Archive for November, 2012

Reactions to my Facebook DP (Display Picture): What’s Changed?!

Posted: November 25, 2012 in Uncategorized
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I change my Facebook Display Picture, also known as the DP, every once in a while.

There is no system, no pattern, no specific period. Just when I feel like it. Perhaps when some new photos have been taken, and I find one of those interesting enough, to make it my DP.

Most times when a new DP is chosen and the update goes out, there are a few likes, a few comments, on that post.

A very typical reaction, that one.

However this time, it was different.

Few days after the Social Wavelength party recently, I put up one of my photos taken then, as my DP. This was the photo that I used:

The responses I got on putting this photo as my DP, were truly surprising.

While there were the usual likes and “nice pic” kind of comments, there were other stronger reactions.

One of my friends wrote: “Hate”

Another said “it was a bad ass photo”

I was told via a comment that “a person of my stature should not be endorsing smoking..”

Again, another said, “Bad message, Sir..”.

Besides the few comments on FB, there were three direct messages on FB suggesting that I should remove this pic.

And TWO SMS messages too!

And finally since Diwali was just following, there was a card that I got, where a dear relative also added her wish, that “may I give up smoking this year”.

BUT I DON’T SMOKE!!

Yes, I do smoke the cigar, perhaps 3-4 times a year. Okay, at most 6 times a year. But that’s it.

I don’t smoke cigarettes. And I smoke nothing else, the whole of the rest of the year.

So the reaction, on Facebook, via SMSes, and that card, were all surprising, to say the least.

It was not the first time that I have used a pic with a cigar on Facebook. There have been other photos in the past such as:

At no time in the past, have I got anywhere close to the kind of reactions that I got this time.

So I wondered about the possible reasons. What’s changed this time?

  1. Is it really about some kind of stature thing, and giving some kind of message?
  2. Is the anti-tobacco consciousness grown a lot more, and people are just a lot more verbal with their strong views, which they express now?
  3. To my smoking the odd cigar or to my putting up some kind of photos, I had always got reactions from my very close family in the past. But this time, it was beyond the close family. So I wonder if the regular exchange that we have on this medium, on various topics, makes a lot of us “feel” closer in terms of our relationships? Do we feel it to be okay to make some suggestions / comments to our friends, which earlier might have been a little more ‘personal’ type, in nature?
  4. Do these people just care for me a lot? All of those who said that the pic was not good, are very dear friends. And they are my well-wishers too. So it could easily have been their genuine caring for me, to want me to not indulge in habits of this kind.

I am not sure what was or were the reason(s) for the responses that I got.

I considered changing the DP quickly, on reading those responses. But I did not change it.

At one level, I do want to be free of the ‘responsibility’ that my actions need to be a “message” for others. I certainly want to live life on my terms, as much as possible. If I had taken off the pic immediately on seeing those reactions, I would have placed myself in the position of having to keep a certain appearance. Which is largely acceptable to others. But which I may NOT be.

I did not want to go there.

Just because social media makes us a little more visible (of course, to the extent that one desires oneself to become) does not mean that one’s every move needs to be subject to scrutiny.

For the record, I do NOT smoke all year / all day round, as I have clearly mentioned.

I do NOT believe smoking does any good to people. I am concerned about the number of people in our office who smoke a fair number of cigarettes daily. I am concerned for them, for their healths, for their future. I wish they’d start giving up the habit.

For now, I still retain the desire to have an occasional cigar, and indulge to that extent. I may choose to give it up some day. That day hasn’t arrived just yet..

Oh, and by the way, I HAVE changed the display picture now.. much after the reactions came!

Shiv Sena after Balasaheb Thackeray: Some Management Lessons

Posted: November 20, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Political parties are also large organisations and require management, as much as corporates do.

The Obama team is a classic example and would have all elements that make a corporate organisation, from management positions, IT teams, distribution networks, and what not.

The recent events post the demise of Balasaheb Thackeray had brought into focus, some interesting management parallels:

1. Charismatic Leader vs Strong Organization: 

So we saw lakhs of people on the streets paying homage to the departed Balasaheb, and several more glued to the television screen.

Undoubtedly, the man had a massive support base, and the numbers tell the story.

And yet, there are questions asked about the future of the party after him?!

Very ironic.

The same party whose leader’s death generated such a massive response from the people, may have questions about its future, post his demise!

This is a classic case where an organisation needs to find the right balance between a charismatic and popular leader, while also building a strong base of the organisation itself.

Organisations do need good leaders. And these leaders also typically have a larger than life presence. Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, etc. are all leaders of that kind.

Yet, Gates managed to pass the baton smoothly enough.

Questions were raised about Apple post-Jobs, but the company had enough inherent strength and a strong leadership team, that belied any doubts that may have existed in people’s minds, about the company.

In all these cases though, the outside world, while having seen a good leader, had also experienced the strong brand underneath.

Political parties have a slight difference. The leadership HAS to be even stronger than a corporate leader. It is on the strength of the leader, his oratory skills etc. that the party wins or loses elections. There is a very strong association of the leader to the brand of the party. Which is the case with the Sena at this time.

Sena = Balasaheb and Balasaheb = Sena has been the association, with the result that there are a lot of question marks amongst ordinary people, and perhaps the party cadre also, about the future of the party.

Which leads us to the point of succession planning.

 

2. Succession Planning:

Large organisations with huge stakes always worry about succession beyond the current leader. The boards of such companies realise the enormous stakes and usually have a plan in place, for succession.

If the leader is young enough, the plan may be a concept, but as the leader advances in age, and approaches a retirement level, then the plans get more specific.

The well planned identification of a successor to Ratan Tata, and then the year long transition with Ratan Tata being beside Mistry, is an excellent example of good succession planning.

Which sadly did not happen so well at the Sena.

Well, Uddhav has been leading the party for a while now, but for any kind of impact, be it at the Dusshera event or during elections, it was still Balasaheb who had to lead from the front. In a sense, as was his classic statement when the Sena was in power in Maharashtra, he still held the “remote control”.

I am sure Ratan Tata will hold no such remote control at the end of the year. Perhaps he has already put it aside! And that is where the difference lies.

Now this could have happened because Uddhav did not show strong leadership abilities? And had to depend on Balasheb’s presence to make any impact to the masses and to the cadre.

If that was the case, and if ultimately the organisation was bigger than the individual, there should have been boldness to bring in a better leader! But transition to the new leadership was a must!

Not that Balasaheb passed away suddenly. There was time enough to plan this well.

But then again, unlike pure professional companies, when it is a family owned / run company, it is not always the best interests of the company that impact decisions, rather, it is the best interests of the family. And sometimes these best interests may not be so right for the organisation concerned.

Such challenges have been seen in companies, and it is certainly no surprise that the same are seen here in a political party.

Then again, there are family run enterprises in India who think bigger and bolder today, and do bring in professional management, and realise that the organisation is a bigger asset and they must do what they can, to ensure its continuity and continuing growth. Those families who make this transition for their companies, have managed to sustain long term growth.

Others have seen the decline, usually by the time the second or third generation of the family takes control of the companies (there will be the rare exceptions to this).

If the Sena could have also thought about going beyond the immediate family, the future might have looked more secure.

 

3. Insecure to give us the throne too early?

Today’s political parties in a sense, resemble the erstwhile kingdoms in India.

And there have been many moments in history, when the prince has usurped the throne from his father, the king, or even put the king behind bars, or even had him killed.

Just to get the throne.

Sibling rivalries were even more common.

Political parties are not too different.

Would a leader worry that if he hands over the reins too early, he will be relegated to a life without importance, without power, without clout?? Does that make even an old leader to keep his hold on his seat of power, and not make way for the successor?

We have seen such incidents even in the corporate world. Apollo Tyres is an example that comes to mind.

It is a rare individual who having enjoyed tremendous clout and power, is able to move away, into a life of relative calm and away from it all. Perhaps the need is to find another purpose, a different passion.

Bill Gates comes to mind. His passion for his current goals ensures that he doesn’t miss the seat of power which was the Microsoft Chair.

4. Branding sticks!!

When we work with brands, and sometimes see the extreme finickiness that some brand managers display about their brands, we may wonder why so.

But over time one realises that brands are built over long years, and once a brand it built, that perception sticks. Usually for long, long time!

If a particular telecom company gets slotted as a cheap and poor service company, it is extremely hard to get that impression out, no matter what it does.

Yes, brand reputations stick for long.

Which is why we are seeing the strong anti-Thackeray and anti-Sena emotional outpour.

The smallest incident of unrest in the city, at this time, and people are ready to condemn the Sena. Whether the incident was doctored by the Sena leadership or some local goons, it does not matter.

NRIs from far and wide recollect the violent incidents that they had experienced when they were in India, many years back, and that is the perception they carry about the Sena.

So it does not matter now, if the Sena leadership had instructed their cadre to stay calm and peaceful, and largely the peace was managed. Their past, their reputation, hounds them. And can’t be shirked off.

So there will still be many fingers pointing at the Sena, even if it was proven than non-Sena people had done some damage, that will not be believed, and the Sena will get the blame.

Yes, a brand’s reputation becomes its legacy. Can’t get it off easily.

The same is true for corporate brands. Which is why I appreciate more now, the obsession that some brands display, on getting all communication just right, from their brand’s point of view.

It is important that the right brand perception is created and maintained too.

Jab Tak Hain Jaan: see it for Yash Chopra

Posted: November 14, 2012 in movies, Uncategorized
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If you are a fan of Hindi films, just watch Jab Tak Hain Jaan (JTHJ) for the beautiful tribute to Yash Chopra, at the end. For the wonderful entertainment that he provided to us, all these years, the excellent 3-4 minute salutation (almost certainly, an Aditya Chopra piece of work) with the titles at the end, was very touching.

There are other reasons to see this film too, though many of those connect back to the man himself, Yash Chopra.

1. Yash Chopra uses the camera like a pen, and creates poetry out of the sheer brilliance of the camera. And this is not just the superb locations that he has caught on camera or the near perfect sets, but also the emotions that he captures from the actors, just via his camera.

2. Beautiful sites of Ladakh revisited in a film again, the countryside of UK, made for great viewing on the screen.

3. Gulzar for lyrics and A R Rahman’s music. Two of the best proponents of their respective trades contributing to the beauty of the film. On their own merits, and without any other support, these two giants would lead a movie to great heights. Here of course, they are a part of a large canvass.

4. For a change, Shah Rukh Khan does not overact. In fact, he acts “just right”. The intensity of his face, the underplay of his emotions, serves his character really well. Thank God for the absence of his hee-haw way of talking (or is that reserved only for Karan Johar films – either ways, thank God!). I am sure Yash Chopra had a role to play in bringing out the best from SRK.

5. Anushka’s role could have easily have been a two-bit extra kind. But the spunky girl that she is, she makes the most of the opportunity and turns the role into a substantial one. Comes out strong and significant.

6. Katrina looks good. Period. 🙂

7. After Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, once more Katrina is shown on a two wheeler with a helmet on, and then getting more to her lips than the Slice mango drink, viz. another lip lock scene, this one with SRK, of course. After ZNMD, directors who cast her, may make this a habit, and she could soon challenge Emran Hashmi for being most kissed star?! #JustSaying #NotThatIMind

8. The trench coats. Burberry, I presume. The bike rides in the mountains. Looks majestic.

9. Aditya Chopra’s poetry and dialogues. Some good lines through the movie.

10. Katrina looks good. Did I already say that earlier?

So is it all good? Not really. There are some misses, and some questions, and some general observations:

1. Not much of  a story. A bit far fetched. But the glitz covers up for this.

2. Are there really so many bombs needed to be diffused all the time? And while the one guys playing with death can walk into it, unprotected, do the other folks around him have to be equally casual??

3. Does a foreign country policeman allow a brown faced Indian to casually walk in, claim himself to be an Indian Army person (no checks) and attempt to diffuse a bomb? It’s like on a flight, someone falls sick, and they call out, “is there a doctor on the plane?” – don’t think they’d do that for bombs, “is there a bomb diffuser around here?”!!

4. The second time in a Yash Chopra film that someone bought birthday gifts year after year, but did not give them to the child. Saved them till later, with letters, and the person ended up getting them all together, years later. Lamhe and now, JTHJ. No new ideas around this, Yashji?

5. The film was looong. At least in our theatre. Perhaps because of a long interval too, with lots and lots of ads running in the break. Took nearly 4 hours by the time we were done and out. The film could do with a tighter edit too. Cut 15 min off at least.

6. What’s this obsession for moms to give their wedding wear for their daughters to wear?? Don’t they realize that: a) 25 years is a long time for that dress to be totally out of fashion and b) don’t you feel for the fashion boutiques who will go out of business, if this trend continues and becomes popular?! 🙂

7. The other characters in the film, like SRK’s cronies in the army and in UK, Anupam Kher, and all others, have pretty much, no role. Those characters are just not developed. Seems like a waste.

Outside of the film, noticed that advertisers are back with in-theatre advertising. For the multiplexes having rare full houses, the additional income from other sources, including advertising, builds sustenance.

A closing word on Yash Chopra. Where other directors of earlier times seem to have lost their connect with the new audience, Yash Chopra continued to evolve himself, kept pace with the changing generations, and kept making his films look good for the times. He made his heroines look good, with the best fashion of the times, even as he evolved from silk and chiffon sarees to bright and colourful short dresses.

You dislike corruption, but you also don’t agree with Arvind Kejriwal’s methods..?

Posted: November 10, 2012 in Uncategorized
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It is a very interesting phenomenon that one observes. Especially in times of social media and self expression and where everyone’s a publisher.

That there is a reasonably strong feel amongst the educated Indians, that corruption is not good for the country and that politicians and others who are resorting to these means, must be punished.

But when there are efforts from _someone_  or _anyone_ to do something about this menace, there are objections raised.

It happened when Anna Hazare protested. It is happening now even as Arvind Kejriwal exposes one scam after another.

There is a disagreement on the methods being adopted.

And hence a disagreement with the individual concerned.

There was a list of people who contributed to Kejriwal’s organisation, which was published.

And no sooner was that done, there were a fair bit of disclaimers and denials that came out from the people named therein.

Because they did not want to be associated with the means that Kejriwal was adopting.

Besides those few whose names came out as contributors to Kejriwal, many others all over Twitter and Facebook also found objections to his means (like they’d found in Anna Hazare too).

Arm chair activism in full flow. With strong arguments as well.

So cool.. this is how it is:

“Yes, I am sitting in my arm chair.

Yes, I dislike corruption.

Yes, I hate those reports about large sized scams, politicians and other heavyweights getting away scot free.

Yes, I wish there was a solution.

Yes, I am happy that someone is making some noise and trying to do something about it.

But hey.. No, I don’t agree with THAT particular thing that he just said or did.

No, I disagree with the methods he ia adopting. ”

—–

So where does that leave us??

Do you have another plan? Do you think sitting in your armchair and wishing for that perfect solution will make it happen?

Do you even have a paper concept of that perfect solution??

Do you know what it takes??

Guess not!

And yet, you will keep finding faults when someone is doing something.

So I take it that you don’t really care about the problem as much. And you are fine with the fact that we are becoming an increasingly corrupt society, and our children will not be able to make any headway in life, without needing to pay their way through.

You are willing to accept that reality for tomorrow.

Is it?? Or is it not?

If not, then what are you really doing about it, except for finding faults with someone who is making an attempt?

Are you are part of the solution or a part of the problem?? 

The simple fact is that:

a. Someone is attempting to take the fight against corruption

b. He has his set of convictions and he is following those, both in intent and in effort

c. He is out there, walking his talk

d. You can agree with his broad convictions and integrity, and may not agree with everything that he does

e. That’s fine. Once you contribute (time, money, support) to a broad cause, stay with that. Does not matter if some of the means are not the perfect ones that you’d have liked to be adopted.

f. If you do not agree and cannot support, and would like things to happen in a certain way, what choice do you have? Heck, go out and do it yourself. Become an activist and walk YOUR talk.

g. Because there is no other way. This is NOT Burger King. You CAN’T have it your way otherwise!! You cannot order “a custom-made NGO that will do exactly what I want it to do” or “a new political party that will obey my every command”.

 

I know that I am unable to be on the street, fighting the corruption war, in a way that I would like to. So I am happy with an Anna Hazare or an Arvind Kejriwal who are doing their part. I will support them, and wish them the best. Even if I find an odd objection in their methods.

And this other absurd expectation that people have. That you should be spotlessly clean before you raise a finger against the politician for being corrupt. What nonsense that is?? I could be trapped in a system or I might have not had the courage to stand up against corruption so far. That does not mean that I don’t have or can’t have a desire to live in a corruption free society!!

I did not go to check if Dale Carnegie truly knew how to make friends and influence people. In fact, I don’t know if he had any friends at all. I didn’t care. I liked the material in his book and that was enough for me.

Likewise, if Kejriwal and his team have good material, I will support them. Not check if there is an odd old skeleton of sorts, in some of their cupboards’!!

What do you think?