Yo! Competition, I love Thee

Of all the people around you, in my opinion it is your competition that you should be loving the most.. Why? The answer is very obvious. If not for competition you would not be doing your best and you would never ever be creative and innovate. Bless the competition he 'drives' you to do what you would not be doing if you were not challenged.

I would like to tweak a well known and used phrase a little: "Behind Every Successful Man There Is A Woman"; "Behind every successful man there is a competitor" - competitor could be of any form which I don't want to discuss about as that is not what I intend to. Respect and love your competition, he brings the strength, the creativity and the innovative spirit that is within you. Every time you make a move he pushes the bar some more, when you are ahead he tries to reach you. In this journey you have together established and achieved so much between you. What a wonderful journey it is. Savor the struggle, the sleepless nights and the fire in the belly your carry to outsmart the other.

I would like to relate this opinion of mine with two from my list of favorite ad campaigns. Enjoy watching while you read my version of the commentary to these ads.

Truly, "YO! COMPETITION, I LOVE THEE"

1. Center Fruit jugalbandi concept created by Ogilvy India (Ogilvy - you guys rock!): Every time I see this ad, I just can't stop laughter looking at the attitude those to main characters exhibit. I just love the way the singer every time tries to get in between to find a winning way but fails. His expressions really says the psychological pressure he goes through trying to prove his talent. And, the tabla maestro is a cracker, who shows absolute confidence in everything he does right from the first beat and reaches the top when he uses a comb while playing the tabla in one hand. Man! What an idea! I do not know what the Ogilvy guys had in mind when they created the script of the ad, but I see it so pleasantly and creatively showcasing the beauty of competition. The struggle, the agony, the attitude and the satisfaction - every emotion so hilariously showcased. (Don't miss out to watch the reactions of the people in the group - equally hilarious as it portrays the different characters within an organization and how they contribute)

 

 

2. The second showcase I want to relate to the topic is the TVS Wego ad by BBH India. An absolutely fantastic ad campaign which shows creativity in a high risk scenario. Again the attitude the female leads show is so wonderful. The confidence in the two in doing absolutely crazy things while riding pinion is awesome. Watch out the 'third hand' which comes touching the rider of the black scooter (excellent comic piece). The ultimate is the last stunt. I hurt my stomach laughing every time I see the last bit of the competition. The ad was created to exemplify the 'body balance' factor of the scooter, but for me I enjoyed it the way how two competitors actually work bringing out every ounce of creative energy to be the winner.

 

[I was actually planning to write a post on love and affection but this topic outsmarted it.. :o)]. If you wish to comment on this post, please feel free to share it.

Why I started writing a blog?

When I look back at my life especially the relationship with my dad, for most part of it I can only recollect clash of opinions. Oh don’t mistake me I have a huge affection towards him and he is one of the persons I admire. However I do not express it that much. It has always happened that the way I see this world and his take on it varies so different from each other that any discussion ends on a sore note. Partly because I lose my patience and assert how things should be seen. Who’s right or who’s wrong is not the matter but it is about two conflicting interests. While I think I completely understand his line of thought the rebel in me has never accepted it and has always stuck to my stand and how I see the world.

It is natural that no two people’s interests and lines of thoughts always align. And I am not the first person on the earth who has this problem. Every man on this earth will have one or the other story about the relationship with his father. And there are sons who have adored their fathers and throughout their lives had been very affectionate to them.

One may be thinking that what does this have any relation to the title of this blog? It has.

I had recently completed reading Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson. It was so interesting to see through the life of a successful person who had built a huge fortune and has given this word those wonderful products ¬– the Mac, the iconic iPod, iphone and the iPads. He had his problems with many of his relationships in life. He just couldn’t fit himself with many because of his binary vision of this world. Either something or someone is good or ugly. There was no mediocre or a ‘chalta hai’ version of person or thing in his life. It was so interesting to read his biography on how he viewed things and his quest to give the world products which give a truly great experience. It would have been very difficult for his colleagues and friends to have managed him but under that I was moved by the soul that thirsted for something which was unique, is not a clutter and is pure. May be this thirst for purity in anything he saw made him a rebel and a difficult customer. But I loved the beauty with which he found his way through to create something unique no one has ever thought about.

There are some aspects of his thoughts which I think I also have especially his belief in the Bauhaus philosophy of ‘Less is more’. I have an aversion towards anything that is a clutter, any aspect of product which is there with no value to the user, any communication that speaks more than what it has to etc. I have had my own share of friction with many (including my wife who thinks I am stupid and lack taste because I choose dresses for my kids which are very simple and I always think they look great in them), but I don’t regret because everyone has his own right to be himself and I am just being myself.

My favorite portion of Steve Jobs’ biography is actually towards the end of the book, page 556, where Jobs tells the author on why he had asked him to write the biography. I was disturbed and moved by those words and realized how true those were. To quote from the book, with all due diligence to the writer and the publisher:
“I wanted my kids to know me”, he said. “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did. Also, when I got sick, I realized other people would write about me if I died, and they wouldn’t know anything. They’d get it all wrong. So I wanted to make sure someone heard what I had to say.”

This started a very strong thought process in me and I realized how true those words were. I started to recollect my relationship with my dad and how every discussion we start ends up in a very sore note. And, most often it is me who would inflict a wound. Also in relationships, I have always had problems in expressing my actual feeling towards the person and when I attempt I make a mess of it.

These thoughts really stared at me looking through my eyes and shouted ‘how do you expect your son and daughter understand you?’ I started to understand the term ‘generation gap’. Yes, I can’t discuss with a 5 year old (my son) and a 3 year old (my daughter) on how I view things in this world and why I like something in a particular way and why clutter beats the shit out of me and I get confused!

I had a strong urge in me that I have to leave behind something which should speak to my kids when I am not around. It has to be my own voice – I am not that great yet for someone to write my biography (ha ha). I have to let myself open to them so that when they are at an age when they discern between relationships, they know me better. I can see that my kids would not have the same way of thinking I have and I am quite prepared for that. My son or daughter would one day tell me how my view of this world is so skewed and wrong. How I always do not understand things. How my taste and choice of things suck! It’s alright history is just going to repeat itself and this time I am going to be at the receiving end.

So, I am going to write whatever I think about anything the way I see it – unaltered. I know that someday, my kids will have a chance to read my blog and know why I was the way I was!!!

This post is dedicated to my son and daughter who haven’t learned yet how to read. When they do read, I just hope they enjoy.

Inspiration from an Unconventional Source

How many of us are ever alert to what we learn in everyday life?

Have you ever attended those corporate workshops where sitting in an air conditioned room we were trained on 'Team building', 'Account Planning', 'Problem Solving', 'How to motivate team members', 'Lead by example', and many 'what not's'.

Hey there, don't catch me wrong, those are useful! I have benefited myself from few of those and this post of is to never undermine such training. Training sessions are good (!) and are useful (if one is willing to learn).

I wanted to narrate, a true life experience I had few years ago when I was in college. I did my college in Chennai and on every alternate weekend I used to come to Pondicherry which is my native and where my parents stayed. It was a lovely Sunday morning. It so happened that the sandals that I use tore at one of the joints and I had to mend it. I could have bought a new one, but you see, things that are closer to heart one would try every means to retain it. (By the way this sandal of mine I considered lucky cos as I had some life changing events after I bought it, ah its a different story!)

As I went in search of a cobbler who could repair the sandals for me, not far from my home to my relief, I found one (since it was a Sunday I doubted if anyone would be there). I went to him. He didn't look at my face but all his attention was at my feet, my footwear was okay! Puzzled, he now looked at my face. I am the customer, so I am the king at the moment. With all pride I asked 'how much do take to mend a torn joint of a sandal?'. The cobbler retorted, 'Only if you show me the damage will I be able to tell you'. Yeah I felt like an idiot. Showed him only that sandal which was safely hidden in the bag I was carrying and he asked for Rs. 7 and the bargain started I was willing to pay only 5 rupees as it was only one place which was to be corrected.

He relented. Victory!! Still I was very curious on how he would approach the job. He pulled out the joint which needed mending and was pulling with some force other places also. I was imagining he was trying to break open any of the other places and charge me more. To my shock one place relented and needed some attention. However I decided that when he would confront me I will refuse as that it was because he pulled out with force and that I would not pay him.

The two damages were corrected and properly glued. Now the sandal is ready and I was getting myself ready for the duel. He dropped the sandal on the floor and asked me "Where's the other one?". I am smart aint' I!! :) I said, "No that's is alright, it doesn't need any work to be done". The cobbler said, "Just give me, I will not charge you anything for just checking it". I felt something fishy about that but still wanted to see what he would do. I took out the other one from the bag and handed it to him. Like with the earlier sandal he pulled all the joints and was checking. One point seemed a little loose and he opened the sole a little bit, applied the glue and pasted it well. Now checked both the sandals and was quite contended with the work he has done and handed over them to me.

Oh yeah, I was fully ready now. As I was fiddling with my pocket to take the changes out and was waiting for the cobbler to speak to me. Yeah he did.. "You guys spend on so much other things, but to give 2 rupees extra you fuss a lot". That's all he said. He didn't ask for more. What!? In those minutes I re-run in my mind the way he had approached his job, the care, the concentration and his determination that whatever he is paid he would go ahead doing it in the best way. It taught me a lesson I would remember for the rest of my life..

At last when I had taken out the change, I gave him 10 rupees as I was overwhelmed by what I learned in those few minutes. The cobbler was rightly surprised, I said that he deserves for the work he has done.
I would not have had this lesson in any other better way.

While I was a trainer during the start of my career, I had to handle fresh college graduates. It takes a while to bring them to the ground and help them understand what it would take for them to understand the seriousness of starting a career. As I was handling trainees who would eventually become Quality Controllers, it is really a difficult job to orient a young mind on the difficult aspects of QC procedures. I narrated this experience of mine to all the batches I took and challenged them in a way on their approach to Quality. Few became emotional, few just appreciated and a very few gave a serious thought on what I was trying to convey. Those few who gave some thought on the message did really grew in their career and I saw them growing. I am satisfied and happy for those few minds who took this message and imbibed in their work.

If you have come across this blog post by any means, don't think I am trying to preach how to approach your job. All I am trying to tell you is that "BE ALERT". Life's lessons may come from any corner of the world. The vigilant reaps many. Have a wonderful time ahead.