The recently concluded drama at Flopenhagen (Sorry, Copenhagen), made me think about something which is usually a pretty neglected topic when it comes to debates on environment related issues etc. (Note that I am just highlighting this side-effect to trigger a constructive debate on this topic, and in no way am I stating that the issues related to environmental protection are not important)
--> Sidenote: Well, the Danish capital could do well by changing its name anyways, given the popularity(or is it notoriety?!) the new word has attained.
I wanted to dwell on the possible effects on the professional and personal lives of people working in certain industries, upon implementation of all or some of the solutions being suggested to overcome the problems faced by the Earth's environment.
Please feel free to send in all your cerebral "bricks and bouquets", regarding this topic. I would especially solicit interesting inputs and insights from the readers of my blog who are (a)domain experts in the few industries covered below, (b) environmentalists, (c)social scientists, (d)economists etc. Of course all the others are also welcome to send in their valuable inputs. Please feel free to add insights about other industries which I might have missed out in this blogpost.
Before I list out points about each of the industries, I would like to put down some scenarios which I believe could exist:-
*Scenario 1: Skills of people working in the "polluting" industry, are not transferable to be used in the "non-polluting" industry which is being touted as an environmentally friendly replacement. However, the existing market demand for products of the "polluting" industry sustains itself for many number of years. This helps in the workforce in the "polluting" industry to gracefully reach retirement during these many number of years.
--> Suggested Action: Non Required, as there will not be a mass unemployment issue
*Scenario 2: Skills of people working in the "polluting" industry, are not transferable to be used in the "non-polluting" industry which is being touted as an environmentally friendly replacement. To compound problems for the folks working in the "polluting" industry, the market for their products also vanishes in no time.
--> Suggested Action: Governments to work closely with industry and intervene timely with proper plans, to ensure that the effected workforce and their families do not suffer due to no fault of theirs.
*Scenario 3: Skills of people working in the "polluting" industry, are transferable to be used in the "non-polluting" industry which is being touted as an environmentally friendly replacement. However, the number of available jobs in the "newer" industry, is much lesser in number.
--> Suggested Action: Ditto, as for Scenario 2 described above.
*Scenario 4: Only certain market segments of the "polluting" industry needs to be "shut down".
--> Suggested Action: Can be easily resolved.
*Scenario 5: Each member of the workforce of "polluting" industry can be promptly transferred to the "new" industry.
--> Suggested Action: Well, what else do you want? It is Utopia! :-).
Having listed the scenarios which I could think of, let us go to some of the concerned industries --
* The Oil and Gas Industry (Upstream activities like oil exploration etc, all the way to cover downstream activities like marketing of petroleum products etc):- The Upstream activities would fall in the "Scenario 1" category. The Downstream activities would come closest to falling in the "Scenario 5" category
*Non-Renewable Energy: Scenario 1 is applicable in this case
*Auto Industry (Vehicles running on petrol, diesel): Again, Scenario 1 is applicable for this industry
*Plastics: Scenario 4 is applicable in this case
*Poultry and livestock: Ditto as for the Plastics industry i.e. Scenario 4
The importance of policy makers taking adequate measures to cover the scenarios described in this blog post, can be realised from the following scenario which occured in a different context (some of you would be aware of it):- Textile units in Bangladesh which employed children as workers, were abrupty shutdown. The result was an even worse future for the kids who lost their jobs. Since the children's families lost an important source of income without any means to replenish the same, most of them were forced to become child prostitutes. This forced the policy makers to implement a solution which was more pragmatic in nature.
Catch you folks later, with a blog post on the legendary "Sales Vs Production" fight :-)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Murder on the Road
Friends, I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season in your own different and quaint ways. I wanted to share some of the thoughts (sort of weird ones)which keep criss-crossing my mind when I am driving on the Bangalore roads. Kindly let me know, if many of you also experience some or all of these thoughts one time or the other.
Listed below are some of my feelings, when on the road:-
(i)I have been feeling a constant urge to buy and keep a baseball club in my car. Why? To swing it at the empty heads of offending fellow drivers, and to not miss!!
(ii)To swing the car to the right, and crush/grind to a pulp the bike trying to sneak into the teeny-weeny space between my car and the divider
(iii)To pull out the "more-than-errant, foul-mouthed, and arrogant" driver of a "yellow plate" vehicle (cab/van/truck) by his hair, and stab him more than 20 times to death
--> Sub-Feeling No.1: To smash to death auto-rickshaw drivers, who never use their rear view mirrors, before wildly swerving on to my path without any hint of a warning
--> Sub-Feeling No.2: To have the drivers of buses publicly lynched and ensure they meet the death of a street mongrel (Kill the passengers who are responsible too), for :(a)Stopping dead in the middle of a busy road or doing so to block a busy crossing, (b) Swerving right and trying to crush smaller vehicles on to the divider etc etc
--> Sub-Feeling No.3: To put a knife through the drivers of Tata Sumos etc who try to muscle their way through by threateningly veering towards your vehicle to try scaring you to the side of the road
(iv)To increase the speed of my car, and run over the two-wheeler in front of me who turns deaf to my polite honks, and continues riding at a snail's pace through the exact centre of a wide road
(v)To slap the driver of a tractor which slows down the entire city traffic, and to tell him that the road does not run through his farm
(vi)To mow down the pedestrians who choose to jump right in front of my car, timing the jump right when I reach the spot, despite the moron having clearly seen me coming on the road. Same applies to the idiots who are able and hearty, but still amble across the road slowly on purpose in a mocking fashion
(vii)When the cattle (whose rightful place is on a farm!) jumps in front of my car, instinctively I feel like "shooting the messenger" (Read: killing the animal, even if my car gets dented). However, then I feel that the person who should be tied to an electric post and flogged to death, is the animal's empty-headed owner.
(viii)To search for, find out, and club to death, the idiotic employee(s) of the municipality, who are responsible for the stupidly designed&placed humps, potholes of gorge-like proportions, open manholes, roadblocks forgotten to be removed, and what not!
(ix)To gift bangles to traffic policemen for them to wear, when I see them not being able to enforce rules on erring motorists
(x)To have the vehicles pounded (with the driver tied up inside), when I see them jumping red signals with impunity, as if it is their birthright.
(xi)To burst the tires of drivers who try to honk and push their way through, and do not allow people in front of them to legally change lanes (when they very much could have done so!)
(xii)To hit and reduce cyclists (and their cycles) into a mangled piece of metal and flesh, for swerving right or left without warning (and any gap)
(xiii) Break all the headlights/brakelights and burst all the tires of vehicles, who endanger others on the road at night by having some or all of their headlights/brakelights to be not switched on.
(xiv)For folks driving on roads in the wrong direction and on footpaths-Show no mercy. Tie them up and have a road roller run over them.
(xv)For folks who honk without any reason, and for those who ignore signs like "No U-Turn" - Cut off the ears of the former and gouge out the eyes of the latter. Their ears and eyes are vestigial/non-functional, anyways.
(xvi)For folks who try to go from the rightmost lane to the leftmost one (or vice-versa), bang at a busy crossing - Just hang them to death right there!
Plea to the relevant authorities - Either do your duties and enforce traffic laws (which you have proven to be incapable of till now), or please legally sanction law-abiding drivers to do any of the above sixteen things!
Listed below are some of my feelings, when on the road:-
(i)I have been feeling a constant urge to buy and keep a baseball club in my car. Why? To swing it at the empty heads of offending fellow drivers, and to not miss!!
(ii)To swing the car to the right, and crush/grind to a pulp the bike trying to sneak into the teeny-weeny space between my car and the divider
(iii)To pull out the "more-than-errant, foul-mouthed, and arrogant" driver of a "yellow plate" vehicle (cab/van/truck) by his hair, and stab him more than 20 times to death
--> Sub-Feeling No.1: To smash to death auto-rickshaw drivers, who never use their rear view mirrors, before wildly swerving on to my path without any hint of a warning
--> Sub-Feeling No.2: To have the drivers of buses publicly lynched and ensure they meet the death of a street mongrel (Kill the passengers who are responsible too), for :(a)Stopping dead in the middle of a busy road or doing so to block a busy crossing, (b) Swerving right and trying to crush smaller vehicles on to the divider etc etc
--> Sub-Feeling No.3: To put a knife through the drivers of Tata Sumos etc who try to muscle their way through by threateningly veering towards your vehicle to try scaring you to the side of the road
(iv)To increase the speed of my car, and run over the two-wheeler in front of me who turns deaf to my polite honks, and continues riding at a snail's pace through the exact centre of a wide road
(v)To slap the driver of a tractor which slows down the entire city traffic, and to tell him that the road does not run through his farm
(vi)To mow down the pedestrians who choose to jump right in front of my car, timing the jump right when I reach the spot, despite the moron having clearly seen me coming on the road. Same applies to the idiots who are able and hearty, but still amble across the road slowly on purpose in a mocking fashion
(vii)When the cattle (whose rightful place is on a farm!) jumps in front of my car, instinctively I feel like "shooting the messenger" (Read: killing the animal, even if my car gets dented). However, then I feel that the person who should be tied to an electric post and flogged to death, is the animal's empty-headed owner.
(viii)To search for, find out, and club to death, the idiotic employee(s) of the municipality, who are responsible for the stupidly designed&placed humps, potholes of gorge-like proportions, open manholes, roadblocks forgotten to be removed, and what not!
(ix)To gift bangles to traffic policemen for them to wear, when I see them not being able to enforce rules on erring motorists
(x)To have the vehicles pounded (with the driver tied up inside), when I see them jumping red signals with impunity, as if it is their birthright.
(xi)To burst the tires of drivers who try to honk and push their way through, and do not allow people in front of them to legally change lanes (when they very much could have done so!)
(xii)To hit and reduce cyclists (and their cycles) into a mangled piece of metal and flesh, for swerving right or left without warning (and any gap)
(xiii) Break all the headlights/brakelights and burst all the tires of vehicles, who endanger others on the road at night by having some or all of their headlights/brakelights to be not switched on.
(xiv)For folks driving on roads in the wrong direction and on footpaths-Show no mercy. Tie them up and have a road roller run over them.
(xv)For folks who honk without any reason, and for those who ignore signs like "No U-Turn" - Cut off the ears of the former and gouge out the eyes of the latter. Their ears and eyes are vestigial/non-functional, anyways.
(xvi)For folks who try to go from the rightmost lane to the leftmost one (or vice-versa), bang at a busy crossing - Just hang them to death right there!
Plea to the relevant authorities - Either do your duties and enforce traffic laws (which you have proven to be incapable of till now), or please legally sanction law-abiding drivers to do any of the above sixteen things!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sales Vs Production: The eternal struggle
I am sure everyone of you would have heard about the traditional "Sales Vs Production" bitter-sweet relationship, which exists in every company, in every industry, and in every country. It is a subject of great interest among students of Sales Management and other similiar courses, which are part of the curriculum in B-Schools across the globe.
Actually in the IT Services industry, there is another player involved: The Pre-Sales Folks
Anyways, based on my personal experiences while working in Sales, Pre-Sales, and Project Delivery (Production), I would like to jot down a few points. Many of them could be a repeat of what you might have heard often. Still I would "pen" them down, as every blogger worth his/her salt, has this once-in-a-while urge to let out "preachy sounding ideas" on his/her blogs :-). So, kindly bear with me :-)
*For the Sales Folks:-
(i)You are supposed to be aggressive when it comes to going after and getting new business. Do not bring that aggressiveness (esp. when not called for), into your communications with people within your own company
(ii)Since you are the person bringing in the money into the company, you are understandably vested with certain special "powers". Don't misuse those powers to harm others in the company
(iii)Agreed that your job is highly stressful. However, even the others in the company could be facing lots of challenges at their jobs, even though they might be facing pressure which is a tardy bit lesser than what is being experienced by you.
(iv)Remember that you are the one running after the commissions - It is a truth, and please face it. The folks who have to help you in the process (production etc) do not have the lure of a commission. So at least be nice to them, to get the required help from them.
(v)Remember that you can do absolutely no selling without the help of Pre-Sales and Production. So by burning bridges with them - you are tearing off your own paycheck!
(vi)No, maybe you really do not understand how it is in production and pre-sales! Folks who have spent all their lives only in sales - I do not think you can even come close to countering the above statement.
For those who have "seen it all" - Maybe you "saw it all" in a different time, under different conditions. e.g. maybe you were lucky to run projects with more experienced resources at your disposal, while the current lot are having to do with greenhorns
(vii)"Why are these folks asking me to go back to the customer and ask for data? Why can't they make the proposal without the data? Asking these questions of the customer would be so tough!!" ...Hmmm..Sorry buddy, what was that? I think you did not get it - You get paid to handle these "tough" scenarios. I can understand that some data cannot be got, but you cannot say that about everything involved.
(viii)"Why do I need to build relationships with the Production folks? Anyways, they come in to the picture only once the deal is closed." Really??!!
-->How many times have you setup customer meetings, solely with the help of the contacts that your production personnel had with his/her peers(that is the key word there) in the customer's organization?
--> How many times were you able to trace the fat commission you gobbled up without even burping once :-), to the key inputs related to existing accounts that the production personnel gave you?
--> What about the time when you learnt it the hard way that "you should talk to the production team before meeting an existing customer, to be well-prepared to handle any production related escalations which might be brought up by the customer"?
--> Would you honestly have been able to win all those deals, without the help of the production team in churning out a technically robust business proposal?
(ix)Do not overcommit to customer, and put the production team in unwarranted trouble. It would only cause more harm to your future business prospects.
(x)I know that the data surrounding any new business opportunity is hazy, but you need to have some semblance of logic in the directions/guidance you give to the proposal making team, for them to be able to churn out a proposal in sync with what you are looking for :-)
*Now, For the Production (and Pre-Sales) Folks:-
(i)Firstly, the sales guy is not enjoying a cushy, long-term onsite stint-Period!! Trying to sell anything and meeting timebound sales targets is a truly challenging job. If you have never done it - Buddy, then you surely cannot even think about how tough direct sales can be!
(ii)"What does the sales guy do? I make all the slides, and a lot of the business wins are due to the good work that my team does. Why do they even have a sales team?"- Hmmm...No one is trying to undermine the importance of your work on the slides, and the good work that your team has done. However, I guess you really do not get to see e.g. the pains that the direct sales guy has to undergo, to ensure that the Request for Proposal(RFP)/tender at least gets to your doorstep in the first place.
(iii)"What tough customer meeting is this sales guy talking about? XYZ is always so nice to us." - My friend, don't tell me you do not know that most customers tend to be more forthright and blunt in giving feedback to the person who "sold the goods/services to them". Also remember the "you and the customer, are production/technical peers", concept that we covered earlier in this blog post. So, use the sales guy as a second channel to get timely and high quality feedback.
(iv)"I want 200% perfect data related to customer's operations, competition etc. Only then can a decent proposal be made" - Come on, be a bit more realistic and understanding!
(v)"This is a new domain, and we will not give an aggressive proposal-sorry!!. I don't care if there is a heavily entrenched competitor, and that to break-in we need to make a more-than-compelling proposition". My friend, even the domain you are working on currently was new once upon a time. Do you mean to say that you will do nothing else once this project ends? What will happen to your source of livelihood after that? I am sure you agree that the customer will change over to you as a company, only if you commit to providing him/her something different and compelling.
(vi)"This person gets low quality (?) projects". My friend, the direct sales personnel's work is to get new business. What is this "low quality" stuff about, anyways? Do you really believe that there are "high quality" opportunities in sync with your specific tastes, waiting with folded arms for you??!!
(vii)"Why is this person in direct sales? I am sure, I would have done a better job any day". Well, in most cases, companies put a lot of thought in putting a person in a direct sales position which is business critical. So in all probability you are really not "direct sales" material, and hence were not considered for the position (at least you need to consider this possibility).
So, I invite readers of my blog, from both sides of the fence on this ever going (but quaint) fight, to have their "swords" sharpened and ready :-). Since I am more than confident that you would be civil, I offer this space to be the "battleground".
Catch you later with another blog post on geopolitics (or maybe human psychology!)
Zero G: Rooftop Discotheque/Lounge Bar
Finally, getting down to blog something about another Bangalore nightspot. Last month I had blogged about a great underground place (Athena), and now I take you on a ride right up to the top floor of Prestige Towers on Residency Road (opposite Purple Haze), to Zero G which is a great discotheque-cum-lounge bar. Cover charges for a couple is close to Rs 500/-.
The place caters to customers across various age groups with its decently sized lounge bar, dance floor, and party halls. The food is good, and so is the array of beverages available to you. The waiters though not as classy as at Athena, are efficient and friendly.
You could stay indoors, or enjoy things alfresco on the open terrace which has a swimming pool too.
I have never used my own car to go to the place, but I am told that parking is not an issue, what with parking space for up to 150 cars.
The official co-ordinates of the place:-
Zero G, 10th Floor, Prestige Tower
Residency Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025
080 22079014
That is all for now. Catch you later..
The place caters to customers across various age groups with its decently sized lounge bar, dance floor, and party halls. The food is good, and so is the array of beverages available to you. The waiters though not as classy as at Athena, are efficient and friendly.
You could stay indoors, or enjoy things alfresco on the open terrace which has a swimming pool too.
I have never used my own car to go to the place, but I am told that parking is not an issue, what with parking space for up to 150 cars.
The official co-ordinates of the place:-
Zero G, 10th Floor, Prestige Tower
Residency Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025
080 22079014
That is all for now. Catch you later..
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Privacy Policy And Other Rules
Welcome to my Blog. Kindly adhere to the below policies, or else you could be subject to appropriate punitive action by either the Company owning Blogger or myself.
*The contents of this blog (Original posts) are my creation, and hence I am the owner of the same. The same shall not be copied and used elsewhere by anyone else other than me, without my explicit permission
*Feel free to add your comments against my blog entries. However, any comments which are found to be abusive and vulgar in nature, shall result in the concerned user being permanently banned from accessing my blog
*The contents of this blog are my personal views, and not those of the companies or academic institutions with whom I have been, am, or shall be associated.
*Please ensure that as a visitor to my blog, you do not involve yourself in any invalid clicking of advertisements.
*Please do not copy/paste original works of other people which amounts to copyright violations, on to my blog.
*Please do not publish any advertisements, articles etc on my website which are related to any form of pornography.
*The contents of this blog (Original posts) are my creation, and hence I am the owner of the same. The same shall not be copied and used elsewhere by anyone else other than me, without my explicit permission
*Feel free to add your comments against my blog entries. However, any comments which are found to be abusive and vulgar in nature, shall result in the concerned user being permanently banned from accessing my blog
*The contents of this blog are my personal views, and not those of the companies or academic institutions with whom I have been, am, or shall be associated.
*Please ensure that as a visitor to my blog, you do not involve yourself in any invalid clicking of advertisements.
*Please do not copy/paste original works of other people which amounts to copyright violations, on to my blog.
*Please do not publish any advertisements, articles etc on my website which are related to any form of pornography.
Monday, December 7, 2009
ContentMixi.com: All your Online Design Needs Met
One of my classmates (Sundeep Tibrewal) at B-School (ISB-Hyderabad) is doing exactly what every MBA program wants most of its alumni to do - He is working his way up as an entrepreneur. The new website www.contentmixi.com that his team has built is an online marketplace (on the lines of eBay, Amazon etc)for digital products like Web Design templates, Logos etc. The site leverages the Web 2.0 principles like user provided content etc, in a very smart manner.
Sundeep and his team have taken the usage of Web 2.0 principles to another level, by coming up with a contest for bloggers (To Go To The Contentmixi.com Contest Website Click Here). The contest aims at inviting users to write reviews of the Beta version of the contentmixi.com website on their blogs, and thus results in being a rich source of feedback directly from the user community at virtually no cost [Discounting of course the prize money to be paid out to the contest winners :-)]. Also, the appearing of reviews of the website on multiple blogs, would mean savings of a lot of advertising dollars/rupees. I would also like to state that this contest is a good supplement, to the other efforts being made by Sundeep in advertising his new venture e.g. The Dec 2009 edition of "Digit"-the No.1 Technical Magazine in India, carries an article about www.contentmixi.com
Only possible drawback of this contest is that, some bloggers might highlight only the good aspects of the website, with the hope that it would increase their chances of winning the contest. It would defeat the very purpose of gathering feedback, to further improve and enhance the website. Hopefully, Sundeep and his team at www.contentmixi.com would not face too much of this issue. With that, I move on to list some of my views about www.contentmixi.com, in the next few paragraphs.
I would like to start off on a positive and encouraging note, by praising Sundeep and his team for all their hardwork in coming up with a great website. I find the website to be comprehensive and exhaustive in terms of covering the entire breadth of digital products like Web Design Templates, Logos etc. It is also highly commendable to see the website managing to attract a huge number of high quality user provided content, at the Beta trial stage itself, and goes far to prove the potential of the website to be a one-stop treasure trove of digital content/products. I would also like to congratulate the team which designed the website, for managing to keep the website in a shape which cannot be called too colourful or gaudy, despite the nature of the products being sold and bought on the website.
I would like to list below in a bulletized format, my feedback to make the final version of the website even better than what the current (Beta) version is. Note that some of this might be something which Sundeep and his team would already be working on, and my apologies in advance to them for the same.
--> Feedback on Business Related Aspects:-
*I know that a picture is equal to "N" number of words. However, the website needs to have more of relevant text to be added, which highlights benefits of using www.contentmixi.com. e.g. add references to the article about www.contentmixi.com in "Digit" magazine.
*Online financial transactions is based on the amount of trust that the users have about your website. Highlight upfront, the security measures implemented by your website, to safeguard the money of both sellers and buyers.
*Given the nature of business in which the prospective buyers and sellers are involved, I very strongly believe that you should expand the portfolio of things to be bought/sold in your online marketplace to include design services e.g. a prospective buyer can put up his requirements for a digital product on www.contentmixi.com, and invite sellers to submit quotes for designing of the product.
*Study established online marketplaces like eBay thoroughly, and adopt all good practices from them.
*Needless to say: Initiate process of getting website a higher priority in Google searches etc.
*To attract sellers:-
(a)The points about how sellers can make money (and a forecast of how much and how soon) via the website, should be shown in bold, with a larger font, highlighted, and stated clearly on the Home Page itself.
(b)Get sellers who have already provided content, to comment on the value they see themselves getting through .
(c)Conduct contests inviting users to provide content such that they could win prize money(in addition to proceeds from sales of their products in the online marketplace). Get some prospective corporate buyers in the SMB space, to sponsor the prize money.
*To attract buyers:-
(a)Highlight the specific advantages to various user communities who are prospective buyers e.g. savings earned in terms of time and cost through ready-to-use logos, web design templates etc.
(b)Announce attractive discounts, special offers to early adopters.
(c)Put in place some sort of a priority scheme based on number of views of a product etc, to dynamically change the order in which products are displayed on the website. Maybe you can look at this i.e Point (c), one year or more from now.
Feedback On Some User Interface Related Aspects:-
-->The top row of tabs on the Home Page(Web Templates, Logos, Content, E-Book, Illustration, etc): When you take the mouse to click on them, the "hand" symbol does not get displayed just before the clicking activity
--> Maintain uniformity across the website in using terms/words
e.g. 1> The top row of tabs on the Home Page says "Web Templates", and the lower row of tabs says "Website Templates"
e.g. 2> The usage of capital and small letters also needs to be uniform all across the webpage. The word "Templates" starts with "T" in some places, and with "t" in other places.
--> The Tab "Illustration" shows no content, when clicked upon.
--> Take care of spelling and grammar, to ensure that the website has a thoroughly professional look. e.g. In my view the top row of tabs should have "E-BOOKS", "ILLUSTRATIONS" etc.
--> The "Product Categories", "Win Prizes" etc sections of Home Page, can be moved upwards. That way users can see the same, without having to scroll down.
Hope my suggestions add some value to Sundeep and his team. Wishing Sundeep and his team, all the best with respect to www.contentmixi.com
Sundeep and his team have taken the usage of Web 2.0 principles to another level, by coming up with a contest for bloggers (To Go To The Contentmixi.com Contest Website Click Here). The contest aims at inviting users to write reviews of the Beta version of the contentmixi.com website on their blogs, and thus results in being a rich source of feedback directly from the user community at virtually no cost [Discounting of course the prize money to be paid out to the contest winners :-)]. Also, the appearing of reviews of the website on multiple blogs, would mean savings of a lot of advertising dollars/rupees. I would also like to state that this contest is a good supplement, to the other efforts being made by Sundeep in advertising his new venture e.g. The Dec 2009 edition of "Digit"-the No.1 Technical Magazine in India, carries an article about www.contentmixi.com
Only possible drawback of this contest is that, some bloggers might highlight only the good aspects of the website, with the hope that it would increase their chances of winning the contest. It would defeat the very purpose of gathering feedback, to further improve and enhance the website. Hopefully, Sundeep and his team at www.contentmixi.com would not face too much of this issue. With that, I move on to list some of my views about www.contentmixi.com, in the next few paragraphs.
I would like to start off on a positive and encouraging note, by praising Sundeep and his team for all their hardwork in coming up with a great website. I find the website to be comprehensive and exhaustive in terms of covering the entire breadth of digital products like Web Design Templates, Logos etc. It is also highly commendable to see the website managing to attract a huge number of high quality user provided content, at the Beta trial stage itself, and goes far to prove the potential of the website to be a one-stop treasure trove of digital content/products. I would also like to congratulate the team which designed the website, for managing to keep the website in a shape which cannot be called too colourful or gaudy, despite the nature of the products being sold and bought on the website.
I would like to list below in a bulletized format, my feedback to make the final version of the website even better than what the current (Beta) version is. Note that some of this might be something which Sundeep and his team would already be working on, and my apologies in advance to them for the same.
--> Feedback on Business Related Aspects:-
*I know that a picture is equal to "N" number of words. However, the website needs to have more of relevant text to be added, which highlights benefits of using www.contentmixi.com. e.g. add references to the article about www.contentmixi.com in "Digit" magazine.
*Online financial transactions is based on the amount of trust that the users have about your website. Highlight upfront, the security measures implemented by your website, to safeguard the money of both sellers and buyers.
*Given the nature of business in which the prospective buyers and sellers are involved, I very strongly believe that you should expand the portfolio of things to be bought/sold in your online marketplace to include design services e.g. a prospective buyer can put up his requirements for a digital product on www.contentmixi.com, and invite sellers to submit quotes for designing of the product.
*Study established online marketplaces like eBay thoroughly, and adopt all good practices from them.
*Needless to say: Initiate process of getting website a higher priority in Google searches etc.
*To attract sellers:-
(a)The points about how sellers can make money (and a forecast of how much and how soon) via the website, should be shown in bold, with a larger font, highlighted, and stated clearly on the Home Page itself.
(b)Get sellers who have already provided content, to comment on the value they see themselves getting through .
(c)Conduct contests inviting users to provide content such that they could win prize money(in addition to proceeds from sales of their products in the online marketplace). Get some prospective corporate buyers in the SMB space, to sponsor the prize money.
*To attract buyers:-
(a)Highlight the specific advantages to various user communities who are prospective buyers e.g. savings earned in terms of time and cost through ready-to-use logos, web design templates etc.
(b)Announce attractive discounts, special offers to early adopters.
(c)Put in place some sort of a priority scheme based on number of views of a product etc, to dynamically change the order in which products are displayed on the website. Maybe you can look at this i.e Point (c), one year or more from now.
Feedback On Some User Interface Related Aspects:-
-->The top row of tabs on the Home Page(Web Templates, Logos, Content, E-Book, Illustration, etc): When you take the mouse to click on them, the "hand" symbol does not get displayed just before the clicking activity
--> Maintain uniformity across the website in using terms/words
e.g. 1> The top row of tabs on the Home Page says "Web Templates", and the lower row of tabs says "Website Templates"
e.g. 2> The usage of capital and small letters also needs to be uniform all across the webpage. The word "Templates" starts with "T" in some places, and with "t" in other places.
--> The Tab "Illustration" shows no content, when clicked upon.
--> Take care of spelling and grammar, to ensure that the website has a thoroughly professional look. e.g. In my view the top row of tabs should have "E-BOOKS", "ILLUSTRATIONS" etc.
--> The "Product Categories", "Win Prizes" etc sections of Home Page, can be moved upwards. That way users can see the same, without having to scroll down.
Hope my suggestions add some value to Sundeep and his team. Wishing Sundeep and his team, all the best with respect to www.contentmixi.com
Southern Cross' Glitter! - The Southern Hemisphere
Folks, Extremely sorry for having been away for so long! Was caught up with many things, especially on the family front. I know that I had promised an article about a Bangalore nightspot, but due to a recent incident at office, I am going to "pen" something different.
Around the middle of last week, I suddenly received an e-mail from my colleague. I opened it with nervous anxiety, wondering what the contents would be! On opening the e-mail, I was pleasantly amused after reading it. My colleague, who was supposed to travel to New Zealand on a short-term business trip, expressed surprise at the fact that June-Sept ("Summer" in the Northern Hemisphere) were "Winter" months Down Under!! I smiled and replied to the e-mail stating that it was no surprise, but a fact depicted by Mother Nature on account of the Earth's (while tilted on its axis) annual revolution around the Sun.
The above incident, reminded me of another one which had happened around 4 to 5 years back. The guy who used to live next door had been sent to Australia on a 6 month assignment. He flew from India to Australia in the middle of July. Imagine his state when he found himself frozen to the bone in the Aussie winter, without any warm clothing. He was wondering what had hit him, since just 20 Hrs back, the stifling summer heat in India had been killing him! So much so for all the "cross-cultural" training sessions, where the aspect of climate is left out of the reckoning most of the times. Given this, I am wondering the shock experienced by ancient explorers and seafarers, at a time when we knew much less about the earth's climate and its links with movements of planetary bodies.
Why am I not surprised at all? Read on below, to know...
-->Reason 1: Only 10% of the world's population stays South of the Equator. So naturally most of the annual seasonal changes depicted in movies, books etc is in tune with what the majority (90%) living in the Northern Hemisphere experiences. Examples abound with respect to this, and I am listing some of them below as (a), (b), (c), and (d)
(a)Christmas (Dec 25th) is always associated with snow and reindeers, when Down Under we have forest fires raging all over the place due to the severe summer heat
(b)The "Summer"(May-Aug) months are most often than not, rarely associated with a sport like skiing. However full-time professional North American skiers know very well that, to continue their training uninterrupted all through the year (without incurring heavy travel expenses), they need to push off to the Andes mountains in South America!
(c)You hear everyone speaking about the "Northern Lights" seen in the skies of the Artic region. Very rarely do you hear folks speaking about the "Southern Lights", even though as a natural phenomenon this is common to both of Earth's poles. Simple Reason: The Northern Lights occur in a region which is relatively more populated (Sweden, Norway, Finland etc), while the Southern Lights occur in regions with hardly any trace of human population (Antartica, Oceans south of New Zealand)
(d)The Solstice(12 Hrs of day and 12 Hrs of night) that the Earth experiences on June 21st every year, is termed as "Summer" Solstice. Similiarily, the Solstice which occurs on 22nd Dec every year, is termed as "Winter" Solstice.
--> Reason 2: Another simple reason is purely geographic in nature. Most of the countries in the Southern Hemisphere are very close to the equator, and hence have a summerlike weather throughout most of the year. So we do not mentally associate these regions with the "snowy white Christmas" image. On the other hand, there are lot of inhabited landmasses closer to the Northern Pole
--> Reason 3: The economic and cultural standing of many of the countries south of the equator, on the global stage. Some points regarding this aspect are listed below, as
(a)For one, most of them do not keep going to war with each other etc, and hence are not able to evince enough interest in media circles.
(b)Let us go region by region, to understand things better with respect to this aspect:-
*Antartica: A desolate, huge expanse of solid ice. Needless to say why it does not generate much interest
*South America: Since most of the continent is Hispanic in terms of the racial profile of their populations, language proves to be a barrier to the outside world understanding them better. Things like drug cartels etc in some of the countries, have only helped in sullying further the image of the culture which is already vaguely known outside of the continent.
*Africa: Needless to say most parts of this "Dark" continent (especially the Southern parts), have been subjected to neglect by the rest of the world, despite being the birthplace of humanity. The fact that like many of the South American countries, poverty rules the roost in most parts, makes the continent less appealing and glamourous to the world media
*Islands in Oceania (Papua New Guinea etc): They are not alluring to the outsiders, like their richer cousins in the proximity like Singapore etc
*Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Region: Due to the population vastly consisting of Caucasians, they are perceived in most minds as "Western" nations like UK etc, despite being at the Easternmost periphery of earth
--> Reason 4: Geography as a subject taught in school (at least in India), is perceived by most students as a "non-critical" subject. It makes economic sense to them since, study of the subject does not open up a whole lot of job avenues. Maybe things would have been different in the days when explorers and conquerors amassed wealth leveraging among other things, a good knowledge of geography, maps etc.
Geography is also viewed by many as a "non-scientific", "non-mathematical" subject, which does not require application of the brain and instead requires cramming texts (It is sad, since Geography is an interesting science if taught properly, and importantly it pertains to the Earth on which we all live)
So, is what is described above a major source of concern for the world? Of course not, when we have more pressing issues like hunger, poverty etc to be solved. However, for the purpose of better global awareness about the Southern Hempisphere and its peculiarities (After all it makes up exactly half of our Earth!), I believe the following should happen:-
(i)The vastly Northern Hemisphere controlled world media, should start focussing more attention on the region
(ii)The countries in the Southern Hempisphere themselves should break linguistic barriers etc of the kind that exist in S.America, to promote their regions across the world more aggressively. The more affluent and influential among them like Australia, should take a lead in this.
Catch you later with more:-)...
Around the middle of last week, I suddenly received an e-mail from my colleague. I opened it with nervous anxiety, wondering what the contents would be! On opening the e-mail, I was pleasantly amused after reading it. My colleague, who was supposed to travel to New Zealand on a short-term business trip, expressed surprise at the fact that June-Sept ("Summer" in the Northern Hemisphere) were "Winter" months Down Under!! I smiled and replied to the e-mail stating that it was no surprise, but a fact depicted by Mother Nature on account of the Earth's (while tilted on its axis) annual revolution around the Sun.
The above incident, reminded me of another one which had happened around 4 to 5 years back. The guy who used to live next door had been sent to Australia on a 6 month assignment. He flew from India to Australia in the middle of July. Imagine his state when he found himself frozen to the bone in the Aussie winter, without any warm clothing. He was wondering what had hit him, since just 20 Hrs back, the stifling summer heat in India had been killing him! So much so for all the "cross-cultural" training sessions, where the aspect of climate is left out of the reckoning most of the times. Given this, I am wondering the shock experienced by ancient explorers and seafarers, at a time when we knew much less about the earth's climate and its links with movements of planetary bodies.
Why am I not surprised at all? Read on below, to know...
-->Reason 1: Only 10% of the world's population stays South of the Equator. So naturally most of the annual seasonal changes depicted in movies, books etc is in tune with what the majority (90%) living in the Northern Hemisphere experiences. Examples abound with respect to this, and I am listing some of them below as (a), (b), (c), and (d)
(a)Christmas (Dec 25th) is always associated with snow and reindeers, when Down Under we have forest fires raging all over the place due to the severe summer heat
(b)The "Summer"(May-Aug) months are most often than not, rarely associated with a sport like skiing. However full-time professional North American skiers know very well that, to continue their training uninterrupted all through the year (without incurring heavy travel expenses), they need to push off to the Andes mountains in South America!
(c)You hear everyone speaking about the "Northern Lights" seen in the skies of the Artic region. Very rarely do you hear folks speaking about the "Southern Lights", even though as a natural phenomenon this is common to both of Earth's poles. Simple Reason: The Northern Lights occur in a region which is relatively more populated (Sweden, Norway, Finland etc), while the Southern Lights occur in regions with hardly any trace of human population (Antartica, Oceans south of New Zealand)
(d)The Solstice(12 Hrs of day and 12 Hrs of night) that the Earth experiences on June 21st every year, is termed as "Summer" Solstice. Similiarily, the Solstice which occurs on 22nd Dec every year, is termed as "Winter" Solstice.
--> Reason 2: Another simple reason is purely geographic in nature. Most of the countries in the Southern Hemisphere are very close to the equator, and hence have a summerlike weather throughout most of the year. So we do not mentally associate these regions with the "snowy white Christmas" image. On the other hand, there are lot of inhabited landmasses closer to the Northern Pole
--> Reason 3: The economic and cultural standing of many of the countries south of the equator, on the global stage. Some points regarding this aspect are listed below, as
(a)For one, most of them do not keep going to war with each other etc, and hence are not able to evince enough interest in media circles.
(b)Let us go region by region, to understand things better with respect to this aspect:-
*Antartica: A desolate, huge expanse of solid ice. Needless to say why it does not generate much interest
*South America: Since most of the continent is Hispanic in terms of the racial profile of their populations, language proves to be a barrier to the outside world understanding them better. Things like drug cartels etc in some of the countries, have only helped in sullying further the image of the culture which is already vaguely known outside of the continent.
*Africa: Needless to say most parts of this "Dark" continent (especially the Southern parts), have been subjected to neglect by the rest of the world, despite being the birthplace of humanity. The fact that like many of the South American countries, poverty rules the roost in most parts, makes the continent less appealing and glamourous to the world media
*Islands in Oceania (Papua New Guinea etc): They are not alluring to the outsiders, like their richer cousins in the proximity like Singapore etc
*Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Region: Due to the population vastly consisting of Caucasians, they are perceived in most minds as "Western" nations like UK etc, despite being at the Easternmost periphery of earth
--> Reason 4: Geography as a subject taught in school (at least in India), is perceived by most students as a "non-critical" subject. It makes economic sense to them since, study of the subject does not open up a whole lot of job avenues. Maybe things would have been different in the days when explorers and conquerors amassed wealth leveraging among other things, a good knowledge of geography, maps etc.
Geography is also viewed by many as a "non-scientific", "non-mathematical" subject, which does not require application of the brain and instead requires cramming texts (It is sad, since Geography is an interesting science if taught properly, and importantly it pertains to the Earth on which we all live)
So, is what is described above a major source of concern for the world? Of course not, when we have more pressing issues like hunger, poverty etc to be solved. However, for the purpose of better global awareness about the Southern Hempisphere and its peculiarities (After all it makes up exactly half of our Earth!), I believe the following should happen:-
(i)The vastly Northern Hemisphere controlled world media, should start focussing more attention on the region
(ii)The countries in the Southern Hempisphere themselves should break linguistic barriers etc of the kind that exist in S.America, to promote their regions across the world more aggressively. The more affluent and influential among them like Australia, should take a lead in this.
Catch you later with more:-)...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
1 Year Full-Time MBA - Some Tips :-)
The last few years have seen a number of 1 year full-time MBA programs springing up in India, to cater to the demand from a growing breed of professionals facing what I call a "Pre-Midlife" crisis (and also do not have the patience to put in more than a year at college). I for one would know for sure, having "invested"(In quotes, since most people do not look at it that way) in such a program at ISB-Hyderabad. Let it be known, that I personally consider my MBA to be a worthwhile investment. Other than ISB, such MBA programs are offered by many other instistutions e.g. PGPX programs at IIM-A, IIM-C etc
Also for the sake of all the kind souls who are good enough to read this blog entry: This writeup is more relevant to India. However, even others could benefit from many aspects of it.
Point No.1 > Just like with any other MBA program, this is a major investment in terms of money and time (Even more in money terms, when it comes to the popular ones among 1 Year Full-Time MBA courses). So it is very prudent to do your research as far as your finances are concerned.
-->Remember that you would all of a sudden stop getting that "taken for granted credit to your bank account" called salary, at the beginning of every month - And more importantly, that would be the status for a full 1 year
-->The "non-earning" period would of course coincide with a period when the expenses would either stay the same (rarely!) or go up(mostly!). The expenses are categorised as:-
(a)One-Time Expense: What you pay as fees etc, in addition to the amount you get as student loan (The loan becomes a Post-MBA liability on your personal balance sheet)
(b)Day-to-day recurring expenses: Phone bills, food expenses, cost of buying books etc, monthly EMI payments for Pre-MBA House/Car loans etc
-->Somethings I suggest you should do:
(i)Before deciding to join anyone of these courses, talk to multiple alums and current students (especially those with a Pre-MBA academic/professional background similar to that of yours). Would help you get a "ball park" / approximate estimate of "worst" and "best" case scenarios of your probable Post-MBA remuneration. I don't think I need to tell you why it is important, from the point of view of your personal financial planning, before you join a 1 year full-time MBA course
(ii)See how best you can offset the monetary impact of not earning a steady income for 1 year. One suggestion in this regard (Purely depends on each person's own financial situation):- You could maybe take the entire fee amount as a student loan. Then smartly invest all your savings in such a manner that, the returns you earn over a 1 year period cover up for the voluntary loss of income when you are at B-school
-->If your Pre-MBA employer (e.g. Wipro) allows you to go on a sabbatical, please avail of the facility. Even if your Pre-MBA employer is a very poor paymaster, the thought at the back of your mind that there is something concrete to fall back on, proves to give you that much more of a psychological edge over "competition" during the all too important campus placements.
-->If your employer is willing to sponsor your MBA (you lucky @#$@%&*)...Come on folks, do I need to tell you what to do?:-). If I have to explicitly tell this to you, then your decision making process on whether to do an MBA or not, ends right here. Please do not bother to read any further
The above paragraph contains a Funny Sidenote - Kindly figure out for yourselves which part is "funny" (Why this "sidenote"? I just felt like putting this in here. After all, it is my blog! Also, I need to keep myself amused, while writing all these blogs. So treat this as a perk that I get for being a blogger..he he he)
-->Also definitely do try wholeheartedly and positive mindedly to participate in "lottery-like"(Read: Probability of Success <5%) activities like Business Case Study Competitions, Special Scholarships etc.
(a)"Special" Scholarships: You might not realise it, but there are people in this world who consider you to be very, very, very(3 times is enough I guess!) special. After all, when you were "largely at sea" on that merchant navy ship before that "eureka" moment when you decided to be on terra firma at B-school, did you ever imagine that someone had a "sailors only" scholarship worth Lakhs of Rupees for you (and only you)? (Note: This "sailor" example is from true life). Am I jealous?-Of course! After all the "Bacardi King of Good Times" moments the sailors had all over the world, now this too??!! he he he
(b)Business Case Study Competitions: Do attempt (If nothing else, it would help increase the gloss element of your resume). Most importantly, get into a good team whose winnability quotient is very high.
--> If you are going on a Foreign Exchange program to a top foreign B-school for a few Terms, it does not come free!!e.g. at ISB-Hyderabad it could easily cost an additional Rs 4-5 Lakhs. Heck!Then why do some folks still spend this money and go on these foreign exchange programs? 2 Possible reasons: (i)Get the name of an internationally recognized B-School on to your resume, (ii)Folks who do not have Pre-MBA experience in foreign countries, are trying to play catch up. Anyways, do your own cost/benefit analysis, and make the "To Get Exchanged/Not Get Exchanged" decision.
For all of you out there who are going all "C'mon!money is not important. Why talk about financial planning etc?!", please go through the following points:-
(a)Firstly, let me know how I can send you the details of my bank account and the procedure to wire all of your salary to the same.:-)
(b)I will make it easier for you: Please, please, please(always tend to do it 3 times!) do not enter the business world! The business world needs creators of wealth, and not those who shun it. Legally and ethically earned money, is the engine of human life.
(c)Wake up! Communism is long dead, Capitalism is in (and in, to stay put firmly)! Mr.Narayana Murthy (Infosys) who is one of the pioneers of wealth creation in India, obtained all his success when he realized the futility of communism on a chance visit to Eastern Europe
Phew! That ends "Point No.1". This was one reaaaly long "point".
Point No.2>If you have many years of Pre-MBA work experience, you might need to do your research to arrive at which B-School will be best for you in terms of getting placed in a job Post-MBA, commensurate with the number of years of work you put in prior to doing an MBA.
-->There are schools like ISB-Hyderabad, where each batch size is 400-500. So the class has folks spread across the spectrum in terms of number of years of Pre-MBA work experience. Of course the school cannot focus only on the needs of folks in one particular band/category, when it comes to the number of years of Pre-MBA experience (Although to their credit, they do try hard in their own ways and succeed in the same to a large extent)
-->Then there are programs like the IIM-A PGPX one, which caters to folks with a minimum of 7 years or so of Pre-MBA experience (Not sure if my information about this program is outdated). Pros: Focus on placement needs of 7+years work exp. crowd. Possible Cons: The institute might expect these "seniors" to handle the entire placement process on their own.
Point No.3> All MBA programs, ask all the prospective candidates to have a crystal clear view on what they want to do Post-MBA. This does not stop at being a definite topic for one of the essays that you would have to write, during the selection process of all MBA courses. Specifically in 1 Year MBA programs, the importance of your answer to this question attains humongous proportions.
-->You simply do not have time to "change directions" as far as chasing your Post-MBA job is concerned, in the middle of the course. You have only 1 year (and not 2 years) in which the entire course is crunched into
Point No.4> In a 1 Year program, changing your "line of work" i.e. Pre-MBA Vs Post-MBA, is difficult (Note: Very difficult, but not totally impossible). Some reasons:-
(a)Recruiters are attracted to folks in these MBA programs, due to the mix of solid Pre-MBA work experience and an MBA that they get to choose form. And, they would get a lot to choose from, in the form of students with Pre-MBA exp. in the same industry. Whether you like it or not, 8/9 times out of 10 in such MBA programs, your past(Read: Pre-MBA work exp.) does shape your future (Read: Post-MBA job)
(b)Unlike in a 2 year MBA program, 1 year MBA program does not give you the chance to do a full-time Summer(or winter/autumn/spring)internship in an industry to which you want to switch to. Some B-Schools do allow you to do projects in parallel to doing your course(The course in itself is so strenuous, that this is practically infeasible and ineffective)
Point No.5> If you are married (with or without kids)then consider all the following (Some points also apply to "engaged" folks):-
(i)Is your spouse really in favour of you doing the MBA course? Is he/she willing to put up with the grind that the course would put you through?
(ii)Does the School provide suitable family quarters for married students?
(iii)If you spouse is working, does he/she have job prospects in the place where the B-School is located? Do both you and your spouse want to live separately for this 1 year?
(iv)What about your kids?
(v)In case of a long distance relationship, prepare yourself for some serious time management and huge phone bills (This is one, which definitely applies to "engaged" folks).
Some parting shots (These are solely my personal views):-
(i)If you have <4Years of work exp.: Try to get into the IIMs or other Indian B-Schools like XLRI, SP Jain, Symbiosis etc. If your family is willing to sponsor your MBA, then the world is literally at your door(Read: You can do any MBA, irrespective of the location and fee amount)
(ii)If you are in the 4 to 7 years work exp. bracket: My personal suggestion is to not do any MBA. Wait till you cross the 7 Years+ work exp. mark, to do an MBA. Again, if you have good financial backing, the world is at your door
(iii)If you are in the 7-10 Years work exp. range: Go in for any of the 1 Year Full Time MBA program in India which suits you. I think your Return-On-Investment, everything else remaining the same, should be good (7/8 times out of 10). With proper planning on all fronts, gunning for Top Notch B-Schools abroad is also a good idea.
(iv)If you have 10+Years of exp.: Unless your Full-Time MBA is sponsored by your Company, with a solid promise of some resultant growth in your career, do not do an MBA from India. In my personal view, there could be a gap in terms of the job you get Post-MBA from campus and what your expected. I would suggest a well-planned attempt at getting into a top-notch MBA program abroad.
Please feel free to send in your comments, as usual :-).
Catch you later, with a blog on something else. Next one would be about an interesting nightspot in Bangalore (Enough of MBA/Business Related stuff)
Also for the sake of all the kind souls who are good enough to read this blog entry: This writeup is more relevant to India. However, even others could benefit from many aspects of it.
Point No.1 > Just like with any other MBA program, this is a major investment in terms of money and time (Even more in money terms, when it comes to the popular ones among 1 Year Full-Time MBA courses). So it is very prudent to do your research as far as your finances are concerned.
-->Remember that you would all of a sudden stop getting that "taken for granted credit to your bank account" called salary, at the beginning of every month - And more importantly, that would be the status for a full 1 year
-->The "non-earning" period would of course coincide with a period when the expenses would either stay the same (rarely!) or go up(mostly!). The expenses are categorised as:-
(a)One-Time Expense: What you pay as fees etc, in addition to the amount you get as student loan (The loan becomes a Post-MBA liability on your personal balance sheet)
(b)Day-to-day recurring expenses: Phone bills, food expenses, cost of buying books etc, monthly EMI payments for Pre-MBA House/Car loans etc
-->Somethings I suggest you should do:
(i)Before deciding to join anyone of these courses, talk to multiple alums and current students (especially those with a Pre-MBA academic/professional background similar to that of yours). Would help you get a "ball park" / approximate estimate of "worst" and "best" case scenarios of your probable Post-MBA remuneration. I don't think I need to tell you why it is important, from the point of view of your personal financial planning, before you join a 1 year full-time MBA course
(ii)See how best you can offset the monetary impact of not earning a steady income for 1 year. One suggestion in this regard (Purely depends on each person's own financial situation):- You could maybe take the entire fee amount as a student loan. Then smartly invest all your savings in such a manner that, the returns you earn over a 1 year period cover up for the voluntary loss of income when you are at B-school
-->If your Pre-MBA employer (e.g. Wipro) allows you to go on a sabbatical, please avail of the facility. Even if your Pre-MBA employer is a very poor paymaster, the thought at the back of your mind that there is something concrete to fall back on, proves to give you that much more of a psychological edge over "competition" during the all too important campus placements.
-->If your employer is willing to sponsor your MBA (you lucky @#$@%&*)...Come on folks, do I need to tell you what to do?:-). If I have to explicitly tell this to you, then your decision making process on whether to do an MBA or not, ends right here. Please do not bother to read any further
The above paragraph contains a Funny Sidenote - Kindly figure out for yourselves which part is "funny" (Why this "sidenote"? I just felt like putting this in here. After all, it is my blog! Also, I need to keep myself amused, while writing all these blogs. So treat this as a perk that I get for being a blogger..he he he)
-->Also definitely do try wholeheartedly and positive mindedly to participate in "lottery-like"(Read: Probability of Success <5%) activities like Business Case Study Competitions, Special Scholarships etc.
(a)"Special" Scholarships: You might not realise it, but there are people in this world who consider you to be very, very, very(3 times is enough I guess!) special. After all, when you were "largely at sea" on that merchant navy ship before that "eureka" moment when you decided to be on terra firma at B-school, did you ever imagine that someone had a "sailors only" scholarship worth Lakhs of Rupees for you (and only you)? (Note: This "sailor" example is from true life). Am I jealous?-Of course! After all the "Bacardi King of Good Times" moments the sailors had all over the world, now this too??!! he he he
(b)Business Case Study Competitions: Do attempt (If nothing else, it would help increase the gloss element of your resume). Most importantly, get into a good team whose winnability quotient is very high.
--> If you are going on a Foreign Exchange program to a top foreign B-school for a few Terms, it does not come free!!e.g. at ISB-Hyderabad it could easily cost an additional Rs 4-5 Lakhs. Heck!Then why do some folks still spend this money and go on these foreign exchange programs? 2 Possible reasons: (i)Get the name of an internationally recognized B-School on to your resume, (ii)Folks who do not have Pre-MBA experience in foreign countries, are trying to play catch up. Anyways, do your own cost/benefit analysis, and make the "To Get Exchanged/Not Get Exchanged" decision.
For all of you out there who are going all "C'mon!money is not important. Why talk about financial planning etc?!", please go through the following points:-
(a)Firstly, let me know how I can send you the details of my bank account and the procedure to wire all of your salary to the same.:-)
(b)I will make it easier for you: Please, please, please(always tend to do it 3 times!) do not enter the business world! The business world needs creators of wealth, and not those who shun it. Legally and ethically earned money, is the engine of human life.
(c)Wake up! Communism is long dead, Capitalism is in (and in, to stay put firmly)! Mr.Narayana Murthy (Infosys) who is one of the pioneers of wealth creation in India, obtained all his success when he realized the futility of communism on a chance visit to Eastern Europe
Phew! That ends "Point No.1". This was one reaaaly long "point".
Point No.2>If you have many years of Pre-MBA work experience, you might need to do your research to arrive at which B-School will be best for you in terms of getting placed in a job Post-MBA, commensurate with the number of years of work you put in prior to doing an MBA.
-->There are schools like ISB-Hyderabad, where each batch size is 400-500. So the class has folks spread across the spectrum in terms of number of years of Pre-MBA work experience. Of course the school cannot focus only on the needs of folks in one particular band/category, when it comes to the number of years of Pre-MBA experience (Although to their credit, they do try hard in their own ways and succeed in the same to a large extent)
-->Then there are programs like the IIM-A PGPX one, which caters to folks with a minimum of 7 years or so of Pre-MBA experience (Not sure if my information about this program is outdated). Pros: Focus on placement needs of 7+years work exp. crowd. Possible Cons: The institute might expect these "seniors" to handle the entire placement process on their own.
Point No.3> All MBA programs, ask all the prospective candidates to have a crystal clear view on what they want to do Post-MBA. This does not stop at being a definite topic for one of the essays that you would have to write, during the selection process of all MBA courses. Specifically in 1 Year MBA programs, the importance of your answer to this question attains humongous proportions.
-->You simply do not have time to "change directions" as far as chasing your Post-MBA job is concerned, in the middle of the course. You have only 1 year (and not 2 years) in which the entire course is crunched into
Point No.4> In a 1 Year program, changing your "line of work" i.e. Pre-MBA Vs Post-MBA, is difficult (Note: Very difficult, but not totally impossible). Some reasons:-
(a)Recruiters are attracted to folks in these MBA programs, due to the mix of solid Pre-MBA work experience and an MBA that they get to choose form. And, they would get a lot to choose from, in the form of students with Pre-MBA exp. in the same industry. Whether you like it or not, 8/9 times out of 10 in such MBA programs, your past(Read: Pre-MBA work exp.) does shape your future (Read: Post-MBA job)
(b)Unlike in a 2 year MBA program, 1 year MBA program does not give you the chance to do a full-time Summer(or winter/autumn/spring)internship in an industry to which you want to switch to. Some B-Schools do allow you to do projects in parallel to doing your course(The course in itself is so strenuous, that this is practically infeasible and ineffective)
Point No.5> If you are married (with or without kids)then consider all the following (Some points also apply to "engaged" folks):-
(i)Is your spouse really in favour of you doing the MBA course? Is he/she willing to put up with the grind that the course would put you through?
(ii)Does the School provide suitable family quarters for married students?
(iii)If you spouse is working, does he/she have job prospects in the place where the B-School is located? Do both you and your spouse want to live separately for this 1 year?
(iv)What about your kids?
(v)In case of a long distance relationship, prepare yourself for some serious time management and huge phone bills (This is one, which definitely applies to "engaged" folks).
Some parting shots (These are solely my personal views):-
(i)If you have <4Years of work exp.: Try to get into the IIMs or other Indian B-Schools like XLRI, SP Jain, Symbiosis etc. If your family is willing to sponsor your MBA, then the world is literally at your door(Read: You can do any MBA, irrespective of the location and fee amount)
(ii)If you are in the 4 to 7 years work exp. bracket: My personal suggestion is to not do any MBA. Wait till you cross the 7 Years+ work exp. mark, to do an MBA. Again, if you have good financial backing, the world is at your door
(iii)If you are in the 7-10 Years work exp. range: Go in for any of the 1 Year Full Time MBA program in India which suits you. I think your Return-On-Investment, everything else remaining the same, should be good (7/8 times out of 10). With proper planning on all fronts, gunning for Top Notch B-Schools abroad is also a good idea.
(iv)If you have 10+Years of exp.: Unless your Full-Time MBA is sponsored by your Company, with a solid promise of some resultant growth in your career, do not do an MBA from India. In my personal view, there could be a gap in terms of the job you get Post-MBA from campus and what your expected. I would suggest a well-planned attempt at getting into a top-notch MBA program abroad.
Please feel free to send in your comments, as usual :-).
Catch you later, with a blog on something else. Next one would be about an interesting nightspot in Bangalore (Enough of MBA/Business Related stuff)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Post-MBA Job Options in IT Industry
Have been wanting to post this information for a while now. This was information, which I unashamedly admit, I did not have fully have with me, before going to do my MBA from ISB-Hyderabad. Note that, your Pre-MBA experience does play a big role, in what kind of job you get.
I have listed below the job descriptions of some of the typical roles on offer in the IT industry, post-MBA(Especially applicable in the Indian context. Moreso, holds true for the folks with 7-10 years Pre-MBA work experience. However, even the others can benefit from the same):-
(i)IT Frontline Sales/Business Development Roles, for Indian IT Services companies like Infosys, Wipro, iGate etc (Hunting, Farming, and Mining Roles) - Please refer to my previous blog specifically dedicated to these job types, for more details.
--> Roles would 90% of the times be foreign based, or sometimes need you to be posted in India to cater to the local markets
--> Note that some Tier-1 companies offer a "Business Development Manager" role. From what I have seen that, these are Pre-Sales roles with a different name which offer an average salary. Some of the offshore roles provided by Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies are actual frontline sales roles, and pay decently well.
--> Expected Salary ranges: For foreign based roles, please refer to my earlier blog. For India based roles (mostly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies), it could be anywhere in the Rs 15-25 Lakh per annum range (Depends a lot on your Pre-MBA experience, your B-School etc)
(ii)IT Pre-Sales / Back-End support for Frontline Sales teams, in Indian IT Services companies:- Very minimal benefits for the folks in the 7-10 years work experience bracket, as far as Pre-MBA experience is concerned. Works best for folks with <5 years of work experience, and also maybe having been part of the 2 Year Full-Time MBA course from the IIMs etc
--> Expected Salary ranges: Mostly offshore based roles (very few are foreign based roles). Range is Rs 4-14 Lakhs per annum (Again, depends a lot on your Pre-MBA experience, your B-School etc)
(iii)IT Business Development Jobs for Product Companies like Microsoft etc, targetting sales for these companies'products in the Indian market:-
--> Expected Salary ranges: Range is Rs 12-18 Lakhs per annum
(iv) Product Manager Roles with companies like Cisco, Yahoo!, Computer Associates(CA), Google etc:- You are accountable for the performance of the particular product in the market (You act as a glue between the Sales and Production units of the company). High-paying jobs. Very few vacancies. Pretty difficult to crack the interviews (Google interview process is one, which is really tough)
--> Expected Salary ranges: Ranging from Rs 16 Lakhs per annum (Cisco) to Rs 30 Lakhs per annum (Google)
(v)Leading role with the IT Outsourcing/Procurement division of companies like British Petroleum(BP) etc:- Leverage all that you studied in most of your MBA courses, to help chalk out IT outsourcing strategy of the company. Play a key role in contract negotiations etc.
-->Expected Salary ranges:- GBP 50-60K per annum, US Dollar 100K-140K per annum
(vi)Program Manager with any IT company:- Some Product companies use this as another name for the role described earlier as "Product Manager". However, 9 times out of 10, this designation describes a role in the Indian IT Services Cos, where the person (a)does the day-to-day interfacing with the technical managers in the client org, on behalf of the project delivery teams in his/her own company, (b)provides critical help to the frontlines sales teams. Role could be offshore or onsite.
-->Expected Salary ranges: Do not Know
(vii)Project Management Office (PMO) Roles:- Work to ensure that the different projects/programs in a business division adhere to processes, do not overrun allocated budgets, and are in line with the division's business goals.
-->Expected Salary range in India:- Rs 17-20 Lakhs per annum
(viii)High-End IT Strategy Consultancy:- Very few roles, with companies like Booz, Allen, & Hamilton(BAH). Advisory to companies on how to structure their IT strategies.
-->Expected Salary range: Good salaries. Do not know, actual numeric values.
(IX) Managerial Roles in BPO/KPO industry
--> Expected Salary Ranges: Rs 15-19 lakhs per annum.
(x) Roles in Finance/Investment industry, where primary job is to track IT stocks. Do not have much information.
Hope this note, helps folks who are planning to do an MBA or are doing an MBA currently.
Invite readers of the blog with relevant experience, to add their valuable comments, to bolster the strength and usefulness of the information in this blog entry.
I have listed below the job descriptions of some of the typical roles on offer in the IT industry, post-MBA(Especially applicable in the Indian context. Moreso, holds true for the folks with 7-10 years Pre-MBA work experience. However, even the others can benefit from the same):-
(i)IT Frontline Sales/Business Development Roles, for Indian IT Services companies like Infosys, Wipro, iGate etc (Hunting, Farming, and Mining Roles) - Please refer to my previous blog specifically dedicated to these job types, for more details.
--> Roles would 90% of the times be foreign based, or sometimes need you to be posted in India to cater to the local markets
--> Note that some Tier-1 companies offer a "Business Development Manager" role. From what I have seen that, these are Pre-Sales roles with a different name which offer an average salary. Some of the offshore roles provided by Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies are actual frontline sales roles, and pay decently well.
--> Expected Salary ranges: For foreign based roles, please refer to my earlier blog. For India based roles (mostly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies), it could be anywhere in the Rs 15-25 Lakh per annum range (Depends a lot on your Pre-MBA experience, your B-School etc)
(ii)IT Pre-Sales / Back-End support for Frontline Sales teams, in Indian IT Services companies:- Very minimal benefits for the folks in the 7-10 years work experience bracket, as far as Pre-MBA experience is concerned. Works best for folks with <5 years of work experience, and also maybe having been part of the 2 Year Full-Time MBA course from the IIMs etc
--> Expected Salary ranges: Mostly offshore based roles (very few are foreign based roles). Range is Rs 4-14 Lakhs per annum (Again, depends a lot on your Pre-MBA experience, your B-School etc)
(iii)IT Business Development Jobs for Product Companies like Microsoft etc, targetting sales for these companies'products in the Indian market:-
--> Expected Salary ranges: Range is Rs 12-18 Lakhs per annum
(iv) Product Manager Roles with companies like Cisco, Yahoo!, Computer Associates(CA), Google etc:- You are accountable for the performance of the particular product in the market (You act as a glue between the Sales and Production units of the company). High-paying jobs. Very few vacancies. Pretty difficult to crack the interviews (Google interview process is one, which is really tough)
--> Expected Salary ranges: Ranging from Rs 16 Lakhs per annum (Cisco) to Rs 30 Lakhs per annum (Google)
(v)Leading role with the IT Outsourcing/Procurement division of companies like British Petroleum(BP) etc:- Leverage all that you studied in most of your MBA courses, to help chalk out IT outsourcing strategy of the company. Play a key role in contract negotiations etc.
-->Expected Salary ranges:- GBP 50-60K per annum, US Dollar 100K-140K per annum
(vi)Program Manager with any IT company:- Some Product companies use this as another name for the role described earlier as "Product Manager". However, 9 times out of 10, this designation describes a role in the Indian IT Services Cos, where the person (a)does the day-to-day interfacing with the technical managers in the client org, on behalf of the project delivery teams in his/her own company, (b)provides critical help to the frontlines sales teams. Role could be offshore or onsite.
-->Expected Salary ranges: Do not Know
(vii)Project Management Office (PMO) Roles:- Work to ensure that the different projects/programs in a business division adhere to processes, do not overrun allocated budgets, and are in line with the division's business goals.
-->Expected Salary range in India:- Rs 17-20 Lakhs per annum
(viii)High-End IT Strategy Consultancy:- Very few roles, with companies like Booz, Allen, & Hamilton(BAH). Advisory to companies on how to structure their IT strategies.
-->Expected Salary range: Good salaries. Do not know, actual numeric values.
(IX) Managerial Roles in BPO/KPO industry
--> Expected Salary Ranges: Rs 15-19 lakhs per annum.
(x) Roles in Finance/Investment industry, where primary job is to track IT stocks. Do not have much information.
Hope this note, helps folks who are planning to do an MBA or are doing an MBA currently.
Invite readers of the blog with relevant experience, to add their valuable comments, to bolster the strength and usefulness of the information in this blog entry.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
South Indies - Bangalore: Fabulous S. Indian Food Joint)
It is been a while since I wanted to blog about this fabulous South Indian eating joint in posh Indiranagar(Bangalore), called "South Indies" . I was brought up in N.India (despite being a South Indian "basically"), and was not such a big fan of South Indian cuisine. However, this place has resulted in my taste buds craving for South Indian food. I make a dash for the place, everytime I get a chance.
The place can be easily categorized as an upscale restaurant. The place can be defined as a whole by the simple phrase "Great South Indian food served in an ambience befitting a good restaurant abroad".
The restaurant serves vegetarian dishes from all the four South Indian states (Please note that there is no meat served here. Also as a sidenote, the place does not serve any alcoholic beverages). You have both buffet and ala carte options. There is a ever active counter readily making and serving fresh hot "dosas" and "appams". The starters and main course, both have a variety of mouth watering options. The place serves an array of tasty desserts too.
What differentiates the place from other South Indian restaurants is the upscale ambience. They have a valet parking service for their customers. The staff is smart, efficient, friendly, and polished in their approach. As soon as you sit at the table, they bring you a warm & wet towel to cleanse your face. You have a spacious seating area, with options to have your meal both outdoors and indoors. The place is frequented by foreign tourists - those that come on their own, and those brought their by their Indian hosts. The place is also very highly frequented by North Indian families living in Bangalore.
The only issue (and a very slight one) - You have to put up with the narrowness of the stretch of road available for driving, in the area very close to the restaurant (on account of the ongoing construction work for the Bangalore Metro). However, I have found this to be an non-issue.
High Level directions to the place: Drive on the Indiranagar 100 Ft road, towards Old Madras Road. Once you cross the 100 Ft Road - CMH Road junction, you will have the Bangalore Metro pillars covering the middle of the road, all the way up to Old Madras Road. Take a U-turn through the last gap (just before hitting the Old Madras Road) in the stretch of Bangalore Metro construction structures. The restaurant would be to your left, a few metres after you take the U-turn.
I very, very highly recommend this place. Do not miss this out on any account.
Co-Ordinates and other details of the place@Indiranagar:-
100 Ft Road, Indiranagar (Opposite Dominos, 100Ft Road, Indiranagar),
Bangalore
Ph: 080 4163 6363.
E-mail: contact@thesouthindies.com
Website: http://www.thesouthindies.com/
Please Note: They also have restaurants in Hyderabad and Pune. They also have another restaurant on Infantry Road, Bangalore. However, I have been only to their Indiranagar-Bangalore place, and this article is based on the same.
The place can be easily categorized as an upscale restaurant. The place can be defined as a whole by the simple phrase "Great South Indian food served in an ambience befitting a good restaurant abroad".
The restaurant serves vegetarian dishes from all the four South Indian states (Please note that there is no meat served here. Also as a sidenote, the place does not serve any alcoholic beverages). You have both buffet and ala carte options. There is a ever active counter readily making and serving fresh hot "dosas" and "appams". The starters and main course, both have a variety of mouth watering options. The place serves an array of tasty desserts too.
What differentiates the place from other South Indian restaurants is the upscale ambience. They have a valet parking service for their customers. The staff is smart, efficient, friendly, and polished in their approach. As soon as you sit at the table, they bring you a warm & wet towel to cleanse your face. You have a spacious seating area, with options to have your meal both outdoors and indoors. The place is frequented by foreign tourists - those that come on their own, and those brought their by their Indian hosts. The place is also very highly frequented by North Indian families living in Bangalore.
The only issue (and a very slight one) - You have to put up with the narrowness of the stretch of road available for driving, in the area very close to the restaurant (on account of the ongoing construction work for the Bangalore Metro). However, I have found this to be an non-issue.
High Level directions to the place: Drive on the Indiranagar 100 Ft road, towards Old Madras Road. Once you cross the 100 Ft Road - CMH Road junction, you will have the Bangalore Metro pillars covering the middle of the road, all the way up to Old Madras Road. Take a U-turn through the last gap (just before hitting the Old Madras Road) in the stretch of Bangalore Metro construction structures. The restaurant would be to your left, a few metres after you take the U-turn.
I very, very highly recommend this place. Do not miss this out on any account.
Co-Ordinates and other details of the place@Indiranagar:-
100 Ft Road, Indiranagar (Opposite Dominos, 100Ft Road, Indiranagar),
Bangalore
Ph: 080 4163 6363.
E-mail: contact@thesouthindies.com
Website: http://www.thesouthindies.com/
Please Note: They also have restaurants in Hyderabad and Pune. They also have another restaurant on Infantry Road, Bangalore. However, I have been only to their Indiranagar-Bangalore place, and this article is based on the same.
Friday, November 13, 2009
IT Frontline Sales / BDM Jobs - What to look out for
Giving a dump of what any person (MBA or Non-MBA) should be looking at before taking up a Frontline Sales role with an Indian IT Services firm. These are my personal views, based on my own experience and that of my friends across companies.
Job/Role Types:-
(i)Hunting - You have to go out and get totally new accounts/customers for your company.
Pros: Since sales person is taking higher risk on his commissions, payments could be very highly handsome.
Cons: As would be obvious, very tough to get new business, what with having to build contacts out of nowhere etc.
(ii)Farming and Mining, Account Management etc - Handle an existing customer account. Ensure that you farm/sustain existing business. Also mine the existing account, to grow it further.
Pros: Probability of actually earning the commissions is higher. Can leverage existing contacts in account, to get further business.
Cons: Since risk involved is slightly lesser, remuneration could be slightly smaller than that for a hunter role.
Job Location:-
(i)Check how soon the hiring company is willing to post you in the Geo/territory (in case of foreign postings), after you join them. Ensure that this is asap, since many a times due to various factors, you end up being stuck offshore only.
(ii)How easy is it to get a required work permit/visa to operate out of the target sales territory? - If the process for obtaining visa is highly unpredictable, have a suitable back-up plan. Try also to negotiate a good offshore salary, in case you end up not being able to go abroad due to visa issues
(iii)Check with folks, how easy is it to close the sale in the target Geo. Could local language prove to be a failing for you as a sales person? After all, you need to earn your commissions.
(iv)If you have a spouse, check out how your move to a new country would effect his/her career.
(v)Check out how your travel schedule would be, in the new Geo. Ensure that the company shall adequately reimburse all your official travel and official expenses.
(vi)Check out the living expenses in the place you would be based out of - Ensure that all your expenses and liabilities are covered even with just the fixed component of your salary (Understandably sales commissions are "variable")
(vii)Ensure that the company picks up the tab for your relocation expenses, in some form or the other.
Of course, the one that you all were waiting for :-), Salary/Remuneration:-
(i)Do not go just by the gross salary. Look at how much is the Fixed Vs Variable split in the salary. Also, research on your possibility of being able to earn the commission/variable pay (Analyse prevailing market conditions, talk to folks currently in those roles etc)
-->The fixed:variable norm in the Tier-1 companies (Wipro, Infosys, CTS etc) is 70:30, 80:20, or sometimes even 90:10.
-->The fixed:variable norm in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies (Covansys, Tavant etc) is 60:40, or 50:50
(ii)The annual salary norm for the US Geo(I have experience of only this Geo. Others can add their comments about other Geos...) is as follows, for folks with approx 7-11 Years of work experience:-
--> US Dollars 100K to 120K: For Tier-1 companies
--> US DOllars 150K to 180K: For Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies
Note: A US Citizen could in all probability be paid higher than a foreign national
(iii)Try to get a view of the kind of annual revenue targets you would be carrying. Needless to say, your commissions are directly linked to your achieving/not achieving the targets.
-->Check with people currently holding similar positions in that company, whether the target values are usually achievable.
-->Depending on your company, type of account you handle etc, your first year target in US could range anywhere from as low as US Dollar 1 Million to US Dollar 30 Million!
--> Note that a numerically higher revenue target value does not automatically mean it is difficult to achieve (If it is an established account with already existing revenue streams, it could be relatively easy to achieve). Similarily, a numerically lower revenue target does not automatically mean that it is easy to achieve (If you are handling a tough account as say a hunter, it could prove to be a mountaineous task)
(iv)"Higher" Salaries from Tier 2 / Tier 3 Companies Vs "Lower" Salaries from Tier 1 Companies Theory (Very, Very Important to keep in mind):-
--> As you would have seen from some of the points above, Tier 1 companies give a lower gross salary but also have a relatively less aggressive fixed:variable pay ratio. Reasons are simple: (a)They have a strong enough brand name to attract prospective employees (without having to use a high gross salary), (b)Huge Company Size etc, ensures that they do not need to goad/drive their sales folks in a "pure hunter" mode that much using very aggressive fixed:variable pay ratios.
--> On the other hand, as you would have also seen from some of the points above, Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies give higher gross salaries but are much more aggressive when it comes to the fixed:variable pay ratio. Reasons once again are simple: (a)They can lure talented sales people only via a higher gross salary package, (b)Since they need to grow faster and need to fight harder for survival, they have to goad their sales teams using more aggressive fixed:variable pay ratios.
--> Please keep in mind that there is a very high possibility that (a)9 times out of 10, you earn the entire US Dollar 100K (In a 70:30 ratio) in a year when with a Tier-1 company, but (b)Earn only US DOllar 80K in a year (From a Gross Annual Salary of 160K, with a 50:50 fixed/variable pay split). The Simple Reason?:- In a Tier-1 company, the better company brand name and support systems (established Pre-Sales / Back-End Sales Support Teams, huge repository of case studies/proposals etc), highly increases the probability of closing deals successfully
(v)Ensure that the company gives you all aspects about your salary, clearly in writing. A friend of mine who was promised a gross annual salary of US Dollars 160K (With a 50:50 fixed/variable pay split), was not paid his commissions ($80K), despite achieving his revenue targets!!. His company claimed that he would not be given the same, since (surprise, surprise!), his boss had not met his targets!! The company had not clearly stated the commission payout terms in his official offer letter.
(vi)Ensure that the company had a clear and fair mapping of job bands/designations between (a)When you are abroad as part of their Sales Force), and (b)When you are back offshore in a non-sales role. Even though many of the folks wish that there stints abroad continue for ever, due to myriad reasons (good or bad), you might have to return offshore one day.
(vii)Understand the variable pay/commission calculation stipulations / formulae clearly. Usually the formulae is a combination of your revenue target achievement, price increases/decreases that you are able to negotiate, your timely collections of payments from client etc.
(viii)Understand how frequently your commissions are paid out(quarterly, half-yearly, or annually). As is obvious, you need to have a good liquid cash position on a monthly basis, to meet your expenses and pay your monthly loan EMIs etc
(ix)Mostly (I would say more than 50% of the time): - Your incentive payout is linked to the actual payment from the customer coming into your company's account. So even if you sign a $1 Million deal, you would not get your incentives being paid out, until the money actually starts getting paid to your company.
Last, but definitely not the least:-
(i)These roles are not for everyone. Definitely not for the faint hearted. You need to be thick-skinned. It is defintely not the cushy, high paying "long-term onsite stint", that many folks in the technical/project delivery roles wrongly think it to be.
(ii)Please, please, please do not even think of taking up such a role, if you have one or more of the below traits as part of your personality:-
-->You are an introvert, who cannot easily build relationships and friendships
-->You are too much of a technical person, who believes that sales is equal to lying/cheating(which it most definitely is not).
-->You have this queer notion that activities like fishing for competitor information, is wrong and unethical.
-->You love a predictable professional life and believe that hard work always results in success. From this blog, you can guess how many things could go wrong in the normal course of things, despite putting in long hours of work
-->You believe that you can sell something, only if you understand it indepth technically or even worse worked in the domain in your technical life
-->You believe that you can make the entire sale yourself
-->If you have qualms about talking to senior management folks
-->You cannot multi-task and work long hours
-->You hate to travel, to be a remote/mobile worker who might have to work out of home or while on the road
-->You get put off easily by failures
-->You cannot act tough with people, when the business warrants it
-->You cannot work with different teams spread across company functions and Geos
-->You cannot control your ego, for the sake of winning your business
-->You hesitate a lot in asking questions, or trying to get information
-->You hate working with "tough" folks, be it customers/internal folks
-->You are averse to extremely honest and instantaneous appraisals by your supervisors (which is necessary in sales)
-->You are averse to working in an environment, where performance is only seen in the light of numbers/revenues achieved(irrespetive of the luck - good or bad, that has befallen you)
Hope this helps!! :-). Take care, till I am back next time with more on some interesting topic.
Folks - Please, please do send in your views, comments
Job/Role Types:-
(i)Hunting - You have to go out and get totally new accounts/customers for your company.
Pros: Since sales person is taking higher risk on his commissions, payments could be very highly handsome.
Cons: As would be obvious, very tough to get new business, what with having to build contacts out of nowhere etc.
(ii)Farming and Mining, Account Management etc - Handle an existing customer account. Ensure that you farm/sustain existing business. Also mine the existing account, to grow it further.
Pros: Probability of actually earning the commissions is higher. Can leverage existing contacts in account, to get further business.
Cons: Since risk involved is slightly lesser, remuneration could be slightly smaller than that for a hunter role.
Job Location:-
(i)Check how soon the hiring company is willing to post you in the Geo/territory (in case of foreign postings), after you join them. Ensure that this is asap, since many a times due to various factors, you end up being stuck offshore only.
(ii)How easy is it to get a required work permit/visa to operate out of the target sales territory? - If the process for obtaining visa is highly unpredictable, have a suitable back-up plan. Try also to negotiate a good offshore salary, in case you end up not being able to go abroad due to visa issues
(iii)Check with folks, how easy is it to close the sale in the target Geo. Could local language prove to be a failing for you as a sales person? After all, you need to earn your commissions.
(iv)If you have a spouse, check out how your move to a new country would effect his/her career.
(v)Check out how your travel schedule would be, in the new Geo. Ensure that the company shall adequately reimburse all your official travel and official expenses.
(vi)Check out the living expenses in the place you would be based out of - Ensure that all your expenses and liabilities are covered even with just the fixed component of your salary (Understandably sales commissions are "variable")
(vii)Ensure that the company picks up the tab for your relocation expenses, in some form or the other.
Of course, the one that you all were waiting for :-), Salary/Remuneration:-
(i)Do not go just by the gross salary. Look at how much is the Fixed Vs Variable split in the salary. Also, research on your possibility of being able to earn the commission/variable pay (Analyse prevailing market conditions, talk to folks currently in those roles etc)
-->The fixed:variable norm in the Tier-1 companies (Wipro, Infosys, CTS etc) is 70:30, 80:20, or sometimes even 90:10.
-->The fixed:variable norm in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies (Covansys, Tavant etc) is 60:40, or 50:50
(ii)The annual salary norm for the US Geo(I have experience of only this Geo. Others can add their comments about other Geos...) is as follows, for folks with approx 7-11 Years of work experience:-
--> US Dollars 100K to 120K: For Tier-1 companies
--> US DOllars 150K to 180K: For Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies
Note: A US Citizen could in all probability be paid higher than a foreign national
(iii)Try to get a view of the kind of annual revenue targets you would be carrying. Needless to say, your commissions are directly linked to your achieving/not achieving the targets.
-->Check with people currently holding similar positions in that company, whether the target values are usually achievable.
-->Depending on your company, type of account you handle etc, your first year target in US could range anywhere from as low as US Dollar 1 Million to US Dollar 30 Million!
--> Note that a numerically higher revenue target value does not automatically mean it is difficult to achieve (If it is an established account with already existing revenue streams, it could be relatively easy to achieve). Similarily, a numerically lower revenue target does not automatically mean that it is easy to achieve (If you are handling a tough account as say a hunter, it could prove to be a mountaineous task)
(iv)"Higher" Salaries from Tier 2 / Tier 3 Companies Vs "Lower" Salaries from Tier 1 Companies Theory (Very, Very Important to keep in mind):-
--> As you would have seen from some of the points above, Tier 1 companies give a lower gross salary but also have a relatively less aggressive fixed:variable pay ratio. Reasons are simple: (a)They have a strong enough brand name to attract prospective employees (without having to use a high gross salary), (b)Huge Company Size etc, ensures that they do not need to goad/drive their sales folks in a "pure hunter" mode that much using very aggressive fixed:variable pay ratios.
--> On the other hand, as you would have also seen from some of the points above, Tier-2 and Tier-3 companies give higher gross salaries but are much more aggressive when it comes to the fixed:variable pay ratio. Reasons once again are simple: (a)They can lure talented sales people only via a higher gross salary package, (b)Since they need to grow faster and need to fight harder for survival, they have to goad their sales teams using more aggressive fixed:variable pay ratios.
--> Please keep in mind that there is a very high possibility that (a)9 times out of 10, you earn the entire US Dollar 100K (In a 70:30 ratio) in a year when with a Tier-1 company, but (b)Earn only US DOllar 80K in a year (From a Gross Annual Salary of 160K, with a 50:50 fixed/variable pay split). The Simple Reason?:- In a Tier-1 company, the better company brand name and support systems (established Pre-Sales / Back-End Sales Support Teams, huge repository of case studies/proposals etc), highly increases the probability of closing deals successfully
(v)Ensure that the company gives you all aspects about your salary, clearly in writing. A friend of mine who was promised a gross annual salary of US Dollars 160K (With a 50:50 fixed/variable pay split), was not paid his commissions ($80K), despite achieving his revenue targets!!. His company claimed that he would not be given the same, since (surprise, surprise!), his boss had not met his targets!! The company had not clearly stated the commission payout terms in his official offer letter.
(vi)Ensure that the company had a clear and fair mapping of job bands/designations between (a)When you are abroad as part of their Sales Force), and (b)When you are back offshore in a non-sales role. Even though many of the folks wish that there stints abroad continue for ever, due to myriad reasons (good or bad), you might have to return offshore one day.
(vii)Understand the variable pay/commission calculation stipulations / formulae clearly. Usually the formulae is a combination of your revenue target achievement, price increases/decreases that you are able to negotiate, your timely collections of payments from client etc.
(viii)Understand how frequently your commissions are paid out(quarterly, half-yearly, or annually). As is obvious, you need to have a good liquid cash position on a monthly basis, to meet your expenses and pay your monthly loan EMIs etc
(ix)Mostly (I would say more than 50% of the time): - Your incentive payout is linked to the actual payment from the customer coming into your company's account. So even if you sign a $1 Million deal, you would not get your incentives being paid out, until the money actually starts getting paid to your company.
Last, but definitely not the least:-
(i)These roles are not for everyone. Definitely not for the faint hearted. You need to be thick-skinned. It is defintely not the cushy, high paying "long-term onsite stint", that many folks in the technical/project delivery roles wrongly think it to be.
(ii)Please, please, please do not even think of taking up such a role, if you have one or more of the below traits as part of your personality:-
-->You are an introvert, who cannot easily build relationships and friendships
-->You are too much of a technical person, who believes that sales is equal to lying/cheating(which it most definitely is not).
-->You have this queer notion that activities like fishing for competitor information, is wrong and unethical.
-->You love a predictable professional life and believe that hard work always results in success. From this blog, you can guess how many things could go wrong in the normal course of things, despite putting in long hours of work
-->You believe that you can sell something, only if you understand it indepth technically or even worse worked in the domain in your technical life
-->You believe that you can make the entire sale yourself
-->If you have qualms about talking to senior management folks
-->You cannot multi-task and work long hours
-->You hate to travel, to be a remote/mobile worker who might have to work out of home or while on the road
-->You get put off easily by failures
-->You cannot act tough with people, when the business warrants it
-->You cannot work with different teams spread across company functions and Geos
-->You cannot control your ego, for the sake of winning your business
-->You hesitate a lot in asking questions, or trying to get information
-->You hate working with "tough" folks, be it customers/internal folks
-->You are averse to extremely honest and instantaneous appraisals by your supervisors (which is necessary in sales)
-->You are averse to working in an environment, where performance is only seen in the light of numbers/revenues achieved(irrespetive of the luck - good or bad, that has befallen you)
Hope this helps!! :-). Take care, till I am back next time with more on some interesting topic.
Folks - Please, please do send in your views, comments
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Athena Discotheque - Bangalore
I am in a general information disbursement mood today :-). So just throwing some information about the "Athena" club / discotheque@Bangalore, in the way of those who are not in the know.
This is a cool nightspot in Bangalore. This is in the Hotel Leela Palace, on Airport Road. The place is not really that heavy on the pocket / purse (Relatively speaking). Cover charge is Rs 1000.
The crowd is pretty decent and cool looking too. The DJs and the music they play, is pretty cool. You would run into celebrities frequently. I once saw Yuvraj Singh (the famous cricketer - for the rare few Indians who are not fans of the game). The place also curries favour with the Western tourists who stay at the Hotel Leela Palace (I am sure it works out well for them, as it saves them the pain of finding their way back home after a night out on the town).
The dance floor gets pretty crowded despite it being spacious - A sign that the discotheque is good :-). Despite the huge crowd, I found the place to be pretty safe. There is also a pretty decent number of seating places beside the dance floor.
The bartenders are swift, efficient, and friendly. They even throw in a few of the "fire on the bar" tricks :-). I have not tasted the food there, but the fare dished out to those who go for it sure looks very pleasing to the eye :-).
The place provides you the benefit of valet parking (However, be ready to wait your turn in a long queue of cars while finding you way out of the place).
All in all, a really cool place to hangout(As is obvious - Especially on Friday and Saturday nights. The place has promo nights on weekdays, if you are interested). They have a smart way of keeping their guests appraised of all the happenings, by SMSing them about all the events.
Some details of the place (Of course copy/pasted from the Internet):-
"Athena", Hotel Leela Palace,
23 Old Airport Rd
Bangalore, Karnataka 560008
Ph: 080 4126 5417-8
Open All Days of Week: 8pm-11:30pm
Ladies Night: On Wednesday of Every week...Why this day of the week? Pls ask the Mgmt of the place:-)
No Pool or Terrace (Positive result: Weather cannot play spoilsport)
Catch you later...Happy Partying!!
This is a cool nightspot in Bangalore. This is in the Hotel Leela Palace, on Airport Road. The place is not really that heavy on the pocket / purse (Relatively speaking). Cover charge is Rs 1000.
The crowd is pretty decent and cool looking too. The DJs and the music they play, is pretty cool. You would run into celebrities frequently. I once saw Yuvraj Singh (the famous cricketer - for the rare few Indians who are not fans of the game). The place also curries favour with the Western tourists who stay at the Hotel Leela Palace (I am sure it works out well for them, as it saves them the pain of finding their way back home after a night out on the town).
The dance floor gets pretty crowded despite it being spacious - A sign that the discotheque is good :-). Despite the huge crowd, I found the place to be pretty safe. There is also a pretty decent number of seating places beside the dance floor.
The bartenders are swift, efficient, and friendly. They even throw in a few of the "fire on the bar" tricks :-). I have not tasted the food there, but the fare dished out to those who go for it sure looks very pleasing to the eye :-).
The place provides you the benefit of valet parking (However, be ready to wait your turn in a long queue of cars while finding you way out of the place).
All in all, a really cool place to hangout(As is obvious - Especially on Friday and Saturday nights. The place has promo nights on weekdays, if you are interested). They have a smart way of keeping their guests appraised of all the happenings, by SMSing them about all the events.
Some details of the place (Of course copy/pasted from the Internet):-
"Athena", Hotel Leela Palace,
23 Old Airport Rd
Bangalore, Karnataka 560008
Ph: 080 4126 5417-8
Open All Days of Week: 8pm-11:30pm
Ladies Night: On Wednesday of Every week...Why this day of the week? Pls ask the Mgmt of the place:-)
No Pool or Terrace (Positive result: Weather cannot play spoilsport)
Catch you later...Happy Partying!!
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Music Has Gone Out!!
I so very miss those days in the late 1990s or early 2000s, when Channel V and MTV used to be what they are supposed to be - Pure and entertaining music channels!! The fact that I have seen Amrita Arora as a VJ, is proof to all of you Doubting Thomases, as to how long I have been watching these channels. Ah! Those days!! You switch on these channels, and you used to get to hear non-stop pure, unadulterated music....Be it Hindi Movie songs, Hindi Pop Songs, Western Rock songs, Hip-Hop..Old or New!!! The music used to be the main course on the menu, with the well-made comedy spoofs played out by the likes of the oh-so-talented Cyrus Broacha being the accompanying dessert. Come home tired from work, and switch on to either one of these channels to listen to all of your favourite music! Use these channels as a backdrop to any booze parties that you throw at your bachelor pad!!
However, to my horror, nowadays whenever I switch on to these channels - I rarely ever get to hear any music/songs. All I get to see is some bleary-eyed, foul mouthed guy or girl in some "reality" show. There has been a 180 degree shift in the way things are - Now the "reality" shows are the main course, and the music is the dessert! :-) I know that now we have Youtube etc which are more accesible and cheaper(in fact free!) means to deliver music to the viewers, and hence these channels like MTV etc have to try using these "reality" shows as a differentiator. Since these music channels seem to be doing pretty fine business wise, I guess viewership has not got adversely impacted. Hence, I said to myself "What the heck! Maybe there is some amount of a generation gap issue here! Accept it! Age with grace!" :-). So, I surfed channels and came across "Vhr" channel. With the channel belting out number after number of my favvvvvourite Western Rock, Pop, and Hip-hop songs, I sighed " Ok! Things are not so bad!" I am sure most of us would have had this queer feeling of "It cannot be so good! The bad news is hiding around the corner, to pounce on me like a rabid dog!" And lo!, there came along "South Park" on the "Vhr" channel...Grrr! Don't they already have "Cartoon Network"!!
Anyways, I have given up and have taken things in my stride. At least I have "Vhr". My friends!,I do not have any grouse against you for loving these "reality" shows. But pray!, don't we get enough of the "reality" dose in our day to day life?! I for one, pine for those "pure musical" days of MTV and Channel V!!!
I would love to see all of you send in your comments, on this interesting topic :-). Signing off for now - Catch you later!!!
However, to my horror, nowadays whenever I switch on to these channels - I rarely ever get to hear any music/songs. All I get to see is some bleary-eyed, foul mouthed guy or girl in some "reality" show. There has been a 180 degree shift in the way things are - Now the "reality" shows are the main course, and the music is the dessert! :-) I know that now we have Youtube etc which are more accesible and cheaper(in fact free!) means to deliver music to the viewers, and hence these channels like MTV etc have to try using these "reality" shows as a differentiator. Since these music channels seem to be doing pretty fine business wise, I guess viewership has not got adversely impacted. Hence, I said to myself "What the heck! Maybe there is some amount of a generation gap issue here! Accept it! Age with grace!" :-). So, I surfed channels and came across "Vhr" channel. With the channel belting out number after number of my favvvvvourite Western Rock, Pop, and Hip-hop songs, I sighed " Ok! Things are not so bad!" I am sure most of us would have had this queer feeling of "It cannot be so good! The bad news is hiding around the corner, to pounce on me like a rabid dog!" And lo!, there came along "South Park" on the "Vhr" channel...Grrr! Don't they already have "Cartoon Network"!!
Anyways, I have given up and have taken things in my stride. At least I have "Vhr". My friends!,I do not have any grouse against you for loving these "reality" shows. But pray!, don't we get enough of the "reality" dose in our day to day life?! I for one, pine for those "pure musical" days of MTV and Channel V!!!
I would love to see all of you send in your comments, on this interesting topic :-). Signing off for now - Catch you later!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
New names ahoy!!
Orissa is re-named "Odisha" and the language is now to be called "Odiya", screamed the morning newspaper headlines! I just rolled my eyes in utter disgust, and moved on to read the next article. After all it has become an usual affair, what with Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi...The list goes on and I am sure shall keep growing bigger!!
I am amazed at the speed and efficiency shown by our legislators in passing any bill/resolution to make such changes. However bills on crucial issues which effect the basic needs of the common man, take months (sometimes years) to even see the light of day!
I am surprised that our general public which is usually fast at questioning any wasteful government expenditure, prefers to ignore the huge amount of taxpayer's money spent on changing the city name in all official documents, signboards etc.
To top it all, India's secular image is also dented by organizations which claim to be the guardians of the "sons (and daughters) of the soil", and shove the new city names down the throats of all the denizens of the city. I feel more animosity towards the celebrities who too allow themselves to be a victim of all this non-sense, like the widely known recent case of a Hindi Movie producer "apologising" for the "grave mistake" he committed by referring to Mumbai as Bombay (The incident also begs a suspiscion that it was a publicity stunt for the movie by the producer).
I had begun to have some respect for the intelligence of the general public in India. I thought that they had the intelligence to see through the actual schemes of petty politicians, who want to push through such inconsequential "city name changing" exercises for their personal gains. Come on folks, how were the older names of these cities causing any issues to the common man!! Pray, when we have so many issues related to basic amenities yet to be resolved, how can you follow these petty political leaders on such meaningless and wasteful expenditures!!
I also have a very, very genuine grouse on a related but different issue. We call ourselves a country on the path of record breaking growth, and as being the perfect example of the benefits accruing from globalization. However, it is very sad to see that we do not have "internal globalizations"!! How else do you explain e.g. pubic buses in many parts of the country having signboards only in the local language (When the same cities are home to many people from other states who have every legal right to be there, and who in more cases than not have handsomely contributed to the growth of the local economy).....More on this in a separate blog, which is soon to come...
Signing off for now.....
Your comments (bouquets and brickbats) are welcome! :-)
I am amazed at the speed and efficiency shown by our legislators in passing any bill/resolution to make such changes. However bills on crucial issues which effect the basic needs of the common man, take months (sometimes years) to even see the light of day!
I am surprised that our general public which is usually fast at questioning any wasteful government expenditure, prefers to ignore the huge amount of taxpayer's money spent on changing the city name in all official documents, signboards etc.
To top it all, India's secular image is also dented by organizations which claim to be the guardians of the "sons (and daughters) of the soil", and shove the new city names down the throats of all the denizens of the city. I feel more animosity towards the celebrities who too allow themselves to be a victim of all this non-sense, like the widely known recent case of a Hindi Movie producer "apologising" for the "grave mistake" he committed by referring to Mumbai as Bombay (The incident also begs a suspiscion that it was a publicity stunt for the movie by the producer).
I had begun to have some respect for the intelligence of the general public in India. I thought that they had the intelligence to see through the actual schemes of petty politicians, who want to push through such inconsequential "city name changing" exercises for their personal gains. Come on folks, how were the older names of these cities causing any issues to the common man!! Pray, when we have so many issues related to basic amenities yet to be resolved, how can you follow these petty political leaders on such meaningless and wasteful expenditures!!
I also have a very, very genuine grouse on a related but different issue. We call ourselves a country on the path of record breaking growth, and as being the perfect example of the benefits accruing from globalization. However, it is very sad to see that we do not have "internal globalizations"!! How else do you explain e.g. pubic buses in many parts of the country having signboards only in the local language (When the same cities are home to many people from other states who have every legal right to be there, and who in more cases than not have handsomely contributed to the growth of the local economy).....More on this in a separate blog, which is soon to come...
Signing off for now.....
Your comments (bouquets and brickbats) are welcome! :-)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Bless all the Sales folks
The economy just gets tougher each day. Not sure when it will find its bottom. Being in sales at such a time, is the most challenging. How do you expect someone to give you business, when he or she is fighting for survival.
It is all very easy to say " Keep your chin up and try", but when day after day you feel disappointment and see no hope in the future, it is very difficult to do that.
There are funding freezes everywhere, and no one wants to give business. The decision makers keep changing(In some cases they lose their jobs). Your champions in the account are being moved around. It is extremely difficult times man.
I guess having said all that, there is no other choice but to "keep your chin up" :-). Keep meeting people, and taking proposals. That is what is your job. If proposals fail, it is Ok. Keep trying.
Any tips to sell to clients doing bad (filed for bankruptcy etc), are most welcome. How do you keep your sales job from being lost? How do you maintain your sanity, under such circumstances, when your pipeline is dried out? How do you wake up and stay enthusiastic about work? Incentives - Anyways under the present circumstances they are taking a battering. Getting paid and keeping the job, is good enough.
Another quandary is: Travel budgets are tightened in such times, but you got to travel and meet people(whoever gives a meeting that is). The tight economy has given people myriad excuses to throw your way, not to give you business.
I hope Sales managers show some consideration to their team members in such circumstances(I know it is difficult). Some humanity would be required in this process.
I have rambled on enough for the day. Will return later.
It is all very easy to say " Keep your chin up and try", but when day after day you feel disappointment and see no hope in the future, it is very difficult to do that.
There are funding freezes everywhere, and no one wants to give business. The decision makers keep changing(In some cases they lose their jobs). Your champions in the account are being moved around. It is extremely difficult times man.
I guess having said all that, there is no other choice but to "keep your chin up" :-). Keep meeting people, and taking proposals. That is what is your job. If proposals fail, it is Ok. Keep trying.
Any tips to sell to clients doing bad (filed for bankruptcy etc), are most welcome. How do you keep your sales job from being lost? How do you maintain your sanity, under such circumstances, when your pipeline is dried out? How do you wake up and stay enthusiastic about work? Incentives - Anyways under the present circumstances they are taking a battering. Getting paid and keeping the job, is good enough.
Another quandary is: Travel budgets are tightened in such times, but you got to travel and meet people(whoever gives a meeting that is). The tight economy has given people myriad excuses to throw your way, not to give you business.
I hope Sales managers show some consideration to their team members in such circumstances(I know it is difficult). Some humanity would be required in this process.
I have rambled on enough for the day. Will return later.
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