Opportunity amidst underperformers

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"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."—Warren Buffett

I guess the quote by the great man says it all. Mtv & Ipod, both were born during recessions. What is it that make some people view a difficult situation as an opportunity while to others it’s a dead end. We all have heard of the glass half full & half empty expression signifying optimism to some while others being pessimist by it.

So where am I heading:

Check this out. If you look at it, the general tendency of most business channels, newspapers, magazines is to discuss sectors & companies which are growing & promise to offer better returns. In short, such sectors/ companies offer returns which can be reaped.

Hang on…. but what about the companies which are in declining sectors & are being looked as unattractive. Do they offer any opportunity.

Let s take an example of Circus Du Soleil. In a time when the circus industry was being looked as an unattractive industry with a wide variety of alternative entertainment options (TV, playstation, multiplexes) available, Circus Du Soleil re-wrote the rules of the game. Inshort it made circus cool again.

So whats the point.

I think Industries/sectors/companies which are not performing well or are being written off offer a greater incentive & opportunity to Innovate & re write the rules. I think the problem is not that people don’t need goods & services of companies which are not doing well but in most case it’s the conflict in the alignment of whats the company is offering & what people wants. Through Integrative & Design thinking one can relook the value that is being desired & what the company can offer & thus think of models which satisfy human needs &rewrite the rules.

Thanks

Neeraj

PhotoSource: http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=42-20908001&caller=search

Cultures

Hi everybody

Writing in after a long time..........

So what i have been upto.......

Well been to my hometown in Delhi. Its been around 4 years since I have been staying away (Mumbai & Pune) from my hometown. In past couple of years, I have had the privilege to experience different cultures of these two cities (Mumbai & Pune) which I find are quite distinct as compared to Delhi.

Immediately after landing on Delhi airport, I felt a change in culture. Although it wasn't alien to me as Delhi is my hometown, but somehow I felt certain change in the environment, sounds, behavior.

I started thinking about culture & began to ponder over questions like

- What constitutes a culture of a city/company.

- Can we define culture of a city/company.

- Is it possible to recreate the culture of the city/company.

Although I am still finding answers to the above, but I truly believe that culture of a company/city play an important role in deciding its success. While on a visit to Toyota's factory in Japan, I noticed their culture embracing user centricity & continuous improvement. One of the senior manager of Mattel once told me that it is culture that differentiates the good & great companies.

But how cultures are created & for that matter what constitutes a culture.

I think culture of city/company originates from a Purpose. Some call it vision but i think its the purpose which clearly shapes the culture of the company/city.

A company whose purpose will be to Innovate & bring new products/services will have a very different culture from the one focused on efficiency.

I guess HR managers pay a lot of attention in developing & harnessing a culture of their company which is aligned to their company's purpose.

But can we analyse a culture of a city/company.

Ethnographic research provide excellent tools for analyzing culture of a city/company & determining whether it is aligned to the purpose.

Some of the areas in which I think one would want to analyze a culture :

- Post merger/acquisition inorder to align cultures of two companies

- Company undertaking a new vision

- City, wanting to bring social change & improve image

I think culture is an important aspect of city/company & the right culture can channelize the energies of people to fulfill the higher purpose.

Got this ad of HSBC describing importance of understanding different cultures. Check it out.

Thanks

Neeraj

Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_NinOmFWw

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rzs/1452117214/