Feb 3 2024

10 Tell-tale Traits of Terrible Leadership

The fact that you have gone beyond the title and started reading this post is proof that tapping into emotions is easy and tapping into negative emotions easier 😊

I have been thumbing through multiple books and articles on leadership and management as part of research that I am doing. That combined with experiences in my own professional life (including yours truly as a leader) have led me to distill my considered opinion into this blog post.

What I am about to present to you are traits that one must be on the lookout for if you are being led and even more so if you are the leader. There are ten tell-traits that one must be wary of. Every leader I know of or have read about has had at least one of these flaws. All leaders, depending on situation and context, are prone to displaying these traits. The challenge and a big one is when these traits are on display consistently.

The score on a scale of 1-10 would have a fictional superhero like character on one end (say Thor) and a villain (Thanos) on the other with Wanda as the inflection point between the forces of good and bad. Fictional for the simple reason, nobody is that perfect or even that flawed! To those unfamiliar with the Marvel Comic Universe – just replace the names with superheroes or villains with whom you are familiar.

So here are the Tell-Tale Traits in no specific order. How many can you associate with yourself or with a leader you know?

Radio Silence: A leader who does not interact often with the team or interacts only when there is a task to be assigned or only on occasion or with an appointment is bound to end up as an unpopular one. Again, this is not to say that one must be an extrovert to be a good leader. It is accessibility that is crucial for leaders. Styles of interaction may differ but one thing that all good leaders do is make an effort to be seen in the trenches.
Control Freak: While it is important to monitor progress, we all have seen leaders who get under your skin with their supervision. A key requirement for a leader is the ability to delegate tasks. There is skill associated with the ability to identify appropriate resources for the task and setting clear success metrics. A skill the Control Freak lacks.
Decision Avoidance: This is thin ice. A leader is expected to be decisive. Procrastination, though avoidable, is still acceptable. After all, situations need to be analyzed and consequences weighed but a leader who constantly avoids taking decisions is trouble incarnate.
Faff over Fact: A leader who often focusses on optics and is happy to gloss over facts is a potential integrity and ethics disaster waiting to happen. Convenient interpretation and cuts of data are a trap. A leader who accepts or looks the other way when a subordinate does it is worse. There will come a time when one too many facts have been overlooked or misrepresented. You do not want to be around when that happens.
Emergency Brake: This is a trait often seen in conjunction with trait three above. A leader who is not fully or deeply engaged is often the one who resorts to the application of emergency brakes. In general, there is a lack of clarity or direction, and conflicting views abound. All work gets stopped, often with little or no explanation. A display of trait three ensues.
Pomp over Purpose: Many new leaders are guilty of this. Some unfortunately continue with it. This is when leaders commission projects and campaigns, hold workshops and events needlessly under the garb of collaboration or building wider, deeper understanding. The return on time and money invested quite frankly is not a consideration nor are “understanding” or “collaboration” well-defined objectives. The idea is not to say no to such exercises, it is doing them with clear outcomes.
Trophy Chaser: Again, there is nothing wrong with ambition or going for the win. If that were the case, there would be no examples from sport or war, especially, when it came to leadership. Winning is important, participation is important. But doing anything for the sake of just that is meaningless. You do not stop during a marathon to win a game of darts!
Firebugs: Some people are busy like a hive. They can multi-task. The challenge is being fickle, not seeing through what has been set into motion to its logical conclusion. Such leaders are firebugs. They have the tendency to light multiple fires, the latest one invariably is priority, and they gather people around that one with scant regard for the status of fires lit previously.
Coterie Bias: It is human to crave attention. We are all vain. Leaders too. Unfortunately, popularity as a leader is something only an exceptional few achieve. Some understand and learn to live with the fact. There are leaders though who create their personal bubble – surround themselves with people who laud them, right or wrong. Over time their reality alters based on facts/fiction that is fed to them. Often this leads to blatant, unapologetic biased opinions. Sycophancy is not just a terrible trait it is a dangerous one!
Fall Guy Hunter: This is a trait that should set alarm bells ringing. A leader is accountable. In the real-world things do go wrong, all of us have at some point in our lives taken wrong decisions, made an inadvertent mistake. Yes, errors need correcting, performance needs improving, and the buck must stop somewhere. The leader has the right to reward or reprimand. That said, the onus is also on them to course correct and deliver. Error detection does not absolve the leader of their duties. Covering up is different from covering for. Mistakes are a test of character all round. A leader who throws his team under the bus is not worthy of his position.

The traits listed above are by no means exhaustive. They are nonetheless, traits that are highly visible/tangible.

A good starting point for all of us whether leaders or leadership aspirants or plain simple contributing units of a professional (even social) structure.

Jan 15 2024

Brand New Resolutions MMXXIV

I know, I know. Resolutions are passé. Nonetheless, I had to vent these thoughts that had been bubbling in my mind for the past few days and what better a way than to write a blog post. Since it was that time of the year I just decided to go ahead and put them in the form of an ancient ABVS tradition.

Without much further ado, let us jump right into my proposed Resolutions for Brands in 2024.

START | Re-imagining Products (&Solutions)

Enough and more has been written, discussed, and debated about how consumer and customer behaviour has seen a paradigm shift post-pandemic. That said, how many brands have re-thought or re-designed or re-organized their offering on account of this change? Not many one would reckon.

All of us acknowledge that it is a more connected world than it was pre-COVID19. Not because the technology was not available but because the adoption of technology had not happened. The pause in commerce in the 2 years of lockdowns has accelerated adoption journeys and tech roadmaps.

Therefore, in an IoT led world with AI making headlines and some real headway, dumb products without connectivity and with little or no user interaction are setting themselves up for failure if not extinction. Brands and more specifically Product Managers need to look hard at the JOB TO BE DONE and introduce some level of intelligence and interactivity in their offerings. The trap to avoid though is it being a lip-service or a gimmick.

STOP | Green-washing

Consumers today are more discerning. Only the brands GENUINELY integrating SUSTAINABLE in their narrative shall be able to or shall we say allowed to reap the rewards. Overtly simple methods of the last century such as using adjectives such as “Natural”, “Organic”, “Traditional” in communication will not work. It’s not just the offering but also the value proposition that needs to be sustained (sustainable).

Yes, there is a consumer who is willing to pay a premium for sustainably produced/sourced/managed products and solutions but that does not mean brands have a birthright to a higher price-point.

All brands sooner or later will need to spell out their vision and sustainability goals. Whether from a compliance perspective or from a consumer preference perspective or a market valuation perspective, brands shall be compelled to share their sustainability dashboards.

MORE OF | Data-driven Marketing

The downside of the social era has been that brands have started to confuse conversations with/ feedback from consumers with primary research, analysis, and culling insight. All marketers do understand that the Voice of Consumer is the starting point not the point itself. It is imperative that brands plan for and ensure that a strong understanding of the consumer/user continues to be the basis for creating products or solving problems.

Any understanding of the market that is built on data, reports and research is paramount and should take precedence over anecdotal evidence.

Research aside, consumer immersion is hygiene and brands should mandate this for their team. Every minute spent observing consumers in their setting is invaluable.

Many of my past colleagues at Nokia have (at that point in time very grudgingly) spent tens if not hundreds of hours in consumer visits. The repository of consumer understanding that the exercises built is something that I am sure all of us bank on till date – it is become the part that has honed our marketing intuition.

LESS OF | Follower Mindset

This is a pet-peeve. Also a sign of a lazy marketing organization. If something has worked for Brand A it is not necessary for Brand B to respond with a “Me Too”. Caution here is not to confuse this with being a fast-follower which isa well-accepted strategic approach.

A follower mindset is by definition reactive. Marketing teams that craft quick communication or value propositions based on market feedback beware. The battle for counter-share and shelf-share shall always force sales teams to demand an equivalent for a competitor’s new launch or variant. It is incumbent on the Marketers in the organisation to alter value for the consumers.

So be it a extra-lathering shaving cream or extra-whitening soap with dirt busters, the response cannot and should not be bigger, better, faster, more alone.

Points mentioned in the START and MORE OF if adopted should help brands come up with better ideas.

Here’s wishing all fellow marketers a great 2024!

Nov 25 2023

Building Brands Intelligently in an Era of Artificial Intelligence

What is a brand? What does it take to build one? Who builds the brand – the marketing team, the product or service by virtue of its delivery of promise? Assuming one can be built is it possible for it to transform?

Questions that would make the best of marketers and gurus pause to reflect and collect their thoughts before they ventured an opinion.

Yes, you read that right! An opinion!! Likely a studied or considered one but opinion, nonetheless. Now, the author doesn’t claim to be an expert marketer either but sure is a passionate one. The very same passion that has brought the author to publish a post on ABVS after a long, very long time!

Most brands have a multi-layered existence that operates in a 3-dimensional space with the so-called 4^th dimension being time. These layers tend to thicken over a period of existence during which every brand evolves, becoming more certain, contextual, and relevant.

Let’s understand the layers first.

The Brand Construct

The innermost part (but naturally) is the Core of the brand. The core, as the word is defined in the dictionary, is the part that is central to the existence of the brand. The core of a brand is not unlike the calling that we humans oft struggle to find.

The questions that need answers are what am I about? What do I stand for?

The brand like all of us may well spend its lifetime trying to answer these questions. Also, much like us humans the brand also contends or grapples with these questions after having been in existence for a while. Very rarely, almost never is a brand born ready with answers to these questions. Greater understanding of this shall emerge when we look at the 3 dimensions of a brand’s existence.

The next layer is the brand’s Essence. This is the layer that defines the playground for the brand or articulates the stage that the brand performs on.

The core and the essence of the brand often are to be articulated for and understood more by those who build it. The outcomes of doing so manifest in the layers that surround.

The third layer is the one where the brand starts becoming more lifelike as its starts defining its own principles and standards of behaviour. Values give a window to and answer what drives or motivates a brand.

Persona is the fourth layer of the brand. This is the layer that starts giving the brand a voice; answering the questions what do I say and how do I say it?

Legacy is the outermost layer, the one that is all about the impact. What stays behind after you figured out your calling, performed on the stage, demonstrated what drives you and said what you wanted to the way you wanted say it.

Individually all the above are just words but collectively, they make an entity. One that is felt, seen, has a personality, stands for something and yes, gets talked about – a BRAND!

Before we move on to the dimensions of a brand’s existence it would be prudent to understand what we talked about with the help of an example.

The author mulled many different ones before settling upon BMW.

In sync with the times yours truly resorted to ChatGPT to “Describe BMW as a brand” (refer screenshot).

The answer that ChatGPT put forth is what this author shall use to build his theory of brand construct.

Sidenote: At this point, it makes sense to reiterate that the purpose of this article/post is to evoke/stimulate thought hence agreements and disagreements, mild or vehement are welcome. Please do leave your thoughts in the comments.

The CORE of brand BMW is “engineering”. When you start with an aircraft engine and then move to motorcycles and automobiles innovation is a given and therefore the ESSENCE of the brand. The VALUES of brand BMW are described by their “focus on driving performance”. BMWs ready association with “sophistication and cutting-edge technology” are indicative of its PERSONA. Finally, the brands “commitment to delivering a distinctive and exhilarating driving experience” is bound to be its LEGACY.

Overtly simple in retrospect? Not really, it has taken over a 100yrs of the brand being in existence for it to have the ability to be summarized so succinctly.

Which brings us to the dimensions of that hopefully, courtesy all that we have talked about explain themselves on their own.

Nonetheless, the 3-dimensional space that all brands operate in are as follows:

Feeling

Thinking and

Social

Time speaks for itself as the 4^th dimension.

Now the FEELING dimension is all about how a brand makes one feel. It is the tangible, experiential aspect of the brand. Continuing the BMW example. “Sheer driving pleasure”

The THINKING dimension delves into the evocative and subliminal aspects of the brand viz “innovative” and finally the SOCIAL dimension is projective and provocative – “sophistication/luxury/premium”.

All of which need TIME to build, consolidate and get entrenched into the psyche of the audience.

Summing up, a brand is so much more than a name that we choose.

A brand is the sum total of the experience that it delivers, the problems it helps solve, the job it gets done, the way it makes “me” feel, the way “you” see me, and the way the “world” shall remember the brand, you and me for having created and consumed it.

All of that, through its 5 layers and 3-dimensions!

May 15 2023

Understanding the Alpha

CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT; so the adage goes. However, is EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE necessarily the sequitur? Is it always the case with ALPHAs or is that just a convenient stereotype?

I was watching a wildlife documentary recently and the parallels between corporate and jungle were drawing themselves out. I also remembered reading an article that mentioned that alphas make up to 70% of all senior executives.

While the concept largely drawn from primates and wolf packs, is based on the behaviour of the males of the species, we shall, for the purpose of this post remain gender agnostic.

Given the statistic quoted above, I have seen several people who would fit the ALPHA bill in my two decade plus experience. Some have been bosses, some peers and yet others subordinate as far as the hierarchical structure is concerned. Continuing the inherent sexual overtone to ALPHA behaviour, my observations are as much based on the dominatrices as they are on the dominators.

There fundamentally are two types of ALPHAs

Category A – The Bully

The minority that drives the stereotype. This category of ALPHAs is more about the self and hence the traits that they manifest are not necessarily all positive.

The belief system of The Bully is founded on the thoughts below:

Power Demands (brazen) Display

Demonstrated power is a cornerstone for the bully. It can range from bravado to violence. The bully revels in a blood-bath and often relies on upheaval to signal change.

Zero Sum Game

If there’s a winner there HAS to be a loser. It is not sufficient for the bully to succeed. The bully often relies on painting someone or something as the loser. The bully needs (sometimes shall create) the binary for credibility.

Spoils Only to the Victors

The binary is extended to apportioning of the resources. The Bully shares the rewards with a select few creating a visible divide between the haves and the have nots.

Citadels Are Built on Ruins

This is an unfortunate hallmark of The Bully. They believe that for the new order to come into existence the old order has to be erased. The Bully invariably dismantles the old without thought or consideration.

Coteries and Sycophants

What usually starts-off with attraction to personal charisma of the ALPHA is gradually replaced by privileges. The loyalty of course, is continuously diminishing. Since a coterie of sycophants is encouraged over counsel, it invariably leads to the downfall of The Bully.

Category B – The Genuine Leader

Fortunately, the majority. They are the ones who manifest the positive aspects. They are confident and usually in control – both of the situation and their self. They win the trust of the tribe by solving problems. They are judicious in their use of consensus building and taking unilateral decisions.

The ethos of Leaders revolves around:

Exemplary Courage

The Genuine Leader has a positive attitude with a bias for action. They would rather fail trying than not attempting. They are impatient but only with inaction. Success and failure, therefore, are mere outcomes.

Handling Change

The Leader is driven by a vision. Able to deal with ambiguity, a good leader builds a bridge over the troubled waters by breaking it down into simpler steps for the tribe. Change if external, is not feared. If internal, has purpose.

Equitable

A genuine leader is able to rise above personal likes or dislikes. They have a utilitarian view of their team and therefore is able to task and reward without playing favourites.

Trust Built Authentically

The Leader delivers on his commitments. Failures if, where, and when are addressed instead of passing blame, being brushed aside or given justifications for.

Line of Succession

Leaders plan. They can visualize a world without themselves in it. Succession, for the genuine leaders is not as much about continuity of stake as it is about sustaining growth. A good leader is unafraid of naming a successor.

From an anthropological perspective, whether it is corporate life or life in general, it is important to understand the ALPHA.

So, which kind of ALPHA do you see when you look around in your organization?

Are you the ALPHA that others are seeing? If so, which kind?

Dec 29 2017

Brand New Resolutions MMXVIII

Here’s the good thing about resolutions. You get to make new ones regardless of having lived up to them!

ABVS is back with its 4th edition of Brand New Resolutions MMXVIII. Here goes..

Start | Looking at BRAND COMMUNITIES seriously.

We have read about them and perhaps even are a part of them. There are very few brands though that realise the goldmine that they are sitting (or not sitting) on. We live in an era of co-creation. Brands especially consumer brands today are a lot more in the perception/imagination zone than they were ever before. What has changed? The level of consumer involvement, the accessibility and more importantly the influenceablity!

In an Indian context, some brands that have already a community feel to them are Bullet (Royal Enfield) and the surprise candidate Maggi (Nestle). The community in fact rescued the brand during its quality crisis a couple of years ago. Brands like Renault and Sunsilk also have tried their hand at building communities but they were lacking sufficient amount of emotional adhesive!

ABVS hopes more brands (re)evaluate their potential and give communities a serious thought!

Stop | Randomly using SUNNY LEONE for brand endorsements.

http://bit.ly/2zLvEXO

Yes this was in the less of category last year and no I have nothing against the lady in question. These random celeb endorsements really have to stop! While it was Pierce Brosnan last year it’s Sunny Leone Dholpur Ghee TVC this year. Brand managers/business owners who chose SUNNY LEONE as their ambassador need to really think hard rather than just feed a fetish! Came across this ghee (India clarified butter) ad. What were they thinking?

More of | Re-imagination. An INDIA take on things.

The way BIRA has built it’s product and brand over the past couple of years has been amazing. The beer is giving a serious fight to some premium beer brands of international stature. The beauty of it all an Indian take has not meant “MASALA FLAVOUR”. Another example from the same category is “Amrut” a brand of Indian Single Malts that has stormed the high castle of the Whisky world. So here’s looking forward to more Indian takes that are aimed for the world.

Less of | REINFORCING STEREOTYPES

http://bit.ly/2Ch5At0

Perhaps the makers of these ads did not approach it that way. Perhaps they thought they were actually quelling the associated stereotypes. I use these two ads as examples of how stereotypes get reinforced. The problem? The messaging of these ads is nuanced. The audience these brands target not necessarily so. In wanting to depict a new, evolving face of modern India the communication of these brands has in my humble opinion has reinforced the stereotypes.

http://bit.ly/2Eajs6o

A working woman needs to cook for her mom-in-law, that there is a difference in saying Mummy and Mummy ji, that contribution to a household has to be in cash etc. etc. Our culture code and conditioning might just filter the progressive message. It’s about time communication took stereotypes head on and not in a round about fashion.

Dec 8 2017

Aye Aye, Captain! Lessons in Leadership from Indian Cricket

AyeAyeCaptain We are a cricket crazy nation or at least have been one ever since I can remember.

My love for watching cricket catapulted into a new orbit one summer day in June 1983 when India won the Cricket World Cup or the Prudential Cup as it was called.

It’s been a long journey since then with India reaching the top spot in Test Rankings, winning the T20 World Cup and then the ODI World Cup again in 2011. There was of course more glory along the way in the form of victories at other prestigious international tournaments.

As crazy as we are for the sport, we are crazier when it comes to the players often elevating them to cult even “god” status.

Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Tendulkar, Dhoni and now Virat their popularity has been or even is unprecedented. Nowhere in the world do players receive greater adulation than in India.

Often the stars are the game! While individuals can give superlative performances that determine outcomes or have their moment in the sun by setting records – the fact is that Cricket is a team sport.

It is good teams that win and the truly great teams are one that win consistently. That said, teams are what their leaders make them believe they are.

Belief, confidence, that’s what leaders instill. Great leaders are not necessarily the best at what they do but more often than not they are the most consistent at it.

There have been many good captains in the history of Indian cricket. Each having contributed to what Indian cricket is today. But there are 5 that stand out in my mind as the greatest captains to have led India. They are:

Kapil Dev – The captain who taught India that they could indeed win!

Most anecdotes around the 1983 World Cup win are around how the Indian team in general did not believe that they would last beyond the initial stages – save Kapil Dev. The Haryana Hurricane not really a great communicator kept pushing his players into believing that they could indeed win by his performance on the field. His knock against Zimbabwe baptised the entire dressing room in a span of a few hours.

Azharuddin – The captain who taught India that they could win again and again!

The controversy surrounding him apart. The charm of watching Mohd. Azharuddin on the field whether while batting or fielding is undeniable. Just like he could flick most any ball from off, middle or leg towards the leg-side or take catch after catch, he taught India that they could win time and again. The 14 test victories and 90 ODI victories under Azhar proved that the wins that started post World Cup 1983 were not just a purple patch!

Ganguly – The captain who taught India that they could win against anyone, anywhere!

Not only did Ganguly go on to better win-loss-draws record once he took over as captain the wins under him were against almost all the best teams. This puts him in a different league. He led India to test and even series wins against mighty Australians, South Africans and the English at home and away! Till then the perception (some would argue it still is) about India was that they were tigers that roared only in their own den. Under Ganguly India actually won more tests abroad than they won at home!

M.S.Dhoni – The captain who taught India that they could win against anyone, anywhere and from any situation!

Dhoni is arguably the most impactful captain that India has had thus far. One may say that Dhoni’s impact as captain was largely in the shorter (later shortest) formats of the game. However, it cannot be denied that it was under his captaincy in 2009 that India ascended to the top of the ICC test rankings. Yes the ranking system itself came about in 2001 but it still was dominated by the likes of Australia and South Africa. Dhoni essentially converted the Indian unit into a machine sans emotions. Going about business regardless of the situation and with the ability to crank it up a few notches. Games are essentially won and lost owing to brief passages of play where the initiative is up for grabs. Dhoni had a knack or the ability to identify these passages and wresting the iniative from the opposition. Yes under Dhoni the away performance did dip but the context and concept of winning changed.

Finally, Virat Kohli – The captain who is teaching India that they can win against anyone, anywhere, from any situation again and again.

The story of Virat’s captaincy and that of India under him is still unfolding. As I write this piece India has just won nine consecutive test series and prior to this seven odd series wins when the won the series against New Zealand. It’s not been often that a star, a captain and his team have been this scorching hot. Kohli with his own no compromises leadership style is writing history the only way he knows – his way!

Five leaders across five generations each giving something that on hindsight dove-tailed into the next great transformation that India made as a cricketing nation.

Lessons perhaps for leaders of nations and corporate world alike.

Belief is the prime ingredient for success. Those who do not see themselves winning or succeeding often never do!
Confidence stems from the conviction of one’s abilities. Great leaders are invariably great judges of strengths (their own, their team and the competition) and play to them while denying the opposition theirs.
Success is a journey and not a destination. Great leaders know this and always protect the foundation, continuously improving/strengthening it.
Building on something yields far better results than starting things from scratch. Great leaders never let ego get in the way of recognising the good done by their predecessors.

Dec 30 2016

Brand New Resolutions MMXVII

Yeah yeah someone hasn’t really lived up to his resolution of at least one post a month on ABVS. The lack of posts notwithstanding there has been a steady increase in the people following ABVS on Facebook and Twitter. So let me end the year on a thank you note and propose the customary Brand New Resolutions for 2017.

Start | Thinking about the environmental costs of your operations

Yes! And all aspects of impact not just the in vogue concepts such as effluents and carbon footprint. Brands as organisations need to lead the change. The long hours, the long drives it all adds up doesn’t it. How about mandatory Work from Home for 20% of the staff every day? That would take 20% traffic off the streets on a daily basis across modes of transport. How about having no fixed no long hours days in a week? At least a day in every office where things close down on time. No ACs running while for four individuals in an office of four hundred! Sure the feared loss of productivity shall be more than made up.

Stop | Tele-calling: More importantly violating DND!

This one goes out especially for the financial product brands. I don’t know of anyone who actually has benefitted from the unsolicited advice or has actually gone ahead and bought something as a resultant of such a call. Acquaintances in the know of the business though tell me otherwise. With all due respect there at least needs to be far lesser invasion of privacy. A relook at the frequency, Do-not-disturb etc. is sure warranted.

More of | Brand Extensions that are Relevant

Was heart-warming to see Paper Boat introduce Chikki.

Not too sure how successful the exercise has been. Several factors such as pricing and distribution etc. shall determine the fate but presume its early days yet and wish the product the success it deserves.

More of | Incentivizing Cashless Transactions

I know the Wallet companies have mastered the art of cash-back and discounts for consumers. It’s time now for the brands to give fillip to the dream of a less-cash economy if not a cash-less one. There is room for improvement and even some savings in the last mile of distribution if cash-less transactions are implemented.

Less of | Random Celeb Endorsement

The shocker of Pierce Brosnan holding up a tin of Pan Masala in a full page ad is the example that comes to mind.

To the brands credit the category has for forever been trying to connect the habit of chewing pan masala to being classy even regal. Perhaps the Ashok Kumars, the Shammi Kapoors and more recently the Manoj Bajpais of the world were palatable. Getting Pierce Brosnan to endorse perhaps pushed the envelope a bit too far.

Dec 29 2015

Brand New Resolutions MMXVI

Hello!

Thank you all those who kept your faith in A Brand View Story…I am conscious that this blog lost its steam post April this year! Guess this is what happens if you back RaGa as a brand. Well…the real reason was that I got busy with the launch of my debut novel Eighteen The End Of Innocence. Incidentally though I started the morning with a troll on RaGa..so I am gonna give him a break and come back to Brand New Resolutions for 2016. We are gonna stick to my by now familiar format so here goes…

BrandNewResolutions2016
START

Sustainable Packaging. Made a train journey recently and trust me the sight along the railway tracks was not a pleasant one. Tonnes of branded litter just lying around. From PET bottles to bags of wafers there they were strewn across boldly displaying their brands. If plastic is bad for the environment and use of paper leads to cutting of trees isn’t it about time we had more environmentally sustainable options? I would pay a rupee more if I had to. Hoping we all would.

STOP

Overcharging! This one is a plea more as a consumer. A lot many restaurants organized and stand alone alike take their customers for a ride when they present the bill. This overcharging is mainly done under the garb of taxation. Larger populace is ignorant or unaware with regard to the taxes that are applicable when they are dining out and succumb to this con. It is not appropriate to take names or paint the industry with a broad brush but it is reality that a sizable number indulge in this malpractice. It would bode well for chains if they ensured their billing practices are in accordance with the law. Fortunately for them India is not a land where class action suits are filed else quite a few brands could potentially be caught on the wrong side of law.

MORE OF

Wearables! We have seen a flurry of watches in 2015 on Android and iOS platforms and they certainly have piqued curiosity in many of us. Would like to see this go beyond watches during 2016 and within the watches space itself; more utility apps would be nice to see.

Non-cricket leagues! It was heartening to see brands support sport other than cricket. The Football league, Kabbadi league, Tennis league all survived another season. The fact that TV ratings saw an increase for Kabbadi and also for the Football league (except on days when there was cricket featuring India) augurs well for both the future of the sport and the potential that exists for brands.

LESS OF

Meaningless Brand Associations with Bollywood movies. Believe that brands tend to risk their credibility when they associate with motion pictures. These associations more often than not are led by stars rather than any synergies between the content/story-line of the film itself. Brands would do better than to just chase good money behind their brand ambassadors bad professional choices.

Apr 20 2015

Brand #RaGa Break-out

Nobody seems to be sparing a thought for a man once touted to be the future Prime Minister of India. The past year (slightly more) have possibly formed a part of a nightmare that Indian National Congress Vice-President – Rahul Gandhi (and many around him) would be hoping ends soon.
If one were to put it simply the ABC’s of this trauma are his recent ABSENCE from the political scene, what is widely seen as his strategic BLUNDER – his interview with Arnab Goswami in the lead up to the General elections last year and getting caught CATNAPPING on camera a debate in the parliament.
Ever since Mr. Rahul Gandhi has become butt of all ridicule with fresh jokes viralling on social media almost on a daily basis. Come to think of it, haven’t been passed on the good old Santa-Banta jokes for some time now!
On a serious note, who hasn’t made mistakes in life? At a time when most articles, reports and posts across media are taking the poor man to the cleaners – here’s a post that says “Give the man a break!”
A Brand View Story proposes the following 9P’s for Brand #RaGa

Presence
If their previous Prime Minister was hounded for being silent then #RaGa has been hounded for being absent! It’s not just his recent sabbatical that is in question. The opposition has often used terms like “tourist” to imply his part-time interest in politics.
Therefore PRESENCE is an imperative if Brand #RaGa has to make a comeback. By this we don’t just mean physical presence but we mean skin in the game! His personal commitment shouldn’t ever be a matter of discussion.
Purge
The Indian National Congress has often been found guilty of inaction against deadwood. It’s high time the congress eliminates in one fair swoop a host of people who are known liabilities and loose cannons. Yes, it will not go down well for a short while but the Congress will be better for it. If #RaGa wants to be seen as the boss he needs to act like one!
Promote
This one needs to be viewed in conjunction with the previous P. The organisation definitely does not lack talent. What it perhaps has been missing is an open acknowledgement! The extreme focus on one ‘family’ has been the signature of the congress. Even today the replacement for #RaGa is his sister Priyanka. This needs to change. #RaGa needs to build and openly announce a ‘guiding coalition’. Yes democracy is needed in the long run and the congress needs to put up a transparent system in place for talent to bubble up.
Professionals and Professionalism
Why should politics be the last refuge for scoundrels? Why can it not be a career choice for professionals? Why not corporatize? These are questions that have often been asked but seldom answered. Shouldn’t potential law makers and administrators themselves be aware of the laws or adept at management?
This is an opportunity for #RaGa. If he needs to appeal to the aspiring youth of the nation he needs to operate like a corporate and it cannot be just limited to hiring agencies anymore. #RaGa office needs to be work on the lines of that of Bollywood stars; teams of salaried professionals. Gone are the days of the zarda chewing, diary jotting secretary! It’s time to get the economists, the market researchers, the marketing and finance guys etc. to manage different aspects of your brand.
Sycophants and people with entitlement need to make way for people with qualifications and performance.
Positivity
This is a tough P given the circumstances and needs to flow from #RaGa himself. As they say in Sanskrit “Manasa, vaacha, karamana” i.e. in thought, word and deed. Brand #RaGa needs a copious dose of positivity. Quick wins need to identified and they coupled with some of the other P’s should get things moving.
Preparation
Malcom Gladwell talks about the 10,000 hour rule in his book Outliers. #RaGa himself and his team need to prepare like mad if they are to be seen as true contenders. Yes he has been around in the political arena for over 10 years. He should by now have mastered the ropes of politicking but the perception is still that of someone who is a novice. He comes across as someone who is under prepared, superficial. #RaGa needs to be ready with the stats and sources and needs to be comfortable with the subject of his speech. His speech on return from his holiday helped neither the cause of the farmers he purportedly stood for nor his own cause.
Plank & Promise
In his much ridiculed interview with Arnab #RaGa mentioned his priorities over and over and over again regardless of what the question was.
i. Changing a system that is “unfair” to people everyday
ii. Empowering women
iii. Democratization and decentralization of power
iv. Right to information
All noble causes to espouse yet he failed to impress the millions that watched glued to their screens.
Brand #RaGa doesn’t need a new plank or promise. What is required is a visible, tangible action and delivery on the above. The opportunity to start is available right at home. Puppet organisations like NSUI and Youth Congress do not count. The changes have to be in the Big Boys League!
Propagate – Paint the Picture
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither can brand #RaGa be. The brand values of “Change”, “Empowerment” and “Transparency” need to be codified. People at large need to understand these terms from the perspective of Brand #RaGa.
Participation
This is a connected world. Brands are conceived behind closed doors by a small group of individuals and decision makers however they evolve and breathed life into by millions who interact with it. Brand #RaGa needs to involve the people (few as they maybe) who have faith in it. Give them a stake in the brand. A lot can be learnt from the success of participative politics in India. An old congress war cry of “Swaraj” is now appropriated by someone else. Brand #RaGa needs to allow itself to break free from its manicured, protected image.

Those are A Brand View Story’s two cents. We hope we see Brand #RaGa adopt some of these P’s and rise up to the challenge. Old wine new bottle or re-branding or re-launch call it what you may but this tale is far from over.

As they say, time only will tell!

Apr 13 2015

Brand Supernovas

How many times have brands or companies simply be-dazzled you with their products, communication, pace of innovation, service delivery etc and then suddenly dropped off the planet?

Not often, but I bet most of us would come up with an example or two.

Got thinking on similar lines and tried racking my brains to come up with a list my own. Funny thing with lists though is that you want the number of items on it to reach a nice round figure. What I figured was; whatever number that you can get to without stretching the core thought is probably the right number to have on the list. I am sure you nodded your head to that one.

Before I started writing this post I looked up the term “Supernova” in the dictionary

su·per·no·va (so͞o′pər-nō′və)

A rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of a star and resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy. Depending on the type of supernova, the explosion may completely destroy the star, or the stellar core may survive to become a neutron star.

I have for the purpose of this post highlighted what I believe are the operative parts.

Before I go on to cite examples let me establish the basic premise which is, a successful brand is the coming together of a great product or service and communication that resonates with the consumer leading to a distinctive identity, a marked preference and a position of leadership. Now, that’s an elevator pitch definition of brand success that covers most if not all bases.

Now brands fade for a variety of reasons and hundreds go into oblivion every day. Mostly because they didn’t deliver on the promise that they made. Reasons could be they stopped being relevant or they got complacent or they were poorly managed etc. The very opposite at one time or the other must have got them to the top. It is however important to make a distinction between brand supernovas and brand fads.

Brand supernovas are the ones that seemed to have got it right. Well atleast for a while.

Now for the examples. Here are brands that shot up high and lit up the horizon while they were at it. Almost all these brands had a great product/service idea that went down extremely well with consumers, customers and investors. Not all of them spent big bucks on advertising and communication but they sure captured more than a fair share of imagination – to the extent that nobody imagined them going bust.

Napster: A pioneer in more ways than one. Based on a brilliant insight and a sound technology Napster shot to fame towards the end of the last millennium. It is said that Napster at its peak had over 80Mn registered users, a number to die for even in today’s socially hyper-connected world. Legal troubles signaled the beginning of the end. While the brand attempted a comeback, the magic didn’t simply happen. What Napster did was permanently alter how record labels perceived and carried out their business.

Iridium: You had seen this kind of stuff only in James Bond movies before and these folks made it happen for real. Well almost! This service and technology was not only introduced ahead of its time but also prematurely. The “Everywhere” promise the brand made could not be delivered effectively for the lack of satellite arrangements. An out of the world investment (pun intended) in putting all those satellites meant an extremely highly priced service to the end users but more than that the fact that it didn’t work as promised took the wind out of Iridiums sails. They had to close shop but not before they had captured the world’s attention and imagination.

Kingfisher Airlines: An example from closer home. Their acquisition of Air Deccan established them as one of the leaders of the airlines industry in India. Their promise of a “good time” had people queuing up. The Branson’esque flamboyance of the owner helped the airline get more than its fair share of attention. They took a leaf out of PanAm by leading an explicit but unstated promise of stewardesses who were good enough to walk the ramp as models. The airline eventually was grounded as it ran up debts way beyond its ability to pay. The Kingfisher wasn’t flying anymore! It can be argued that the entire fiasco did not have a positive impact on the original brand of beer by the same name and on the holding company.

Coming back, the three brands did have a great product/service that gave them a distinct identity and a position of leadership. However, mismanagement in some form or the other led to the brands fading away but not before they had lit up the sky!