Month: November 2024

 

Sometime back, during some random readings, I had come across a concept called ” pattern interrupt ” and the analogy used to explain the term was of the ‘ elevator pitch ‘. The typical elevator pitch is all about ‘ I, me, myself ‘ where one is doing one’s best to articulate an idea or thought to the person willing(or is it?) to give you an ear for the next 30-45 seconds. The pattern interrupt on that runs counter to what convention has established as an elevator pitch. It turns the concept on its head and crafts the elevator pitch being about the other person and not you. And potentially, leaving you with an open door to re-connect and re-engage with that person well after the elevator doors have closed, metaphorically speaking!

 

Humour is a pattern-switching process. A joke is funny because it causes ‘ insight switchover ‘ from a familiar pattern to a new, unexpected one. And it is this moment of surprise and delight that triggers laughter.

 

Sometime back a joke that launched an artistic revolution was Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain. It went on to become one of the most influential works of the twentieth century. For a six dollar fee, any artist could submit their work to an exhibition held by the Society of Independent Artists. For a joke, Duchamp submitted a porcelain urinal that he’s bought from a New York plumbing supplier, signed it R MUTT 1917(the maker’s name) and titled it Fountain. Not surprisingly, the piece was never exhibited, the curator refused to display it- but its submission caused an uproar. Was it art or not? The Fountain was thrown away. Forgotten. A photograph was the only record of the original object. The key to its success was that the photo was reproduced in an avant-garde art magazine with an accompanying article that eloquently explained the concept of ‘ ready-made ‘. It started the ball rolling. The reputation of Fountain grew. It was repeatedly reproduced in art magazines and books. Collectors clamoured to buy it because of its fame, so Duchamp decided to remake it. There was a problem though: the manufacturer had stopped producing them. Duchamp had to hire craftsmen to make an exact replica from the photograph ‘ by hand ‘- a delicious irony!

( Marcel Duchamp Fountain, 1917, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz at 291 art gallery following the 1917 Society of Independent Artists exhibit, with entry tag visible. The backdrop is The Warriors by Marsden Hartley. )

 

The format of a conventional joke is that the listener is led down a familiar, ‘reasonable‘ pathway. While they are travelling down this familiar road, the punchline suddenly shifts them onto an unexpected, different sidetrack. Creativity is about producing the unexpected and seeing things from a new perspective. Humour can be instrumental in shifting that expectation.

It hardly helps that our society believes that if you’re having fun then you can’t be getting the job done. Rather than being weighed down by a serious mindset, what we really need is humour. Humour is a key that opens the door to subversive and counter-intuitive thinking.

 

” Only those who are capable of silliness can be called truly intelligent “- Christopher Isherwood

 

We passed through a phase wherein information was considered power.  That said, we are in a world deluged by a lot of information, most of it irrelevant, we need to rephrase the line to ‘ clarity is power ‘.

 

In such a context it is extremely difficult to maintain a clear vision. While there is a debate raging about the future of humanity, a lot of us are clueless what the agenda is or what are the key questions to be answered. As the bills are not going to be paying themselves anytime soon, we are busy fending for ourselves, raising kids, attending to our aging parents, moving from one daily hustle to the next. Which means we do not have the luxury of investigating or understanding what is going on.

 

Unfortunately, history gives no discounts. If the future of humanity is decided in your absence, because you are too busy feeding or clothing your kids or struggling to keep the home fires burning- them and you will not be excluded from the consequences. This is very unfair, but who said history was fair?

 

All these years, we have studied history, only, never to learn from it!. History has a way of getting back at us(by repeating itself), but, even then, we are too busy looking the other way.

 

Seven plus billion people around the world have seven billion plus agendas. And as already observed, thinking about the big picture is a relatively rare luxury.

 

A global world puts unprecedented pressure on our personal conduct and morality. Each of us is ensnared within numerous all-encompassing spider webs, which on the one hand restrict our movements, but at the same time transmit our tiniest jiggle to faraway destinations. Our daily routines influence the lives of people and animals halfway across the world, and some personal gestures can unexpectedly set the entire world ablaze, as happened with the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, which ignited the Arab Spring, and with the women who shared their stories of sexual harassment and sparked the #MeToo movement.

This global dimension of our personal lives means that it is more important than ever to uncover our religious and political biases , our racial and gender privileges, and our unwitting complicity in institutional oppression. But is that a realistic enterprise? How can you find a firm ethical ground in a world that far extends beyond one’s horizons, that spins completely out of human control, and that holds all gods and ideologies suspect?

 

Without wanting to sound overambitious, it is time that Homo sapiens gets into the act. Philosophy, science and religion are all running out of time. Unless you are happy to entrust the future of your life to the mercy of quarterly revenue reports, you need a clear idea of what life is all about.

 

The end of history has been postponed.

 

“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money. ”

 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

 

“There is something very freeing about being anonymous because nothing is expected of you; nothing is getting back to anyone, and no one cares.”

 

” Life wouldn’t be so precious, if there never was an end “..!!

 

All of the above quotes have been attributed to no one in particular. So, it is to the credit of anonymous. And because they are all so insightful and inspiring, our clamor to know more about the person behind it only increases.

 

When J K Rowling had become the world’s highest selling author, she stunned the book world by revealing that The Cuckoo Calling was her book, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She said she wanted to keep this fact a secret a little longer because being far lesser known or even being an unknown Robert Galbraith was such a liberating experience. Agatha Christie wrote sixty-six highly successful detective novels under her own name. She also wrote six romance novels under the name Mary Westmacott. Christie wanted to explore another genre without the baggage of her reputation pulling her down.

 

There are many such examples of writers. A pseudonym gave them the freedom to write without the shackles of their reputation and an opportunity to explore genres that are not generally taken seriously. They don’t want the credit for writing them. They love the freedom to experiment and make mistakes. They simply want to enjoy their writing.

If we are not accountable for something, we work with freedom. We experiment in a way we would not normally have the nerve to. Sometimes our egos get in the way and tie us up in knots.

 

Sometimes it’s good to put your ego in a box under the bed. There is freedom in being nobody. We live in a culture where everyone is obsessed with getting credit for every little thing they do. Working in anonymity will free you of others’ expectations but, most importantly, free you of your own expectations.

 

” It is that anonymous person who meanders through the streets and feels what’s happening there, feels the pulse of the people, who’s able to create. “- Cyndi Lauper

 

 

 

 

It is said that ‘ you win some, you lose sum ‘. Fair enough. This philosophical expression originated in the early 1900s among gamblers who bet on sports. But, when it comes to whining, going down south into the bottomless rabbit hole is the only assured outcome. If a downward spiral is what you are seeking, please go ahead, though none of the people around you would be in any hurry to offer you some cheese with you whine !

 

Whining is self reinforcing and it doesn’t let go of you easily. Embracing tightly the comfort zone called status quo has something to do with it. That said, we as humans are hardwired to whine as a way to ask for connection and empathy. And as we do that, knowingly or unknowingly, we dilute or give up on our initiative, our action, our agency, our possibilities, ignore potential joy and sink into the never ever can you win card game called ‘ Let’s Play Victim ‘. There is a better way to bridge the gap, be a blackjack rather than stay poker faced.

The culture gets a lot of say in what is encouraged. Most armed forces around the world, the mariners, the SEALS etc, discourage whining with a passion. While fan bases of popular sports teams in baseball, football, cricket, basketball and the likes around the world, use that as crutch, in fact bask in it.

 

Like every problem presents and opportunity, marketers and the customer service community should see this a chance to redeem and delight. Firstly, not offering scorn, but by acknowledging the ‘problem‘. And by taking responsibility, not only does the problem stand a far higher chance of being resolved but the resultant connection goes deep and becomes more meaningful. ” You whine some..you win some “.

 

In a world with so many challenges and so much unevenly distributed distress, whining about the brand of toiletries or the artisanal chocolates that the airline offered you as a first class passenger on your last flight would be impossible to justify. Whining is addictive and it is easy to get hooked on the solace that comes from whining (either from others, or from our selves).

 

“Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.” Maya Angelou

 

 

Where there is customer pain, there is an opportunity for brands. Moving the needle from top down to bottom up is ideally the way forward for brands and marketers. Some would be in plain sight, others would have to be unearthed with a fine tooth comb.

Don’t find customers for your products; find products for your customers.

More @ https://www.brandknewmag.com/dont-find-customers-for-your-products-find-products-for-your-customers/

 

Have no doubt about it!

The most ignored demographic in most marcom or advertising is the one involving elders | baby boomers.

Ironically, they are the ones with the most purchasing power.

Contrary to the popular perception that the only thing they need is an ” anti-slip bathmat ” 😁 .

 

 

 

 

With malice towards none, this rant is undertaken with a lot of apprehension, clean intent and hope.

 

So, before I unravel what I want to, here’s a caveat: ” Citizenship is a full contact sport. NOT a spectator sport. Cities are fundamentally about relationships. Cities only work when we serve our shared goals, share our thinking(and) share ourselves. It’s not what I do to or even for you, but what we do together. I reckon I have stated the obvious in this short preamble.

 

Like many others, I am an accidental nomad. And now spending a lot of time in Bangalore(Bengaluru)– this new domicile that I am keen to call|make home. Over the past few months, I have been extremely fortunate to have met with some  wonderful people, who have so graciously become mentors, guides, coaches, friends and much more with no expectations or obligations. Extremely grateful for this abundance and welcome. It has only reinforced my belief that this can truly become home and my motivation still remains high. This release is to ensure my wishes are horses.

 

Some days, I admit, the last thing you want to do is go to work—but since it doesn’t look like those bills will start paying themselves anytime soon, you put on your best adulting face and head out for your daily hustle. What follows is a set of on road | off road | from road observations. And certainly not painting everyone with the same brush.

 

Bangalore can be termed the spondylitis capital of the world. Other cities might run it close, but for now, it is a clear victor. My metric for measurement on this is the fact that bikers, motorists, cyclists, truckers etc never ever look left or right when they access oncoming or ongoing traffic. Stiff necks could be the cause. That other motorists would be neck deep in trouble because of their RoboCop act is of no concern to them. Probably a reason why the term is “break neck speed “. It had to come from somewhere.

 

If you are in media or publishing, you would be knowing the term ” having a church and state relationship“. Effectively means that the editorial and advertising teams don’t see eye to eye. Here, it is the same with urban planning and infrastructure. They don’t bother each other at all and hate playing tweedle dee and tweedle dum. And aesthetics, well that is the prerogative of the ‘unreasonable’, so I am not trespassing there.

 

There is another claim that it can make. Being the colour blind capital of the world. Right from an impressionable age and even earlier, we were given to understand that Red light at a traffic signal means stop, Green means go and Amber means pause and review. It’s a win-win out there. Red means go. Green means go. And Amber- what|who is that? Is it my daughter’s friend who is now settled in Canada? What impressed me about the democratic nature of this blatant acts of violation is that it is done with great panache by both the white collar and the blue collar tribes. No discrimination or gender bias there. Yes, you guessed it- including the techie types with backpacks branded by mega MNC IT brands! Pray dell me?

This is also a place where Lane Dhane is always on – I mean you can move from any lane to any lane, any time, any way, any manner. Who gives you that incredible flexibility? Empowerment re-imagined. Lucky!!

 

As you sit in kilometres of parking lots( I mean roads) anticipating your next major move of 3 to 4 mms, you look around and more often than not see billboards inspiring you to invest multiple crores in the next big residential complex. Lake View Penthouses if you may. Leaves you wondering when will the owners ever reach those places, if at all- probably well after the lakes have dried up or encroached upon, both of which are distinct possibilities. And all this while you are coming to terms with Google Maps’ audacity of its robotic, cut and dried reassurance- ” you are on the fastest route despite heavier than usual traffic “. And I am not even going to ” there is an object on the road ” riff- it is no object but the subject of all strife for God’s sake- it is the trailer truck whose driver has parked right in the middle of the road as he saundered into the wilderness without any GPS to attend nature’s call.

 

All over the city you see tell tale signs that ” once upon a time ” metro work had started. Apparently part of folklore when it started ( which in any case was 20-25 years too late). The tired looking pillars(of weakness) and rusting iron rods tell a pathetic story. The brief given was ‘TYT‘- we are in no hurry, as long as it is work in retrogress, and it is massively inconveniencing everyone, we are fine with it. We are all on board for Plundership and Non Cooperate, Non Governance- Life in a Metro anyone or should it be Strife in a Metro?

 

If cradle snatching has a hero destination, this would be it. All over the city you can see underage boys(obviously without license and only a license to kill) riding scooters and motorbikes. But for them too, it is a tough ask- for you to qualify doing the unthinkable you must pass these strenuous tests: you must have at least 3 kids on the bike, you must be under 11 years of age, you must drive on main roads with heavy traffic and God help you if you are caught wearing a helmet. It’s extremely tough but it gets pulled off.

 

It is also (dis)heartening to note the progress made by the city on the beautification front. Other places resort to water features, hardscape, soft scape, irrigation etc to keep their cities looking beautiful. Here, the citizenry is empowered to use garbage as the ammunition and it can be thrown anywhere you please as long as it is across a vast stretch( I am told a minimum stretch of 100 metres is mandatory) and it becomes a sight for four eyes and cleans up your blocked nose. Beware, these are exacting standards to live up to!!

 

It took a while to dawn on me why ISRO is headquartered here: I could not see the obvious but given the amount of crater filled roads or craters masquerading as roads, the close resemblance to Mars or the Moon’s surfaces gives them instant and constant access to real simulations without taking any moonshots. And given it’s penchant for agile thinking, I understand that Disney is taking inspiration from the roads here for some of the roller coaster rides that it is planning  at its upcoming theme parks.

 

I am told that top notch mobility, urban transportation and logistics companies from around the world over are making a beeline to come here and understand how to transport iron rods, concrete blocks, rotting garbage, meri junk etc in broad daylight, during all hours in the most unsafe and crude manner possible, all through the city. I think the original version of Fear Factor was conceptualised here.

 

Earlier this year, the city witnessed a dry, hot spell for several months. The grass was not greener on any side. Nay sayers predicted doomsday. Little did they know that given the amount of open urination and relentless spitting that happens here would be more than enough to solve the liquidity crunch. Don’t they see it coming? How remiss! We see it all the time(whether we want it or not!). MRP(ee)!! Thank the Men of Dishonour!

 

As part of the city’s talent attraction programme, senior sound engineers from some of the top most audio brands in the world are coming to understand the technology behind the horns used here. Especially the psychedelic meets electric shock meets dysentry in a flash kind of horns. And they can’t stop honking- at traffic lights when there is not an inch to move, at 2 am in the night when there is no need for it. These guys are perennially horny I guess. What to do, ‘horny ko kaun taal saktha hain?”

 

And thank god, this is also a city of faithfuls. Like some auto rickshaws which has this clear message written at the back saying ” Jesus is Coming “. Seeking divine intervention is natural given the state we are in. So, let’s all keep the faith. Believe.

 

Some of the Uber and Ola drivers though are different. Yes I am referring to the few who look at you with homicidal intent when you ask them to switch on the Air Conditioner. It is as if you have asked them to hand over their family fortune at gun point. How dare?

 

I am not going to throw more light on non existing street lights on non existing roads- why waste electricity? Street lamps and what they are supposed to do ie provide light are poles apart- though there are enough poles erected for that very purpose. Somebody is really doing a (biz) con job of this! Though we have the power to change things. That said, motorists here are always driving with full beam at night(what is a dipper??) and with the dust and craters on the road, this is the perfect setting for filming Nightmare on Elm(every Street)!

 

All the above notwithstanding, as I said earlier, “Citizenship is a full contact sport. NOT a spectator sport “. And charity begins at home.

 

So, much as we would all want to wield the megaphone and wave the Silicon Valley flag, and with pride at that, none of us want to hear its phonetic equivalent ” Silly Con Valley “- that would really hurt! Wouldn’t it?

 

So, lets wake up and smell the Coorg Coffee! It will be still worth it, I promise. All it takes is to show some nanma to namma Begaluru!

 

Circa 1979. One of the most famous coups de theatre in recent business history occurred when a very senior Sony executive paid a visit to his engineering department to challenge the ingenuity of the people there. Like a fairy-tale king visiting his alchemists, he produced a small rectangular piece of wood and dared the engineers to design a tape player of the same size.

 

” No bigger than this “, he declared. The techies went to work, but soon came up against a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: they could not devise a speaker that would fit into a tiny package.

 

Then, one of then one of them had an intuition, inspiration, illumination, revelation, epiphany- whatever. He asked himself: ” Why does it need a speaker at all ? Let’s do the job with small earphones!”

 

Whereupon one of the all-time great inventions, the iconic Sony Walkman was born!

 

In fairy tale scenarios of course, the hero of such a story would be the person- a bullied youngest son or step daughter- who solved the puzzle and saved the day. Here, however, defying fairy-tale morality, one could argue that the real hero is the king- the manager. It was he who ” thought the unthinkable “. A tape player that you could carry in the palm of your hand, or in your shirt pocket or strapped to your arm, or clipped onto your belt. It was he, who had the panache to ” present the unthinkable ” in the theatrical way he did, using the block of wood as a vivid prop.

 

Managers across organisations are being increasingly called upon to exercise self-reliance, flexibility and imagination– that is, creativity. They’re being asked to stretch and grow-to jam- to help their companies improve in today’s rapidly evolving global economy. Its all about challenges: setting them and meeting them.

 

The era of predictable competition, steadfast investors, docile customers and slow-footed change are well behind us. The need(or knead?) of the hour is for brands and organiations to live in a permanent state of mobilised awareness– of themselves, their competitors and of course their customers.

Corporate landscape is littered with the psychic corpses of the unfortunates- those who did not either see the chasm or bridge the chasm to embrace change and compete with that groovy genius wearing six ear rings on her left ear and working on the next game changing…err game design while subsisting on Pepsi and Chips!

 

Contrary to perception, almost all managers can carry off leadership by challenge. And in the current business climate, they must. As we all know, fear is a reaction, creativity is a response!

 

The poet J.D. McCatchy captured this essential fact beautifully in his observation that “love is the quality of attention we pay to things.”.

 

As some wise man said, don’t just move, move forward.  The things that are craving for our attention is like a bottomless pit. Social media, emails, OTT, meetings, monitoring stock markets, entertaining and all of that. All of this means the direction, energy and time of our attention is all outward, external.

 

And because life is not a spectator sport to remain on the sidelines and react to what others are doing, accomplishing- it is for you to make your own moves.

 

Busy is not a benchmark to get carried away by. Though our zeitgeist will not encourage anything else. Busy people are just ticking off the tasks’ boxes one by one. The idea is to move the needle and focus your attention on what you can do to add value, create impact. Treating time and attention like an investment  wherein the impact and value you create is the biggest return you can expect.

 

The toss up is between spending your time or investing your time!

 

Imagine the amount of energy that you can have back at your disposal when attention is inward, on what you are supposed to do rather than expend it un gainfully externally, bothered about reacting to what others are doing. Please don’t be so generous with your attention and do not give it away freely. It is said that attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. So before you start your charitable work of distributing it outward, reconsider, introspect and use it for your next Guernica(Picasso). Or whatever lights up your day. Because diluted attention means you are actually dimming your inner fire, the spark.

 

The temptation in wanting a piece of ‘ what’s happening there ‘ is high. When you begin to internalise your attention, you get back the fuel that you have been scattering away aimlessly. Good work and great art comes from deep focus and deep work. Our ability to be prolific, create art that resonates, that strikes a chord , tug at the heartstrings and hit people in the face with a crowbar depends on our ability to focus.

This is not a rant about shutting the world out. Not in the least. But a rallying cry for being more you, more grounded, more curious about your own experience first. This is the shift that will disengage you from the ‘ autopilot ‘ mode and when you take charge, rather than being dictated by the external world. That is when you begin to lead the life that you have not been living, create the things that you so badly wanted to.

 

Consider for a moment the kind of mental world we can construct when we dedicate significant time and attention to our deep endeavors.

 

Your world is the outcome of what you pay attention to. Period. Attention is the currency of your achievement.

 

The world will still be there when you look up from doing what lights your fire. Till then, it can wait!