admin

admin

These posts are from various sources like Shodhganga, Inflibnet, National Digital Library, Google, various websites etc. for everyone's reference. These posts should help the readers, scholers to do further research and get insight of the research topics. Article sources, authors are mentioned against all the blog topics.

Newspaper industry is closely related with every class of the society. That is why, newspapers are called opinion makers, powerful weapon of the democracy. Marketing management problems of local newspapers as well as regional newspapers can't be solved easily. Now, government permitted foreign investment in this industry. So, more problems will be created. Regional newspapers can stand in this cutthroat competition. But it is very difficult to survive for local newspapers, may be in Nashik or anywhere else in the country. Local newspapers must be survived because, they are only helping hand for local people, people from villages.

This kind of study, hence get importance in this context. This kind of study is (might be) undertaken for the first time in marathi newspaper's industry. Researcher is senior journalist working with reputed Daily Sakal. So, gathering the information from other newspapers was difficult & challenging job. But humble efforts are made to solve the problems. This subject have current utility but still it has remained unexplored. This study is very objective & well analysed. Whatever area has been covered & discussed in this study, is made with unbiased & unprejudice manner. Recommandations are based on existing positions. The conclusion & Suggesssions of the study, indicated the awareness of the need for giving a qualitative system of local marathi newspapers in Maharashtra.

1. Little Chance Of Survival

From the data collected & analysed, it can be concluded that there is a little chance of survival for local newspapers in future. Thirty out of Fifty i.e. 60% respondent readers strongly agreed that there is little chance of survival for local newspapers in Nashik, while 20% did not agree. Remaining readers unable to answer about it. Before ten years ago , leading local newspaper Gavkari's circulation was 70 thousand, now it is 30 to 45 thousand copies per day. Lokmat & Sakal, which are regional newspapers, started new schemes for readers & newspaper agents. This affected the survival of local newspapers. The quality of local newspapers is bad at many level than regional newspapers. It is also responsible for 'survival. Lokmat started ifs edition in Nashik before five years & achieved ';the circulation of one-lakh copies per day within one year. It means the readers of local newspapers diverted to this newspaper. After Lokmat, Sakal is having 60 thousand circulation per day, and is at second position. Sakal started to give six supplements in a week while Lokmat tied up with The Asian Age'. Due to qualitative newspapers like Sakal & Lokmat, many traditional readers of local newspapers turned to them. This is the opinion of the readers. Central Government recently allowed foreign print media to invest in India. If it happened then strong newspapers can offer their copy for 50 paisa or even free for certain penod. This competition, if reached in local market, then local newspaper will vanish from the market. To face this challenge, local newspapers should improve the quality, management must make healthy attitude & should make hard efforts, start new schemes immidietly.

2) Inferior Quality At All Level

Customers wants qualitative product at cheaper price. Quality of news papers includes, good lay out, fresh news, impressive printing, good quality of reporters & editors, quality of news print, news network. investigative reporting,immagination,vision etc. Fourty out of 50 respondent readers as well as 30 out of 50 respondent newspaper agents stated that quality of local newspapers is inferior at all level. While only 10 percent satisfied with the quality of local newspapers. 25 women readers out of 50, said that, they read regional news papers because their is special page for women. They expeted it from local newspapers. The managem.enl of regional newspapers like sakal never compromise with quality. Same is the case of Maharashtra Times & Loksatta, which are popular in Nasik Regional newspapers are using imported printing machinery, photo scanners, phnters, computers, newsphnt. This gives superior quality. While Local newspapers hardly use imported machinery. Their older machinery gives poor quality which affects circulation. Local newspapers should improve printing quality, make investment in imported machinery, should trained the personnel, give different & fresh news & layouts, should start qualitative columns for women and children which are Important readers.

3) Wrong Attitude Of The Management & Personnel

The progress of a person or an organisation depends upon it's attitude If the attitude is strong, goal is specified & efforts are made in that direction then success is achieved. The Management of local news papers still don't accept the fact, that there is great challenge by regional newspapers. Only 20 percent respondent subeditors agreed that there is a challenge, while 70 percent strongly disagreed, remaining 10 percent could not answer or avoided to answer. Same is the case of management & personnel. Above 60.5 percent management respondents disagreeed, while 15.5 percent respondents agreed & 20 percent did not comment. In case of newspapers agent respondents, 10 percent categorily mentioned that attitude of the management must changed, 30 percent replied in favour of management. It is fact that market share of local newspapers is reducing day to day. To change the situation, personnel & management of local newspapers should make attitude healthy, wrong concepts must be thrown out, should prepare perfect planning & work in that direction collectively.

Author Dr. Shelar, Balkrishna Ambadas

Before describing the different research designs, it will be appropriate to explain the various concepts relating to designs so that these may be better and easily understood.

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source.

1. Dependent and independent variables:

A concept which can take on different quantitative values is called a variable. As such the concepts like weight, height, income are all examples of variables. Qualitative phenomena (or the attributes) are also quantified on the basis of the presence or absence of the concerning attribute(s). Phenomena which can take on quantitatively different values even in decimal points are called 'continuous variables'. * But all variables are not continuous. If they can only be expressed in integer values, they are non-continuous variables or in statistical language' discrete variables '. ** Age is an example of continuous variable, but the number of children is an example of noncontinuous variable. If one variable depends upon or is a consequence of the other variable, it is termed as a dependent variable, and the variable that is antecedent to the dependent variable is termed as an independent variable. For instance, if we say that height depends upon age, then height is a dependent variable and age is an independent variable. Further, if in addition to being dependent upon age, height ~so depends upon the individual's sex, then height is a dependent variable and age and sex are independent variables. Similarly, readymade fil1 and lectures are examples of independent variables, whereas behavioural changes, occurring as a result of the environmental manipulations, are examples of dependent variables.

2. Extraneous variable:

Independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the dependent variable are termed as extraneous variables. Suppose the researcher wants to test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between children's gains in social studies achievement and their self-concepts. In this case self-concept is an independent variable and social studies achievement is a dependent variable. Intelligence may as well affect the social studies achievement, but since it is not related to the purpose of the study undertaken by the researcher, it will be termed as an extraneous variable. Whatever effect is noticed on dependent variable as a result of extraneous variable(s) is technically described as an 'experimental error'. A study must always be so designed that the effect upon the dependent variable is attributed entirely to the independent variable( s), and not to some extraneous variable or variables.

3. Control:

One important characteristic of a good research design is to minimise the influence or effect of extraneous variable(s). The technical term 'control' is used when we design the study minimising the effects of extraneous independent variables. In experimental researches, the term 'control' is used to refer to restrain experimental conditions.

4. Confounded Relationship:

When the dependent variable is not free from the influence of extraneous variable(s), the relationship between the dependent and independent variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variable(s).

5. Research:

hypothesis when a prediction or a hypothesised relationship is to be tested by scientific methods, it is termed as research hypothesis. The research hypothesis is a predictive statement that relates an independent variable to a dependent variable. Usually a research hypothesis must contain, at least, one independent and one dependent variable. Predictive statements which are not to be objectively verified or the relationships that are assumed but not to be tested are not termed research hypotheses.

6. Experimental and non-experimental hypothesis-testing research:

When the purpose of research is to test a research hypothesis, it is termed as hypothesis-testing research. It can be of the experimental design or of the non-experimental design. Research in which the independent variable is manipulated is termed 'experimental hypothesis-testing research' and a research in which an independent variable is not manipulated is called 'nonexperimental hypothesis-testing research’. For instance, suppose a researcher wants to study whether intelligence affects reading ability for a group

1) A continuous variable is that which can assume any numerical value within a specific range.

2) A variable for which the individual values fall on the scale only with distinct gaps is called a discrete variable.

Of students and for this purpose he randomly selects 50 students and tests their intelligence and reading ability by calculating the coefficient of correlation between the two sets of scores. This is an example of non-experimental hypothesis-testing research because herein the independent variable, intelligence, is not manipulated. But now suppose that our researcher randomly selects 50 students from a group of students who are to take a course in statistics and then divides them into two groups by randomly assigning 25 to Group A, the usual studies programme, and 25 to Group B, the special studies programme. At the end of the course, he administers a test to each group in order to judge the effectiveness of the training programme on the student's performance-level. This is an example of experimental hypothesistesting research because in this case the independent variable, viz., the type of training programme, is manipulated.

7. Experimental and control groups:

In an experimental hypothesis-testing research when a group is exposed to usual conditions, it is termed a 'control group', but when the group is exposed to some novel or special condition, it is termed an 'experimental group'. In the above illustration, the Group A can be called a control group and the Group Ban experimental group. If both groups A and B are exposed to special studies programmes, then both groups would be termed 'experimental groups.' It is possible to design studies which include only experimental groups or studies which include both experimental and control groups.

8. Treatments:

The different conditions under which experimental and control groups are put are usually referred to as 'treatments'. In the illustration taken above, the two treatments are the usual studies programme and the special studies programme. Similarly, if we want to determine through an experiment the comparative impact of three varieties of fertilizers on the yield of wheat, in that case the three varieties of fertilizers will be treated as three treatments.

9. Experiment:

The process of examining the truth of a statistical hypothesis, relating to some research problem, is known as an experiment. For example, we can conduct an experiment to examine the usefulness of a certain newly developed drug. Experiments can be of two types viz., absolute experiment and comparative experiment. If we want to determine the impact of a fertilizer on the yield of a crop, it is a case of absolute experiment; but if we want to determine the impact of one fertilizer as compared to the impact of some other fertilizer, our experiment then will be termed as a comparative experiment. Often, we undertake comparative experiments when we talk of designs of experiments.

10. Experimental Unit(s):

The pre-determined plots or the blocks, where different treatments are Ed, are known as experimental units. Such experimental units must be selected (defined) very carefully.

Authour Dr. R. Balasubramani

Over the last 31 years of my life, I’ve learned a lot through my experiences. These experiences include:

. Having my articles featured on Forbes, Business Insider, Fortune and Inc.

. Starting two companies and building 4 top 100 apps in different categories

. 10 years in the technology industry at amazing companies like Cisco, VMware, Box and Optimizely

. Writing a book on Amazon that hit #1 in the resumes category with over 40,000 Kindle downloads And today, I’ll be sharing with you my top 100 tips on work, life hacks and life lessons.

To make it easier to read, I’ve categorized this into three categories for you:

Work tips #1-34

Life hacks #35-55

Life lessons #56-100

Hope it helps you live an epic life!

Work tips

1. Say no to 1 hour meetings – “I love 1 hour meetings,” said no one ever. 1 hour meetings are often unnecessary. You can usually accomplish in 30 minutes what you thought you needed an hour for. 30 minutes will force you to be concise and on point.

2. Do the Steve Jobs walk – Steve Jobs often did some of his most important meetings while going for a walk. I do this all the time. First, doing meetings in conference rooms can feel very stiff. Second, getting people outside of their everyday environment may get them to see things from a new perspective. Third, being physically active during your meeting could help you think more clearly. So open the door, get some fresh air and go for a walk.

3. Visualize your success – Imagine 3 groups of basketball players.

*The first group would practice shooting free throws 20 minutes a day.

*The second group wouldn’t practice free throws but would visualize themselves making free throws.

*The third group would not practice or visualize at all.

The results? There was a significant improvement in the second group. In fact, they were almost as good as the first group.

By the way, this is a real experiment that was conducted by Australian Psychologist Alan Richardson.

So if you want to get that new jobs, imagine yourself prepping for the interview, nailing it and signing the job offer. Visualize what you want your future to be.

4. Listen first before speaking – Seek to understand first. How can you make an intelligent remark on something if you haven’t taken the time to observe what’s happening first? You have two ears and only one mouth. There’s a reason for that.

5. Keep your daily to do list small – Instead of writing up a huge to do list every day – focus on completing the 3 more important items every day. This forces you to prioritize your activities to ensure you’re getting the best return on your energy and time. Ask this question: “Do I really need to do this today?”

6. Set goals – If you don’t even know where you’re headed, how will you create the plan on how to get there? Set your destination first and then set sail.

7. Celebrate progress – The journey to your goal could be a long one. So make sure you take the time to celebrate your progress along the way. Eat a nice dinner. High five your teammates. Strike a gong. Do a fist pump. Yell out from the rooftops. Because success is worth celebrating.

8. Figure out your why – It’s a such a great question that isn’t asked enough. Why does it all matter? Figure out your why and that’ll be the fuel for your motivation. Whether it’s supporting your family or making an impact on the world, figuring out your why is critical to taking your work to the next level.

9. Understand your strengths and amplify those – You’ll be naturally talented in certain areas or you’ll practice a skill enough to become an expert at it. Focus your energy on amplifying those strengths rather than trying to be mediocre at everything. Better to be an expert at a few things than a mediocre jack of all trades!

10. Don’t burn bridges – I get it, we all work with jerks at some point in our careers. Who cares? Don’t let it get to you. There’s no need to say anything bad about them. If anything, try to find humor in it, learn from it and move on. You’ve got better things to focus on. Like being the most epic version of yourself that you can be.

11. View challenges as opportunities – Have you ever spent a long time waiting at the post office to ship something before? I know I have. What if instead of complaining of that process, you created an app that would allow you to request a driver to arrive at your house and to pick up and deliver your shipment for you? If you viewed that challenge as an opportunity, you would have created Shyp, an amazing app that does exactly that.

12. Shorten your commute – I used to travel over 3 hours on the freeway for work every day for a few years. I was stressed, tired and exhausted. I also wasted a ton of time sitting in a car. It’s absolutely not worth it. Work near where you live. If you can, make it within walking distance. Imagine 3 hours a day working on something you love. Time is precious. Don’t waste it on the freeway.

13. Test your assumptions – Did you know that A/B testing helped Barack Obama raise $60M by running a simple experiment? This blog post from Optimizely highlights how different tests run on media and buttons made a huge impact on results.

At the end of the day, all of us have an opinion at work. The only way to know the answer is to test your assumptions.

14. Dip your toes into the water – You never really know until you try. If you never try, you’ll always be wondering “what if.” So what are you waiting for? Want to explore a new career? Want to learn about a different department? Want to start your own business? Dip your toes into the water. Make it happen.

15. Give credit where it’s due – People can’t stand it when someone takes credit for something they didn’t do. Don’t be that person. Recognize others when they do an awesome job. It creates trust among teammates and will you further as a company.

16. Every person you meet is a potential door opener to a new opportunity – Be nice to people. You never know how you can help each other down the road.

17. Make data driven decisions – When in doubt, look at the data. What is it telling you?

18. Trust your gut – Data driven decisions aren’t quite as helpful when there’s little or no data to work with. In those cases, go with your gut.

19. Focus on the 80/20 rule – 20% of your clients will usually generate 80% of the return. Focus your energy on the work that matters.

20. 10 years test – You’re going to run into problems that might seem like disasters. Don’t freak out. Instead, use the 10 years test. Will this problem matter in 10 days? In 10 months? In 10 years? Probably not. And if it won’t, don’t stress about it. It’s not worth it.

21. Do what you love – Life’s short. Do you really want to spend 23.8% of your life working at a job that you hate? Didn’t think so. Do what you love.

22. Focus on making an impact – Don’t do work for the sake of looking busy or only because someone told you to. Think about the impact. And if it’s not impactful, have the courage to say so. Challenge yourself to do great work that makes an impact.

23. Lead with or without the title – You don’t need a big title to make a difference at your company. You can lead by driving a new initiative, coming up with an awesome idea or by coaching and encouraging your teammates to be at their best.

24. Build a personal brand – You have a living, breathing brand. Want to build a great brand? Dress the part. Act the part. Live the part.

For example, if you want to be perceived as a great content marketer, you’ve got to act the part. You could write a ton of Quora posts, LinkedIn articles and blog posts on the subject of content marketing. That way, when people have a need for content marketing, they think of you because they’ve seen 500 of your posts.

25. Invest in your LinkedIn profile – Nearly every single recruiter who has reached out to me this year found me on LinkedIn. Think about that for a second.

Time’s have changed.

We used to submit our resume to company websites to find jobs. While it can still work, it’s not the most effective way to learn about new job opportunities.

Once you submit your resume, it’s immediately outdated. LinkedIn, however, is brilliant because people are incentivized to update their profiles constantly. So what ends up happening? Recruiters find most of the best talent on LinkedIn.

It’s a new age folks. Invest in your LinkedIn profile. I have a ton of tips on this in my book The Resume is Dead (It would take us way too long to highlight in this post).

26. Leave your business card at home – Add someone on LinkedIn instead. It’s easier to keep in touch with them, reduces your administrative work in loading that person into your contact book and updates on each other are easily viewed. Welcome to the cloud.

27. Stay humble – You might be pretty good at what you do, but chances are somebody else in the world does it better. And even if you are the best at it, chances are you aren’t good at a million other things. So stay humble. Stay foolish. Stay hungry. And keep learning from others.

28. Embrace failure and learn from it – You are going to fail at some point in life. It could be a big event, like getting fired. It could be a small event, like forgetting to do the laundry. It’s all relative.

The important thing is to recognize that the process for dealing with big or small failures is the same.

Acknowledge that it happened. Deal with the situation. Learn from it. Improve yourself. And move on.

J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, went from being an unemployed single mother living off unemployment benefits to becoming one of the best selling authors of all time. Failure happens. It’s how you deal with it that matters.

29. Embrace your champions – Along the way, you will find people that genuinely believe in you and your mission. They will cheer you on. Embrace them. Even if your only champion is your mom.

30. Embrace your naysayers – On this same journey, you’ll also find people who doubt you every step of the way. Embrace them too. Only this time, use that doubt as your source of motivation. I had 4 managers who ranked me second to last in interviews at a Fortune 100 company. I used that to motivate me when I finally landed a job. I ended up managing the #1 operation in the country. Thanks for the motivation.

31. Recognize the importance of transparency – People are more empathetic when they understand why things are happening. When they’re left in the dark, it becomes hard to build trust. Be transparent.

32. Invest in a standing desk – A study from the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sitting increases our chances of getting a disease or condition that will kill us prematurely. Holy. Moly. Get a standing desk. Now. I did this for two years and felt way more productive.

33. Work smart – Why are we doing this? Does it have to be done this way? Is there a better way to do it? How can I get a better return in less time?

Keep asking questions like this. Working hard is great. Working smart and hard is a even better. #WinningCombo

34. Find mentors who live your desired lifestyle – Want to work 5 hours a week and travel the world? Find people who have create a passive income lifestyle successfully like Pat Flynn, Eric Siu and Benny Hsu and have them be your mentors. While they may not be able to mentor you 1:1, you can have them be a virtual mentor by following their website learnings.

Life hacks

35. Freeze your fruits/vegetables – You want to eat healthy but your produce always manages to go bad before you can finish it. So here’s what you do instead: right before it goes bad, freeze it! Then you can use it in soups, stews or smoothies in a pinch!

36. Cut the cable cord and get Netflix – You still get awesome entertainment and just reduced your monthly bill a ton.

37. Clean your home once a month – De-cluttering your living space will de-clutter your mind. Here’s a simply way to determine what you keep: Have I used this in the last year? If no, donate it.

38. Utilize quick pick me ups – Sometimes you just need something to jump start yourself into a happier mood. Watch a funny Youtube video (Jimmy Fallon’s Lip Sync Battles, Ellen Degeneres clips), sing one of your favorite songs outloud or dance like nobody’s watching. Life’s short. You may as well have some fun.

39. Buy a chap stick keychain – Have you lost your chap stick before? I’ve lost a ton. That’s why I bought a chap stick keychain. Problem solved. My lips have never been happier. Smooth like butter.

40. Host events – When all is said and done, relationships are what matter. Host an event for your friends, family and loved ones so that you get a chance to spend some quality time together. Want to do it on a budget? Make it a potluck.

Want to make it work related? That’s awesome too. Trust me, your coworkers want to enjoy life outside of the office too. They may not always remember what you did in the office, but they’ll definitely remember the epic get togethers you hosted.

41. Invest in an awesome mattress – You spend about 33% of your life sleeping. Why would you skimp on your mattress? Help yourself get the best sleep possible.

42. Iron your shirt without an iron – Don’t have an iron? Your last resort: hang your clothes in the bathroom while you take a hot shower and then blow it dry with a hair dryer. It works for me all the time!

43. Arrive at least 2 hours before your flight take off time – Especially if it’s an international flight. Trust me, I’ve flown to over 50 cities in a year. You don’t need the stress.

44. Pack food for your flight – You don’t have to pay a small fortune to have lunch at the airport anymore. Bring your own sandwich, fruit or snack.

45. Wiggle your body during turbulence – I use to hate hitting turbulence. It would make me a nervous wreck. The solution? Wiggle your tush when the turbulence hits. You’ll feel less of it. I don’t know why this is true, but it works. I’ve tried it a few times now!

46. Charge your phone faster – Switch it into airplane mode and it’ll charge faster.

47. Get an extra battery pack – Let’s face it, we use our phones for almost everything nowadays including directions, finding places to eat, communicating and entertainment just to name a few. When our phones die, we’re close to being incapable of doing anything.

I’m kidding of course. But life does get harder without a smartphone to help out. So buy an extra battery pack.

48. Stay away from processed foods – The more you eat whole, natural foods like vegetables and fruits, the more likely your diet will stay healthy. Stay away from the processed stuff.

49. Don’t live someone else’s life – Learn to build your own values, passions, opinions and personality. You are not anyone else. You’re completely unique and awesome in your own way. This is your life. Own it.

When I told people I wanted to build a blog focused on motivation called http://www.ceolifestyle.io – some of them were skeptical.

Who cares? It’s not their life. It’s mine. If I get passionate about motivating other people, I’m going to make it happen. #MakeItSo

50. Skip the caffeine – You don’t need it. You can make yourself more focused and awake by doing things that are completely natural and free. Here are some quick examples: exercise, meditation, drinking enough water (your frequent bathroom trips will make you alert, trust me) and working on something you’re passionate about.

51. Slow down – We get it. You want to make a dent in the universe. You want to change the world. You want to create something magical. Slow down. Take a deep breathe. You don’t have to react instantly all the time. Sometimes, taking a moment to collect yourself and to think about the situation might drive a better outcome for you. I learned this from a special person I met in Spain and it’s improved my quality of life tremendously.

52. Color code your keys – My friends taught me this trick. Ever fumble through your keys to try to find the right one, only to try it and realize it’s not? There’s a fix for that. Color code your keys. For example, our garage door is the yellow key, the green key is for the main public entrance and the red key is for our front door to our apartment unit. You can buy colored key covers on Amazon or use nail polish / paint to make the keys color coded. #problemsolved

53. Put a small garbage bin in your car – Notice your car getting messy? Admit it, you’ve tossed stuff you needed to throw away into the passenger seat before. You don’t have to live that kind of life. Get a small garbage bin.

54. Hang a tennis ball in your garage – Speaking of cars, have you ever had trouble parking your car in the garage? Seriously, it’s not easy to make sure that you parked close enough to the wall so that you car doesn’t get crushed by the garage door. Hang a tennis ball in your garage so that you know exactly when to stop moving forward.

55. Stuff newspaper in your shoes – It’ll remove the moisture and some of the smells it’s picked up over time. Okay, I admit it, I haven’t tried this one myself but I heard it works.

Life tips

56. Learn one new thing a day – This could be one word from a new language, a scientific fact, a life hack or anything else that you’re interested in. Over time, learning one new thing a day will shape you into awesomeness.

57. Remember people’s names – Did you know that a study has shown that if you call people by their name, they usually respond with more energy and engagement? Yup, I ran that study. And my sample size group has been the thousands of people I’ve worked with over my 11 year career in technology. When you say someone’s name, it shows that you care. It shows that you recognize their presence. It shows that you’re a nice person. Try it.

58. Focus only on the present – Stop regretting the past. Stop worrying about the future. Focus on the present. Focus on the now. Feel the sun on your face. Feel the wind behind on your back. Hear the wind as it blows the tree branches. Dig your toes into the sand. Listen when people talk.

If you read a page from the last chapter over and over again you’ll never finish the book. So stop thinking about the past. Be in the now.

59. Listen to your body – When you’re exhausted, don’t fight it. Take a nap or sleep. When you feel stressed out, take a break. When you feel sick from eating that 10th donut, well, maybe you shouldn’t have done that. Learn to listen to the signals in your body and respond in the right way.

60. Learn to let go – Mistakes happen. Don’t drill on it. Life isn’t perfect. Think of any issues you run into as “speed bumps” – they make the ride a little uncomfortable but you’ll get through it.

61. Read before sleeping – Don’t let the blue light from your computer or phone keep you up at night. You can use F.lux, which is an awesome app that makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day. This way you can use your computer to read an awesome book and learn something new. Or you can go the old fashioned route and buy a hard cover book. Getting into the routine of reading before sleeping will help you wind down the day and learn something new at the same time!

62. You are the 5 people you surround yourself with – A few months ago, I ran into what I thought was a disaster for my company. A part of me wanted to shut down the company (It’s called Collide). My good friend and co-founder Steve challenged me immediately. He asked what I wanted to achieve in life and why I created the company in the first place. After a long talk, I realized that I wanted to stay the course. Steve helped me understand that my desire to succeed was far greater than my fears. I’m telling you this story because I’ve learned that surrounding yourself with people that inspire you to be better can completely take your life to new levels.

63. Learn to say no – You can’t do everything for everyone. Stop spreading yourself thin. Learn to say no. Focus on a few things and be great at those.

64. Explore the world – Travel the world. It’s a great way to get a fresh perspective on life. Howard Schultz traveled to Europe and feel in love with the coffee shops there. Guess what happened next? He started Starbucks. #GetInspired

65. Build your own values – Model yourself after people that you admire. At the end of the day though, you’ve got to be able to make your own judgment calls. The best way to do this is to decide what your values are. Once you do, write it down and post it on your mirror. It’s the foundation of who you are.

66. Embrace change – You need to get comfortable with this simple idea: The only thing constant is change. Instead of fearing it, embrace it.

67. Clean along the way – Sure, you could let those dishes pile up for a month, but that would be pretty painful to clean up. Along the way, your home would start to smell, fill with fruit flies and generally make it less enjoyable to live in. So don’t procrastinate. Clean along the way.

68. Silence can be beautiful – You don’t always have to fill up silence with words. Sometimes there is beauty in being silent.

69. When in doubt, simple respond with “Let me think about that.” – Let’s face it, we don’t always have the right answer. Instead of rushing to answer, tell the person that you need time to think about things further. This shows that you’re being thoughtful and also gives you something to respond with.

70. Do your most important task first thing in the morning – Your energy will be higher at this moment. It’s why I workout first thing in the morning most days.

71. Use the “We’ll see” method – Even when it seems like something terrible has happened at the moment, there’s the possibility that it might lead to something good in the future. So instead of making up your own conclusions about the future, just tell yourself, “We’ll see.”

72. Meditate – You can use apps like Headspace that are free and can help you clear your mind. This is an awesome way to relax your mind and body.

73. Realize that most people don’t care about you – Sorry, people’s lives don’t revolve around your universe. Well, the exception might be if you’re a celebrity. But in all seriousness, stop worrying about what other people think of you. Most of them don’t even really care that much. Instead, focus on being the best possible version of yourself.

74. There are a few people in the world that really deeply care about you – Keep those people close to you in life. They’re the ones that can make your life amazing. They’re the ones that will stick with you through the good and the bad.

75. Roll your clothes – When you travel, try rolling your clothes to maximize packing space. I did this and can fit 2.5 weeks of clothes into a carry on now.

76. Only you are responsible for your own life – So own it. Take control. You have to figure out what makes you happy. What gets you inspired. What drives you.

77. Say something awesome to yourself everyday – Positive reinforcement can help you maintain an upbeat mood even in the worst of times. Treat yourself well.

78. Take a deep breath – Didn’t that feel awesome? Yeah, try doing that more. You’ll feel better.

79. Happiness is a state of mind, not a destination – Growing up, I used to tell myself, if only I had this specific thing, I would be happy. After 31 years of living, I can tell you that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is a state of mind.

My close friend told me that he feels happiness when the sun shines on his face. He almost died when he was in his early twenties. He was saved by a stranger who donated a kidney to him. He’s happy that he’s alive today.

You can find happiness now. It’s right in front of you, everywhere you look. It’s up to you to open your eyes.

80. Remember to have the time of your life – Remember that at the end of the day, no one lives forever. So while you’re here, remember to have the time of your life. Laugh, smile and have fun.

81. Promise only on what you can deliver – Reliability goes a long way. A ton of people over promise and under deliver. Don’t be that person.

82. Be fearless – Fear is just a feeling. Learn to take it head on. Have a bias towards action and be fearless.

83. Marry your best friend – You want someone who’s going to be there with you through the best and worst of times. Someone you can talk to all night or have a completely comfortable silence with. Someone who loves you for who you are

84. Be insanely curious – Being curious will help you keep an open mind. By doing so, you’ll learn new ideas and help bring passion and excitement in your life. You don’t know everything, so learn as much as you can in your life!

85. Think about how you can help others – At the end of the day, your legacy will be who you loved, who loved you and how much you helped others.

86. Time is your most valuable asset – I had a family friend who spent most of his life saving up every penny to eventually live the life he always wanted. After years of saving, he was involved in a tragic car accident. He never lived the life he dreamed about.

Money is valuable. Time is even more valuable. Utilize money to help you find more time.

Time with your loved ones. Time with your buddies. Time with your spouse. Time with your kids. There are 525,600 minutes in a year. How do you spend your time?

87. Someone else’s recipe may not work for you – Just because it worked for someone else means it’ll work for you. Learn from others but also realize that everyone’s situation is unique.

88. Have an idea jar – Whether it’s for love, friendships or family, an idea jar is a great way to ensure you have activities to do together. The next time you have an idea for something, put it into the idea jar. Each week, you can pull one from the idea jar and voila, you’ve got some fun in your hands!

89. Act exactly how you feel – Why the poker face? It’s unnecessary. If you’re upset, act and feel upset. If you’re happy, smile. Better to be 100% authentic than to live a lie.

90. Smile at people – It makes you happier. It’s contagious. It lowers stress and anxiety. It strengthens your immune system. It makes you seem more competent. It makes your look trustworthy. It can even be an effective management technique.

And yes, every single of these has been proven by a study. Every. Single. One.

By the way, it cost you nothing. That’s awesome.

91. Simple is good – Stuff has administrative debt. That new car you just got? Maintenance and insurance. Those 10 shopping sites you subscribed to? 100 emails in your inbox you have to go through. Keep life simple. It’s easier and more enjoyable.

92. Don’t get attached to stuff – Once you take care of your basic necessities, like your health, shelter, clothing and food, chances are that stuff won’t make you happy. Don’t get too attached to it. When we leave this world we can’t bring our stuff with us anyway.

93. Choose experiences over stuff – What you should value are experiences. A simple dinner with your mother talking about life. A vacation with your spouse to a place you’ve always wanted to travel. A long talk with friends over a warm fire on a cold winter night. Working late night with your teammates to build a game changing startup. These are the moments you’ll remember.

94. Don’t compare yourself to others – Just focus on being the best possible version of yourself.

95. Making something for someone to show that you care – It’s easy to buy something for someone. Making something with love, passion and care is much harder. Go the extra mile and make something for the person that you love. Need ideas? Check out Pinterest.

96. Love yourself first – Before you fall in love with anyone else, make sure you’re in a good place. Learn to love yourself, including all of your awesomeness and your flaws. The more comfortable you are with yourself, the better you can love someone else.

97. Your word choice matters – Your words have a lot of power.

Version #1 “We have a problem with our project.”

Version #2 “We have an opportunity to fix things on this project.”

I feel a lot better hearing version #2. What about you?

98. Learn to let go – Sometimes you can’t fix things. Let it go. Yup, I wrote this life tip earlier. I’m repeating it because it’s that important.

99. Everyone has a story – Maybe someone was mean to you today. That sucks. But what if you found out it’s because they just learned about a tragedy in their family? It changes everything, doesn’t it? Just remember, everyone has their own story to tell.

100. Love – When all is said and done, all that you’ll really remember are the amazing people you’ve connected with and helped along the way. Love your friends. Love your family. Love your spouse. Love is all that matters. Love more.

I hope this list helps you live the best life possible.

What are you waiting for?

Go. Start. Now. Because it’s never too late to be amazing.

Cheers,

Nelson

Credits - Source http://www.ceolifestyle.io/blog/2018/4/13/100-inspirational-pieces-of-advice-to-help-your-life-and-career

We all have those days where 24 hours just doesn’t seem like enough time. We stare at our calendars, overwhelmed with the combination of work, home responsibilities, and social invitations that are piling up, wishing that a Time Turner, a Tardis, or a DeLorean would appear and let us bend time to our needs. But would these cheats actually solve anything? Probably not – no matter what tools you have, it’s hard to escape an unstable and unhealthy schedule if your routine and mentality don’t foster a balance.

Time management and work-life balance are universal struggles, so let’s turn to the experts – executives who somehow find the time to manage their personal lives while directing massive organizations on a national or global scale. These leaders have had decades to make mistakes, hit walls, battle fatigue, and come out victorious. We can gain significant insights from their experiences and words.

Time and Choice

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch said, “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences, ” during a 2009 Society of Human Resource Management conference. This is a powerful reminder that, even when you feel like the demands on you are untenable, you still have agency over your schedule. How often do you exercise the power to say “no” to social outings or work assignments that could push your schedule out of control?

Balance with Environment

Former Intercontinental CEO Andrew Cosslett told Forbes, “That’s the nice thing about the British pub–it’s a nice mixing pot. The great thing is, talk about business or family is not allowed. It’s another place I can switch off.” Understanding and maintaining the barrier between your personal space and your workspace is extremely important for a balanced life. This is particularly crucial for those who work at home, since the lines between your personal and professional life can blur. Remote workers should explore ways to keep their work life separate by considering a shared office or co-working space, or by partitioning off an area at home where the purpose is work-specific.

Prioritization

In her article for Business Insider, CEO of Palo Alto Software Sabrina Parsons emphasizes the need for companies to prioritize family and work responsibilities — something that’s especially important for working moms. “Let’s demand that corporate America’s norms change to accommodate women — those who want to have families and realize that having a family does NOT make us work less or achieve less. Companies that dictate our schedules, decide when and how we work, and believe that a pregnant woman is a liability is what prevents women from rising to the top.”

The Many Facets of Life

The “work-life” dichotomy can become a limiting view of the world, especially when you think about all the other skills needed to achieve your goals. CreativeLIVE CEO Mika Salmi contributed this advice, which emphasizes a well-rounded approach: “My ideal balance is more than work + life. It is a combination of family + intellectual stimulation (usually work) + physical activity + creativity (usually art). Occasionally I do things that involve two or even three of these at one time but all four is very hard. So the key is to make time in every week or even every day for all of these four to be touched. This does not happen by accident and requires being purposeful about it.” Executive leaders can teach us volumes about productivity, effectiveness, and time management. What are some of your favorite life balance quotes? Feel free to share them below in the comments!

Author - Loraine Kanervisto has been writing business, technology, and lifestyle features since 2008. She loves exploring how diverse communities interact with technology. Loraine spends her time tinkering with gadgets, exploring Seattle's lit scene, and hanging out with her two black cats. Source https://www.creativelive.com/blog/top-ceos-share-secrets-living-balanced-life/

Every business has an incredible story behind it. Maybe you were working a 9 to 5 day job you didn’t enjoy before you thought of a brilliant idea for a toothpaste holder that is now the number one seller on Amazon. Or perhaps your parents were business owners and encouraged you to follow your dreams, so you began a local photography company that now boasts tons of clients. Whatever the origin of your company is, it’s important to craft a business story for your clients and customers. But how exactly do you go about that? How do you craft a business story that is both cohesive and inspiring? Don’t fret. Here are some top-notch tips for you from some of our CreativeLive experts.

Start with your bio

The heart of your business is you.

Today, customers are just as interested in who they’re purchasing from as the product they’re buying. The first step is to craft a business story is to create an exciting and interesting bio for your website and marketing materials that explains who you are. According to CreativeLive teacher and business strategist Melissa Cassera, start by writing out a “grocery list” of what you’d like to include on your bio. This should include information about your career or personal life, your biggest wins or mistakes and your favorite books, TV shows and movies. You can relate your list to what you do. For example, a motivational speaker could write a list of the top seven most incredible places she has been invited to speak onstage as well as one thing she remembers from each experience. Keep in mind that your bio doesn’t need to be your entire life story. It’s just a first impression, so make it brief and update it as needed. Cassera says your goal should be to “express yourself in a natural, conversational way… to tell a few choice pieces of your story… and to pique your reader’s interest so that (hopefully) he or she chooses to explore more of your work… and perhaps, someday soon-ish, [buys] something.”

Ditch the rags to riches story

Many business stories go like this: The founder of the company was broke, until she started this business, and now she is a wild success. Your story is still continuing, and rags to riches is a cliché you need to drop, says Jamie Jensen, CreativeLive teacher and creator of Story School. You should constantly be creating new stories to engage with your clients and customers, and not be so finite with your own story. “Try repositioning the idea of ‘the end’ as a new beginning as both the buyer and as a leader,” says Jensen. “From that point of view, the ‘Rags to Riches’ story is really just ‘So I made a lot of money once!’”

Write from the heroism perspective

Don’t try to leave out the rewarding or successful parts of your journey in an attempt to create a sappy narrative. Instead, focus on the inspirational aspects of your story. It is wise to include your challenges and rough patches on your path to success, because that makes you relatable. But be tasteful. “By making things seem too perfect, clean, and simple, you ALSO make people skeptical,” says Jensen. “Don’t be afraid to include the rough parts of the journey too, but make sure you’re positioning them strategically along the story path.”

India is at a unique crossroads in its history. We have a fast-growing economy and a young, large, educated, and aspiring population.

Our gross domestic product (GDP) per capita stands at $1700, just where China was in 2005. In terms of disposable income, we have hit the ₹1 lakh-mark for the first time. Given that an individual’s fixed costs grow no faster than the rate of inflation, disposable incomes tend to see far higher growth rates than the overall economic growth, thereby creating non-linear growth in spending power and fueling domestic consumption.

Simultaneously, we have achieved rapid internet penetration. Today, we have an active internet base of over 350 million people and an effective internet penetration that has tripled in the last 5 years alone. The rapid rise of the internet has created a much more level-playing field for all income strata in terms of our awareness and aspirations. Today’s consumers, whether in metros or rural areas, across all social stratas, are converging on trends demanding the latest and coolest products.

As a result, today’s relatively low spending power, yet high levels of awareness create a unique access-aspiration gap. However, therein lies one of India’s largest opportunities – that of the home-grown consumer brands. These brands are born out of a consumer’s need for standardised, high quality and affordable consumption of goods and this is more applicable in India. There has never been a better time than now, for that need to be more applicable in India.

India’s consumer spending is dominated by basic items like fresh foods and groceries. As any economy matures, that mix is bound to change. Looking ahead, we are most excited about Indians wanting to eat better, look better and dress better! Specifically, the sectors of fashion, packaged foods and personal care seem most attractive for churning out home-grown consumer brands. Each is grossly underpenetrated in branded consumption today e.g., fashion is at 15 percent vs. China, which is at 60 percent and packaged foods at 22 percent vs. China at 52 percent. Numerically, this translates into over $150 billion in addressable market opportunity.

Now, what does it take to build a great consumer brand? The best consumer brands are built on a great product. Great products are themselves born out of a deep understanding of consumer psyche, one that often enables the best founders to see around corners and predict the needs of people before they even know it. Such products allow for the most robust, sustainable and monetisable businesses.

World over, the best brands have been built around hero products that drive revenue and profit. For example, the iPhone is the majority of Apple’s sales while commanding a 60 percent-plus gross margin. Louis Vuitton took something as mundane as a bag and turned it into a 65 percent plus GM business. Even affordable goods like Zara and Coca Cola both command 60 percent odd gross margin levels. All these are enabled by truly unique, high quality, aspirational products.

Although the product is core to a brand, there are both supply side and demand side pillars necessary to build and carry the brand. The three most important of these pillars are supply chain, distribution and marketing.

The beauty in brands being built today, is the unique ability to leverage technology. Technology across all three pillars can today enable much more capital efficiency as well as a non-linear growth curve. Traditionally considered capital intensive and slow businesses, some of the best brands today have returns of capital as high as 50-60 percent and growth rates of in excess of 100 percent year on year.

In the supply chain, companies are using the power of data to optimise just-in-time models to reduce working capital needs, thereby enabling much higher returns on capital and quicker feedback loops to enable better products.

Distribution in India has traditionally been among the most complex and friction-filled experiences. It is among the prime reasons that behemoths like Hindustan Unilever participate in businesses as vastly diverse as chocolates and shampoos. Online distribution, however, has given a distinct advantage for upstarts to build new products and introduce them to the consumer directly. While the answer to scale still remains a mix of both offline and online i.e. omni-channel distribution, online retail provides significant velocity to the growth of new brands. It also allows for swaths of consumer data to be captured that again allows for even better products.

Finally, the marketing. Storytelling or creating the narrative around a product is as important as it gets to building a new brand. It includes not just effectively communicating the core value proposition, but also being able to establish an emotional connect with the consumer. Again, technology and the internet, today, allows for the story telling to be personal, and targeted. Not only does it allow you to acquire customers cheaply and re-target, but also makes it easy to sell ten items to one individual as opposed to one each to ten different customers. This in turn, makes the long-term value, vis-a-vis the acquisition costs a lot more viable.

The need of the hour is for us to build businesses that create true value for the Indian consumer and can withstand the might of international behemoths dumping capital into India. Consumer brands allow for both. They not only create true value, but, if done right, can create highly differentiated businesses, with hard to replicate products, supply chains and consumer connects. All moats that are very hard to scale for new entrants.

As Warren Buffett puts it – a good business is like a large castle, with wide moats, led by a knight one can trust. Deep markets, defensible business models and the best entrepreneurs allow for all three in consumer brands.

The author leads Consumer and Media investments at Matrix Partners India, an early stage venture capital fund with $700 million under management in India.

Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/why-do-people-like-consumer-brands/

Thursday, 24 May 2018 12:10

How can jewellery brands drive growth?

In the Indian jewellery market, the top 7 leading brands registered a CAGR of 10 percent (according to annual reports and financials from ROC, MCA) over the last 3 years driven majorly by store footprint expansion. This growth is commendable given that jewellery demand has been heavily impacted by a slew of regulatory changes like demonetisation and KYC implementation. While, the market recovered in 2017 with a growth of 11 percent, it still remains well much below the demand of 660 tonnes in 2010.

Consumer preferences are changing and jewellers have to compete with other luxury categories, curated travel experiences and equity market assets for a share of the consumer’s wallet.

However, inspite of these trends, there are some interesting shifts happening in the jewellery market creating growth opportunities for players.

Firstly, there is a perceptible shift from wedding wear to daily wear or a change in the usage of jewellery. The traditional wedding jewellery driven market has changed, with Indian women choosing wearable pieces, over heavy sets. The daily and occasion wear segment is expected to displace the wedding segment and contribute to 49 percent of the market by 2020.

Secondly, there is an increased acceptance and preference for diamond jewellery. The overall diamond share has consistently climbed and is expected to grow to 25 percent by 2020. National brands have been increasing their diamond assortment to cater to the growing demand; with 30-40 percent of their assortment consisting of diamonds and solitaires, according to annual reports of leading jewellery brands. Investments in marketing are being undertaken to fuel aspiration and demand.

Thirdly, the influence of the online channel cannot be ignored. Consumers are heavily investing in buying jewellery with their purchase journey starting 2-3 months in advance. As per studies, majority of consumers have started browsing online for designs before walking into a store, making it imperative for brands to have an online presence. While this channel may not immediately drive sales, it constantly aids decision-making by offering the consumer improved ease of browsing and comparison. An Omni-channel business model is no more a choice as indicated by leading traditional brands investing in or acquiring pure-play etailers and pure-play etailers opening up physical stores.

Lastly, the importance of schemes to attract consumers from their traditional jewellers. While consumers have started gravitating towards national brands, traditional jewellers are still, by far the largest sales channel. Consumers continue buying jewellery from their neighbourhood jewellers citing loyalty, family heritage, customization and low making charges as the main drivers for purchase. National brands have also come to realise that schemes like exchange and no making charge are the biggest footfall drivers.

However, brands need to answer 4 critical questions to help drive seamless expansion and growth:

1. What is my competitive positioning?

Brands must evaluate their competitive positioning and build their brand proposition carefully to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace. This requires brands to go back to the drawing board and define who their customer is, has she changed over time, what are her needs and expectations from the brand, what competition is doing to service these needs.

Building a positioning on pure design may not create the required differentiation on a long term basis especially considering emerging technologies. Brands need to carefully investigate this differentiation and create a sustainable edge.

2. What are the different scenarios for growth?

Once brands have defined their positioning, they need to carefully evaluate the key options:

i) Product offering

ii) Nature of expansion – local, regional or national

iii) Type of store formats – traditional high street, malls, large vs small formats

iv) Channels – offline, online, Omni-channel

v) Marketing, communication and consumer schemes

3. What are the various avenues for expansion?

Brands also need to carefully evaluate their funding decisions –

i) Own funds to control brand – while this gives control, there is need to evaluate the impact on balance sheet and working capital considering the huge investments in inventory and the inventory turns of this industry or

ii) Franchising to bring to the table speed to market, favourable locations and local market know-how or

iii) Acquisitions to build capabilities - recent acquisitions saw traditional jewellers acquire or invest in pure-play online jewellers to build their digital capabilities

4. Internal readiness:

This is the most important measure of timely execution and is often neglected by brands. Internal readiness is characterised by:

i) The right team to support expansion covering retail execution, merchandising & digital functions

ii) Value chain capability to ensure prompt service and product availability

iii) Standardised processes to address scale and efficiency

While the overall jewellery market is going through some tough times, brands by making intelligent use of market insights and being close to their consumers can surely identify avenues of growth. This growth strategy however, needs to be supported by the brand’s readiness both externally and most important internally.

-By Pinakiranjan Mishra, Partner and National leader, Consumer Products and Retail, EY and Vivette D’cruz, Director, Consumer Products and Retail, EY Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/how-can-jewellery-brands-drive-growth/

Organisations are introducing and continuing several leadership development programs in almost every sector, from global multi-nationals to family-owned businesses, consulting companies and the public-sector organisations. It is being incorporated especially at the mid-management and senior levels. All kinds of methodologies like experiential learning, simulations, gaming, theatre and mobile learnings are being used.

The trend has moved from one- to two-day workshops to longer term, almost four- to eight-month long learning journeys. Everyone is beginning to understand that behavioural change requires time, continuous reinforcement, peer-to-peer learning and practising on the job in a non-threatening safe environment. While all these initiatives are a great way of developing leaders, more needs to happen for leadership attitudes and behaviours to be deeply ingrained in the day-to-day interactions and way of thinking of the employees. It must become a seamless practice and part of the cultural motif.

One way to propagate and sustain the learnings in house is through structured formal mentoring programs. There are abundant benefits of a work environment that actively supports mentoring.

The purpose of mentoring is to transfer the lessons of richer experience namely knowledge, skill, processes, etc. in a workforce to improve the capability of other individuals or workgroups. To initiate and sustain a meaningful mentoring process certain steps need to be followed.

1. Build a solid business case for mentoring

To institutionalise mentoring, it must be looked as critical strategy to improve employee engagement, accelerate career development, groom leaders and perpetuate a learning culture. It may not apply in every case. The reasons for implementing a mentoring program must be linked to your company’s business goals. The reasons for dedicating effort and resources to a formal mentoring process must be justified.

2. Have a Clear Mentoring Plan

All the stake holders including the executive teams need to be part of planning the vision, defining strategy and objectives for the formal mentoring process. Usually a committee is set up to ensure the execution happens smoothly. The purpose and goals of this exercise should be clear to all. The expected outcome of the program should be made clear to the mentors and mentees too. The criteria for selecting mentors and mentees needs to be chalked out.

3. Selection of the participants

There has to be a mechanism in place to select the right mentors and mentees. And further the matching of each. Mentors should be people truly interested in the development of others. Mentees should be eager to learn and grateful for the opportunity. Good mentee candidates are those who have demonstrated clear evidence of future leadership. For the program to be effective, mentors and mentees must participate voluntarily and willingly.

4. Preparing the participants

A good mentoring program builds in formal orientation for mentors to equip them with the skill set required to establish and sustain a successful learning partnership with a mentee. This training must clarify the difference between mentoring and managing. There is a lot of learning and unlearning that a mentor will have to do to perform this role effectively. Provide the tools and resources that the participants will need in this journey. Mentees will have to learn how to take charge of their own learning, evaluate the areas where they will employ help from their mentors. Mentees will need to understand that having a mentor does not guarantee a promotion.

5. Pairing the mentors and mentees

Several criteria could be used to pair up the mentors and mentees, A formal mentoring agreement may be created to refer to throughout the process. The agreement must include the goals and objectives of both the mentee and the mentor. The timelines, dos and don’ts and the how toss should be spelled out clearly including how and when they will meet, and a confidentiality agreement.

6. Measure the progress

The proof of a successful mentoring program lies in measuring the impact of the program in two ways. The first is the extent to which the process has helped the mentee in achieving their developmental goals that were defined at the beginning of the program. The second is the degree to which the program was successful in achieving the strategic business goals, for example improved engagement or the developing leaders. Such programs usually close the mentoring relationship formally. The mentor and mentees may continue the relationship formally or informally in future if it serves them both well.

Formal mentoring works best in an organisation where people development and organisational learning are supported and nurtured by leadership at all levels. Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/organisational-techniques-for-institutionalising-mentoring/

Ever since Jack Welch popularised the coinage, several organisations have been turning “boundaryless”—erasing the boundaries that traditionally existed between different teams, processes and stages of manufacturing to integrate them for better outcomes. The value of a boundaryless approach is that the collaboration helps in innovation and in enhancing customer experience.

Pushing boundaries and eliminating barriers

Is the customer and her/his experience the end-point of the manufacturing and distribution process? No. With a boundaryless approach, the roles typically played in manufacturing and distribution are changing; the manufacturing value chain is no more a unidirectional process that culminates in delivery. Instead, it is a continuous loop that is fed by customer input and involvement and enriched by proactive contributions through different collaborating entities. A boundaryless experience then is not just about the elimination of boundaries, but also about the shifting of existing boundaries. I see three kinds of boundaries that are undergoing tectonic shifts.

1. Boundless Data:

In the past, customers had no information about the manufacturing process and data was completely bound—it belonged either to the manufacturer or to the customer and rarely got exchanged. But today, with digitalization, the situation is different. Now, products themselves are capable of exchanging data. The limits of data between customers and manufacturers are getting blurred, and data is openly exchanged in a boundaryless manner.

We see several instances of data exchange in telematics. Let us take the example of an insurance company that provides usage-based insurance. They would begin by installing their devices in cars and automobiles. Now, who is the customer here? While the car owner is the customer, there are two other entities as well, the insurance company and the manufacturer, and unless they exchange the data, they do not obtain the user profile they need. In these terms, it is difficult to define a line for the process—it ends with the manufacturer or starts with the insurer and ends at the owner. The very process is boundaryless.

Digital technologies are playing a significant role in enabling data to be gathered, communicated externally and in facilitating quick decisions and actions through the meaningful use of such data. Telematics or connected manufacturing makes it very easy to capture data and exchange it in real time. Digital manufacturing technologies can enable a ‘digital thread’ of seamless data to add value to all stages, including marketing, distribution, sales, use and service.

And all this boundless data is contributing directly to the current trends in manufacturing. First, customers get to know what is happening with their order very early on. Second, and more importantly, today, products are highly customised. Even as there are lesser numbers manufactured, the variants of the product are very high. Every customer wants a tailormade product, not something off-the-shelf. Such customisation cannot take place unless there is a boundaryless exchange of information between customers and manufacturers. With big data and analytics, customer data can be integrated into making a more relevant product. The coming together of digital technologies, such as big data, connected assets, cloud, mobility and predictive modelling can create and enable such a boundaryless exchange.

2. Exchanging experiences and roles:

The second aspect centres on changing responsibilities. Today, manufacturers and service providers are varying their processes so that the role they were performing earlier now gets transferred to the customer. A case in point is Ikea. It has created a manufacturing setup and product design approach that lets customers create their furniture themselves. While being provided with the basic components required to build what they want, customers have the responsibility and the power to assemble their furniture as per their preferences. Similarly, there are several instances of this in the services sector. Earlier, customers would call a call centre, tell them what they wanted, and the call centre would do it for the customer. Now, with mobile applications, users are being enabled to perform tasks and handle a wide range of services themselves, facilitated to a large degree, by digital technologies. We see, therefore, that the boundaries that shaped the roles of customers and manufacturers or providers are shifting—customers are now doing what manufacturers would control earlier and they are loving it.

3. Blurring lines of competition and collaboration:

The third area where boundaries are being exceeded is in the shifting spheres of authority. Conventional domains of competition are morphing into collaborative modes to serve the customer what she or he expects. Frequently in the manufacturing space, a company ends up in competition with suppliers or OEMs it works with because they are doing the same thing. Yet, the dividing lines of competition are difficult to identify, and customer preferences are driving this collaboration. Customers assume that the manufacturer knows what they want and expect manufacturers to collaborate with a third party—which could be a supplier or another customer—to deliver it. This is resulting in the removal of set boundaries of “competitor” and “collaborator” from transactions in the interest of business.

Boundaryless customer experience—a win-win loop

I believe that the manufacturing process is turning boundaryless, which is great for customers, as it yields an optimised product that is best-tailored to their requirements.

Boundarylessness also benefits the bottom-line of businesses because it helps create differentiation and helps create a sticky relationship—one in which the customer is involved with the product, the manufacturing process and the manufacturer. Differentiation can be created based on the customer’s preferences for personalisation so, customers “pay” attention and “spend” their time.

In the present landscape, most organisations are already adopting processes and technologies to efface boundaries, and I believe manufacturing organisations are going to continue to see a lot of changes in this regard. Product variants will take centre-stage with companies having fewer setups for mass manufacturing and more custom-made products using automation. Automation will, in fact, make variant management scalable—something that is a challenge to do manually with the current technologies.

Digital technologies will enable value chains to turn more global and become integrated, thereby erasing existing boundaries. However, to really enable a boundaryless manufacturing journey, organisations will need to fundamentally rethink their business models towards eliminating barriers. I believe we need to reconsider the lines that define our processes and bind our roles. Without these lines to limit our thinking and activity, we can reimagine the value we can deliver and the customer experiences we can create.

-The author is the co-founder and CTO at KPIT Technologies Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/erasing-boundaries-for-a-unique-customer-experience/

For parents, one of the biggest decisions in their lives is choosing their child’s name. But choosing a name is a complicated process. If parents keep a common name then their child would find himself lost in the crowd. To get their child noticed, if they try to come up with a unique name, then it should be easy to pronounce and should have some base for justification. If they choose an old-fashioned name, then there's a chance that the kid could be bullied in school and later in life.

A startup is no less than a child for the founder(s). And that's why, choosing a name for a brand is complicated. A brand name can be regarded as one of the most important assets that businesses need to survive, launch products, pull talent, attract customers and differentiate themselves from their competitors. It's important to come up with a name that is sticky enough to recall.

Every entrepreneur wants a magic wand that could create names that are memorable, pronounceable, unique, creative, interesting and relevant. Unfortunately, such a magic wand doesn't exist.

There is no one right or perfect way to come up with a good brand name, but based on learnings from a few successful brands, entrepreneurs can plan their approach. A few of the components that could be helpful in creating a brand name are as follows:

1. Family name:

One of the most natural ways to come up with a brand name is to use the name or surname of the founder. A few of the successful brands based on this strategy are Disney, Ford Motor Company, Estée Lauder Companies Inc., and others.

Though this approach sounds straight forward, there is a catch. The name should be uncommon and should connect well with customers. As shown in the movie ‘The Founder’, Ray Kroc felt that the name McDonald is glorious, limitless, beautiful and better sounding than the name Kroc, so he preferred to acquire McDonald’s instead of launching a new brand.

2. Associations:

Associations are helpful in relating something unfamiliar with something familiar. Familiar things may not directly relate with business, but evoke a feeling or mental image. Associations can be done with people, animals, flowers, rivers, mythological names, and so on.

For example, the brand name Amazon.com is based on the Amazon River, which is considered as the biggest river in the world. One of the most popular mythological brand names is Nike. In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory. Similarly, Puma is based on the name of a Puma cat, which embodies the characteristics of speed, strength, suppleness, endurance and agility.

3. Words with powerful meaning:

Uber means an outstanding or supreme example of a particular kind of person or thing. In Korean language, the word Samsung means three stars. As a caveat, the meaning of the word should be checked in different languages as sometimes a word could have positive meaning in one language, but negative in other language, leading to perception challenges during international expansion.

4. Blended words:

Blended brand name can be formed by combining parts from different words. For example, the brand name Microsoft is formed from blending of initial part of two words: Microcomputer and Software.

5. Fascinating stories:

People listen and remember stories; they are very powerful tools to connect with others. A popular story with universal appeal can amplify significance of a name. For example, the brand name Alibaba is based on the Arabic story “Alibaba and the Forty Thieves”.

6. Place of origin:

Place of origin acts as a strong component of brand identity. Initially, the place of origin can help a brand become popular, but when a brand becomes global, it can help its place of origin to become popular. One of the interesting examples of a brand name containing place of origin is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), which was started as a roadside restaurant in Kentucky, US, and became one of largest global fast food chains.

7. Coined words:

Coining a new word can help a brand stand out. For example, the brand name Google is a play on the word “googol,” the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Another interesting example of a coined brand name is Xerox that became a synonym for photocopy.

8. Ingredients:

In this approach, an ingredient of a product or service is brought into the spotlight as the image of ingredient could have a positive influence on the consumer. For example, in the name Coca-Cola, the first half in the name refers to the extracts of coca leaf and the other half represents another ingredient - the kola nut.

9. Movie or book characters:

Movies and books can open up a new world of names. The characters in a movie entertain us and sometimes left a lasting impression through their role or their names sound very catchy. One of the popular brand names – Starbucks is inspired by the name of a character – Starbuck in a whaling novel and movie - Moby-Dick.

10. Descriptive words:

A descriptive name is self-explanatory. A few of the examples of self-explanatory names are Shaadi.com and Naukri.com. Along with creativity, coming up with these kind of names require luck and focus. Luck for availability of domain name and trademark, and focus as self-explanatory names can be applicable for specific niches.

11. Link of generic words:

Interestingly, meaningful and memorable names can be created by linking common words in the right order. For example, the brand name Facebook links two common words face and book. Similarly, the brand name MakeMyTrip links three common words: Make, My and Trip.

12. Business attributes:

In some cases, brand names are also based on the attributes i.e. characteristics of a business. For example, 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store brand was named after its store timings as the stores were originally open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Picking the right brand name can be tough. Sometimes, it could be created using one of the above mentioned components and sometimes using multiple components in combination. Sometimes it can be created quickly and sometimes it could take months.

In short-term, entrepreneurs may think that rather than spending time and efforts on naming a brand, they can focus on other areas. But from long term perspective, it’s worth spending time on naming a brand as the name captures the essence of a business. When products of competitors become similar, when price doesn’t remain a differentiator, when customers get confused in making a choice, the thing that safe guards a company is its brand name.

Views expressed are author's personal and don't necessarily represent any company's opinions. Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/how-to-come-up-with-an-effective-brand-name/

Page 1 of 2