The Outliers - A Review

It all started when I was on a consultancy trip to Nellore and I had seen this book with one of the directors of our company. I borrowed this book and read a few lines and I fell in love with this book. I asked him if, I could borrow it from him and return it to him after reading. He vehemently denied it as if I had asked his daughters hand in marriage, I realised at that point of time the “Outliers” is definitely a book which will make a place in my personal collection.  

I came back from the trip and read the book completely; I became a great fan of the author Malcolm Gladwell. He is also the author of “Tipping Point” and the “Blink”. Read ahead, to find out why I recommend this interesting piece of literature to be cherished for a life time in your personal library.

Practice Practice and Practice - An old age adage says that "Practice makes a man perfect" quite true Gladwell has estimated that people who have become successful have had ample hours of practicing a particular skill or working in the  specialized arena for more than 10,000 hours trying to perfect that skill. He exemplifies his statement by giving across some brilliant names like Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft) Bill Joey (Co-owner Sun Micro systems) Both of them practiced writing computer codes for more than 10,000 hours invariably enabling them to become one of the finest minds in the world of computing. Phew...it’s a hell lot practice guys, so the root to become successful is to follow the ten thousand hour rule in a manner that leads to skill enhancement during that course of time. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.

What goes in the making of successful people - One of the interesting points about the book is the fact that talks about the ingredients, that goes in the making of successful people.  What I mean here by ingredients is the small mischief’s that they carried out to become “Outliers”. Let me quote a few instances from the lives of great and successful people, which only a few people would be aware of.

Bill Joey (founder Sun Micro Systems) tweaked the coding system at the Ann harbor campus to gain access to the computer lab, so as to access machines longer than the stipulated allotted time.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen got kicked out from the ISI (no its not Pakistani intelligence, it stands for Information Science Inc) for stealing a bunch of passwords and crashing the system. Moreover they stole computer timing from the University of Washington to practice writing codes. (Now i understand why Bill Gates is so generous towards the University of Washington.)

The snippets here should not be taken in a negative sense as they were events in their life which led them to become successful. Obviously I am not advocating students to gain illegal access to their computer labs, but i am just making a point that even these mischiefs’s worked in their favour as the field of personal computing was at its nascent stages during that time.

Being there at the right place at the right time - The book forces the readers to think, "Am I at the right place at the right time". This question generally props up in the minds of the entrepreneurs who keep on pondering on this again and again. It is this thought that propels and drives entrepreneurs towards innovation. I emphasize this because in order to be at the helm of affairs one needs to be constantly innovate to match the expectation of the masses. It’s due to this innovation the entrepreneur gains a cutting edge over others and thus becomes the right man at the right place at the right time. 

Roots do matter – In the final chapters of the book; Malcolm focuses on the fact that a person's root plays an important role in determining the performance of people across various fields. Malcolm draws a beautiful comparison of Asian paddy farmers and the Asian students and he is of the opinion as to how both are co-related. He says that the Asian community students are quite hardworking and it’s reflected in their academic performance in international achievement tests. Ditto are the Asian paddy farmers who are well versed in the cultivation of paddy which by nature is one of the complex crops to grow. Finally he says that Asians have the ability to persistently follow a problem and they do not give up easily.

In the conclusion I would like to state a few lines of the book which I found very interesting and thought provoking -"Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard to make sense of something that most people would give up after 30 seconds".

My Verdict - Go ahead and read this book who knows there may be an OUTLIER waiting inside you to come out.

3 idiots - Idiot is no more a slang. It's a Compliment!

Disclaimer- Please watch the movie before going through the blog. The opinions expressed here are solemnly the views of the blog authors and does not necessarily relate to any person living, dead or coincidental.

Readers might be wondering that I have not written a blog since a long time after Taare Zamin Par, but frankly speaking I did not get enough ideas to pen down something concrete. My urge to write a blog was growing stronger and suddenly the movie 3 idiots propped up and thus gave me two unique ideas which I would like to take forward.

• To pursue my dream of writing and sharing thoughts with the world. (Later on take up writing as a serious business)
• To create a co-authored blog space with one of my good friend Pooja Khanna.

Introducing Pooja..

Pooja is a dynamic, dashing young lady from LSR (Lady Shri Ram) college and an ideal mix of beauty and brains. Her opinions are quite frank and honest and so I have decided to share the blog space with her. I believe readers would welcome this change and support us for our future pieces of literature that we shall pen down together.

Now i know why a face can launch a 1000 ships... believe, me this would be the second face after the Helen of Troy.

  

We recently watched 3 idiots, what a movie we both said! If there is any award for innovation in the field of movies than 3 Idiots surely deserves it. What we mean here by innovation is the theme innovation, be it Taare Zamin Par or the current one 3 idiots each of them had a meaning and message behind them. We are not sure whether the movie would smash all the box office records, in revenue collection but the earnings till date definitely point out towards that direction.

We are sharing some of our learning's from the movie, with our readers.

Encourage children to pursue their dreams - President APJ Abdul Kalam has rightly pointed out "Dream big if you want to make it big in life". Let children breathe freedom, and parents should not impose their wish on the children. Forcing academics on children and making them cognitively intelligent should not be the ultimate aim.Parents need to expose the children to a variety of experiences, so that they discover their inherent interests and strive towards them with passion. Share your child’s dreams, aspirations. Trust that he would choose his own course and provide him with a safety net. We recall a dialogue from the blockbuster movie "DDLJ" (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge") wherein at the end Amrish Puri says "Ja beta Ja Jile Apni Zindagi". Whether it is choosing a wife or a career-life, the dialogue is applicable in both.

Concept of “Mugging” (Ratafication) is outdated – Schools and centres of learning have to promote learning by understanding rather than mechanized and rote learning. Children have to learn by understanding to survive in the real world. They need practical skills. Muggers like "Chatur" wont work. For instance the inability of the Graduates & Post Graduates to explain simple concepts is a flaw in the system. Children are not encouraged to get wisdom beyond the books. The system has to develop a mechanism to promote learning by understanding. Promote thinking, creativity, innovation among the students. Interaction and not instruction should be encouraged in schools and at all centers of learning. (The XSEED way of learning is a great example of how concepts should be taught in class. (Visit the web-link www.idiscoveri.com for more details)

Weird characters live in every campus – It’s true that characters like Prof. Viru Sahsrabuddhaev or Chatur live everywhere. Thier die-hard habits are quite close to thier heart. Trying to change them is like attempting to move a mountain. So whether it is the competitive spirit of Prof. Sahsrabuddhaev or the by-the-book approach of Chatur, attacking them directly would only get you enemies. And if you fit yourself into thier ways, you risk losing yourself. So, rather than trying to change them or changing yourself, accept both and have fun!

Pressure Pressure Everywhere - We have heard that "God is all prevalent" but Pooja and I had to rethink the statement and say "God and Pressure are all prevalent". Right from gaining admission to the KG (Kindergarten) class to gaining admission in a prestigious college there is pressure everywhere. Pressure to get in, pressure to sustain, pressure to perform and finally the pressure to get out in flying colours. And those who cannot handle the pressure they quit the race (commit suicide). Damn the pressure, somewhere this has to end. The only thing in our hands is to not get caught in it. Your success and self-esteem are not defined by how much you scored. As long as you know your strengths and refine them, you’ll do fine.

Be an Idiot – Yes, you read it right, an Idiot; because from now on, Idiot is a compliment. Let us define what it means to be an Idiot. An Idiot is someone who follows his instincts, and not the herd. He knows the high-funda stuff, but does not garble it to impress. He questions norms and authority, but does not do so to be a rebel. He accepts a challenge, but does not find a need to challenge anybody else’s worth.

All is Well - Finally when everything goes wrong and nothing seems to be going right, just say all is well and leave to God the rest. There are two approaches to come up in life one is a goal based approach and the other is the effort based. Both are equally important, although the professionl world emphasizes on goal based approach i.e. reaching targets, accomplishing deadlines, we still believe that efforts are equally important. There is no short cut to success. Work hard party harder and leave the rest to God.

There are times when our thoughts paralyze our actions. When the child in you fears consequences, the Adult in you must sober the child by saying, ‘All is Well’ and do what it takes!

Every Child is Unique - Taare Zamin Par

Taare Zamin Par- Bringing out the genius in every child
A master piece by Aamir khan lots of lesson to be learnt from the movie Taare zamin Par focussing on child learning and enabling a child to come out with the hidden tallent inside him. The story revolves around a boy called Ishan Awasthi who is dyslexic and suffers from a learning disorder. The boy's inability to understand the concepts makes him think that he is a loser and potentially leads to the loss of his inherent talent of art in which he is good at. Until one day an art teacher who comes as a saviour and helps the child to revive his lost tallent and enables him to learn better. there is a hard hitting message that the movie comes out with for each and every element affecting the learning ability of a child.

Rote learning is not everything
Parents, community, teachers should understand that rote learning is not the solution to student learning and it may out of the capability and capacity of every child to by heart multiplication tables, memorise the asinine grammatical definitions or explain and interpret complex poems in any language. For the child those mathematical tables are a complex set of symbols forcing him to pressurise his cerebrum to come to think of a solution by recall rather than understanding the underlying concept behind the multiplication. Unfortunately the this leukemia called rote learning has penetrated so deeply in the system that it has blind folded the teachers, parents and community to such an extent that, "learning by understanding" seems to be existing no where in the picture.

Teacher is the biggest benefactor
A recent Mckinsey report states that the quality of the teachers cannot exceed the quality of teaching in the system. Very true Taare Zamin Par concretizes the fact that a teacher can turn around the tables and has the ability to bring out the potential in each and every child. The teacher "Aamir Khan" here recognises that the child Ishan suffers from a syndrome called dyslexia wherein the child's recall ability is quite poor and due to this he is being suppressed by everyone ranging from teachers, friends and parents. The child eventually goes in a state of depression and seemingly tends to loose his passion for art which is his core area of interest. The teacher comes in as a saviour and enables the child to purse his real core talent.

Diagnose the problem by understanding the symptoms
None of the elements were able to understand what is the problem exactly with the child, except the teacher. One has to diagnose the problem by reading the symptoms. The teacher in the story identifies the patterns in the student works. The child for instance could not make out between similar alphabets like’d’ & 'b', simultaneously was not able to distinguish between identical spellings like 'cat' and 'cot', even in numerical he wrote the characters exactly the opposite way that they were supposed to be written and thereby he comes to a conclusion that the child needs special care improve upon his learning skills.

Damn with rat race
Finally the movie is an eye-opener for all of those students, teachers and parents who believe that "rat race is everything" blindly running to get the top slot without understanding that the inner talent is the most important asset that a person possesses and should focus on developing the inner traits and skills. Eventually its the system that encourages this rat race syndrome its a vicious cycle - pushing students to excel in academics, academics again directly linked to employment & career and killing the inherent creativity of the child. The movie's theme every child is unique supporting Howard Garndners Theory of mulitple intelligences.

A must see for every die hard Educationist

Leadership Series 5-The New Age Mentor and the rise of a New "ism"_

As i garner some time today to put my thoughts across I wonder how I am to go about it as a lot of thoughts have cropped up in a very short period of time but I am going to pen down some thoughts on a new “ism” called Stupism. In fact I have stumbled upon this ism in the long conversations with a very special character called Anustup Naik and that leads to discuss something more about the origins of this “ism” that is going to be the next ism to reckon with, forget Socialism communism ....and all other isms "Stupism" is the next juggernaut "ism" to survive in this ruthless world.

No please dont go back to the BC era the new age guru and the founder of this ism is technology geek with a lot of babes around him to flaunt fondly called "Stupie". As i mentioned earlier this technology geek armed with a public policy in his belt from one of the premier universities in the world and an educationist by choice and a man with sharp acumens whose theories of Gyan keep revolving around your cerebrum forcing you to ponder that - how does this guy come up with his complicated yet understandable models in casual conversations. Sharing some of his “Gyanvardhak” stuff on my blog today.

Business is all about mating with several clients at a time (The Ande Ka Funda)

In one of our casual conversations Stupie came up with this funda called Ande Ka Funda He says that as a client is like a "Murgi"(hen) and we need to identify several murgis at a time and mate with them and in the due course of time the several murgis with whom we have mate probably one of them will lay the egg.

What this means is that a sharp enterpreneur would not depend on one source to derive his business from, he would at least try to find out alternative sources from where his business would come and for this he needs to meet several clients at a given period of time and than zero down to a few clients from where the mullah is going to come.

Spontaneity is the name of the game

“Stupism” is all about spontaneity and a sense of urgency to get the task completed on time, get ready to face the wrath if you do not have your figures correct, one fine day you are given a Mckinsey report and you are expected to read the same and come up with your thoughts and write synopsis as to what have you understood from the report, create a model/framework with lot of thoughts imbedded from your side ...phew makes me remember my good olden days at my B-school where I am given a case study and expected to go through the volumes to survive in a group of intelligent Homo-sapiens who further go on to sell soaps and tractors in the remotest part of the country. Thankfully Stupism always makes me feel that i have taken the road less travelled.

Get ready to think out of the box

Stupism is all about thinking of out of the box and out of the world sitting around you the new age mentor (Stupie) would suddenly spring up a thought - the other day he came up with the theory that how at work as people we talk about all the good things in the world before coming to the point and he brought his point through a short skit called "what do you do Mr Iyer" A satire directed towards people who at work places talk about the all the crap in the world before coming to the point. A fearless critic who plays a devils advocate and would come upon you ruthlessly if you are caught on a wrong foot.

Keep it straight avoid analysis of paralysis

Last but not the least Stupism is opening your minds and ponder upon the dimensions of thinking solution for a problem by understanding the core root of the problem before carrying out the analysis which often leads towards paralysis of the problem. Let me illustrate the case the other day Stupie introduced to me a theory called "Core instructional Framework", A framework that helps the child to learn and understand better and he says that there are three core dimensions to it and they are Teaching, Curriculum and Assesments. Each of the dimension has a subdimension which actually strengthens the core dimension eventually leading to improve child learning. A simple framework for which one has to go through the epitomes of literature before making such a powerful statement. Thanks to the new age mentor the most complex of the theories are injected in the mind without any pain and makes a last impact for the times to come.

More on this space to watch as i get gyan and inspiration from my Guru to carry on the good work that we are seeking to do as an organisation.

Common Man's Leadership Fundas - Series 4

It’s has been a long time since I posted my last blog and I have now been seriously thinking of maintaining and updating the same regularly. A lot of my friends have gone through my blog and have eulogised my efforts for writing a blog which has again motivated me to come with my leadership fundas combined with an element of humor in each and every blog that I post across.

In this blog I shall be writing about Discipline. Of late I came across a good term called the "Disciplined Recruit" (invariably a colleague of mine used this term to describe a fool like me) and it stuck to my mind and I thought of combining the leadership traits with the term that I came across. In any organisation as everyone knows, discipline is very essential nothing works if there is absence of discipline across the organisation. Discipline is the torpedo of any organisation. Now who are these bunch of jokers called “Disciplined Recruits” and what do these species do and how is it that they carry the legacy of the leadership values and virtues in them sharing some of the traits, insights and the thoughts that go on the minds of such recruits.

Punctuality: The disciplined recruits are finicky guys they are they guys who believe that there is zero tolerance when it comes to punctuality. Dot on time on meetings, functions, gatherings and even they some time seem appear to be a dumb ass as they are the first one to be at such places. In India we have something called the IST and very true it’s not the ‘Indian Standard Time’ but it’s the ‘Indian Stretchable Time’. Disciplined recruits are they guys who value time and they are well aware that time is money; everything else can come back but not the lost time. A leader has to set an example of punctuality before his subordinate’s co-workers so as to make them realise the importance of time. Imagine a small kirana shopkeeper who is the sole owner of his business he has to come early to open his shop he cannot be late, thinking that his workers would come and open his shop. Leaders have to value time only than can they prosper and deliver the value that they intend to provide their customers.

Sense of Urgency: One of the most commonly missed traits in any organisation especially in Government Departments and public organizations. Disciplined recruits emphasize on a great sense of urgency to complete any task. Leaders who seek on sense of urgency pass on this trait to their subordinates and colleagues and they ignite a fire in the belly of the co-workers and thereby promoting a sense of urgency culture in the organisation. Readers should not confuse ‘sense of urgency’ with hastily carrying out a job sense of urgency here points out of updating systems and mechanisms from time to time without any de-compliance.

Self Imposed: Discipline comes naturally to these guys nobody superimposes the discipline on them. Disciplined recruits try to achieve results, goals and objectives by binding them to certain self imposed set of rules. In any organisation as discussed earlier discipline is critical but simultaneously leaders should recognize that discipline should be fostered among the employees and not imposed. The true test of a leader starts when he can really achieve discipline among his team members without coercing the employees of the organisation to follow the set rules and regulations.

Urge to learn: Another critical characteristic of these guys there is a strong urge in these species to learn diverse set of skills. Alvin tofler one of the greatest educationists has pointed out that – “The illiterate of the coming century would not be those who cannot read and write but they would be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”. What a powerful statement man has to keep learning throughout his life otherwise he becomes archaic. A leader can only nurture his employees when he keeps himself updated about the alterations taking place in the business domain and he adapts himself and the Organisations to the changes taking place around him.

Plunge to help: Disciplined recruits always seek an opportunity to learn in anything and everything and thus the phrase. They derive a great sense of happiness by helping others they plunge in each and every case in an expectation that they will learn by teaching others. Leaders in organisations always come as the rescue angels and plunge into the problems of the employees, customers and take proactive measures to solve the problems and in this whole process the learn a lot about problem solving and they pass on the legacy to their successors.

The common man Leadership fundas shall continue to enrich and there is more gyan in the future in the domains of leadership with such exiting jargons and terminologies so keep watching this space.

Common Man's Leadership Fundas - Series 3

The common man in the due course has learnt some leadership traits and these leadership traits can be useful to anyone. Though they can be considered as the fundamental basic traits but when implemented can be really powerful to lead teams and can help in achieving the goals to a great extent.

Much of what is taught is, in fact, not leadership at all but management. It is entirely possible to learn and even to put into practice what is taught and still fail at being a good leader. The essential components of leadership have remained more or less constant: intelligence, insight, instinct, vision, communication, discipline, courage, constancy.

The common man just discovered some tips for leadership traits from (Mark Sarner, president of Manifest Communications, Canada's leading social-marketing agency) which he thinks would be useful for the leaders while leading their teams.

1. Thinking: Leaders must know how to gather, sort, and structure information, and then connect it in new ways to create intelligence. Today, being informed is confused with being smart.

2. Seeing: Leadership requires vision. And developing a vision requires the ability to see. To look backward and see clearly what has happened and avoid the mistakes happened in the past. To see what's in front of your nose, the present tense. To see ahead to the next day when the challenges will be greater. To see the future that will become reality

3. Feeling: Yes, empathy for the led is vital. As Michael Hammer, coauthor of Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, says, "All change is loss. Even when change is for the better, there is still loss." Leadership is not simply a form of therapy, however. The essential feeling is the one in your gut where morality and certainty live. The right way ahead is not in the data. It is an informed intuitiveness. This is where charisma comes from.

4. Listening: All can hear. But only a few really listen. And too most of the people only listen to themselves. A leader has to listen to colleagues and collaborators, listen to markets and constituencies, and listen to himself -- all through the endless din of the present, the ominous voices of the past, and the deafening silence portending the future -- is vital.

5. Speaking: The watershed capacity in leadership is unquestionably communication. Through it, people are informed, convinced, united, motivated, and directed -- things that are critical to group enterprise from the inside and to buy-in on the outside. The powers to inform and persuade win the battles for hearts and minds.

6. Walking: The art and science of putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes referred to as "waking the talk," is the "doing" part of leading. Credibility comes from being first through the door to the unknown. Standing in one place, or stepping back while others take risks to make the frontier safe for others, simply doesn't cut it. Moving forward is not a leap or a sprint but a plodding process.

7. Fitness: Leadership requires strength and endurance in all areas -- physical, mental, and moral. Because leadership is a heavy load and it’s a long journey that drains resources.

The Leadership traits seem to be very basic in nature but are powerful tools contributing to the vision and the mission of the organisation.

Common Man's Leadership Fundas - Series 2

Some one has correctly pointed out - "Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches". Similar is the case with leadership. Only the leader knows where the shoe pinches. Assuming leadership role is not easy as it’s generally thought, currently spearheading a large scale project in Gujarat and have been gaining tremendous learning's during this phase. Some of the learning’s as a leader has helped me to grow personally and at the company level also, sharing some of the learning's with the masses.

Stretch the limits: One of the foremost qualities that a leader should have is the ability to stretch himself only than will he be able to exemplify to his subordinates and they shall emulate the leader. Though the simple & literal meaning of the phrase means "work hard" but they have to be taken in a very deeper sense. The leader has to go beyond limits I remember a statement from a prominent business magazine wherein a leader turned entrepreneur mentioned - "A leader has to get the job done by going to the lowest level - he says get the hands dirty, work at the grass root level put in efforts results are bound to follow".

Plan: A four letter simple word never understood by me in my B-School and just mugged up by me but although realised that its not that easy to make plans and stick to it- though my mentor always insisted that i should have a plan before doing any activity but never realised that planning would make such a big difference. The idea of creating a plan and actually sticking to it sometimes gives me a nightmare but still i have learnt it the hard way planning is must to carry out any task successfully.

Feedbacks: Feedbacks are like medicines they are bitter they are difficult to digest but a true leader has to take the feebacks in a positive sense. One has to understand that the feedbacks in the longer run will be helping in making the process efficient and effective. One of the art that the leader has to develop not only the ability to receive feedbacks but also the ability to give feedbacks which is important to learn and grow.

Ownership: A leader is responsible for the acts of his subordinates. Owning the responsibility and the courage to accept that things have gone wrong is one of the qualities that a leader should possess. It does not mean that the leader does not get the credit if things go in a proper way but seldom do leaders realize that accepting responsibility for what has gone wrong actually puts them above the pedestal of common beings. A leader has to own his subordinates his role is like a potter he has to pat his colleagues for a good job done and he has the right even to pressurize his subordinates if things do not go in a planned manner. One of the lines that i remember from Narayana Murthy's sayings he says: "A true leader criticizes in private and praises in public"

The common man is learning the hard way but I hope the learning’s are useful for the masses in their professional lives.

Common Man's Leadership Fundas - Series 1

I was not able to post a blog for a long time as of now but just gathered the momentum to post it today as i have quite a few thoughts coming on to my mind. Although what makes me write this blog is my intention to put my thoughts and share with the masses probably my learning’s in life may be useful to the masses to quite an extent. Readers may be surprised that my previous two blogs concentrated on the rural markets and now why have i suddenly shifted the focus to a wierd subject called "Common Man's Learnings", essentially because i have learnt some important lessons in life the hard way which can be useful for the readers and probably they can take cue out of it and use it in their life. Very recently i had a good opportunity to join an organisation which has been a leader in outdoor based education and in the process of making a right choice I took a plenty of time and i lost the opportunity to join that organisation I don’t know whether I will get a chance in the future or not.

Am I a Crass?- The offer was rejected and this question kept on coming into my mind, I went on into a deep frustration fighting constantly within myself waging a war within myself that whether staying back with the current organisation was right move? still finding answers though i know 2.5 years in any organisation is quite a long time but in order to really develop and gain an understanding and to develop a business acumen it takes time.
Lesson 1 Understand the business well and gain a critical understanding of how successful businesses are run.

The second thought is that i need to carry out a professional course and the risk involved in it what if dont get into the course? Backups are one suggestion but what if backups dont work i should not get back into the mode of frustration though i will not but the fears linger in mind.
Lesson2: Practice soliloquy that is the art of speaking to oneself try to find a mentor in yourself helps to overcome fears

I come from a family where I have seen struggles through my life but the struggles have made me stronger but the moot question is till when should i struggle? Why should i take the path of principles and struggles? Is this going to pay me off why I am like this what values am it talking about?I have seen my father struggling even today tears ooze out of my eyes when i see him striving hard its true that he is a real hero.
Lesson3: Understand that struggle is for good but to some extent encash opportunities when in struggle.

Truly speaking I feel i am in search of a mentor Swami Vivekananda found solace in the arms of Swami Ramkrishna Parmahansa. I am yet to find such a mentor i know i think a lot positive but how do i put an end to my thoughts. One of the person who of course comes to my mind is my current mentor SRR or Sridhar Rajagopalan my current boss the man who has given a direction to my thoughts and ignited the passion for this field called education. The other person is Ranu Kawatra whom I met during a trip called Khoj. Mr Ranu had been the Regional business Director for Gillette in Middle East he suggested to me carry on with my passion and this passion would help me achieve this vision.
Lesson4: Identify mentors observe them and try to emulate them try to learn maximum from them. Keen observation is essential in life.

Common Man's Learnings series is going to bring on the struggles/the happenings in the life of a common man lets hope the he comes out of this and sees light at the end of the tunnel

Reaching the Rural Masses Profitably

In my previous blog i had mentioned as how we can cater to the rural markets and what are the strategies. In this blog I would fundamentally like to focus on the 4A's that has been in vogue in the recent times and creating waves in the rural markets. Kotler had already mentioned the traditional 4P's i.e (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) which would hold good in the traditional mode of marketing, but in a country like India where 65% of the population lives in villages it's necessary that marketers focus on the 4A approach which would help them in catering to the rural markets in a more convenient manner. Let us know understand what I mean by the 4A approach.
a) Awarness: The first and the foremost thing would be to create awarness in the rural markets. The masses residing deep in the Indian villages are not much literate to understand the features of the products or the services. The marketers need to understand this point that how can they create a deep impact on the awarness level of the rural markets so that they are able to sell their products easily.
b) Affordability: Affordability is another significant factor where the rural marketers have to concentrate. Companies have to focus on low cost solutions and also the scalability of the solutions. The rural masses will not be interested if the price is too high for them to own the product or service. Another interesting point to be noted here is that in reducing the cost companies cannot reduce the quality of the products.
c)Acceptability : Customisation is the key mere lowering the price or creating awarness is not enough all the factors should go hand in glove with each other. For instance Sampoorna TV launched by LG has been a great hit in the rural areas and its because it has combined all the above factors and than forayed in the rural markets.
d) Accessability: Rural markets are tough to penetrate physically also given the pathetic state of infrastructure in the country it becomes hard for the companies to decide upon their logistics. Companies have to plan their logistics carefully before foraying into the markets.Marketers need to understand that the physical conditions in rural areas are entirely different from the urban areas. Its not just one factor that will work all the factors have to go hand in hand and only this would help companies to provide value to the customers residing in the rural areas.

Future of rural Markets

RURAL MARKETING-THE FUTURE OF INDIAN INDUSTRY.

Indian agricultural industry has been growing at a tremendous pace in the last few decades. The rural areas are consuming a large number of industrial and urban manufactured products. The rural agricultural production and consumption process plays a predominant role in developing the Indian economy. This has designed a new way for understanding a new process called Rural Marketing. The concept of rural marketing has to be distinguished from Agricultural marketing.
Marketing is the process of identifying and satisfying customers needs and providing them with adequate after sales service. Rural marketing is different from agricultural marketing, which signifies marketing of rural products to the urban consumer or institutional markets. Rural marketing basically deals with delivering manufactured or processed inputs or services to rural producers, the demand for which is basically a derived outcome. Rural marketing scientists also term it as developmental marketing, as the process of rural marketing involves an urban to rural activity, which in turn is characterized by various peculiarities in terms of nature of market, products and processes.

Rural marketing differs from agricultural or consumer products marketing in terms of the nature of transactions, which includes participants, products, modalities, norms and outcomes. The participants in case of Rural Marketing would also be different they include input manufacturers, dealers, farmers, opinion makers, government agencies and traders. The existing approach to the rural markets has viewed the markets as a homogeneous one, but in practice, there are significant buyer and user differences across regions as well as within that requires a differential treatment of the marketing problems.
These differences could be in terms of the type of farmers, type of crops and other agro-climatic conditions.

One has to understand the market norms in agricultural input so as to devise good marketing strategies and to avoid unethical practices, which distort the marketing environment. Many of the inputs used for production process have implications for food, health and environmental sectors. Rural marketing needs to combine concerns for profit with a concern for the society, besides being titled towards profit. Rural market for agricultural inputs is a case of market pull and not market push. Most of the jobs of marketing and selling is left to the local dealers and retailers. The market for input gets interlocked with other markets like output, consumer goods, money and labor.

The importance of rural marketing can be understood from the fact that today modern inputs i.e. diesel, electricity, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds account for as much as 70% of the total cash costs and 23% of the total costs incurred by the farmers in the Green Revolution areas. Further the percentages were higher at 81% and 38% for small; farmers owning 1.85 hectars of land.

Strategies for rural marketing
Rural marketing in India is not much developed there are many hindrances in the area of market, product design and positioning, pricing, distribution and promotion. Companies need to understand rural marketing in a broader manner not only to survive and grow in their business, but also a means to the development of the rural economy. One has to have a strategic view of the rural markets so as to know and understand the markets well. In the context of rural marketing one has to understand the manipulation of marketing mix has to be properly understood in terms of product usage. Product usage is central to price, distribution, promotion, branding, company image and more important farmer economics, thus any strategy in rural marketing should be given due attention and importance by understanding the product usage, all elements of marketing mix can be better organized and managed.

Client and Location specific promotion
Increasing specialization in the farming sector has marketers to this strategy. The marketer under this strategy has to design location and carry out farmer specific promotional campaigns. Recommending the use of the products at micro level would result in increasing productivity of the input and thereby increasing the image and the sales of the product can raise the input demand for rural markets.

Joint or co-operative promotion
A personalized approach is required under this strategy of rural marketing. Under this approach there is a greater scope for private sector and farmer organization to get into input supply and especially into retail distribution, as it is a low risk activity.

Bundling of Inputs
In order to reap the benefits of, the economies of the scale a rural marketer has to resort to bundling of inputs. ‘Bundling of Inputs’ is the process by which the marketer would provide a bundle of products to the retailer so that he can meet the requirements of the farmers in one place. The village level co-operatives and other agencies can play an effective role in the distribution of inputs. Establishing linkages with financial agencies and other input sellers can help greatly as the bank credit plays an important role by making the purchase possible.

Management of Demand
A marketer apart from maintaining good supplies in terms of quality and quantity also has to focus on the demand side of the operations also. Continuous market research should be undertaken to assess the buyer’s needs and problems at various levels so that continuous improvements and innovations can be undertaken for a sustainable market performance.

Developmental Marketing
Developmental marketing refers to taking up marketing programmes keeping the development objective in mind and using various managerial and other inputs of marketing to achieve these objectives. A prerequisite for developmental marketing is Development Market Research, which can be termed as the application of marketing research tools and techniques to the problems of development. The research tools of marketing like product testing tests marketing, concept testing and media testing or message test and focus groups are used in this work. The developmental marketing has started to find its roots in India where researchers are using focus groups and products tests to learn more about rural markets and products needs and USPs (Unique Selling Proposition) can be tried out.

Media
Rural marketing uses both kinds of media i.e. the traditional media as well as the modern media. The traditional media includes puppetry, drama, folk theatre e.g. tamsaha, nautanki, street plays, folk songs, wall paintings and proverbs. Marketer uses traditional media because it more accessible, personalized, familiar and carries a high potential for change. The modern media includes the print media, the television and the radio

USP’S (Unique Selling Propositions)
Rural marketers today are trying to emphasize a point of difference in their products that cannot be matched by competitors. Under this approach the communicator figures out what to say to the target audience so as to produce the desired results.
Some of the USP’s of the companies engaged in rural marketing are given below.
Mahindra Tractors- Mera Desh Mera Gaon
Tafe Tractors-Grameen Bharat ki Dhadkan, Tafe ka Massey Ferguson
Swaraj Tractors- Pragati aur Khush-hali ke liye
Escorts- Nayi technique ke sath, Bharosa Jeevan bhar Ka
Eicher-Ghazab ki takat, ghazab ki shaan
Sun Seeds- Grow with Sun
ICI Karate Insecticide- Keedon ka Maha-kaal, Phasal Ka Pehredaar.
Pesticide India- Desh ke liye Phasal Anek, Keedon ke Naash ke liye Foratox Sirf Ek.
Thus the companies use different formats to influence the target audience in order to produce the desired results.

Extension Services
We now that there are several limitations of Rural marketing in the Indian context, this leads to the need for extension services to supplement the efforts of the firms engaged in rural marketing. The various extension services could include credit facilities, competitions among the farmers, educating the farmers regarding the appropriate agricultural practices, etc. Extension services would thus play a crucial role in the development of rural marketing in India.

Ethics in Business.
Ethics occupies a special place in rural marketing, and has been at the heart of all the transactions whether cash or kind. In order to make a lasting impact on the rural clients, the firms need to built a trustful relationship and that is possible by no other means but only by ethical conduct.

Partnership for sustainability
Finally there is a need to build partnership with rural clients for a sustainable business relationship and sustainable marketing relationship. There should be a long-term relationship between the firms and farmers for agro business projects, which are risky, long drawn and technical in nature. Partnership is required in rural marketing business so as to award distributorship to local groups and individuals employing locals, staff secondment in local projects, preferential purchase of local product, training to locals and discount on product supplies in some areas. Rural marketing firms can work with N.G.O’s also because N.G.O’s have better linkages and understanding of the local communities and their problems. For instance Nagarjuna fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd has set up an agro output division which is known as FMS (Farm Management Service) which provides packages to the farmers right form soil testing to post harvest stage of the crop system. The FMS aims at enhancing farm productivity optimizing cost of production, improving economic returns to farmers and enhancing the cost of production and enhancing the produce quality.

Conclusion
Rural marketing in India has still a long way to go, rural marketers have to understand the fact that rural marketing in India has a tremendous potential in our country. Rural marketers should understand this fact and try to tap the huge untapped potential in our country.

REFRENCES
Sukhpal Singh- Rural Marketing Management
Diagram sources- A Developmental approach Vikalpa July-September 1985
Rao KLK and Ramesh tagat: Rural Marketing a developmental approach.

Compiled by- S.Gopalkrishnan