ratan Tata launched the Tata Nano, out of sheer nobility of upgrading the 2-wheeler family to a 4-wheeler family. Of course, he does this keeping business metrics under control, but there was a mission alright. I don't think any of us today really has a mission when we join an organization today.
5) Work Defines Me: For so many people of our generation, "Work is what defines them". I am an I-banker, I am a Manager, I am a Analyst... somehow there are no other dimensions to one's self outside of the Work Place. And, when the work place is not 'satisfying' enough, it almost makes you lose your definition of self. Life loses its meaning...? One is miserable...
Pursuit of Happiness
In such a scenario, it is therefore imperative to gauge and adapt the "Pace of An Organization". Unless, it is really not a workable environment in tune with your speed, the following pointers might help in adjusting to the Pace of An Organization and make the current Work Place itself - a more Satisfying Experience:
1) Flexible Great Expectations: Whenever we join an Organization, we tend to have a list of 5-10 things that we would like to contribute and achieve. Here, we tend to pursue them in a strict sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - my Professional Objectives must be fulfilled in this sequence. First, I must do Marketing, then Operations, then M&A and so on. I say - Forget Sequencing, Just Achieve. How does it matter if you fulfilled your objectives in this sequence (as dictated by Organizational Pace) - 3, 1, 5, 2, 4. First, Operations, then Business Analysis and then Marketing. At the end of 5 years, you will have managed to do them all anyways. We need to build this little Flexibility in our approach alright, rather than blame the Elephant that is the Organization. And let's not forget than an Elephant - with all it's might and slowness - is still a symbol of longevity and prosperity.
2) Enjoy the Roses: Most of the people of our generation want to complete their corporate careers by the time they are 35-40. My question is: what are you going to do between Ages 40-70? And how can we forget the old maxim - life is a journey, not a destination. Within an organization - instead of achieving 10 things at Quality Level 5, I would rather achieve 5 things at Quality Level 10. It is about enjoying the Roses (figuratively speaking)...as you ride along. Cherish & celebrate little successes and gain pride in the fact that you probably helped strengthen the foundation of your organization even if you could not help it run quicker.
3) Rationalize Media Information: I have an observation - So many "big-bang" announcements about a new project or a new initiative by some company or the other usually fizzles out into a non-activity some months down the line. I'd like to quote the example of a very glamourous corporate activity that must of us MBAs dream of doing one day - M&A. M&A's always look so good in the media - it feels like Alexander conquering the world - big numbers, big talk, high-end hotels, strategy talk, synergy, golf-course decisions, public high-fives...Wow. All of us want to do this once in our lives. However, most of these initiatives have failed miserably. Check out:
But yes, I think that scenario does exist in the Corporate World today. Everybody I know seems to think that "my Company moves too slow for its own good and for my own liking". Yes, it is a phenomenon of my generation (yes, I am party to these sentiments myself - at sporadic intervals) to get frustrated at work within a year - thinking not much is happening ever since I've joined in - and we laugh coyly about how our parents spent decades with the same organization without much of a fuss. We tend to jump jobs, thinking the next company is likely to be 'more' fast-paced than this one - only to find out that it's the same 'slow & steady' everywhere.
Curiously, no matter how slow we think our organization is, it has been around for a while and seems to be making good money and making a difference somewhere. And it didn't matter much to the previous organizations when we quit in despair, as it lived to see another beautiful day. Where then are we missing the point? I am making an attempt to figure out this dilemma of our lives with this note.
First up, the likely causes of our disillusionment:
1) Great Expectations: Anybody who joins an organization after multiple rounds of interviews - where a lot of his ideas impressed the panelists - and with a significant pay package - is bound to feel important. He comes to the organization almost thinking they've recruited him to 'save the organization from doom' and that great initiatives are expected of him. Only to find out that the seniors have their plans (and resources) in place alright and you are expected to only aid the execution exercise. It doesn't matter what you think and there are no KRAs for your "strategic inputs". Your KRAs only evaluate your execution skills. Whoa! I was supposed to be a "Thinker" and not a "Labourer". Depressing.
2) The Need for Speed: "I feel the need... the need for speed (movie quote from Topgun)" could very well summarize our state of mind, as soon as we join an organization. We want to do a Marketing Assignment in Month 1, Sales & Distribution in Month 2, Finance Assignment in Month 3 (probably a M&A), Strategy & Planning in Month 4, Earn a Bonus in Month 5 and Play Golf by Month 6. Armed with an MBA, we know it all (don't we?) and are really surprised when organizations don't seem keen to tap into our Multiple Skillsets. What we don't realize is that real life business execution doesn't get over in a 1-hour presentation that we typically made in B-schools. I remember how in most of our Marketing Case Studies & Projects, we made the same lame recommendations again and again: increase distribution, advertise, brand, reduce costs, introduce new products & services, beat competition, and so on. All these recommendations took just an hour to present and earn an easy A+. In real life however, each of those single initiatives takes a 6-month effort. So, the 6-7 items which I took an hour to execute earlier in B-school, now takes me 3 years to execute. So, much for speed.
3) Media: With tens of Business Channels on TV, tens of Business Newspapers and tens of Business Magazines and of course the Internet - reporting business developments all around the world - mostly in real-time - we tend to believe that the entire world is indeed moving really quickly and we are missing out. The point that we miss is - these are developments of Scale. There are thousands of 'big' businesses (not even counting the smallers ones) out there in the world and with millions of people employed by these companies, there are likely to be 100 significant business moves on a daily basis. We tend to forget that these 100 moves are not a result of speed, but rather a natural outcome of business Scale. If we really looked at an individual's role of a 'moving organization above' under a microscope, he is also probably working on things just as slowly as we are. But, we tend to worry about our Lack of Speed, as if were really missing out something in our lives.
4) Lack of a Noble Mission: This is easy. I don't think any of us who joins any organization today really does it with a "Noble Mission" in mind. We don't really want to change anybody's lives - except our own. Ratan Tata launched the Tata Nano, out of sheer nobility of upgrading the 2-wheeler family to a 4-wheeler family. Of course, he does this keeping business metrics under control, but there was a mission alright. I don't think any of us today really has a mission when we join an organization today.
5) Work Defines Me: For so many people of our generation, "Work is what defines them". I am an I-banker, I am a Manager, I am a Analyst... somehow there are no other dimensions to one's self outside of the Work Place. And, when the work place is not 'satisfying' enough, it almost makes you lose your definition of self. Life loses its meaning...? One is miserable...
Pursuit of Happiness
In such a scenario, it is therefore imperative to gauge and adapt the "Pace of An Organization". Unless, it is really not a workable environment in tune with your speed, the following pointers might help in adjusting to the Pace of An Organization and make the current Work Place itself - a more Satisfying Experience:
1) Flexible Great Expectations: Whenever we join an Organization, we tend to have a list of 5-10 things that we would like to contribute and achieve. Here, we tend to pursue them in a strict sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - my Professional Objectives must be fulfilled in this sequence. First, I must do Marketing, then Operations, then M&A and so on. I say - Forget Sequencing, Just Achieve. How does it matter if you fulfilled your objectives in this sequence (as dictated by Organizational Pace) - 3, 1, 5, 2, 4. First, Operations, then Business Analysis and then Marketing. At the end of 5 years, you will have managed to do them all anyways. We need to build this little Flexibility in our approach alright, rather than blame the Elephant that is the Organization. And let's not forget than an Elephant - with all it's might and slowness - is still a symbol of longevity and prosperity.
2) Enjoy the Roses: Most of the people of our generation want to complete their corporate careers by the time they are 35-40. My question is: what are you going to do between Ages 40-70? And how can we forget the old maxim - life is a journey, not a destination. Within an organization - instead of achieving 10 things at Quality Level 5, I would rather achieve 5 things at Quality Level 10. It is about enjoying the Roses (figuratively speaking)...as you ride along. Cherish & celebrate little successes and gain pride in the fact that you probably helped strengthen the foundation of your organization even if you could not help it run quicker.
3) Rationalize Media Information: I have an observation - So many "big-bang" announcements about a new project or a new initiative by some company or the other usually fizzles out into a non-activity some months down the line. I'd like to quote the example of a very glamourous corporate activity that must of us MBAs dream of doing one day - M&A. M&A's always look so good in the media - it feels like Alexander conquering the world - big numbers, big talk, high-end hotels, strategy talk, synergy, golf-course decisions, public high-fives...Wow. All of us want to do this once in our lives. However, most of these initiatives have failed miserably. Check out:
- http://www.management-issues.com/2007/3/26/research/nine-out-of-10-mas-fail-to-deliver.asp
- http://jurisonline.in/2008/11/failure-mergers/
So, the point here is to "rationalize media information" and remember "all that glitters is not gold". The grass may seem greener on the other side, but it is not always so. Focus instead on the good that your organization is.
4) Making a Difference - One of Ratan Tata's quotes that has been etched in my memory goes something like this - "You could play the game that others play, and you would probably grow faster and you would probably be more profitable. But, you would be just like everyone else." It isn't really about achieving corporate goals quickly enough, but it really is about "Making a Difference" - to one's own self and to the society, if you can.
5) Fulfillment outside Work - I know, I would want to be known as a Pianist, Quotes Collector, Badminton & Table Tennis Champ, Pilot, Skier, Teacher, Husband & Lover, Good Son, Traveller, Philosopher, Astronomer, Salsa Dancer, Painter and so on. You get the idea. Rather than worry only about the likelihood that you are not doing enough in your corporate life (and that life is slow), I think we even ought to worry more about us doing enough outside our corporate life. And, I am sure we are not. In fact, I have had this conversation with my friends often that how come we are never perturbed when we procrastinate working on our interests month after month, but we are intolerant about achieving corporate objectives by the day. This has to change, I guess.
There's a quote, you know, saying that - no man on his deathbed ever wished that he'd spent more time in office. Why are we then so disturbed about the Pace at which an Organization works? In fact, I can't help thinking that the slower it is, the better. Because, it then gives you the time to do so much more. Additionally, you can always aim to do a Michael Schumacher even - that is, get your extra 2 seconds juice out of the same car (read: organization) rather than yearning for a new car... Hmmm...
Electronics Retail Characteristics - 2
This is the 2nd part of the same Assignment earlier.
A) Typical System Challenges Are:
I. Master Data Management (MDM)
§ Article Maintenance
§ Price Maintenance
§ Classification and Article Linkages
II. Promotion Configuration, Testing and Deployment
III. Managing Returns in the System
§ From Customer to Store to DC
§ From DC to Vendor
IV. Inventory Handling, for Replacements/Returns/Exchanges
V. New Store Configuration
VI. SAP/Retalix (POS) – Synchronization
VII. SAP/DSS (Analytics Tools) – Synchronization
VIII. Discount Management – in sync with Accounting
B) Key Business Processes:
I. Sales/Store Operations
§ Sales Order Creation – Store Delivery and Home Delivery Items
§ Billing – Store Delivery and Home Delivery Items
§ Physical Inventory Checking and Reconciliation with System Stock
§ End-of-Line Product Sales
§ Handling of Cheque Payments
§ Handling of Manual Invoices
§ Handling Customer Returns/Exchanges
§ Training
§ Promotions Management
II. Services
§ Managing Service Plans, for Different Products
§ Warranty Replacements
§ Managing Customer Repairs
§ Vendor Claims Management
§ Spare Parts Management
§ (Customer) Call Management
§ Sale of “More Sell” Items
III. DC Operations
§ Goods Receipt and Goods Issue
§ Home Delivery Process
§ Returns from Store
§ Return to Vendor
§ Damaged/Return Products Clearance/Sale
§ Transportation
§ Replenishment
A) Typical System Challenges Are:
I. Master Data Management (MDM)
§ Article Maintenance
§ Price Maintenance
§ Classification and Article Linkages
II. Promotion Configuration, Testing and Deployment
III. Managing Returns in the System
§ From Customer to Store to DC
§ From DC to Vendor
IV. Inventory Handling, for Replacements/Returns/Exchanges
V. New Store Configuration
VI. SAP/Retalix (POS) – Synchronization
VII. SAP/DSS (Analytics Tools) – Synchronization
VIII. Discount Management – in sync with Accounting
B) Key Business Processes:
I. Sales/Store Operations
§ Sales Order Creation – Store Delivery and Home Delivery Items
§ Billing – Store Delivery and Home Delivery Items
§ Physical Inventory Checking and Reconciliation with System Stock
§ End-of-Line Product Sales
§ Handling of Cheque Payments
§ Handling of Manual Invoices
§ Handling Customer Returns/Exchanges
§ Training
§ Promotions Management
II. Services
§ Managing Service Plans, for Different Products
§ Warranty Replacements
§ Managing Customer Repairs
§ Vendor Claims Management
§ Spare Parts Management
§ (Customer) Call Management
§ Sale of “More Sell” Items
III. DC Operations
§ Goods Receipt and Goods Issue
§ Home Delivery Process
§ Returns from Store
§ Return to Vendor
§ Damaged/Return Products Clearance/Sale
§ Transportation
§ Replenishment
Electronics Retail Characteristics - 1
In this post I am outlining a few observations that I had made on ELECTRONICS Retail Characteristics, as part of a Client Consulting Project about 2 years back. As ELECTRONICS Retail gathers steam in India and is expected to be one of the Leading 'Organized' Specialty formats, it think this little summary is relevant. I have updated the items a bit as well.
Here goes:
The concept of “Retailing 9P’s” has been used to compile these Pointers unique to the Electronics format. (As expected of any exploratory exercise, the list would only be “indicative” and not completely exhaustive). The 9P’s of Retail are: Product, Place, Price, Promotion, People, Process, Positioning, Pulse and Parking.
The ELECTRONICS retail characteristics are:
1) Product:
> Products are usually technical and moderately complex to use and an average customer needs to be educated, enlightened and trained about what it can do and how to use it.
> Regular “feature” upgrades and price changes, through technology breakthroughs and innovation, are the norm of the day – requiring a regular re-visit of the Sales Process and Product Learning.
> Vendor “Brand” Matters, so it is difficult to create Private Labels in this space. Vendor “Brand Proposition” needs to be consistent with the ELECTRONICS Store proposition.
> “Brand” Loyalty is very High.
> After-Sales Service/Guidance/Information/Training is necessary on Most products.
> Mix of Long and Short PLC Products.
> Products usually tend to be “High Involvement” items.
2) Place:
> Needs 5000+ sq.feet of retail space, varying from small to large formats – because display SKUs tend to be large in size.
> Also, store layout needs to be spacious since customers would spend a “considerable” time on a certain item – learning about and checking out the product features.
> “Destination” store rather than “Neighborhood” store, considering its Specialty retail.
> Multi-channel presence is being pursued by leading players: Catalog and E-Business – and it works well because the products are essentially – “What you see is what you get” Packages. ELECTRONICS is one of the leading categories in the E-Commerce and Catalog space.
3) Price:
> Average Sales Ticket Prices are High.
> Personal Finance options are the norm these days and quite popular among customers.
> Generally speaking, product prices in this format keep declining over time as compared to the prices they were first launched at. But new products keep coming in at the same price points. So, while individual SKU prices may fall, the Average Selling Price (ASP) of the said category remains more or less the same.
4) Promotion:
> Promotion plays a very important differentiator vis-à-vis competition – as ELECTRONICS sales tend to be “Push” rather than “Pull”.
> Vendor “Brand” Products/Ranges are more or less the same across all retailers, so Promotion has to act as a driver to Push sales – usually through bundling of Freebies/Accessories/Complementary Products along with the Main items.
> Heavy “vendor advertising” means the retailer must ensure the availability of any new products and/or pricing schemes – just to maintain a status quo.
> The Trade-in Offer – exchange your old item for a new discounted one – is one of the unique schemes typical to this format.
5) People:
> Personal skills and Tech-savvy are much needed requirements.
> Continuous Training and Learning/Information on New Products is needed, so retailers usually have a well-structured and well-organized Training Program in place.
6) Process:
> “Home Delivery” (and Returns) Process is key to the success of this format.
> This format needs an Efficient “Cheque” Payment Process in place.
> Capturing complete customer requirements for “Home Delivery” items and “After-Sales Service” is essential to the business and this data can be then be mined for Analytics’ purposes (not yet begun in India though). Best Buy, however, uses this very data to customize every store based on 7 demographic types they have identified in customers.
7) Positioning:
> Retail positioning tends to be on any of these 4 variables – alone or in combination: Price, Range, Service and Experience.
> This sector is quite “organized” already with a host of small-time players having a “decent-shop” existence. A pan-country player has not yet emerged, though there are quite a few regional biggies.
8) Pulse (of Customer & Employees):
> ELECTRONICS stores must be at least on par, if not ahead, in gauging the aspirations of customers and product trends – since ELECTRONICS is an area where they tend to spend their disposable income first (after Food) and they would want the latest “version” of an item they are planning to purchase.
> Often, ELECTRONICS must be a driver of customer tastes and product trends rather than the other way around. Like Akio Morita had said about the Walkman – no amount of customer research would have told me that a Walkman is needed by customers and that its demand will explode like the way it has.
> It is moderately difficult to replace “tech-savvy” store personnel. Also, considering that the format tends to operate on “push” sales, the store staff is usually incentivized for sales performance.
9) Parking:
> Suitable to the store traffic requirements, while knowing that store is a “destination” store where people would not just walk-in and rush out.
Cheers.
Here goes:
The concept of “Retailing 9P’s” has been used to compile these Pointers unique to the Electronics format. (As expected of any exploratory exercise, the list would only be “indicative” and not completely exhaustive). The 9P’s of Retail are: Product, Place, Price, Promotion, People, Process, Positioning, Pulse and Parking.
The ELECTRONICS retail characteristics are:
1) Product:
> Products are usually technical and moderately complex to use and an average customer needs to be educated, enlightened and trained about what it can do and how to use it.
> Regular “feature” upgrades and price changes, through technology breakthroughs and innovation, are the norm of the day – requiring a regular re-visit of the Sales Process and Product Learning.
> Vendor “Brand” Matters, so it is difficult to create Private Labels in this space. Vendor “Brand Proposition” needs to be consistent with the ELECTRONICS Store proposition.
> “Brand” Loyalty is very High.
> After-Sales Service/Guidance/Information/Training is necessary on Most products.
> Mix of Long and Short PLC Products.
> Products usually tend to be “High Involvement” items.
2) Place:
> Needs 5000+ sq.feet of retail space, varying from small to large formats – because display SKUs tend to be large in size.
> Also, store layout needs to be spacious since customers would spend a “considerable” time on a certain item – learning about and checking out the product features.
> “Destination” store rather than “Neighborhood” store, considering its Specialty retail.
> Multi-channel presence is being pursued by leading players: Catalog and E-Business – and it works well because the products are essentially – “What you see is what you get” Packages. ELECTRONICS is one of the leading categories in the E-Commerce and Catalog space.
3) Price:
> Average Sales Ticket Prices are High.
> Personal Finance options are the norm these days and quite popular among customers.
> Generally speaking, product prices in this format keep declining over time as compared to the prices they were first launched at. But new products keep coming in at the same price points. So, while individual SKU prices may fall, the Average Selling Price (ASP) of the said category remains more or less the same.
4) Promotion:
> Promotion plays a very important differentiator vis-à-vis competition – as ELECTRONICS sales tend to be “Push” rather than “Pull”.
> Vendor “Brand” Products/Ranges are more or less the same across all retailers, so Promotion has to act as a driver to Push sales – usually through bundling of Freebies/Accessories/Complementary Products along with the Main items.
> Heavy “vendor advertising” means the retailer must ensure the availability of any new products and/or pricing schemes – just to maintain a status quo.
> The Trade-in Offer – exchange your old item for a new discounted one – is one of the unique schemes typical to this format.
5) People:
> Personal skills and Tech-savvy are much needed requirements.
> Continuous Training and Learning/Information on New Products is needed, so retailers usually have a well-structured and well-organized Training Program in place.
6) Process:
> “Home Delivery” (and Returns) Process is key to the success of this format.
> This format needs an Efficient “Cheque” Payment Process in place.
> Capturing complete customer requirements for “Home Delivery” items and “After-Sales Service” is essential to the business and this data can be then be mined for Analytics’ purposes (not yet begun in India though). Best Buy, however, uses this very data to customize every store based on 7 demographic types they have identified in customers.
7) Positioning:
> Retail positioning tends to be on any of these 4 variables – alone or in combination: Price, Range, Service and Experience.
> This sector is quite “organized” already with a host of small-time players having a “decent-shop” existence. A pan-country player has not yet emerged, though there are quite a few regional biggies.
8) Pulse (of Customer & Employees):
> ELECTRONICS stores must be at least on par, if not ahead, in gauging the aspirations of customers and product trends – since ELECTRONICS is an area where they tend to spend their disposable income first (after Food) and they would want the latest “version” of an item they are planning to purchase.
> Often, ELECTRONICS must be a driver of customer tastes and product trends rather than the other way around. Like Akio Morita had said about the Walkman – no amount of customer research would have told me that a Walkman is needed by customers and that its demand will explode like the way it has.
> It is moderately difficult to replace “tech-savvy” store personnel. Also, considering that the format tends to operate on “push” sales, the store staff is usually incentivized for sales performance.
9) Parking:
> Suitable to the store traffic requirements, while knowing that store is a “destination” store where people would not just walk-in and rush out.
Cheers.
Retail Wisdom from Sam Walton - 2
Some more interesting ideas, summarized from the same book, and some of my comments about what I have seen in Indian Retail in general, today:
6-Ways at Wal-Mart:
1. Think One Store at a Time. Nah, we will talk about 500 Stores, 10000 Crores Revenues, 100000 People Employment - in 3 Years, all the time.
2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. Zero Communication either ways, even when we've begun to carry out as serious an Activity as 'Layoffs'. I've already written about "Lack of Information Sharing even on Retail Operations" in my previous post.
3. Keep your Ear to the Ground. I don't see Head Office people moving around in the Market on a regular basis and forget keeping a Tab on Best Practices by other retailers.
4. Push Responsibility and Authority Down. Ha! Then what will I do at Head Office!
5. Stay Lean, Fight Bureaucracy. Nah, we have already set up an organization to take care of 500 Stores. So, work is well divided already and No single person can take Responsibility.
6. Force Ideas to Bubble Up. If there is no Communication either ways - as noted in point 2 - how are ideas to bubble up? Ideas don't even bubble down - for that matter.
10 Rules at Wal-Mart:
1. Commit to your Business.
2. Share your Profits.
3. Motivate your Partners.
4. Communicate.
5. Appreciate.
6. Celebrate your Successes.
7. Listen to Everyone in your Company.
8. Exceed your Customer’s Expectations.
9. Control your Expenses.
10. Swim Upstream.
Rules by Indian Retailers? There is only 1 Rule - There are No Rules!
Retail Wisdom from Sam Walton - 1
I recently finished re-reading Sam Walton's "Made in America" - capturing the classic story of Walmart seen through the founder's eyes. I'd read it earlier when I was in B-school and was impressed. I read it now as a Retailer and I am 'really' impressed. Impressed - with the way they have kept things simple and efficient.
While I do not agree with all their moves and ideas, I am noting down here some pearls of Retail wisdom, that we probably might miss on a regular day:
- On Advantages of Partnership: The best way to reduce paying estate taxes is to give your assets away before they appreciate.
- This is really the essence of Discounting: by cutting your price, you can boost your sales to a point where you earn far more at the cheaper retail price than you would have by selling the item at the higher price. In retailer language, you can lower your markup but earn more because of the increased volume.
- In retail, you are either operations driven – where your main thrust is toward reducing expenses and improving efficiency – or you are merchandise driven. The ones that are truly merchandise driven can always work on improving operations. But the ones that are operations driven tend to level off and begin to deteriorate.
- You see, no matter how you slice it in the retail business, payroll is one of the most important parts of the overhead, and overhead is one of the most crucial things you have to fight to maintain your profit margins.
- You’ve got to give folks responsibility, you’ve got to trust them, and then you’ve got to check on them.
- Sharing information and responsibility is a key to any partnership. It makes people feel responsible and involved, and as we’ve gotten bigger we’ve really had to accept sharing a lot of our numbers with the rest of the world as a consequence of sticking by our philosophy. Everything about us gets to the outside. In our individual stores, we show them their store’s profits, their store’s purchases, their store’s sales, and their store’s markdowns. We show them all that on a regular basis and I’m not talking about just the managers and the assistant managers. We share that information with every associate, every hourly, every part-time employee in the stores. Obviously, some of that information flows to the street. But I just believe the value of sharing it with our associates is much greater than any downside there may be to sharing it with folks on the outside.
I really like this one pearl. From what I have seen on Retailers today in India, I think the scenario is totally opposite - where companies Do Not share this data even among their own people at Head Office. Like he mentioned - there is an overwhelming scare that competitors would learn about our business. I share the sentiment that they would get to know anyways - directly or indirectly - sooner or later (Why, we ourselves do Competitor Store visits, Ask Suppliers about their Purchases & Sales, and so on). Also, estimate that they learn about your data after 5-7 days, if you are sharing everything with your Employees. This still gives you 5-7 days to execute something brilliant - if everybody knew what the Data was and what the Tactical objective was. It would nullify the usefulness of the Data that the market probably now has about your Operations. But, by not sharing data with your own Employees, the organization is effectively hampering its own Mobility and Execution.
- Here’s the point: the bigger Wal-Mart gets, the more essential it is that we think small. Because that’s exactly how we have become a huge corporation: by not acting like one.
Old School Organizations vs. New School Organizations
A little summary that I have compiled about the "Work Place Differences" that I have seen between Old School Organizations (read: Manufacturing, CPG) vs. New School Organizations (read: IT Services). I may be mistaken about some of the observations alright, but here goes:
Old Organizations
> Employee Feedback Process Absent, Taken Lightly
> Inflexible Hours
> ‘Old’ Crowd, ‘Old’ Work Ethics:
- No moving out from Cubicles
- ‘Domain’ clustered groups Only
- Paper Documents and Meetings
> Dull Workplace, Lacking Buzz
> Lack of Common Courtesy
E.g. People don’t look/speak at you if they are busy.
> No Group Activities
> Poor Decision Making Process/Initiative
> No ‘Individual’ Accountability/KRA’s
> Hazy Deliverables, Roles & Responsibilities
> Focus on Method, Not Deliverables
> ‘Passing-the-Buck’ Tendency
> Everybody Afraid of Screwing Up
> Interaction with Stakeholders Informal
> Career Path Un-defined > Dependent on whims and fancies of Others
> ZERO Perks
New Organizations
> Employee Feedback Process in Place, Taken Seriously
> Flexible Hours
> Younger Crowd, Younger Work Ethics
- Movement across the Office Floor
- ‘Cross-functional’ groups Easy
- Paper Documents, E-Mails, Phone Calls and Meetings
> Fun Workplace, Something Happening
> Right Balance of Courtesy
E.g. People would look and talk up at least for a minute and ‘Tell’ you when they’re busy.
> Weekend Group Outings are like a Norm
> Decision Making Process – Quick & Structured
> Fixed KRA’s/Accountability from Day 1
> Clear Deliverables, Roles & Responsibilities
> Focus on Deliverables, Also on Method
> Structure/Process Doesn’t Allow "Passing the Buck"
> ‘Freedom’ Feeling Everywhere
> Interaction with Stakeholders Formal
> Clear-cut Career Path Defined from Day 1
> Perks like Gifts, Diary, T-Shirts etc. USUAL
hmmmm....
Old Organizations
> Employee Feedback Process Absent, Taken Lightly
> Inflexible Hours
> ‘Old’ Crowd, ‘Old’ Work Ethics:
- No moving out from Cubicles
- ‘Domain’ clustered groups Only
- Paper Documents and Meetings
> Dull Workplace, Lacking Buzz
> Lack of Common Courtesy
E.g. People don’t look/speak at you if they are busy.
> No Group Activities
> Poor Decision Making Process/Initiative
> No ‘Individual’ Accountability/KRA’s
> Hazy Deliverables, Roles & Responsibilities
> Focus on Method, Not Deliverables
> ‘Passing-the-Buck’ Tendency
> Everybody Afraid of Screwing Up
> Interaction with Stakeholders Informal
> Career Path Un-defined > Dependent on whims and fancies of Others
> ZERO Perks
New Organizations
> Employee Feedback Process in Place, Taken Seriously
> Flexible Hours
> Younger Crowd, Younger Work Ethics
- Movement across the Office Floor
- ‘Cross-functional’ groups Easy
- Paper Documents, E-Mails, Phone Calls and Meetings
> Fun Workplace, Something Happening
> Right Balance of Courtesy
E.g. People would look and talk up at least for a minute and ‘Tell’ you when they’re busy.
> Weekend Group Outings are like a Norm
> Decision Making Process – Quick & Structured
> Fixed KRA’s/Accountability from Day 1
> Clear Deliverables, Roles & Responsibilities
> Focus on Deliverables, Also on Method
> Structure/Process Doesn’t Allow "Passing the Buck"
> ‘Freedom’ Feeling Everywhere
> Interaction with Stakeholders Formal
> Clear-cut Career Path Defined from Day 1
> Perks like Gifts, Diary, T-Shirts etc. USUAL
hmmmm....
A Good Year, Wall Street and Gladiator
Well, just scribbling down some movie quotes (read: wisdom, read: attitude) that I truly appreciate. I do believe these quotes have relevance in today's tough corporate life & rough economic conditions and deserve more than a little thought:
A Good Year
Uncle Henry Skinner: You'll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom. Not least of which is, uh... how much more enjoyable it is to win. It's inevitable to lose now and again. The trick is not to make a habit of it.
Max Skinner: This place does not suit my life. Fanny Chenal replies: No Max, it's your life that does not suit this place.
Wall Street
Carl Fox: Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others.
Gordon Gecko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another.
Lou Mannheim: Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.
Gordon Gecko: The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.
Carl Fox: Money's only something you need in case you don't die tomorrow...
Gladiator
Maximus: You can help me. Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together we survive.
Maximus: I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
Maximus: At my signal, unleash hell...
Quintus: People should know when they are conquered. Maximus replies: Would you, Quintus? Would I?
Maximus: Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead! Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity.
Proximo: Ultimately, we're all dead men. Sadly, we cannot choose how but, what we can decide is how we meet that end, in order that we are remembered, as men.
Marcus Aurelius: You have proven your valor once again, Maximus. Let us hope for the last time. Maximus replies: There is no one left to fight, sire. Marcus Aurelius replies back: There is always someone left to fight.
Gracchus: Fear and wonder, a powerful combination. Falco replies: You really think people are going to be seduced by that? Gracchus replies back: I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it.
Proximo: Marcus Aurelius is dead, Maximus. We mortals are but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust, Maximus!
Maximus: Strength and Honor...
A Good Year
Uncle Henry Skinner: You'll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom. Not least of which is, uh... how much more enjoyable it is to win. It's inevitable to lose now and again. The trick is not to make a habit of it.
Max Skinner: This place does not suit my life. Fanny Chenal replies: No Max, it's your life that does not suit this place.
Wall Street
Carl Fox: Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others.
Gordon Gecko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another.
Lou Mannheim: Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.
Gordon Gecko: The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.
Carl Fox: Money's only something you need in case you don't die tomorrow...
Gladiator
Maximus: You can help me. Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together we survive.
Maximus: I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
Maximus: At my signal, unleash hell...
Quintus: People should know when they are conquered. Maximus replies: Would you, Quintus? Would I?
Maximus: Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead! Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity.
Proximo: Ultimately, we're all dead men. Sadly, we cannot choose how but, what we can decide is how we meet that end, in order that we are remembered, as men.
Marcus Aurelius: You have proven your valor once again, Maximus. Let us hope for the last time. Maximus replies: There is no one left to fight, sire. Marcus Aurelius replies back: There is always someone left to fight.
Gracchus: Fear and wonder, a powerful combination. Falco replies: You really think people are going to be seduced by that? Gracchus replies back: I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it.
Proximo: Marcus Aurelius is dead, Maximus. We mortals are but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust, Maximus!
Maximus: Strength and Honor...
There is No Finish Line
At the launch of this Blog, before I even completely imagine what I intend to post on this Blogpost all the time, only 2 thoughts play in my head:
And check out the description that apparently read on its First ever Print Ad:
There is No Finish Line
Sooner or later the serious runner goes through a special, very personal experience that is unknown to most people. Some call it euphoria. Others say it's a new kind of mystical experience that propels you into an elevated state of consciousness. A flash of joy. A sense of floating as you run. The experience is unique to each of us, but when it happens you break through a barrier that separates you from casual runners. Forever. And from that point on, there is no finish line. You run for your life. You begin to be addicted to what running gives you.
Beating the competition is relatively easy. But beating yourself is a never ending commitment.
I am hoping to stay inspired by this message for a very long time. Cheers!! :)
- "Stop Talking & Start Doing" (which is a brilliant communication message used by IBM these days)
- "There is No Finish Line" (a line made so famous by Nike)
And check out the description that apparently read on its First ever Print Ad:
There is No Finish LineSooner or later the serious runner goes through a special, very personal experience that is unknown to most people. Some call it euphoria. Others say it's a new kind of mystical experience that propels you into an elevated state of consciousness. A flash of joy. A sense of floating as you run. The experience is unique to each of us, but when it happens you break through a barrier that separates you from casual runners. Forever. And from that point on, there is no finish line. You run for your life. You begin to be addicted to what running gives you.
Beating the competition is relatively easy. But beating yourself is a never ending commitment.
I am hoping to stay inspired by this message for a very long time. Cheers!! :)
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