assumptions

How many relationships have come for a halt because of our assumptions? I spoke to my friend after six months.

I had my reason for not talking. It was self-made, an assumption.

How many of us die without knowing stories of the other side? What could be the reason? Our self made assumptions, pride, ego, or ignorance.

How many loved ones have united, relationships would have been sorted if we speak out, instead of assuming?

Assumptions are like castles in the cloud. They are the outcome of our confirmation bias.

struggle

In the end, every organization wants to earn a profit. That will happen when a customer is a central pillar.

An organization hosts many smaller boxes/sub-groups together. Each has a role in making the organization better. A marketing team has to position the brand. A sales team has to take the organization to new growth hight. A finance team has to manage bookkeeping. A development team works on building innovative products.

The prosperity of an organization depends on the hand of each of these sub-groups. They have to work together as a family and keep the customer in the center of everything important decisions.

An organization will struggle. Their customer will leave, profit will disappear unless sub-groups joins as a single unit. Working as an insolated unit in a silo will harm everyone.

ego

You don’t have to go pay to Ryan Holiday to learn about the side effect of an ego. Most of us want to be at the top. Some take shortcuts and, many others fight.

Ego is a disease. Our life depends on the relationships we build. If we are treating others like dogs to shove off our Ego, how can that be good?

Some people die with a great legacy. Other’s death is good riddance. Pick your side.

Trigger

There are some scenarios when we get triggered, agitated. It can be because someone’s action which is hurting us. It can also be ill-treatment by others. These are moments when rationality fights with emotions.

To live in a hyper-competitive world we are in, knowing what can get us triggered can be a boon.

The externality and our internal fundamentals are always at confit. We have to move on, die every moment.

Coffee

Over the last 40 days, I have been experimenting with my coffee intakes. Coffee was screwing up my sleep, that has been my conclusion.

I tried different beans and timings for consumption. The learning has been the quantity of beans in my glass has a direct result on my sleep.

I have restricted my consumption to 10 grams of coffee a day. I am sleeping at peace without any hiccups. Now I can have two glass with five grams of coffee in each at any time.

I have got a new glass and spoon for measuring beans before grinding them.

Before
Currently

The effect of coffee quantity differs from people to people. I am lucky to have found my limit.

goals

Numerous books, articles, and journals talk about goals. When it is about an organization, we have three actors who work on it.

Leader: His job is to visualize a future and come up with a roadmap in achieving it.

Customers: Customers are the path setter. They help leaders showing the future and creating organizational goals.

Employee: An employee has to work shoulder to shoulder with the leader. An employee’s personal goal and organizational goal needs to have symmetry. It will be wreckage otherwise for the organization.

It makes hiring and on-boarding an initial set of customers more challenging.

journalism

What is wrong with media off late? The journalistic ethic has gone bonkers. More and more post I read over web seems like written by the PR team, not journalists.

The journalism I have witnessed comes with courage, research, and finding the truth.

Do I have to blame the internet for this or new breed of journalists who have gone lazy? Or is page click, followers on social media, or likes have become new pillars of journalism?

Back in 2007 at NewsX, I remember journalists fighting for stories at editorial meets. One has to prove authenticity, source. Modern-day journalists serve the story in a platter, PR folks share a puff piece, it gets published.

Have journalists turned into story/post crunching machines who have forgotten to fact check and publish with due diligence?

I am wondering if independent journalism will change it. When you are running your show, you are less worried about pleasing others or getting free trips to attend product demo launches. The few sane voices will remain the odd one out, but for how long?

I am lucky to have worked with three media houses and have friends spread across a dozen others. The learning and experience have resulted in my writing this.

Small Things

Small things make a huge difference. It brings priceless joy. It can be meeting a lost friend at a coffee shop after a decade or buying a monitor for your team members.

These incidents are a little burst of joy. I was talking to my mentor. His advice was to take a small step, subdividing bigger goals into micro and evaluating, celebrating.

Things take time. We have to persevere and celebrate small things.

On sales

There are a million hours of a podcast recorded, thousand books written on sales. Each book has something to offer. Each podcast has some advice. My limited learning in sales has taught me a few lessons. 

  • Customers will buy if they are in pain. In other cases, discounts or other offers might get you closer. The renewals will not happen. 
  • A customer has to like you. They believe in your and companies vision. 
  • A customer wants 10X return for the money he is paying you. 
  • You have to provide comfort to the customer that you are there with your support.

Your product has to get customer’s love. A founder has to be least worried about competitors. In the early days, you need believers who work closely with you. You have to solve them in the beginning.  

Seek for believers, not customers. Work on solving their pain. It will save your future marketing cost. The power of the word to mouth will take your product to a new height. You will not need to worry about the NPS score and all. 

My learning is limited to building early-stage B2B products. 

posturing

I disregard the evangelicals from the valley and their posturing to we Indians. Our country has just opened up to the digital revolution. The millions of customers for most valley companies are going to come from India.

The posturing by valley companies reminds me of the British Rule, you illiterate Indians, we have got this for you and use it. The western press happily ignores the fact.

Indian challenges are different from other countries. We are a growing economy and still building. Cash on Delivery, Sachet sales, UPI is all catering to our specific needs.

I am not asking the government for protectionism or fostering nationalism. All I am asking from folks is to stop posturing and making us local builders feel that we depend on your advancement.