Business
The Smart Manager
Gift Of Time
In The 100-year Life, Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott refer to a French fable in which a nymph, Ondine, curses her husband Palemon: as long as he is awake, he will breathe; as soon as he sleeps, he will die. From that time on he spends every moment in frantic activity, fearing death. Will an extended three-stage life be like this—entailing constant work, boredom, and missed opportunities—or full of possibilities?
4 min |
May - June 2017
The Smart Manager
Content, Context, And Conversations
As per B2B Content Marketing 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America, 70% of B2B marketers say they will produce more content in 2017 than they did in 2016 and 39% of B2B marketers say they will increase spending on content marketing over the next twelve months. Content is key for any marketing initiative to succeed. However, in the present world of information overload, content without context merely is a ‘low-test fuel, prone to knocks and stalls’. In this exclusive with The Smart Manager, Rutsky talks about how B2B companies can break through and lead when they control the context of the market conversations.
5 min |
May - June 2017
The Smart Manager
The Art Of Giving Back
Ever since its inception in 2000, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been shaping lives, one meal at a time. Theirs is the world’s largest NGO-run midday meal program, serving wholesome lunch to over 1.6 million children in 13,577 schools across 11 states in India. The Foundation—while fighting the dual challenges of hunger and education—has emerged as a brilliant model in operational excellence, technological innovation, and quality management. This interview offers a glimpse into their functioning and their plans for the future.
5 min |
May - June 2017
The Smart Manager
The New Normal
For over a decade, companies have been urged to ‘digitalize’ or risk getting left behind. The specific technology innovations introduced by the digital revolution such as mobile, apps, ‘the cloud’, big data, and 3D printing are shaking up businesses and organizations. The digital journey has passed a frontier into a land that no longer distinguishes between digital and business, as these are now unavoidably linked. However, in this passage a fracture is being revealed: top corporate leaders across the globe are insufficiently directing the digitalization of their companies. For this category of leaders, more than for the rest of the organization, digital is at best confusing and at worst unclear.To support business leaders—executives and boards alike— in their effort to digitalize, INSEAD, in collaboration with the consultancy ‘this fluid world’, have issued a report, Directing Digitalisation: 11 Guidelines for Boards and Executives. The concepts covered in this report are grouped under three key headings—environmental, organizational, and strategic, which are discussed below in the context of India.
4 min |
May - June 2017
The Smart Manager
Change Tracks
The Ministry of Science and Technology announced it will be investing $749,500 over the next few years…Under a new program, Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS), the Ministry will be providing grants of up to $149,900 to each startup to encourage innovators.* However, free flow of funds alone does not ensure success. Indian startups and SMEs have to bring about radical improvement in costs, quality, service, and other critical avenues to stay ahead of the curve.
5 min |
May - June 2017
The Smart Manager
Myths Busted - Risking Your Security
In today’s high-risk environment, personal security is becoming a matter of concern for business travelers. Charles Goslin, author of Understanding Personal Security and Risk, helps decode some of the myths.
4 min |
July-August 2017
The Smart Manager
Putting Customers First
According to an analysis by Nielsen, more than three out of every four new FMCG products launched fail in their first year.1 The reasons behind the success or failure of a product are varied. However, a common precaution companies can take while conceptualizing a product is to gauge its product-market fit.
5 min |
July-August 2017
The Smart Manager
An Immersive Future
AR, VR, MR, and AI have been around for quite some time now, and today, these technologies have evolved in a way that they find application in almost all fields imaginable. The pervasive nature of these technologies is such that they seem to be gradually becoming less of an option and more of a norm. Here are trends to watch out for in this space.
5 min |
July-August 2017
The Smart Manager
Hard To Measure?
Growth and profitability are an outcome of productivity which in turn is influenced by employee happiness and satisfaction. Studies by independent financial analysts show that publicly traded ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ consistently outperform major stock indices by a factor of 2* . This points to the fact that companies that aim at high performance cannot afford to ignore measuring employee happiness. Technological advancements have now made measuring this key metric all the more easier and accurate.
4 min |
September - October 2017
The Smart Manager
'ATMs Are Poised To Grow More Intelligent In Understanding Customer Needs'
'ATMs Are Poised To Grow More Intelligent In Understanding Customer Needs'
3 min |
September - October 2017
The Smart Manager
Heroic Leadership
On a Sunday afternoon, I received a long-distance call on my landline, from the Vice Chairman of a tractor manufacturer in North India. He was calling from his factory, where he, his wife, and the surviving workforce had locked themselves in, a few days back.
1 min |
November-December 2017
The Smart Manager
Not A Solo Affair
In the book Brand Together, the authors elaborate on the need for companies to involve employees, clients, and customers in the process of co-creation and innovation, to enable a brand to succeed. Companies, the world over, have started understanding the importance of ‘co-creation’ as an act of engaging with all stakeholders and shaping collective thinking into business ideas. The advent of social media and its sweeping impact across consumer segments have lent a new meaning to this concept.
8 min |
November-December 2017
The Smart Manager
Conquering Prejudice
According to Horace McCormick, Program Director of UNC Executive Development at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, unconscious biases are a fact of life. Everyone harbors them—and takes them into the workplace. Unconscious biases in the workplace can stymie diversity, recruiting and retention efforts, and unknowingly shape an organization’s culture. Unconscious bias can skew talent and performance reviews. It affects who gets hired, promoted, and developed— and this unwittingly undermines an organization’s culture.1
6 min |
November-December 2017
The Smart Manager
Connections Not Cliques
the effective leader: Howard Partridge the community rider: Christine Comaford network perspective: Muniinder K Anand the impact of connection: Chris Dyer
5 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Packaged Goodness
Speaking at a conference at Harvard Kennedy School recently, iD Fresh Food cofounder P C Musthafa said, “We build trust by trusting our consumers and went by the policy—if you want someone to trust you, you should first trust them.” With its unwavering focus on quality, the company is busting the myth that packaged foods are unhealthy. That they serve one million idlis a day is a testimony to their customers’ trust in them.
4 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Customer Cues
Change Your GameA study carried out by McCarthy Group showed that close to 84% of millennials do not trust traditional advertisements. Further, another study by Fractl and Moz showed that they consider ads to be disruptive and close to 63% of them block advertisements. They have an average attention span of eight seconds.* This implies that marketers have a very small window to send their message across. So how can a brand best engage with them?
4 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Customer Engagement
To deal with the demand for tailored one-to-one customer/company conversations, businesses are using AI. By 2020, Gartner predicts that 85% of customer interactions will be handled this way.* Increasingly, companies are experimenting new ways to engage their customers. The crux lies in understanding the demands of the more empowered and knowledgeable customer.
4 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
'Repeat' Value
“Companies that do a very good job of retaining their customers and developing the value of everybody over time should be awarded a much higher multiple than another business that does not retain their customers as well, even if the historical revenue patterns look exactly the same.”* This makes a case for businesses to focus on retaining their existing customers through innovative practices.
4 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Driving Innovation
The US Patent and Trademark Office describes innovation as “…a word that touches every facet of our everyday culture from business to science and even the arts. Innovation is often associated with creating new things or ideas and includes improving upon old ones too. Businesses around the world have a great need to continuously innovate to stay competitive in the global marketplace and to bring consumers the latest and greatest products and services. But innovation is not defined by just a single event or even a single brilliant idea. Innovation is truly about a process, a series of steps that begins with human imagination and creativity and results in the creation of something of value for society to enjoy.”*
7 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Rock The Boat
Thomas Edison rightly said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Ideas are simply solutions to problems. Its execution can spark change, and within an organization, it can lead to progress.
8 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
Why People Buy
When you begin a conversation with a prospect, you start by building bonding and rapport. With this connection established, you can move toward the Pain Step by establishing an up-front contract with the prospect. Among other things, the up-front contract dictates that you both are committing to a certain amount of time to go over his agenda as well as yours.
4 min |
March - April 2108
The Smart Manager
A Mandarin Narrative
“Understanding the China effect on global innovation will be essential for companies that wish to compete in China, take advantage of China’s innovation capacity, and adopt Chinese approaches to innovation to improve their own performance. The overall effect is that more innovation will originate in China—from both Chinese and global companies—and more companies would adopt the Chinese style of innovation.”*What has helped many Chinese firms make remarkable strides—not just in the realm of innovation—is their swiftness in reformulating themselves, eschewing hierarchical structures, and adopting a customer-centric approach
10 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
A Positive Delay
According to Professor Adam Grant, Wharton School of Business, “We shouldn’t be afraid to start early, but equally we shouldn’t be afraid to be slow to finish… procrastination might just improve the end result.”* When used sensibly by leaders, procrastination is a powerful management strategy.
5 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
What Is Your Script?
While Freud and most other psychotherapists took the rather simplistic approach of asking the patient about themselves, Berne took an alternate approach to therapy. Berne felt that a therapist could learn what the problem was by simply observing what was communicated (words, body language, facial expressions) in a transaction. So instead of directly asking the patient questions, Berne would frequently observe the patient in a group setting, noting all of the transactions that occurred between the patient and other individuals.Although rooted in psycho therapy, Transactional Analysis has a profound role to play wherever interactions constitute the core. In an organizational setting, it can help build strong cultures.
7 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
Be A Change Leader
In an interview with The Smart Manager, John Knights, author of Leading Beyond The Ego said that adopting a style beyond the traditional is more suitable in a world of continuous transformation.* The hierarchical, managerial, male-dominated, and authoritarian leadership style of the 20th century has to undergo a drastic change as organizations are becoming more democratic, inclusive, employee-centric, and open to feedback from all ‘rungs of the ladder’.
4 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
A Measured Step
Employee turnover is expensive. Replacing an employee who quits costs, on average, 21% of their annual pay. While it’s tempting to dismiss turnover as a fact of life in today’s fast-moving job market, new research shows otherwise.* Compensation could be a strategic tool for talent retention, especially when the going is tough.
6 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
Bridging The Gap
Pam Didner, author of Effective Sales Enablement, shares her perspective on how sales needs to treat marketing as a hidden sales force, while marketing can leverage sales as another marketing channel.
5 min |
July - August 2018
The Smart Manager
How To Keep Toxicity At Bay?
In their book, Toxic Workplace!, Mitchell Kusy and Elizabeth Holloway define toxic personality as “anyone who demonstrates a pattern of counter productive, work behaviour that debilitate individuals, teams, and even organizations over the long term.” Harboring negative feelings could prove detrimental to not just others. It could linger within and ruin you, even without your knowledge.
4 min |
September - October 2018
The Smart Manager
‘Leaders' Of A Different Kind
At an organizational level, in a sense, millennials are change-makers. While not taking the expected course, they demand a relook at many aspects, hitherto considered beyond the scope of change. For instance, they bring home the fact that impactful leadership, in no context, can operate within a command and control paradigm; it has to be democratic, and involve guiding, coaching, supporting, and facilitating.
7 min |
September - October 2018
The Smart Manager
One Small Step, One Big Change
The image of women being caught in a stifled existence does not come as a surprise to most of us. In many cultures, they continue to be the less privileged, their basic needs unaddressed, and their ambitions and goals put on the back burner. What can effect a transformation? Where does one start? Perhaps, with an individual or a small group, and then replicate the success on a larger canvas.
6 min |