Men vs Women vs money

Do women and men differ in their outlooks about money? Here is an infographic that gives an explanation.

Info is from here

Salesman of the year

Did you see the initial promos of Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year? It had a desk and Ranbir sitting on it and talking to you. "Hi, Harpreet Singh Bedi, salesman," he smiled at you. He then said that he would sell the movie to you - the audience - in 60 seconds flat and went on to tell you how the movie would give you complete value for money. He finished it with the statement - a salesman's job never ends.

You may have liked the promo, or thought of it as nothing great. But you have to give it to it for being so honest in its approach. Most movie promos aim to attract maximum viewers with shine and sparkle, or shock.

If they manage to hook you, you watch the film and then find out if the film lives up to your expectations or not. Here was a simple ad campaign asking you to give the movie a chance and then to make up your mind about it. The film, itself, is as simple as the ad campaign. But it's brilliant too.

I'll kill you!

US Open video showing Serena lose her cool is worth a watch. Whether she said 'I will kill you' or not is still debated but there is a lot of gesturing and threatening. It is not normal that players at that level vent out their feelings, especially in public. Looking irritated from the beginning of the match, Serena broke her racquet and towards the end launched a volley of words at an official and lost the match, was fined a hefty sum and left with a bad taste. There have been several opinions about this event and how Serena should have held herself and behaved like it is expected of the players at her level. All kinds of racist remarks from black vs white, African vs Asian, American vs Asian, feminist, African American, etc. have been hogging the blogosphere. How unfair could this be? A little emotion is good or should I say, necessary. What Serena did was that she was carried away. But I am sure she would come back soon in a serene avatar. There have been players in the past who were idolized for being what they were and yet won matches and loads of fans. The response was very different then. Ever heard of John McEnroe and the famous racquet throwing and yelling incident?

Back home, Sreesanth is in the best of his moods and seems to concentrate all his energy on his game and pitching the ball in the right spot and getting some wickets. The well known antics and body language is no more to be seen. What made him a star on the field and giving it back to the Aussies in their own mode and hitting the wickets seems to be a thing of the past. Is it not true that his antics were one of the reasons that helped build a momentum which made us believe we can take on any team in the world and win? Did it not contribute a bit? When such antics are sure to attract a disciplinary action from the match officials, could it be possible that the captain or the management ignore this? Don't you think all of them agreed to have him in this mode and either encouraged or silently supported him? Cricket is a team game and it is essential to have different elements effect the individual at the pitch and get the best out of your team. Well Sree, go back to your elements and we don't mind. But as of now stay calm and win those few matches and admiration of people who find amusement in holding on to the leashes of their puppies. Once you get a few hundred wickets you can be back.

Emotions are a part of any communication. In fact, they are vital. Different people use them differently to get things done. Anger is the most misused. On a retail floor or servicescape, customers try and wrestle favors for small operational mistakes and get things done. Usually floor supervisors, managers let them have what they crib for and wash their hands off. But let me tell you this... when you do that you lose all respect the staff has for you. Want to be a big loser who has all the toys but no one to play with? It is right to show your emotions when you are right and are on the wrong side but using your anger over everything is stupid.

Marketers and salesmen should have emotions built into their selling pitch. When you believe in what you sell and the cause, then it is easy to convince the other person to buy. If you don't believe in the product or service yourself, it would be a stale sale. Not that I have seen people selling things they don't believe in, but the enthusiasm is much more when you believe in it. Emotion is the best thing to have and when used well can turnout as a powerful tool in your arsenal. Brands use emotional appeal as a carrier of the message.

Have you ever used your emotions to get something done? Or seen someone who did? What do you think about that? Given a chance would you do the same?

The Aamir psyche

Interesting na?
He may be one of the richest men in the world, but that's not enough for Lakshmi N Mittal. For the past month, the 58-year-old CEO of Arcelor Mittal (a company worth $ 19.3 billion) has spent two hours everyday sweating and toiling in rigorous workout sessions.

Why? Because the business tycoon now wants to look like Aamir Khan. Or more specifically, like Aamir Khan in his Ghajini avatar.

Inspired by Aamir's look, Mittal traced Satyajit Chaurassia aka Satya, the celebrity trainer who was behind Aamir's eight packs and brought him on board for a month. "He wanted to know how Aamir managed to develop such physique at the age of 44," says Satya.

Once Mittal saw the video of Aamir's workout session and discussed diet plans and fitness regime, he asked the trainer to stay back in London and train him. Mittal was so committed to the end-goal that he asked his manager to re-work his schedule to fit two hours everyday for the workout.

In a month Mittal managed to achieve 15 per cent of his target, which, says Satya, is exceptional. He adds that Mittal was so impressed by his work that he is helping Satya open a branch of his gym, Barbarian, in London.

Its green alright

Sashi was having a discussion with a colleague when I walked up to her counter at McDonalds at Total Mall to order. Being inquisitive I overheard what was being discussed and it is worth mentioning here as it teaches us a lesson or two. The case in point was about which color of cleaning cloth was to be used for cleaning the counter and which one for the trays in which food is served. Whether it was yellow or green was the bone of contention. I was amused at the accuracy with which the process was being taken and taught to the front line employees. I was also stunned by the level of attention to detail being given to trivial things like color of the cleaning cloth and so on.

McDonalds is what it is today because it has perfected the art of servicing great things at cheapest possible prices(read cheaper than competition). Attention to detail should necessarily handled at all levels and ensured to be followed strictest, letter level code. Once this is followed at all levels it becomes a practice and it shows in the kind of service being provided to the customers. So nothing is alright unless it is as per the code. This code should have been studied, prepared after a lot of research and perfected, fool-proof.

So what happens to all that I have always vouched for in my previous posts about breaking the mould and being creative in the way you do regular normal work? If it is helping you serve the customer better, go for it. Well then McDonalds isn't you cup of tea then. My friends in hospitality industry tell me that a lot of research goes into drawing plans for the kitchen floor and the service front end. This game is different. It is about fitting in a mould and working for perfection and meeting the requirements. In case you have a revolutionary idea that would help McDonalds or your firm, I don't think they would deny any audience.