Friday, January 21, 2011

Business Dharma Sankat

The words in the title don’t usually go together, do they? While dharma sankat manifests itself primarily in personal lives, quite often one goes through it even in business / corporate life. This blog is a true story that was triggered by (a) a live business problem and (b) by someone who was possibly inspired by Devdutt Pattanaik’s article on a similar subject, and recommended the solution to the problem. You can read Devdutt’s article here - http://devdutt.com/dharma-sankat-in-family-business/


Just as in personal lives, there are people who live by the rules, irrespective of the context in which they were set or their relevance in current scenario. And then there are those who place higher importance to principles, rather their own logic over rules, people who defy conventional, stated rules and do what they believe is right.


Drawing from popular Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rama and Krishna both uphold principles, but while Rama always goes by the rule book, it is clearly not the case for Krishna, who does not mind breaking rules (if need be) to pursue his beliefs. On the other end, we have Ravan and Duryodhana, both of whom are not very high on principles, but Duryodhana still follows rules; remember his last fight with Bhima, where on Krishna’s advice, Bhima strikes Duryodhana below the waist, a visible breach of the fight’s rules, but Duryodhana does not respond with the same. As against Ravan, who continues his brush with the prevalent law, period.




Now here’s the business connect. Typical in marketing functions, one is expected to position products / services / solutions (Kotler counts over 10 aspects a marketer can market) as being the best available on this planet. Nothing wrong with it, except in situations where it is difficult to substantiate the claims. But then, just as in the army, one is expected to follow directives, not question them. Sarcasm apart, that does deliver things faster, but would save this debate for another day. So how does one market an offering, when the stated rules demand proof points?


Here’s where the marketer needs to transition from Rama to Krishna. Do you really believe in your offering? Do you think it will benefit your customers? Would they find it worth the buck they pay for it? If you do, break the rules. Market it such that it appeals to at least a select few early adopters, if not the entire addressable market. If it indeed proves itself in the marketplace, others would follow suit. Do NOT lie; just HYPOTHESIZE. If the hypothesis is validated, great; if negated, there’s always an opportunity to iterate.


Didn’t Krishna block the sun for some time to allow Arjuna to seek revenge for his son, Abhimanyu’s cruel death in the Chakravyuha? His intention here was noble. Ignoring war rules, the Kauravas had fought simultaneously with Abhimanyu and killed him. Enraged by his son’s death in such a manner, Arjuna had vowed to kill Jayadratha before sunset or immolate himself. In such a situation, Krishna lifted his hand to shield the sun and feign sunset, thereby enticing the Kauravas to come closer to Arjuna under the presumption that Arjuna would keep his word and immolate himself. But remember, Krishna had promised Duryodhana of not lifting a weapon in the Kuruskshetra war, and he stood true to his words, but he did lift his hand – to Arjuna’s relief and the Kauravas’ dismay, Krishna had bet just on a hypothesis and thankfully succeeded!


Likewise in business, or for that matter any dilemma in life. Follow your beliefs more than the rules. Test it out yourself, it might just work. If it doesn’t, feel free to rant about it on this blog :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Corporate Blinders

Ever seen a horse racing towards the finish line, a harder gallop with every whip of the jockey jumping excitedly over him? With blinders restricting its view of the applauding crowd and competing horses, I wonder if it enjoys the race as much as those who bet on it or those that drive it towards its goal.


Sounds quite familiar in the corporate world too, isn’t it? Time and again, organizations expect things to be done in a set way, leaving little tolerance for deviations. Why are things done that way? Ahem, because they have always been done that way! Why shouldn’t I try something new? Because you are not expected to. Thou shall not tread the unbeaten track! Hell, why? Because I hold the whip! And of course, people who bet on me expect me to win, not enjoy the race.


The result – Same old, boring deliverables, absolutely no differentiation, whether in the market place or the work place. After all, the jockeys and their commandments remain the same. But then, the daring few (often labeled mavericks) who do break the mould go on to create corporate history, and naturally reap dividends. But that’s only in the long run. You can’t really win a 100 meter sprint if you don’t run with focus on your track, versus the marathon, where you can enjoy the passing views, while staying on course.


The blinder metaphor is arguably more pronounced in B2B industries than B2C. While the risks are higher, it doesn’t hurt to try out something new once in a while. Hasn’t Cisco managed it so effectively? Since when were networking products so glamorous? Check out their campaigns on their website, or their community on Cisco Live their user conference. Microsoft, Google, IBM are up there in the same league. And while they do have a B2C connection too, their B2B programs have been equally unconventional off late. Imagine the fate of these brands, had they not opened up their blinders yet. Of course, it has a lot to do with their jockeys too, who allowed them to do so in the first place and full credit to their management for reposing their faith despite age old wisdom advising against it.


And they have been rightly rewarded too. Not just in their stock prices and revenues and profits, but even in terms of the audience that now consider their solutions. My marketing genes tempt me to throw in a few jargons – read a wider addressable market instead of audience :) And who wouldn’t want to work for such cool companies! Or continuing the metaphor, run for these jockeys!


I am sure you have also come across similar blinders in your work life. Feel free to share here.




PS: Please ignore the watermark on the corporate carrot image.