Disrupt with Care: Reflections on Channel conflicts

In the last few months, there has been considerable coverage in business newspapers focusing on the online and offline retailer conflicts. Mostly, these raised an existential concern of the offline retail stores and the grocery stores (in FMCG what we refer to as general trade). Clearly, this issue has triggered strong statements; the commerce minister … Continue reading Disrupt with Care: Reflections on Channel conflicts

Marketing Trends for the Future: Implications for Sales Management

Technology is the buzzword! A quick scan through the academic as well as practitioner literature would build a strong sense to believe that nothing in business is untouched by emerging science and technology. Expectedly, we have coined new terms such as Martech, Sales technology at a narrow functional level and, digital transformation at a broad … Continue reading Marketing Trends for the Future: Implications for Sales Management

A Newspaper in the Morning and a Book at your Bedside can Reduce E(ye)-Waste

Clearly, the target audience for this article consists of readers who can comfortably claim – “I don’t read newspapers”. At the risk of being labeled a ‘prescriptive and old fashioned’ person, let me start by saying this direct; newspapers and books(THE PRINTED ONES) are good for you. I can think of a few reasons as … Continue reading A Newspaper in the Morning and a Book at your Bedside can Reduce E(ye)-Waste

Hello, Newspapers: When in doubt, rely on the idea of complementarity.

Several years ago during a business conference, a colleague tossed a simple and very direct question to the CEO. “Considering the growth of digital medium how long newspapers in printed form are going to survive?” he asked. CEO thoughtfully acknowledged the threat and appreciated the concern raised by the colleague and made a prophetic announcement; … Continue reading Hello, Newspapers: When in doubt, rely on the idea of complementarity.

Organizational Capacity Building Through Self-leadership

As part of a research project, the cleaning staff in a hospital were asked about the kind of job they did. The answer revealed an intricate mechanism of job recrafting. They said that they were part of the medical care team because they believed that their job was directly contributing to the patient’s well-being. Researchers … Continue reading Organizational Capacity Building Through Self-leadership

Declining Car Sales : An Evolutionary Motives Perspective

The Finance minister recently attributed the decline in car sales to increased preference and usage of cabs such as uber and ola among the Millenials. The trolls got busy to the extent of ridiculing the statement, a reflection of social mob behavior. This was followed by a remark of Mr.R.C.Bhargava, an automotive expert, which suggested … Continue reading Declining Car Sales : An Evolutionary Motives Perspective

Managing Knowledge and Ignorance: A Case for Executive Education

“The more you know, the more you do not know,” writes Shriniv Narayan in The Speaking Tree, a daily column in The Times of India. He argues that the observable universe is about 46 billion light-years in radius and there is an unobservable universe that the scientists are unable to fathom yet. Consider this; if … Continue reading Managing Knowledge and Ignorance: A Case for Executive Education

Trust erosion as an outcome of a celebrity’s endorsement of a ‘failed’ brand: Is there a recovery mechanism?

Recently, star cricketer Mahindra Singh Dhoni filed a plea at SC claiming about 48 crores of unpaid dues from Amrapali group. The group is facing a fraud charge and the case is with SC. The buyers who invested in the residential projects promoted by the group fought a long battle to ensure that the Supreme … Continue reading Trust erosion as an outcome of a celebrity’s endorsement of a ‘failed’ brand: Is there a recovery mechanism?

Managing Your Sales Funnel: The Sales Manager-Salesperson Dyadic Perspective

In recent years, the importance of sales funnel management in brick and mortar, online business and hybrid business models is increasingly driven by the advances in CRM capabilities of the firms. Newer models to manage the funnel, newer analytics to power its efficiency and stronger emphasis especially on web-based business models have added multiple layers … Continue reading Managing Your Sales Funnel: The Sales Manager-Salesperson Dyadic Perspective

Wear the badge of a Salesperson with pride

Last few days of 2017 and first few days of 2018 gave me few memorable experiences; sweet and sour. Let’s get over with the sour thing first. I was booked on a Indigo flight on 31st Dec and I was looking forward to being with my family in Delhi, however owing to bad weather the … Continue reading Wear the badge of a Salesperson with pride