The Kite

There once was a kite,
Who lacked all might.
Fearing the fall and not the flight,
He always found a place to hide.

There was a kite he secretly admired,
Dreamt daily to fly by her side.
Only if he could ever have the might,
To once take the flight.

It was the competition,
Playgrounds turned into battlefields.
The kite hid and cheered for his friends,
Praying his turn never would come.

Suddenly his heart skipped beat,
As he saw his love on the verge of defeat.

Quickly he moved up the stack,
Eager to fly to beat the freak.

Soon started the bitter fight,
This amateur fought with might.

Saving his love was that mattered,
And just as he saved her;
He saw the dreaded fall.

As he aimlessly headed for the ground,
He had his heart filled with joy profound.
The fear of falling was no more,
All he had was happiness galore.

Just like the kite we fear the fall,
Just like the kite we need to learn-The achievement is worth the fall.

The Trojan Horses for Brands

Recently I was travelling by train from Patna to Bokaro in the second tier air conditioned coach, and was allotted the side lower berth. Right opposite to me, seated were six executives of an organisation, whose name I could initially not figure out. 

There was a lot of banter and official discussion amongst that group, and I could not help but overhear abuses being hurled at some policies, people and a couple who had lost their laptops due to ignorance. Food and hard drinks ran parallel to the discussion, banter and abuses.

Finally, when two of the officials got up to go to their own compartments; and everyone checked their bags, instantly the name of the company was revealed to everyone as the bags were prominently branded with their organisation's name.

When we talk of brands, what strikes our minds first is stuff like quality, customer satisfaction, premium feel, etc. and often we feel that these are things that make or break a brand. 

However, from my experience that day, I can safely conclude that the behaviour of the employees of an organisation, whether on duty or off duty has an immeasurable impact on the feelings of current/prospective customers. I do not think that anyone exposed to talk and behaviour of the fashion that I experienced would ever think of trying out that brand; and a deep rooted bias would form instantaneously against such an organisation.

It is imperative for employees to ensure that they conduct themselves in a fashion which is not detrimental to the brand of the organisation; otherwise they will unknowingly end up as Trojan horses for their brands. Irrespective of their thoughts for their organisation, employees must refrain from deriding their organisations in public places.

According to me, some basic training coupled with a bit of common sense can avoid incidents like these. It is high time that organisations take a step in this direction, otherwise the brand value and customer perception will continue to get eroded.

Rebound

He sits looking at the sky searching for calm,
Even the morning breeze has lost its charm.

The dream is shattered once again,
Everything planned went haywire, yet again.

Every breath tires him,
Even the chirping birds seem to mock him.

But this isn't the first nor the last time,
Howsoever dark the night, the sun shall shine one more time.

It is the sweet taste of victory that he desires,
For which he has to continue to perspire.

One moment of glory shall wipe away all the pain,
And life will seem precious and happy once again.

So once again, rise and fight.
Take up the challenge with all your might.

Once again, rise and fight,
Quit not till you see the light...

---------

Ambassador Cars: 5 Management Lessons

No, I am no car freak. Nor do I have too much interest in cars. But may be, the demise of the Ambassador Car is a reason good enough to write something on it. So let us take a look at 5 management lessons that the Ambassador cars taught us:

1. Understand what the customer wants
   Every organisation needs to understand what the customer wants. In case of Ambassador, customers did not want a heavy, antique car, where seats resembled a sofa set.
2. Don't wait for the competition to eat away your market share
   Better, cannibalize your products with newer ones. We see that happening across industry segments - from cellular phones to cars. Newer products and variants are being launched at an unprecedented rate to save the market share.
3. Change with the times
   How often have we heard the cliche that "change is the only constant". If only Hindustan Motors had understood this, and made changes to the designs and features of the car, in all probability this article wouldn't have been written.
4. It is indeed sometimes too late to start
   Well, since childhood we have been taught that it's never too late to start. False.  Sometimes organisations wait for so long to bring about change or start something new that it is indeed too late. Hindustan Motors was too late in hiring new designers, new management, etc. May be, it is safer to stick to the saying, "A stitch in time saves nine". 
5. Accept that you have lost the war.For the past several years, market share had been declining and losses mounting. Several steps were taken, but none brought about any significant improvements, and the situation deteriorated even more. How tough it may be, one needs to face the reality and accept defeat so that more resources are not wasted fighting a lost war.

However, all said and done, it cannot be denied that Ambassador was once indeed one of the most loved vehicles in India. The white government vehicles with red beacons and yellow taxis used to stand apart and instill a sense of pride. And surely, The City of Joy would never have had the same charm without Ambassador cars...

--------------

‘I quit’…. or, ‘Do I?’

Many a times we feel that life has become too difficult for us to handle… Not getting the perfect grades, having a troublesome boss, a relationship gone sour, some nagging health issue, not getting the perfect job, fight with best friends… these are some of the few reasons that make us conclude that “life is difficult”, and we act irrationally. In short, we lose hope and quit.

At times, even I used to think the same, until a person I met at a railway station and some thoughts from within changed it all!

The person I am referring to was no professor, no saint, and no, he wasn’t another common man! He was a mendicant. Yes, you read it right.

This person had some issues with his spinal cord, which did not allow him to stand up, sit straight or even bend properly. He was asking for alms by dragging himself and his bag throughout the length of the platform. When people refused him alms, he would quietly drag himself away. Those who were generous to him were greeted by a warm smile and blessings.

It was a pitiful site, and after watching him for over 15 minutes, I wondered, “Why do we get so desperate?” There are so many moments ranging from frustrations of a job and low grades in studies to fights with people whom we care about, that make us wonder how sad life is and what’s the point of it… Some people even take get depressed and take extreme steps like suicide. Put simply, we lose hope, and quit.

Think again friends, is life really so difficult for us that we need to indeed lose hope? The mendicant I was referring to had the simple option of quitting: he could have dragged himself to the edge of the platform and jumped in front of any train. Even he chose to fight and not lose hope or quit. May be, he thought life had something better in store for him.

Let us think the same. Why cannot we at least hope that things will get better and hence not yield? I am sure, in the past too, we each one of us has overcome situations which we thought were impossible to recover from. Let us take some inspiration from the difficult times we overcame and the mendicant. Let’s make a small promise to ourselves, that no matter how frustrated we become, we are not going to lose hope; and fight every issue with our best efforts. How so philosophical it may sound, just as a thirsty man is able to better understand the importance of water, we will indeed be able to appreciate the goodness of life and others only once we have seen a few not-so-nice moments and met some not-so-nice people.

Taking a leaf out of the famous saying by J. M. Keynes: “In the long run, we are all dead”; may be it would be apt to say “In the long run, we are all happy”.

 -------