BHAJI WITH BAK CHOY AND BATHUA

INDIAN MARKET IS HIGHLY COMPLEX, VARIED, YET ENTICING. NURTURING FOOD BRANDS HERE IS EVEN MORE TAXING THAN REARING A CRANKY BABY

Recently UK based pizzeria Metro Pizza landed in Mumbai with its trademark meter-long pizza. The menu retains similarities to that of its principal counterparts, yet some items have been added on to suit the Indian palate and product mix. When Lavazza entered India in 2007 it decided to reflect its Italian origin by drawing inspiration from all things Italian, including art, culture, fashion, etc. To establish a unique identity it decided to go beyond merely retailing food and coffee. But, at Starbucks in India each store takes inspiration from local culture. The chain has retained certain Starbucks iconic offerings like chocolate muffins and cakes, but has introduced other food items that would please the local palate. Since the brand counts India among the top five global markets, it is willing to make locally relevant innovations in product and processes. In fact, the latest store at Delhi showcases examples of Indian craft of weaving and sports handicrafts made by local artistes.

So there are no universal guideposts for food chains. But are there any rules to break? Let’s examine if we become wiser by reading what follows now as ‘A morons’s guide to hospitality marketing 1.0’.

The first poser, should you, a foreign brand, enter India? This is a clear no brainer. India is the biggest consumption market in the world. Urban Indians spend 11% of their income on eating out. Nuclear households, rising affluence, more and more working women, food shows on TV and social media, increasing international travel, a very large young population – all these factors have ensured that by 2015 the Indian restaurant industry is likely to become Rs.62,500 crore plus, up from Rs.43,000 crore currently. If Indian restaurants industry hits the same percentage of GDP as in US, then this figure would be a stupendous Rs.1,80,000 crore. The untapped potential is really mouthwatering. Average bill per person in a quick service restaurant (QSR) ranges between Rs.70 and Rs.300, while for casual/ fine dining it is between Rs.750 and Rs.3,000. QSR business returns 15-25% margin while the other segment enriches the owner at 20%-40%. One dampener, however: High rentals.

Second, have you studied your market in terms of its occupants and their profile? It must be realised that nearly 45-48% of Indian population is vegetarian. More importantly, the remaining population too is non-vegetarian only occasionally. Hardcore carnivores are very few in India. Prudently, therefore, Yauatcha, a London based Cantonese cuisine chain included vegetarian dishes in its menu at Bandra- Kurla complex, Mumbai, since the area is a hub of the business community, dominated by Jains and Marwaris. Hakkasan did the same, using not even onion, garlic, or root vegetables. In Gujarat, which has majority population being vegetarian, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Subway have some pure vegetarian outlets with special Jain counters. Not only this, regional variations in taste abound. While Satrbucks offers ‘Mutton Seekh in Roomali Roti’ in Delhi, it sells ‘Elaichi Mawa Croissant’ in Mumbai. Even celebrity fine dining spaces succumb to the dictates of local taste buds. Le Cirque at Leela Delhi, bowing to Indian predilection, offers both French and Italian dishes. Starbucks also hawks tea at its outlets. Due to dominance of youngsters all the coffee chains are positioning themselves as a ‘fun place to be at’, a hangout spot. And since most Indians like to munch with their beverages, Dunkin’ Donuts has positioned itself as a food café, the sweet spot between routine cafes and QSRs. Besides, it offers salty donuts in India. Costa Coffee too uses brighter colours and lights, tailoring to Indian preferences in its properties, along with a lot many ‘coolers’ on its menu due to tropical Indian climes. While the usual European style is maintained, alterations have been made in terms of tastes. All Domino’s outlets have ‘dine in’ facility now, which bring in nearly half the total cash.

Third, so should you be stubbornly authentic, adapt, or Indianise completely? The simple answer would be: While you stick to your expertise, you also need to strike a fine balance adapting to local taste and flavour. Rara Avis, a single cuisine restaurant, offers authentic home-cooked rustic French food having (like original) even rabbit and escargot on the menu. So does Chez Mariannick at Banglore. But Rara Avis offers 18 vegetarian options too, absent in the original menu. Sufiserves authentic Persian cuisine but with some north Indian dishes to appeal to a larger customer base. When Bagels Café opened its doors in 2008 it decided to serve bagels in authentic European style, but was soon forced to include options like ‘paneer tikka’ and ‘masala omlette’ variants. So you can only hope that gradually the customer will move to the ‘original stuff;’ but initially she will not be very adventurous. Remember, food consumption is dictated by cultural norms too which are rather inflexible.

Fourth, what should you adopt – hands off approach or personalisation? Now, since the chefs themselves are redefining the concepts and restaurants (at least at fine dining properties), many of them are hired not merely for their cuisine based skills but also for their marketing acumen. They are expected to design and innovate menus, come out of the kitchen and sell their food to the customer, explaining their signature dishes. At Kunafa, Delhi, Naseer Barakat, the proprietor, personally acquaints customers with the many varieties of confections available. In 2002, lebua offered even a limousine pick up for the customer from his home to the hotel.

Fifth, local sourcing, or global? Worldwide all luxury hotels are following the localisation mantra. At Intercontinental, a brand manager brings in local culture by hiring 10-15 designers who prepare alternatives. Feedbacks then are taken from local partners, and then only the final nod. Not so necessarily when it comes to sourcing talent, or ingredients, though. Quality issue then is the guidepost. So Kunafa imports ‘halwais,’ celebrity chefs are hired from abroad on fancy salaries, and ingredients may be partly/fully imported if not available locally or do not meet quality standards. While QSRs, which have to be necessarily cost conscious, increasingly work towards indigenisation, speciality restaurants in star properties offering international cuisine often import heavily.

Finally, the process of delivery. Mc- Donald’s keeps track of the products it sources from 40 different suppliers across India. Tracing the movement of 8,500- 9,000 buns, 3,000-3,500 kgs of tomatoes, 2,000 kgs of iceberg lettuce, and 5,500 slices of cheese constantly (on a daily basis) ensures consistency in taste of food and observance of international levels of safety standards. Each burger undergoes 40 separate tests throughout the chain. Similarly, many expat chefs while procuring locally, personally visit markets to buy vegetables. Another important fact is that in India, a QSR is expected to serve fast, but the customer is likely to hang around. So, turnover is likely to be relatively lower. And people prefer combos because they are akin to ‘thali style’, besides sounding ‘economical’.

In short, Indian market is exceedingly complex, varied, yet enticing. Nurturing the food brands here is even more taxing than rearing a cranky baby. Neither initial setbacks nor early endorsements of a brand should be read as a thumbs up sign from the market. Most importantly, constant innovation and adapting to local needs sure will help. For instance, Pullman, a luxury hotel in Gurgaon from Accor Group, gets its crockery from Auroville in South India just to cement French connections. Even Hyatt at Delhi has a full floor for Japanese where electric controls are at relatively lower heights keeping in mind the shorter heights of the Japanese.

There are some cardinal rules that must be followed, but others can be reinterpreted. reed.

BHAJI WITH BAK CHOY AND BATHUA

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR SCRIPT?

The U.S. coffee chain Starbucks opened its 7th store in the country on 6th February this year. It said that the brand counted India among the top five global Starbucks market in time to come. For this it was willing to make investments in aggressive expansion and locally relevant innovations (in its products and processes). Thus the store at Delhi showcased examples of Indian craft of weaving and sported handicrafts made by local artists. For its menu also the company has kept the Indian palette in mind; it includes items like Murg Makhni pie and mutton seekh roll, besides also offering Tata Tazo Tea ,a rarity at Starbucks worldwide. Will it do well? Well, sure it can provided the marketer does not try to sell frame as painting. In which case the warrior may not emerge the winner; the devil will devour the hindmost.

Way back in 1999 use of Barista brand name, an Italian word for a cafe, in India was rather an adventurous christening. Barista had opened its first outlet at Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, one of the most happening places for test marketing youth hang outs. Barista, meaning brewmastersomeone who prepares and serves coffee-was chosen since all smart evolved coffee lovers are expected to know that Italy is the cradle of coffee. The brand wanted to recreate an authentic Italian coffee experience. Indeed, it wanted to present them a true blue coffee culture evoking a feeling, mood, and ambience symbolizing ‘brio’ (energy) reflecting ‘verismo’ (truth) adding to a matchless ‘virtuoso’ (a mastery touch) performance befitting a real cognoscenti.

Barista had a simple and focused vision of “offering consumers a never before experience while they sipped coffee of the highest intangible quality in an ambience powered by innovation and designed to offer heightened experience levels at every turn as they go along….experience that is not stagnant or likely to erode with time but ever rejuvenated and enriched by creativity, imagination taste, and style.” To deliver this experience the brand opted for serving limited but diverse and exotic range of coffee, food, music, games, decor, indeed the overall ambience of an authentic coffee bar. By year 2010 (they began in early 2000) Barista wanted to become top of the line global player with a minimum of a thousand outlets in India.

Café Coffee Day was dismissed as a competitor for ‘the highly experiential and premium’ brand. Barista wanted to position itself within the competitive arc of starred restaurants, snazzy upmarket coffee and other outlets, cine-multiplexes, malls, and plazas-any place inhabited by cool, sophisticated, and young at heart people doing time out.

Barista’s USP then was being customer driven, connecting with two specific moods that would largely colour the drinker as he steps inside, relaxation and recharge. The experience inside was expected to serve the customer well, additionally because the coffee served was hundred percent ARABICA served through Italian coffee machines. Porcelence (no styrofoam cups, please) was the serveware since it retains the heat, flavour, and aroma of coffee, as no other material does. The brew masters were trained to decipher and connect with their customer’s preference and choices. Little wonder, in absence of effective competition, the brand recorded a healthy 25% annual increase in footfalls, that too through only word of mouth publicity and viral marketing. Not a paisa spent on mainline advertising.

Further, sound of Barista (the customized music tracks played during different times of the day in sync with the mood and sensibilities of different set of customers), loyalty programs, special games, diverse food items in league with the season and customers preferences, and then some more wowing techniques went a long way to deliver the real, true blue Barista experience.

Barista had been mighty successful in introducing a defining coffee culture, in a warm and friendly ambience. It opened out a ‘whole new world of coffee drinking experience by offering Capuccino, Latte, Caramel, Mocha, you name it, alongwith fusion meals, so as to transform a commodity into a culture by creating value that refreshed the body while stimulating the entire being and enriching the soul.’

Alas, the experiment started floundering after a very promising start even though the experience was still nothing to complain about. Some where the brand lost its script. So what went wrong? Well, we hardly have the space here to unfold the subsequent chain of events. Suffice to say nurturing the brand is more taxing than rearing a baby. Starbucks needs to keep this in mind; it should not take early endorsement of a brand by a limited set of coffee afficianados as being a sign of thumbs up by the entire market.

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P.S: We at Theory i are of firm conviction that management cases don’t admit of one single ideal solution. Depending on the context multiple-and equally potent-approaches may be perfectly justified. Hence your magazine does not append ‘solutions’ to these cases.

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR SCRIPT?

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

BRANDS THAT ALLOW FOR EXPRESSION OF AESTHETIC AND COGNITIVE NEEDS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING INCLUDED IN THE CONSUMPTION BASKET

Notwithstanding the recent outburst and censure against Honey Singh’s songs, since 2006 he has been consistently delivering one hit after another. So what sells? His songs catered to the archetype of Jathood, celebrated Jathood and gun culture. One of his songs says: “I have blood in my eyes today, I have to kill some body.” He uses swear words which occupy the lexicon of Gen Z and Y, since that is how you become cool dude. His songs enforce a particular idea of masculinity. And of course his songs commodify women, an accepted norm in India, howsoever much it might be abhorred as a value.

In fact, where is the sober dress for soulful music? All music genres have their own particular brand image, projected by artists themselves as a part of the total recital package. So rock & pop artists’ attire would be wild & vibrant, flouting established norms. Even Carnatic musicians have now become display conscious, since the ethos of the society from which they derive their psychic cues are changing. Kanchipuram silk, dazzling danglers of diamonds and other accoutrements are on full display, in sharp contrast to austere and sober dress of the singer in days gone into hibernation.

The difference between a brand and a commodity can be summed up as ‘added value’, tangible or intangible. But ‘added value’ can be created only when the marketers understand the psychological makeup of consumer that tells them much more about consumer’s actual motive to consume than demographics and other mechanical methods of classification do.

All material possessions carry social meaning. Goods have a double role; they provide subsistence on one hand and create lines of social relationships on the other. Physical properties of goods can never explain their demand. A modern brand secures an emotional involvement rather than only meeting a functional need. Earlier a QSR meant availability of food with minimum fuss, now it means fast serve but not necessarily fast consumption. Look at CCD or McDonalds ads.

Brands now aim at three things. First, they attain success by satisfying more than one (relevant) goal. Obvious examples are mobiles and tablets. Failures of course are available in the shape of e-readers, standalone cameras, etc. Second, they enable buyers to cope with role conflict. Allen Solly has succeeded through ‘Friday Dressing’ concept. ULIP plans are picked up because they act as tools of insurance and investments together. Third, they sometime focus on satisfying neglected goals. Royal Enfield has attained success because there is a niche segment opting for individuality and freedom. SUVs are huge sellouts in India since they introduce an element of adventure into mundane task of driving, and that too economically.

People actually live in a double environment, the personal inner world of feeling, emotion, and thoughts as well as the outer world of people, places, and possessions. So rational, conscious motivation are important but so are the mental vision of the brands that the customers create of the brands in question and the feelings that they associate with that image. It is important that the marketer understands clearly as to why people choose to behave in a certain way. Needs, simply put, are felt state of deprivation. There are physiological needs, psychological needs, and learned needs (due to socialisation process). Physiological (hunger, sex), cognitive (affection, social), emotional (security, stability) and environmental (success, prestige) are the four distinct type of stimuli that arouse needs. Needs and their arousal owe their birth and sustenance in part to consumer psyche which is really a very complex phenomenon.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs addresses the issue of motivational needs. Each manager worth his salt knows about them. However, we propose a two-pronged modification here. One, that in a collectivist culture like India we must question the definition and even existence of the need called self actualisation. As a personally directed need it is perhaps replaced by a socially directed one reflecting a desire to enhance one’s image and position through contribution to society. Here in India personal level of needs (emphasis on achieving independence, autonomy, and freedom – characteristics of western culture) is conspicuous by its absence, though gradually taking roots. The highest level of satisfaction is not derived from actions directed at the self but from the reactions of others to the consumer. Therefore personally directed self actualisation need has to be replaced by social needs. The social needs of belonging and prestige can be broken down into three levels: affiliation, admiration, and status.

Affiliation is the acceptance of an individual as a member of a group. In the family this acceptance is automatic but in most other groups certain qualifications must be met to gain membership. Once affiliation has been attained the individual will desire the admiration of those in the group. This is the higher level need and requires effort. An admiration can be earned through acts that demand the respect of others. Finally, the individual would want the status arising from the esteem of society at large. Fulfillment of this need requires the regard of outsiders (to the group), whereas fulfillment of the admiration need occurs on a more intimate level. The status level most closely resembles the western need for prestige and manifests itself in conspicuous consumption.

The second modification that we propose is to large the list of these needs by including two more, aesthetic and cognitive. Aesthetic (beauty and balance) needs are becoming more conspicuous among new generation. These sit above the existing needs. Besides the modern SEC A, B, C youth, with enough moolah in his purse and a large credit limit, wishes to lead a liberated life, even if on EMIs. He has the need to acquire knowledge (read self awareness). Therefore brands that allow for expression of aesthetic and cognitive needs are increasingly being included in the consumption basket. As an illustration we have taken Wellness industry to provide the new framework (figure 1 and 2).

So now you know why in the aftermath of December 16 tragic event, nobody wanted to listen to Main Hun Balatkari from Yo Yo Honey Singh; psychologically disturbed nation has put the whole popular culture of which music is an integral part under scrutiny. Precisely for this reason the misogynist context in advertisement is being objected against, as for example in the commercial of a phone brand that shows cricketer Virat Kohli tricking an unknown girl into sharing her number with him. However, if you permit me, this is transitory reaction. The society at large thinks nothing of such songs or ads where it comes to actual consumption behaviour. Value system does not necessarily govern our consumerist psyche.

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?

ORGANISATIONS WHICH APPLY ANALYTICS TO DATA FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ARE 2.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO SUBSTANTIALLY OUTPERFORM THEIR INDUSTRY PEERS

Bharti Airtel handles around 8 billion calls daily generating humongous amount of data. Based on this it has divided its customers into nearly 100,000 segments to whom it offers customised products based on their usage pattern. Right now it is working to provide at least three services to each customer, to improve stickiness, working on the insight that customers for multiple services tend to stay on longer than single service users. Further, due to call drops it was facing the problem of churn. At nearly 40% it was a huge number. When it analysed the data it found that a customer was most likely to switch to another service provider if six or more calls dropped in a day. So a software was developed that offers customers free SMSes after the sixth call drop.

British Airways (BA) cabin crew and ground staff are now provided iPads to store, transmit, and use real time info about who is on board, their needs and expectations, preferences, and even any issue that they might have had at the airport. It realised that the premium class flyers feel delighted if they are addressed by their name. So the crew now does exactly that thanks to transmission of real time data through the handheld iPad. While other airlines can at best have current data on their passengers, BA would have the complete service history of them which it uses to draw patterns. Welcome to the world of analytics and its latest incarnation Big Data.

Analytics involves sourcing data from internal and external channels (media, blogs, image, and video sites, even sensors, and CCTVs), organise this data, generate insights, make predictions and finally produce recommendations for action. Big Data goes even beyond. It refers to a collection of information, too large and complex to be processed using traditional software tools. This processed information in turn helps the company identify untapped revenue potential, generate insights to cut costs and boost profit. For example, McDonald’s is able to understand where to locate its stores, how to layout these stores, which items to keep in each store and which items to bunch together to generate bundled sales. Shopper’s Stop got the insight that Gujaratis’ purchases are closely linked to upswings on the bourses since they would spend their gains from the stock market on purchases in the retail. Shopper’s Stop realised 25% incremental sales from them. During Eid it searched through its database of 2.6 million First Citizen loyalty card holder and singled out Muslim buyers. Then through targeted promotional programmes it earned Rs.1 crore additional revenue. Jet Airways is able to accurately calculate, track, and report aircraft emissions, so as to optimise its fuel usage for each flight. Little wonder then that an IDC Report tells us that organisations which apply analytics to data for competitive advantage are 2.2 times more likely to substantially outperform their industry peers. Companies adept at analytics enjoy 1.6 times more revenue growth, 2 times more profit growth, and 2.5 times more stock appreciation than their peers.

According to India Retail Report (2013), private consumption in India increased from Rs.44,11,115 crore (2011) to Rs.51,26,131 crore (2012). Between 2010-2015 the estimated CAGR is likely to be 18.8% for retail sales. Consequently the share of modern retail will move up from 6.6% to 10.2%. While the total retail is likely to grow at 16% annually, modern retail will hit a figure of nearly 27%, a big jump from Rs.2,23,572 crore to Rs.4,87,423 crore during 2012- 2015. But then this will invite a lot of competition too, since the entry is easy. Who will then breast the tape first on the finishing line and who will be disqualified in the preheat rounds itself? Well, inter alia, that would depend on how customised your programme could be to suit individual customer needs, and how tightly you run your ship. Increasingly, the segment size is likely to be a single customer at a time. You need to process zettabytes of data (1 Zettabyte = 1,099,511,627,776 Gigabytes). Hence, the marketer will need the support of several matrices (Table 1).

Simply defined a metric is a measuring system that quantifies a trend, dynamic, or characteristic. Marketers need to understand their addressable markets quantitatively as well as qualitatively. They must measure new opportunities and the investments needed to realise them. They must quantify the value of products, customers, and distribution channels all under various pricing and promotional scenarios (Table 2).

Put together these matrices are designed to measure how well the firm is doing with its customers as a whole and wherein lies the scope for enhancing profitability of operations.

A word of caution, however. Reams of data (or zettabytes of it, if you so wish to call them) are of no consequence unless they generate real insights. In Philippines diesel and petrol have similar price differential as in India. An automobile company was about to make the blunder of targeting the Filipino market with India made diesel cars. However, before the disaster could have struck it, it found out that the natives there were not too fond of diesel engines; 86% prefer to buy petrol driven cars. Reason: Since distances are not long, a diesel engine does not offer overall economy. Similarly, in the early to mid nineties, many Indian companies betted on CRM software. But most such initiatives flopped because these were not implemented in sync with the company’s processes and decision making norms. Tesco, which will soon retail in India, has Clubcard loyalty programme under which it offers highly customised coupons; hardly any two mailings have the same coupon. An Indian apparel major has divided its customers into over 200 micro clusters, each based on distinct behaviour. The retailer configures the segment properties and engagement content and then makes the right offer to the right product at the right time.

Remember, as always, technology is a mere enabler; it is the human ingenuity that counts.

DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?

POWER PLAY

“Hello, is that Mr. Srivastava?” asked the lady’s voice on the other end of the telephone. “Mr. Chopra will speak to you.” A pause and an interminable hold for 2 full minutes before Mr. Chopra decided to address me. This tiresome telephonic power play is common enough. Important people don’t dial numbers (or press the keys on the mobile, for that matter), and the lesser mortals are required to wait to be spoken to.

What was different about this call last Friday was that this gentleman was not even important to me. He wanted to invite me to address a gathering of senior managers at a workshop he was organizing. Even if there was a half a percent chance that I would have accepted his invitation, after this brief encounter I declined.

Later that day I went out to meet the chief executive of a Gurgaon based company where I had a prefixed appointment for 3:15 PM (his secretary had sternly warned me not to be late for the meeting). I turned up at the office at 3:10 and announced myself at the reception. I was asked to wait, which I did. And then waited some more. After an interval long enough for the CEO to perhaps have had a con-call, written a couple of mails, made a phone call, and gone to the rest room, he made his appearance looking neither apologetic nor hurried. He too was playing “I am more important than you,” and once again I seemed to be holding the losing hand.

For the rest of the week I decided to consciously look for power games being played by people. Academic in me having got activated I realized that rules of the game broadly fall into two categories: Those which people use to make them feel big, and those which they deploy to make others feel small. For your benefit, dear reader, I outline them below.

First, listen only callously. Actually try to monopolize all the opportunity to talk; don’t allow the other person to speak, especially when he is narrating events from his own life. It is fine to ask inane question: “How’s your family?” But the moment an answer is forthcoming start looking over his shoulder or peer into the screen of your ultrabook which may at that moment might actually be displaying the picture of Snoopy, your pet dog. Second rule is about e-mails. Actually there are three sub rules here. Get other people to send your e-mails for you. Do not reply to anything except ofcourse those messages which if unattended may put your job at stake. And, finally, if you do choose to respond, don’t bother checking whether your response addresses the issues raised in the other person’s mail. Third, your alter ego, the latest Blackberry handset. Always keep it on and use it often to interrupt conversations by taking calls and read e-mails. This will establish how hardpressed for time you are; without multitasking you could not have accomplished what all you already have. Fourth, your office. While a corner office with sleek leather bound furniture and your pictures with P.Chidambaram and U.S. Ambassador would be nice, there is a lot you can do with something less too. In a smaller cubbyhole put the visitor at a disadvantage by seating him on that squidgy sofa that is hard to get in and get out. Actually, even if you have no office at all, make sure that your junior answers your phone and starts off: “K. K. Srivastava’s office.” As regards your mobile number, ideally don’t hand out your number even if someone asks for it. Or if you receive a call on your number choose to ignore it. Finally, while talking, choose one of three options. Talk almost in whispers so that the other person has to strain to hear. Or, talk incredibly loudly so that people have to listen whether they wish to or not. Finally (perhaps most appropriately), talk aggressively slowly so that you waste the listener’s time and leave him with an uncomfortable feeling that you think he is too daft to understand normal speech.

I am sure you have not taken the above advice seriously unless you have already built a comfortable nest-egg and wish to retire early! Actually, there is a different, more advanced version of the game too that you must learn about. I recently met the Director, H.R. – a Japanese - of a multinational consumer durables company. When I reached the reception area the gentleman promptly came to receive me and escorted me into his office. On conclusion of the meeting he came out yet again upto the foyer to see me off. While for Japanese this is a part of their cultural fabric, if an Indian high up does this, you can be sure that he is playing, even if subconsciously, a top level game called, “Let’s pretend I am not more important than you.” If you play this well, the world is your oyster. Be warned, however. To be a master of this game, you really have to be dead important already. Else, for example, if I start playing this game, being the editor of a niche magazine, I will sound rather phoney.

There exist definitely superior ways to establish your power. For example, achieve excellence in your chosen field (like Tendulkar or Aamir Khan), create high value (like Naresh Trehan and Yash Raj films), convert potential into possible (like E. Sreedharan and Capt. Gopinath), make human service part of your mission (like Dr. Devi Shetty and late Dr. Kurien), and invent future (like Bill Gates and Mahatma Gandhi) Power is equated with success in all walks of life. If Salman can give five hits in a row, Sachin can decimate the other nation’s team single handedly, and Sonia Gandhi can decide the path that Indian polity and economy should tread, you could be anointed with success too. Only that what works for one does not necessarily work for the other. The ‘real’ you may cringe at the prospect of adapting to the stereotype that you may have originally decided to don to climb the ladders of success. So why should you emulate? The essential thing is to know oneself fully well – the strengths and the weaknesses – to fly high in the cut and thrust world of today. Zero in on your strengths and never wear chinks in your armour on your sleeves. Even if you are street -wise, assertive and blunt, remember it also pays to be sensitive and diplomatic. And before everything else, harbor ambition. Then chart out a plan of action and execute it to taste power and success.

Ambition is essential. Else, how will you become a high flier? But there is one proviso-your ambition should not be of the personal, self centered, conceited type that pays no heed to others’ wellbeing. Acceptable ambition is one where you have awareness of your own good qualities and therefore know that you can do a high-level job well. This should be followed by taking an inventory of your strengths and consciously playing to them – utilize them to the full. You should know equally well what your weaknesses are and try to remedy them, avoid situations which crucially expose these weaknesses, and attempt to get ‘cover’ (Say by asking someone for advice) in situations where you are weak.

This shall be the real power play!

It is for you to choose how you opt to succeed at success, by conning others or by fawning them with your inherent power.

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P.S: This issue carries 7 case studies covering a wide palette. 4 of them are long ones which would need multiple readings to arrive at resolution of issues raised therein. Rest 3 are shorter caselets which can be deployed to provoke an immediate discussion among the participants in a workshop/class/ brainstorming session. We at Theory i are of firm conviction that management cases don’t admit of one single ideal solution; depending on the context multiple – and equally potent – approaches may be perfectly justified. Hence your magazine does not append ‘solutions’ to these cases.

POWER PLAY