This fortnight I would like to share some thoughts on building personal brands. There’s a wonderful human being I know. His name is Subroto Ghosal. He was a trainer with Air India and a former National president of Indian Jaycees. Subroto is one the best examples I know of how a personal brand can be built.
My first lessons in training were enshrined in his words, “Everybody who can afford a briefcase and a hundred visiting cards is a trainer, Ramesh. What will you do to stand out from the herd ?” “Forget the text books, Creativity is YOU and how you can present yourself to an audience” I was fortunate to attend some of his workshops and I still remember once, he just used a newspaper as a prop to hold us spellbound for hours. This was before the PowerPoints and the Multimedias !
He did not have the baritone of an Amitabh but used his modulation superbly. A great sense of wry humour. He could make you laugh in a minute and cry the next with his powerful speeches.
And the amount of reading he did! I have rarely seen him without a book. And he used the knowledge so judiciously. He never showed off.
I still remember the time he was the chief coach of the National Train the Trainers Seminar and I was one of his assistants. On the first day, he was completely off tangent and that evening, rather tremulously, I told him so. His reaction took me by surprise. He asked me to point out everything that had gone wrong and how it could be corrected. He prepared himself throughout the night and the next three days were absolutely delightful for his participants and for us on the faculty. His willingness, nay his eagerness, to learn even from lowly assistants truly made him outstanding.
When he stood for national presidency-those were the days when elections were aggressively fought – he was bucking the already powerful “Family” and he had no support group of his own. His entire electioneering was a lesson in creative brand building.
Those were the days when emails were non-existent. And Subroto endeared himself to 35000 Jaycees as the “small” man by not using the capital letter at all in all his letters. He must have sent out thousands of letters that year and all of them were in small caps ! Even his inland letters and covers were different. He had an image of a bare foot in place of the sender’s address and a message. Was it “Come, Walk with me”, Subroto ?
He personalized his campaign by sending individually addressed letters remembering small personal details of his addressees. And all this before mail merging !
He told a few of us at the beginning of his campaign year, “This year, the better dressed man will win” I bet, even today, none of his contemporaries can fault Subroto for being badly dressed. And, of course, his wife, Hootoxi, charming and graceful, a thorough professional in her right, was the perfect companion.
“I know that you have been asked not to vote for me by your seniors. But I know you so well. Just do me a favor. Just give me only YOUR vote. I don’t want to lose with a heavy margin” is what he told EVERY voter and sure enough most of them voted for Subroto !
The evening of the candidates platform was when Subroto won the hearts of everyone in the 2000 plus audience. Observing his arch rival coughing when he was delivering his speech, Subroto snatched the glass of water in front of him, walked across the stage and smiling gave it to his rival. The audience burst into spontaneous applause. And a day later, Subroto brought the house down when he was declared the upset winner.
Subroto's personal brand bulding formula comprised Being different, Positioning Yourself, Localizing and Personalizing Communication, Appealing to the heart, Creative Packaging and Converting Adversity to Opportunity.
I haven’t met Subroto for quite some time now. But I bet, even today, I could carry on conversing with him as if we keep meeting every day. Such is his charisma.
Subroto is on Face Book. Get to know him and you will be richer. Every time you interact with him !
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Elusive Employee
The Elusive Employee
Many of us who are in small businesses dread one kind of turnover. The employee turnover ! We spend thousands of rupees training employees to adapt themselves to our way and when they are sufficiently trained, they run away to our competitors !
Do they run away or do we drive them away ?
Let’s face it. Many of us have to change our thinking. From generation to generation, getting employees has become more and more difficult. And retaining them has become even more so. Yet, our unconscious philosophy seems to be, “so what if he goes away, I can always get another one. “ Sure you can. But, as many of us have discovered, the replacement is costlier. And, not as good as the original.
Human beings are all creatures of comfort and once they establish a comfort zone, they find it very difficult to change it. Yet employees do it. Lots of reasons. Some of them silly. But they do leave.
When you analyse the reasons, you will find they are emotional rather than rational. It is not just the money. Very often we do not respect our employees. We use them as punching bags to work off our frustrations. We leave them insecure most of the time. Therein lies the root cause.
Management experts will give you various strategies to retain your employees but I could summarise them into just three factors:
Clarity. When you take on someone, you should be clear on what exactly is he expected from him. You should be able to explain to him in a language that he understands, what your expectations are. You should be able to tell him his specific role in your business and what his growth path would be. He should know the performance parameters that will bring him bigger rewards. He should know the extent of his authority, responsibility and most important his accountability.
Empowerment: An employee develops a feeling of belonging only when he has certain responsibilities and is accountable for them. A clear cut policy would tell an employee what his powers are, the extent they can be utilized and the consequences of misuse. A certain degree of independence is a plus factor is binding the employee to us
Satisfying Emotional Needs: Human beings are ruled by sentiment to a large extent. Often, emotional needs are not rational. Yet, satisfying them is critical. Positive strokes, appreciation when deserved given as publicly as possible, constructive criticism being given one on one only, a designation that looks imposing on a visiting card, friendliness at the workplace, social occasions for binding are vital factors that prevent an employee from leaving.
Despite all this, employee attrition is a fact of life. There are just three ways of ensuring that our work does not suffer:
Systems: A work manual for each position in your office which a new employee can read will save you valuable hours of training. Access to a good recruitment agency will give you quick replacements and openness in communication during the recruitment process will prevent expensive attrition.
Cloning of vital functions: Ensure that there are two employees who are abreast of all key functions. An accountant should have an assistant who can take over at short notice.
Outsourcing: Try and outsource as much of your work as you can. The slightly higher costs will be offset by continuity and the worry of getting replacements.
Business can still be fun if the ingredients are mixed well !
With every good wish
Ramesh Batavia
Many of us who are in small businesses dread one kind of turnover. The employee turnover ! We spend thousands of rupees training employees to adapt themselves to our way and when they are sufficiently trained, they run away to our competitors !
Do they run away or do we drive them away ?
Let’s face it. Many of us have to change our thinking. From generation to generation, getting employees has become more and more difficult. And retaining them has become even more so. Yet, our unconscious philosophy seems to be, “so what if he goes away, I can always get another one. “ Sure you can. But, as many of us have discovered, the replacement is costlier. And, not as good as the original.
Human beings are all creatures of comfort and once they establish a comfort zone, they find it very difficult to change it. Yet employees do it. Lots of reasons. Some of them silly. But they do leave.
When you analyse the reasons, you will find they are emotional rather than rational. It is not just the money. Very often we do not respect our employees. We use them as punching bags to work off our frustrations. We leave them insecure most of the time. Therein lies the root cause.
Management experts will give you various strategies to retain your employees but I could summarise them into just three factors:
Clarity. When you take on someone, you should be clear on what exactly is he expected from him. You should be able to explain to him in a language that he understands, what your expectations are. You should be able to tell him his specific role in your business and what his growth path would be. He should know the performance parameters that will bring him bigger rewards. He should know the extent of his authority, responsibility and most important his accountability.
Empowerment: An employee develops a feeling of belonging only when he has certain responsibilities and is accountable for them. A clear cut policy would tell an employee what his powers are, the extent they can be utilized and the consequences of misuse. A certain degree of independence is a plus factor is binding the employee to us
Satisfying Emotional Needs: Human beings are ruled by sentiment to a large extent. Often, emotional needs are not rational. Yet, satisfying them is critical. Positive strokes, appreciation when deserved given as publicly as possible, constructive criticism being given one on one only, a designation that looks imposing on a visiting card, friendliness at the workplace, social occasions for binding are vital factors that prevent an employee from leaving.
Despite all this, employee attrition is a fact of life. There are just three ways of ensuring that our work does not suffer:
Systems: A work manual for each position in your office which a new employee can read will save you valuable hours of training. Access to a good recruitment agency will give you quick replacements and openness in communication during the recruitment process will prevent expensive attrition.
Cloning of vital functions: Ensure that there are two employees who are abreast of all key functions. An accountant should have an assistant who can take over at short notice.
Outsourcing: Try and outsource as much of your work as you can. The slightly higher costs will be offset by continuity and the worry of getting replacements.
Business can still be fun if the ingredients are mixed well !
With every good wish
Ramesh Batavia
Monday, November 16, 2009
Whatever you do, enjoy it !
Whatever you do, enjoy it
A few years back when I was a bachelor, it was a chore to keep the kitchen clean. I got into the habit of ensuring that the kitchen utensils and cutlery got cleaned as I cooked. And, from that, washing the dishes was only one step.
When I mention that I actually enjoy cooking and cleaning the dishes, especially to women, they roll their eyes and scowl, “What’s wrong with this guy?” During my trips to the US whenever I have stayed with families, they have always been reluctant to let me go ! Imagine getting a guest to not only cook for you but do the dishes too !
Sometime back, a TV channel ran a contest to find out the most boring job in the world and the winner was the lady who has been doing the same job day in and day 365 days a year for sixteen years. Her job in a potato chip factory was to stand at the conveyor belt just before packing and pick out the chips that did not match the minimum size ! Oh God ! And her photograph actually showed her smiling.
I love going to a mall and shopping for small things. I enjoy the retail therapy. But I hate it when my wife asks me to pick up a few thing for her at the same mall !!
The same place, same trip, almost the same counters !
That’s right, a job is a job. Whether we like or not is in our mind.
When you don’t enjoy doing what you do, you are unhappy. This means you are not working to peak capacity. The job takes longer and the result is unsatisfactory. You add on stress and then you escalate to hypertension. And then you are enabling your cardiac surgeon to buy his next BMW !
But, by now, you know that a human being is amazingly adaptable and when he makes his mind, his body delivers. So, if you were to turn that switch from “not enjoyable” to “enjoyable” in your mind, the job becomes easier, the productivity is amazing and you have no stress.
There are extreme cases where it is simply impossible for you to enjoy what you are doing. Get out. And do what you want to do. Before you do that, ensure that you are not jumping from the frying pan into the fire !
When you enjoy what you do, it is not work, said the world famous painter, Pablo Picasso.
We have but one life. It is upto to us to enjoy it or live in misery ! Make your choice. Fast.
With every good wish
Ramesh Batavia
A few years back when I was a bachelor, it was a chore to keep the kitchen clean. I got into the habit of ensuring that the kitchen utensils and cutlery got cleaned as I cooked. And, from that, washing the dishes was only one step.
When I mention that I actually enjoy cooking and cleaning the dishes, especially to women, they roll their eyes and scowl, “What’s wrong with this guy?” During my trips to the US whenever I have stayed with families, they have always been reluctant to let me go ! Imagine getting a guest to not only cook for you but do the dishes too !
Sometime back, a TV channel ran a contest to find out the most boring job in the world and the winner was the lady who has been doing the same job day in and day 365 days a year for sixteen years. Her job in a potato chip factory was to stand at the conveyor belt just before packing and pick out the chips that did not match the minimum size ! Oh God ! And her photograph actually showed her smiling.
I love going to a mall and shopping for small things. I enjoy the retail therapy. But I hate it when my wife asks me to pick up a few thing for her at the same mall !!
The same place, same trip, almost the same counters !
That’s right, a job is a job. Whether we like or not is in our mind.
When you don’t enjoy doing what you do, you are unhappy. This means you are not working to peak capacity. The job takes longer and the result is unsatisfactory. You add on stress and then you escalate to hypertension. And then you are enabling your cardiac surgeon to buy his next BMW !
But, by now, you know that a human being is amazingly adaptable and when he makes his mind, his body delivers. So, if you were to turn that switch from “not enjoyable” to “enjoyable” in your mind, the job becomes easier, the productivity is amazing and you have no stress.
There are extreme cases where it is simply impossible for you to enjoy what you are doing. Get out. And do what you want to do. Before you do that, ensure that you are not jumping from the frying pan into the fire !
When you enjoy what you do, it is not work, said the world famous painter, Pablo Picasso.
We have but one life. It is upto to us to enjoy it or live in misery ! Make your choice. Fast.
With every good wish
Ramesh Batavia
Monday, November 2, 2009
The New Goddess
The Salahakar Says… is a series of articles which comprise my take on life, management, relationships and businesses. These articles are uploaded on every first and third Monday. They are my way of keeping in touch with all of you who have done so much to make my life meaningful. It would be give me immense pleasure if you would respond by email or on Face Book or the blog site. The entire series is available on www.rameshbatavia.blogspot.com
The New Goddess
Those of us in business or a profession of our own have been confronted with a new goddess in recent times.
She is extremely volatile, short tempered, choosy and almost impossible to please. She does not know the meaning of loyalty. She is well informed and is fully equipped to win any argument with us. She knows exactly what she wants from us and will not compromise on her wants.
She fully expects to be treated like a goddess. It does not matter whether you are religious or not because she transcends all the religions.
Many of us have made the grave error of underestimating her powers and have paid a very high price for doing so. She punishes people who are indifferent or patronizing to her, heavily.
In our ignorance, we have been argumentative, patronizing and have insulted her often. We have tried to flatter her. We have tried to bribe her and she has punished us for our ignorance.
It is difficult to understand her and almost impossible to cope with her ever changing moods.
Rituals and lip service bore her and she is astute enough to see through them in seconds.
And her anger is so strong and she is so influential, she drives away all the other Gods and Goddesses from our life in case she we displease her.
The few whom she favors have had to earn her love and once they have earned it, she bestows on them limitless prosperity and wealth. She influences the entire universe to also fall in line with her thinking.
Yes, my friends, I talk of the Customer. Now read back from the beginning and tell me if I am wrong !
I only know one way of appeasing her. Give her the same treatment I would expect if I were in her place. Respect her and her influence on me. Give her the best I can give sincerely and rest assured that she will not only give her best to me but will influence her friends to also come to me.
Customer Devo Bhava !!
The New Goddess
Those of us in business or a profession of our own have been confronted with a new goddess in recent times.
She is extremely volatile, short tempered, choosy and almost impossible to please. She does not know the meaning of loyalty. She is well informed and is fully equipped to win any argument with us. She knows exactly what she wants from us and will not compromise on her wants.
She fully expects to be treated like a goddess. It does not matter whether you are religious or not because she transcends all the religions.
Many of us have made the grave error of underestimating her powers and have paid a very high price for doing so. She punishes people who are indifferent or patronizing to her, heavily.
In our ignorance, we have been argumentative, patronizing and have insulted her often. We have tried to flatter her. We have tried to bribe her and she has punished us for our ignorance.
It is difficult to understand her and almost impossible to cope with her ever changing moods.
Rituals and lip service bore her and she is astute enough to see through them in seconds.
And her anger is so strong and she is so influential, she drives away all the other Gods and Goddesses from our life in case she we displease her.
The few whom she favors have had to earn her love and once they have earned it, she bestows on them limitless prosperity and wealth. She influences the entire universe to also fall in line with her thinking.
Yes, my friends, I talk of the Customer. Now read back from the beginning and tell me if I am wrong !
I only know one way of appeasing her. Give her the same treatment I would expect if I were in her place. Respect her and her influence on me. Give her the best I can give sincerely and rest assured that she will not only give her best to me but will influence her friends to also come to me.
Customer Devo Bhava !!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Make the small guy feel "tall"
One day short of the Gruhapravesh of my first house, I broke down. It had been a difficult period. I had very limited resources but the urge to have one’s own house had been too strong. A wrong estimate which saw actuals go up by two times had only made matters worse. I had borrowed from everyone I knew to somehow finish the house. Anand, the civil contractor who did my house had only one thing going for him. He was sincere.
Why did I break down ? One day short of the big event, the electricity board brought in an unexpected demand of a couple of thousand rupees and I had not even a penny. 300 guests had been invited the next day and I had no lights !
So, I went and sat in a corner of the house and literally sobbed.
A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around. It was Anand. He said, “Ramesh Sir, a friend of mine returned ten thousand rupees which he owed me. I don’t need the money for three months. If it is with me, I will only spend it. Will you please keep it safely for me ?” The Gruhapravesh went off very smoothly.
I was bachelor a few years back and loved to cook even then. Shankar was a vegetable seller who would visit our neighbourhood in his small cart every day. All my neighbours would haggle with Shankar for fractions of a rupee. Remembering that I would pay for vegetables at a mall, at the printed price, without the opportunity of negotiating, I told Shankar I would not bargain with him and would leave it to him to charge me reasonably. From then on for four years, Shankar continued to give me the best of vegetables and never cheated me. Not once.
A fortnight back, Sachin, Rajesh, Purushottam and I were at the Bharath Restaurant at Trichur. Easily the best for vegetarian food, the restaurant was jam packed. We found a table after a long wait and the harried waiter, snapped “what do you want ?” I smiled at him and said, “You seem to be very tired. It’s been a long day isn’t it ?” The waiter (I learnt his name was Saji , later) broke into a huge smile. Didn’t say a word but gave us a memorable meal.
Why do we find it so difficult to be nice to “small” people? Isn’t it a fact that our lives would miserable without the Anands, Shankars and Sajis ?
We are rude to them because we can get away with it and we can’t do that to our peers ? Or, are we trying to take revenge because someone treated us pettily ? Doesn’t the bible say, “Vengeance is mine, said the Lord”
We go buy a car worth a million rupees and literally beg for a freebie worth a pittance while we bargain for a few rupees with the “small” man ?
Let us learn to be a little more human. Let us give the “small” guy his due. He does not need our millions. A little respect. Some sincere appreciation. Lots of empathy. Surely we can all afford these ?
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sign off with elan
Many of us use emails for business and professional purposes. Not only the way we compose them but what we mention at the end of the mail forms an excellent tool for branding.
Yes, I am talking about the email signature. All webmail providers and email programs provide for a feature called “Signature” This is where many of us mention “Regards” and then our name.
With a little more effort, it is possible for you to provide instant information about you and your organisation. Go to the signature option given by your email service, and key in the following information.
Your name
Your title
Company name
Your tag line or what business you do
Phone number(s)
Fax number(s)
Physical address
Website address
E-mail address
Logo ( you will need to copy this from your images file)
Now every mail that you send will have the above details, providing for an instant recall in case your recipient needs to get in touch with you.
And every mail that you send provides you an opportunity to build your and/or your organisation’s brand. You could also use the signature block to announce events and promo offers. Remember the following:
ü Keep the signature short and simple
ü Use readable font size
ü Don’t use animation since this increases the size of each email
ü Use HTML instead of plain text when sending or forwarding messages
With every good wish,
Ramesh Batavia
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