Moving from being average to more

Have not posted anything on the blog since long. Reasons include my laziness, my same routine life which inhibited me from getting new experiences to blog about and yes lots of time spent on twitter. Most of my time online is now spent on twitter. It is one of the most interesting medium of social network. Lets see what replaces twitter in the battle of social network.

Since some days, I've been wondering about the reasons as to why the high achievers of so many schools, the toppers of so many schools, colleges, the ones who have shown a lot of potential during their education, after completion of their education fail to make a big mark. I have seen a lot of individuals who had shown immense skills of persuasion, leadership and adaptability during school days. Yet, after their education, much of that flair is not visible. I believe that the most important reason for such a behaviour is settling down in their lives. After their education is complete, most of these high achievers join a large corporates or join their family business (wherever applicable). After joining large corporates, these individuals are made to work on select problem of the corporate much like so many other people. Most f these individuals are relegated to a typical 9 to 6 job which involves the same routine of commuting to the place of work, working for the stipulated time and then going back to their residences. These individuals, generally, come across the same set of people everyday who are almost similar to them in therms of thought processes. As such there is not much scope for new ideas to come forth. In other words, settling down in life causes these high achievers to lead a life similar to others and eventually these individuals who were earlier high acheivers now become average or above average individuals. Yes, the perform well at their jobs, earn reputation of being good, but in my opinion they are still average individuals who once had potential to be extra ordinary. The most important factor for this is coming across the same set of individuals everyday and not getting new experiences in life. To come out of this monotony, the individual has to meet different set of people everytime discovering how problems can be solved in different ways. An individual should try and meet as many people as possible, interact with them and get different points of views and help come up with new ideas which might help the individual to rise out of the ordinary. The network that the individual would have built in the process shall prove to be of immense importance in the future as well.

The above quite applies to me. I have been leading a very routine life since the past year or so and have not met a new person (or even an old colleague) since quite sometime. I have decided to meet different people in the coming time, update this space more often, get different point of views and try and build network to fall back upon in the future.
Tweet

Thoughts on Holidays

It has been long that I've posted anything on this blog, maybe I'm too busy watching movies, arguing with roommates, reading useless books, following unknown people on twitter or wasting time at work preparing project reports only to be ultimately rejected.  But finally something has now been posted here.

The idea of holidays & vacation brings joy on everyone's face from children to adults, from home makers to businessmen - just about everyone. I'm going to take a break of around 4 days from work next week and that triggered this post.

For me and a lot of others who stay in a different city away from their parents for work, holidays mean family time visiting my hometown and enjoy food made by my mother and aunties. Once a year, we visit hill stations like Mahabaleshwar where we spend time in a hotel and visit a few prominent places coupled with good food. But the idea has always been to relax and enjoy the delicious food available at the place. With friends, holidays have been visiting a place and chit chatting for hours together.
In short, my idea of a holiday or an outing for the weekend has always been spending quiet time with others and enjoy good food either at home or another place.

However, the idea of holiday now seems to be changing atleast in urban India - weekend treks, adventure sports, beaches, etc now seem to be the way to spend long weekends or holidays. Weekends are planned well in advance and people try to visit maximum places possible in a short span of time. As such a lot of time is wasted travelling and not much on spending quiet time. The inclination is more towards high exertion trips packed with long journeys, adventure sports trying to get unique experiences during the trips.

Yes and the focus is capturing photographs (fit to be used as dps and cover pics) rather than enjoying the beauty around. The tendency to capture more and more of ourselves into the digital media rather than going alongwith the flow of the place is on a rise since the advent of facebook. Not that I'm complaining but stating observation.

The point is that the idea of a weekend holiday is changing rapidly in India, especially urban India and marketeers of travel plans have a great opportunity by creating customized offerings.
However, for me, the old boring style of holiday in a good hotel with family and friends and good food is the right way.

Tweet

A case of Unjustified ROI

I finally could make it to the much hyped "The Dark Knight Rises" & found the movie enjoyable to watch. Though, I'd say I liked the previous part - "The Dark Knight" more. Nevertheless, a movie that was worth the hype. For more explanation on how the previous movie was better, one could read this lovely piece written by Mr. Ray.

This was the first time I bought tickets using group discount sites. Until now, bookmyshow.com had been my gateway for movie tickets. The tickets were made available at half the actual prices by the Indian subsidiary of Groupon, the group discount site that made a big-bang entry into the US capital markets last year. The Indian subsidiary is called Crazeal (Crazy + Deal). Surprisingly, I'd not heard of the name before I got the tickets delivered to my place.  Nevertheless, I got a good deal and could watch the movie at a good cinema hall at half the price.

However, when I thought about the company offering me discount, I began to wonder at the cost it had incurred to successfully organize the occasion. A rough estimate of the costs can be easily done:

1. I do not think PVR would have offered any discount to crezeal.com on the tickets since the movie was in its first week and would have run full even if crazeal.com was not involved. So, I think the organizing group had to pay PVR full ticket prices. Considering there were 600 seats all worth Rs. 350 (Actually there were 590 seats and around 25 were premium tickets. But for estimating, I think 600 shall do) and considering crazeal.com would have paid for half out of its own pocket, that would amount to Rs. 175 x 600 = Rs. 1,05,000 only for the tickets.
2. As an additional promotion measure, key-chains of batman were gifted to each member of the audience. Considering a cost (rough estimate of Rs 10 per key-chain), that would have amounted to Rs. 10 x 600 = Rs. 6000. 
3. A crew of 6 people (I could spot 6 people in their crazeal T-shirts) for ensuring the event goes smoothly would have also cost. Say Rs. 400 per hour. So, that amounts to Rs. 400 x 6 x 3 = Rs. 7200 (T-Shirt cost included).
4. The tickets were couriered for those who booked the tickets 3 days in advance. Say 30 % people preferred to get the tickets before (I believe the count would have been higher looking at the less rush at the counter to collect the tickets but a conservative estimate). So, around 180 couriers at around Rs. 15 per courier (Along with the flashy ticket cover), that amounts to Rs. 180 x 15 = Rs. 2700. 
5. I could see atleast 3 large sized posters of crazeal.com in the cinema hall. Say the total cost there for printing and accessories was Rs. 1000.


There are the visible costs. There would have been a lot of invisible costs in terms of internet marketing costs and other losses due to payment gateways, but lets say those have been included above. Still, the minimum cost which I estimate would have been incurred to organize the event would have been Rs. 1,21,900 say Rs. 1.22 Lakhs. As against this, what as the brand achieved:


What have the organizers achieved? Made me aware of the existence of such the Groupon, Inida subsidiary. I shall once or twice visit the site, see if I've anything interesting (I didn't find the site exciting today when I went through it. I would prefer snapdeal.com to find more about discounts). I seriously don't care where I get discounts from as long as I'm getting them & yes, they managed to make me write this. :P


So much was spent for a group of 600 visitors (A few of them were kids as well & most were in groups of 3. So, on an average around 200 unique families) to make aware of a site called crazeal.com. Isn't the cost too much. I shall be glad to know how the managers convinced the management to allow so much expenditure, I would be glad to see their justification on Returns On Investment? Is this the right strategy to develop a sustainable group discount brand in India?

Tweet

Thoughts on Urban Indian Youth

A lot is said about the demographic dividend in South East Asian countries, especially India. A lot of growth is projected based on this young population that exists and that is going to exist in the decade to come. However, when I see the youth, especially the urban, learned youth, I'm afraid India might lose out on this amazing opportunity and the demographic dividend might become a population problem.
I have come to a conclusion that the urban youth of today has become lazy, impatient, demanding and indifferent.

The urban youth of today does not want to do any work himself/herself. He (Shall keep it to "he" but it is equally applicable to "she") would like to direct someone else to do the work for him. He considers himself to know-it-all even before getting hands on experience. Today's youth wants more money, wants annual (if not half-yearly) double-digit increment, more facilities, favorable working conditions, etc; yet his productivity is not even equal to that given by the older generation. Agreed that the older generation was not so highly educated, but being educated doesn't mean only demanding things. He should also show that the quality of his work and his productivity deserves the amount of resources demanded.
One person who joined a well-known investment banking firm started talking about the expected increment & bonus in the 1st month into work (Mind you, he was a fresher) & started making plans of his next job if the increment was not up to his expectations. I mean, he still didn't know which department he would be in, the work he would be doing; yet all that mattered was the level of bonus / increment to be earned, irrespective of the level of output given.

I myself consider me lazy. When I consider to the number of tasks done by my parents regularly even at this age, I feel ashamed and humbled by my inferiority.

The youth of today, especially the urban youth has become highly demanding. While it is good to demand and know what you want (Customer is king and all), being unreasonable in demands is what it has come to. An uneducated house servant was given a lot many tasks and when he missed out on one insignificant task, he was made to listen to loud lecture without even  knowing the reason behind him not performing the task. Mind you that insignificant task was so simple to be done that the master could have done it in 2 mins without any major troubles. Yet, he didn't do it and gave a big 5 mins lecture to the servant instead.


The level of indifference in today's youth can be seen in any of the shopping malls of any urban/ suburban metro city. The way people communicate to the attendants in restaurants and shops says it all. Apathy is the word when I see a lot of people faking accents in the shopping malls in front of the shop attendants who have a tough time understanding them.


This is the behaviour I've been seeing lately in general in Mumbai among educated young people. I will not even comment on the time wasted by the youth in their places of work. That's a different story altogether. I also shall not say anything on cultural change, parental neglect, etc which I believe depends on youth's upbringing.


There are exceptions to all generalizations and thankfully there are quite a few people who are exceptions to the rule. Hope the youth of today gives up its laziness, indifference and starts to become more tolerant and starts working hard to make true the demographic dividend promise.

Thoughts on Toy Markets in India

It has been sometime I've posted here - partly because of the multitude of things that are there to be read on the internet and partly due to the fact that I've become lazy and spend a lot of time reading unrelated things. But laziness is a different story and I shall discuss it at length some other time.
Now that I am in Mumbai, I have been visiting different malls in the city and a lot many times I go there with a relative who has a kid or with someone who wants to buy some gifts to their relatives' newly born ones. (Its baby boom in India I suppose) As a result, I have been visiting the kids section - especially the toys and games section in search of gifts for kids.

Games and toys have been a very important part of my childhood. Every summer, I used to eagerly go to toy shops in Mumbai, spend days deciding one toy/game (I was allowed one game per vacation) & then buy one at the end of my stay at Mumbai. So, going into this toys divison makes me kind of nostalgic.

According to different press reports, the size of Indian toy market is  between Rs 7500 & Rs 9000 crore with around 15% growth expected annually. Based on this, it seems the demand of toys and games is huge and growing. However, when I look at the supply side, I am largely disappointed. The supply comes from some large global players like Funskool, Hamleys and ofcourse China. Global companies like Mattel, Lego, etc have also now started entering the market through the network of different retail super / hyper markets. However, 90% of the toys still come from the unorganized sector.

What I find disappointing in this supply side is that there is no Indian toy brand that is clearly visible among the so many toys and games in the market. Yes, quite a lot of toys are made in India but the brand is missing. Thee is a huge potential for some new player to establish in the market. Toys related to mythological characters aren't much visible in the urban market. I guess a toy brand which is related to mythological characters depicted in a modern style shall be a good idea to make a dent in the games and toys market jst like Indian comics did in the past by focus on traditional characters.

Another thing I've come to observe is that there is a huge gap in introduction of new products in some segments of this market. Now, the toys and games market can be divided into different categories like:

• Soft toys, dolls, hobby sets
• Educational games like puzzles/ mechanics, craft
• Group Board Games
• Plastic, battery operated & music based toys
• Cars, automobiles

New products are generally introduced in the categories of soft toys, battery operated toys, cars, etc. We can get to see a huge variety in these categories & new products being introduced regularly in these categories. The quality of toys in this category also seems to be getting better and better each day. (No comments on the Chinese toys)

However, in categories like Puzzles and group board games, the number of new additions has been dismal. While I do understand that introducing different shaped/sized products is far easier than developing conceptual games, it feels disappointing to see the same board games in stores as there were 15 years ago. I do see the same games like Monopoly, Scotland Yard, Life, Mechanix, etc. Yes, I did see some new offerings like Don - The game begins, Disney board games; but when I read the concept, the games didn't sound like fun where I, as a kid, would like to spend the whole weekend. Not much innovation is seen in this category of toys and games market.

One more thing I've come to observe is that the small stores meant exclusively for toys have ceased to exist atleast in the tier 1, 2& 3 cities. Now, toys form a section of a gift store or some stationery store. The fact that more and more toys are being sold in the malls means the toys are getting expensive. As such, the lower middle class and also the middle class is not able to afford these toys. I think more such stand-alone games and toy stores should be built.

At my hometown, I recall, we had a library of toys which allowed me to get one toy for each week. That way, I could come across a lot of different toys. I believe such concepts shall give a boost to toys circulation and also help children to imagine, develop and grow.

And last but not the least, with online shopping (e-commerce) increasing in double digits in India, online games and toy stores offer a huge scope. Players like Flipkart, infibeam, etc do have a small section for toys and games, but the variety isn't much and so offers a great opportunity for a new niche player to tap into the growing product e-commerce market.

In short, I believe that Indian games and toys market is still a huge opportunity for a big local player to tap into. Innovating board / concept games to make sure group games last for hours together, creating stand-alone toy stores for affordability, setting up online games stores for easy accessibility and introducing the concept of toy library are some things which can be taken to tap the huge potential Indian toy & games market has to offer.

What after IT growth declines?

The past decade in India has been majorly driven by the growth in IT and ITes. This sector has been the job creator for the last decade especially among the rising number of engineers. The IT companies have been well known to provide jobs to college graduates of any engineering field as long as he/she is able to read and write properly :P. But son a serious note, the majority of the employment generated during the past decade has been in this field. However, the future growth of this sector is not looking that strong, Like everything has an expiry date, even the growth of this sector has been and the growth rate in this sector is now falling. Going by reports of Infosys and some Indian major IT companies, the forecast for the next year is bleak and growth shall be tepid in the future.
Lower growth means less hiring and as a result shall lead to unemployment amongst educated Indians. India desperately needs a new sector where the graduates from colleges can be placed like the IT companies. So, which sector shall replace the IT sector? Where shall majority of employment be generated in the future? I ponder over such questions at times.

The new manufacturing policy announced by GOI seems to be the answer to this. The aim of the policy is to generate 100 million jobs in the next decade. While the intention of the policy seems to be right and also the approach seems right, I doubt whether the target of generating 100 million jobs shall be met.

I think that the following reasons will act as a deterent for youths, specially engineers to join manufacturing:
1. Physically tough conditions - Manufacturing generally involves working in industrial areas under tough physical conditions like noise, vibrations, pollution, etc
2. Shifts in factories - Manufacturing generally is ta 24 x 7 continuous job which might involve working in shifts at factories which acts as a big deterent
3. The missing glamour of IT - Factory life doesn't have glamour of the IT grand offices and involves handling unskilled labour.
4. Outside city limits - Factories are geerally situated in industrial areas outside the cities whereas IT jobs could be in the cities as well.
5. Emergence of higher studies - Due to the emergence of higher education centres for management studies, people shall prefer to join some other sector.

The jump by Indians directly to services bypassing manufacturing initially also is a big factor behind rendering manufacturing sector unattractive as an employment sector for engineering youth.
An article from New York times describes a situation in US about lack of sufficient middle class technical manpower to execute big engineering and logistical projects.


I think a similar threat also exists in India if we do not concentrate on building and harnessing sufficient technical skills in this field.
The rising expectations, the growing impatience of the youth,  the want for easy money wihout toiling hard could also turn youth towards service sector like that in US.

Maybe it is time, we focus on developing technical skills necessary to implement and execute the manufacturing policy.

P.S:- In case any person reading have any idea, kindly let me know why is this blog viewed more in countries like Russia, Canada, Lativa and a host of countries where I know no body. I would like the blog to be read by people rather than BOTS.

On morning walks

Inspite of me staying at hostel for so many years and living away from parents, I take pride in calling myself an early riser. I have been an early riser throughout. Right from school till today, I have been waking up early. I believe that one takes less amount of time to complete a work in the morning when compared to night.
This habit I believe has been inherited from my father. He has been an early riser as far as I can remember. His routine of going for a morning walk has seldom been broken and he has been following this routine of going for a morning walk since almost 15 years. The morning walk has made him increase his contacts in the city, make new friends and develop his business. He has obtained quite a lot of clients due to the network developed during the morning walks.

For me morning walk means to enjoy the sunrise, meet new people, talk to them, make a plan for the day and enjoy the nature. Specially during winters. A sense of discipline is inculcated because of this habbit of getting up early and going for a walk. I am not very regular for a walk but make it a point to go for it whenever possible.

However, a few things I see at Mumbai disturbs me. Lack of walking/ jogging parks, long commuting hours and the lifestyle of people has made it really tough for people to be regular for morning walks. Reaching offices on time is by far the biggest tension in minds of most of the people. Also, the evolution of the 'gym culture' has made the people who have time to go to the closed spaces for exercises.

I, fortunately have a good walking track nearby the place I reside. I've been able to know some people in the society I stay. However, most of the people who come for walk [During the time I go] aren't regular. I fail to locate an interesting person the very next day. Nevertheless, it provides me an excellent time to plan for the day, think about work and watch young people playing sports on the ground.

Hope to be more regular at the morning walks, develop good contacts and (show-off :P) get some discipline restored.

Happy New year

I was thinking of putting down how the last year has been for financial markets and stuff like Anna and other political issues :P. But looking at the sheer brilliance of Deepak Shenoy in his year review post (Here), I no longer feel the need anymore. A crsip, humorous & a great sum-up post indeed. Cheers.

So, the year 2011 finally ended. It has been a year when I learnt a lot about human behavior through observations, faced a lot of tough decisions - some with and some without parents' approval, took upon a tough journey hoping for a fruitful end and also spent a lot of time alone introspecting. It has been an year when I spent a lot of time online - both using the desktop and the smartphone onTwitter, FB and more importantly Google reader. I think I have spent more time surfing these sites than that at my home.

Hope to be more productive in this new year and learn lot of new and exciting things.

To all those who read this, wish you a happy new year.