Miss You Kalpana

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Kalpana 


Malayalam film industry looses yet another talented actress – Kalpana.

As soon as I heard her demise, my mind raced to few scenes which is still etched on my mind. In this case, it’s her role in Dr Pashupathy as an Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in a government office. I recollect how another colleague in my office who frequently used to say to another UDC. Well, that was ages ago.

Missing Kalpana

Now that she’s history, we’ll collectively lament the passing of this star. What’s left of Kalpana’s are the various comedy movie clipping which bring her back to life.

Another worrying factor is the rise of cardiac death in women in Kerala. Recently I heard the news of my neighbor’s aunt who passed due to heart attack. Why is it that women are joining the ranks of men who succumb to sudden cardiac arrests.

Is this problem arising due to the change in our diet?
Or due to stress factors?

Tradionallly, heart related problems hit men more than women. But, the rising facalities in our state show a different tale. And this is a cause for concern for medial fraternity and for the society. Let’s hope that there will be research and study in this aspect. And more importantly, let’s do something collectively to spread the awareness of this problem.

Finally, bidding adieu of this star who made Malayalees forget their worries and laugh heartily.

Btw, What’s the Big or Small Idea here?

1. I feel film organization like AMMA, should conduct some health screening camps or make it compulsory for all members to have regular checkups and even ensure that all members have medical coverage.

2. I would like to see a modern museum on Malayalam movie industry. A well organized place which houses prints, even memorabilia, autographs, video clips, reels, souveniers, photographs of stars ( Black and white print, Techno Color, etc) and even conduct regular screening, discussion on movies, directors, etc.

Worries at the Time of 40’s

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Worry Factor!

Pic Source Flickr: Alon

Do you get this useless kind of feeling or as if you wasted your life, when you oversleep your evening siesta Along with this awful feeling, I thought what it’s to be in my 40’s when my youth is far behind me and my grey cells and hair are gaining ground!

This inflammable thought brought me to this idea on the worries that commonly cloud people who are in the 40’s group:

  • Worried about the finances ( reserves not sufficient to meet contingencies)
  • Grey hair overtaking the black 
  • Current work not taking anywhere
  • Not able to contribute to the family as once thought
  • Lack of bonding with extended family members
  • Feeling empty about the relationship 
  • Limited social circles and boring lifestyle
  • Not able to spend time on things which are important ( like reading, listening to movies, etc)
  • Disorganized desktop and clutter 
  • Sex life taking a nose dive
  • Worried about the usage of prescription drugs
  • Not getting time to take holiday breaks
  • Growing belly, and not able to spend time for healthy pursuits
  • Loosing or fading charm ( there’s a new kid in the block)

Measure Happiness
This also got me thinking of people around me who are really happy, settled in life. From the outside, they seems to look happy, content, doing things they like to pursue….but, is it true that they are happy? Are they a free bird, or are they carrying untold miseries in hidden sacks? Just wondering if there is a place to measure happiness? What if couples and individuals measure or track their happiness in a programmed way? What if there’s an appraisal to measure happy state?

Kalpana Another Versatile Actress Passes

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Sisters – in their Prime Time

Malayalam film industry looses yet another talented actress – Kalpana.

As soon as I heard her demise, my mind raced to few scenes which is still etched on most film goers mind. In this case, it’s her role as an Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in a government office. She was referred in that movie as UDC. I recollect how another colleague who frequently used to like this world – UDC.

Anyways, she is history now. We will collectively lament the passing of this star. Now, we’ll only have those movie clippings as the reminder of this person.

Another worrying factor is the rise of cardiac death in women in Kerala. Recently I heard the news of my neighbor’s aunt who passed due to heart attack. Why is it that women are joining the ranks of men who succumb to sudden cardiac arrests.

Is this problem arising due to the change in our diet?
Or due to stress factors?

Tradionallly, heart related problems hit men more than women. But, the rising facalities in our state show a different tale. And this is a cause for concern for medial fraternity and for the society. Let’s hope that there will be research and study in this aspect. And more importantly, let’s do something collectively to spread the awareness of this problem.

Finally, bidding adieu of this star who made Malayalees forget their worries and laugh heartily. . 

Marketing God’s Own Country

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Backwaters – Main draw for Tourists

Kerala is a marketing success story. The bigwigs of this state has not spared a single channel to spread the message “God’s Own Country” to the masses. One of the impressive propaganda about Kerala on Youtube, have influenced scores of potential westerners to this state. But, somehow the ground realities are far from the picturesque posters and advertising paraphernalia we see in digital and print brochures.

So, why is it loosing the race to become a tourist friendly destination. Here are my observations:

1) Broken infrastructure, unclean roads and lack of tourist help-desk
    ( Let me elaborate – Let me take you to a trip to Kovalam. People boarding bus to Kovalam often catch bus from the East Fort bus stop. During season time, we see many domestic travelers and foreigners who wait for the bus. First thing you notice is dirt in around the bus stop. The roof is broken at many places and when it rains the surrounding areas are just black slush. One more thing, there’s no public loo in the vicinity. I once had to visit the corporation toilet in East Fort which is one of the dirtiest open loo in this locality.

Solution: Employ a person as a tourist facilitator in this bus stand. He should be given a small booth. And he or she should be able to speak Hindi and English. You can also hire Russians or Germans is man the booth for some time. It will be good experience to propagate and explain the facilities in their language. As a compliment, give them a day’s stay in the Govt Guest House in Kovalam. All the help desk people should go a mandatory training so that they can answer most of the questions asked by tourists.

2) Nonexistent Night Life

    Look at Goa – ever youthful place, buzzing with young people, indulging in all forms of youthful quest. Parties, night clubs, discos, eating joints, etc lure young people to this place. Kerala fails very badly on this index. Moreover, public in Kerala have resentment towards night clubs or discos and beer. A youngster who visits Goa with the friends is less likely to enjoy the same kind of fun and revelry in Kerala.

Solution: Create a demarcated place in Kovalam area which is meant for carnival. It has to be well planned, with all the frills of a part spot like Ibiza in Spain. But, the question is do we have the will to create a spot like that. I’m afraid the answer would be NO.

3) Liquor Ban and Drama

  We know how bad, unclean and unorganized are the liquor outlets in Kerala. On top of it there are crazy rules like, first of every month is dry day, then bars close the shutters by 10:PM. The liquor licence is so expensive that only people who are filthy rich or abkari chaps can bid. This keeps a small business out of the race. What a shame? The so called 100% literate state is acting in a very regressive manner. Most of the policies chalked out are just out of someone’s gut instinct. No research, no study, no plan. If things so, we’ll see more brain drain too happening in Kerala.

Solution: First, throw the existing liquor policy in the gutter. Make a policy which is done with planning, foresight and a vision on the future.Give beer license for shacks at a lower rate. Even with no license, you can easily get beer in most outlets. All the shacks do is sell beer in ceramic glasses. Funny!!! Who are these people trying to fool – you, me or the administration. It’s evident that these guys will be paying a big money as bribe. The question again is – who get’s it. Who benefits. I’m sure it’s not the common man.

Hire a Startup Idea Champion

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Wong caption, but right intention. Yes, you read it right. You can hire me for a day or more to mentor, to criticize or spawn business improvement ideas

How this idea lighted?
While driving back from a dental checkup, my mind blew to this thought – why not sell my ideas or business marketing plans to small business entrepreneurs or startup teams who are looking to inject some fresh ideas or need a different perspective on existing idea or looking for a way to market their new idea without a big budget.

Polish Existing Plans, Pick New Ideas, Get a Critical Examination

Imagine you’re now all set to embark on a entrepreneur journey. You got the idea, you got people on board, but you feel there are something missing in the mix. Who do you have to turn for a critical review? Imagine, you don’t have a mentor or you don’t have the money to hire a business consultant or you don’t trust your existing marketing team or friend to tell the loopholes, then I can be a extra you can depend on.

Well, I could be that one, who can examine or provide new input to your existing plan.Sometimes, you might hit a bigger idea or get some ideas on how to use digital marketing to the max.

When you hire me for ideas, there are many or some things I can do for you:

  1. Spend few hours with you or your team for brainstorming sessions
  2. Suggest few ideas which can offshoot to bigger plan
  3. Solicit ideas for new startups or for expanding existing business
  4. For startup entrepreneurs, I polish their pitches ( Trim it, make is short, snappy)
  5. Get fresh perspective on how you can elevate your service
  6. Search online and find the closest and prominent competitor, and pick some 21 strategies and smart marketing done by your COMPETITOR.
  7. Suggest some practical and offbeat ways to market your biz
  8. Write compelling or normal Facebook posts or Twitter posts which you can be used in your marketing program
  9. Draft 6 email pitches for sending a campaigns
  10. Suggest some 30 blog topics from a business – customer perspective  
  11. Visit your store and give you feedback on my experience ( a mystery shopper)

Well, lists are endless, you one thing is certain, you might get some ideas or points which you can look into during your spare time.

What do you say? Are you going ahead to book me for a 4 hr session?

One good thing right now is that I’m a free bird. I’ve quit my digital marketing job, and now pursuing as a trainer. So, I’m available in Bangalore almost 24 days a month. All you need is to drop a email, or call me right away.

How much do I charge? 
Well, I’m not too pricey as a big shot consultant, nor I come too cheap. I charge Rs 3.5K ( Three Thousand Five Hundred Only) for my time. This is not a fixed one. It can go up or comedown marginally.For other services, such as topics for blogging, or content marketing calendar or social media plan, I charge individually by looking at the size of the project.

So, what’s the proof that I spawn ideas? You can check what I’ve written on this post and other posts related to small business ideas. I hope that you will be able to evaluate me on the basis of what I’ve penned in these idea posts.

If I suit or fit the description and purpose, then we can collaborate.

Your’s in Marketing

Charles
Call #9900114982

Metalic Cold Impersonal Chairs

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Icy Cold & Impersonal Chair

Recently I visited a newly opened diagnostic centre in Indira Nagar. As I waited for the X-ray operator to set the machine, I took the snap of metal chair placed on the corridor. And, I thought how it typically looks like a hospital chair.

These chairs are the same kind you see in a office or in any hospital or labs. It has an appearance of being impersonal or not being friendly. What if they replace these chairs with chairs made of wood. Will it make people feel at home or make it easy on the eye? Yes, I think.

I feel wood furniture, chairs gives a more friendly ambiance and feel to the house or living room. Probably, it’s b’cos our ancestors lived in the woods. Or it could be something of the human touch.

Question for you:
What would you prefer a wood cabin or a room made of metal?

Finally, one more note.. just because every place is doing a practice, doesn’t make you copy the same tactic or practice. Often convenient thing, would make things can make you unnoticeable in the market.

So, what are you thinking?

  •  Are you a copycat or an original? 
  • Will you spend time exploring options to make your business standout?

Chennai 2015 Flood and Volunteering

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After every natural calamity, a big question is thrown at all of us – When will India have a solid disaster management policy? It’s typical to hear lot of discussion in the press, on TV and on the Internet about the failure of government machinery in combating the situation. Often, this kind of discussion, press notes has a limited shelf life. Soon, some other incident will take precedence. Next, there is hardly any mention about it and the priority of the government steers to another story.

Planning at the time of a Natural Calamity – Volunteering 
So, for the time being let’s forget about the Government welfare and support. Let’s focus on how organized volunteering will be a big support to citizens in times of need.

First of all, it’s important to plan, organize and create a systematic plan for people to volunteer. Before, I care the crux of the idea, visit Seth Godin’s blog to read this post.

According to him, any volunteering activity should have these three aspects such as: An Agenda, Peer Support, and a hierarchy of achievement.

The notes written on the blog clearly summaries the key aspects of having a problem plan, right from support structures, which can lead to better outcomes. I hope you will read the blog and start a proper framework to amplify the result. And finally, there are thousands of people in each locality who are willing to volunteer for different causes, but don’t know where to go, how to go about it, etc.

Can you steer a path? 

Increase the Value of Public Libraries

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What do people do when they wait for a bus at the bus shelter? In a mobile distracted world, it’s a common sight to see people fiddling with their mobile phones. And, I too did the same. At this point, I came across an this blog post on Grammerly.com. .

Going through the 3 points written on the blog, I picked two things which could be adopted by public libraries in India.

If I’m not wrong, there has been a steady decline of library membership in public libraries across our country. The reasons is evident – the rise of information in digital forms, wiki’s and digital libraries, etc.This means fewer footfalls in public or community libraries.

I’m not sure about the activities undertaken in public libraries, but I’m sure that most libraries have fewer resources or leadership to  take it forward. In many cases, they don’t know how to go about it. So, based on what I understood on the Grammerly blog, here are few points:

1) Start quarterly essay competition in these libraries. It should be held for school level, college level and one which is open to people of all ages. I feel a successful event can draw people living in the locality to visit the library, spend some time interacting with people, participate and in this way get familiarized with the activities of the library. To make this happen, someone should take imitative to get sponsorship, get well know writers in the locality to evaluate, and organize it systematically. During the event, organizers should take effort to collect the date of each person so that it can used subsequently for sending SMS reminders or sending email newsletter, etc.

2) Start a used book festival on every second Saturday of the month. A hall should be arranged where people can bring their used books and do barter or sell the books, magazines, etc. Again, it’s intended to engage people and develop reading habit in the locality.

I’m not sure how many libraries are taking this initiative. I bet, it could be one of the ways to foster reading habit, bring young people to its premises, and bring more meaning to the library.

P.S: Keep a notice board where people can post ads for article writers, or content writers for web project.  

Future of Recruitment

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Changing Criteria for Employment

This is a cutting from yesterday’s newspaper. I don’t have to elaborate the implications of the topic written on the news. The headline itself is self explanatory.

I had a hunch for a long time about the real worth of degree certificates, MBA qualification and many fancy certificates. Now, that I have seen it in print, I can tell people vehemently about the changes that are about to come.

Why are you here? What ideas are you bringing to the mix?
One thing is for certain, it’s the idea, knowledge and skill level which will make you stand out. The era of using name of a college or an education institution as a way to get foot on the door will be a passe. Companies which eye for the future will look for something more than just your degree certification. And that’s your ideas, integrity level, your passion, skill, etc.

The bigger question is this – Are we ready for such a changeover? When will employers in India, seek this level of selection process, where they will evaluate the real worth of candidate over the degrees in hand. Are we seeing a paradigm shift in the way business is done, in marketing, etc.

More serious question: Are we ready for the fourth industrial revolution?