Category: Food For Thought

How Taylor Swift Is Shaking Off The Music Entertainment Business?

Is Taylor Swift The New Challenger For Indra Nooyi, Sheryl Sandberg, Mary Barra, Marissa Mayer? Taylor Swift Is A Clever Businesswoman For Sure!

Her website defines her position and ambition very clearly: “She is, quite simply, a global superstar.” And rightfully so !

Taylor Swift is everywhere. She is on a roll. She is checking all the boxes:
1. Sweeping Music Awards
2. Record Fan Base – 50 Million Plus Followers on Instagram, 1 Billion Plus Views for “Shake It Off”
3. On Covers of Time, Forbes & Fortune. On All The Lists (Including Fortune’s Most Powerful Women List – Youngest Woman @ 25)
4. Rising Brand Equity – Earning A Million Dollar A Day

So how did Taylor Swift “Shake It Off”? No Rocket Science, I guess.

1. Clear Goals: She always wanted to be a Music Diva. She executed her childhood dream and worked her way up.
2. Focus: She is a very focused professional. She takes her job seriously. She wrote her lyrics, sang and earned fans by performing at events, festivals, shows. She promoted her each album with religious sincerity. She has made albums every two years and is focused on her main line of business.
3. Image Management: She has created a distinct image for herself. She is a REAL star. She is Genuine and has made the right choices. She is in the media for usually all the right reasons. She has gone beyond the stereotype image of a music star as just a Glam Girl, Bad Girl etc. The way she handled Kanye West controversy in 2009 showed her maturity and her intent for staying for the long run. She has leveraged Social Media successfully and created a strong following. She directly engages with her fans in her unique style and this has created a genuine fan connect and loyalty.
4. Savvy Businesswoman: She means business. And she is willing to take a stand. Ask Apple ! She took on Apple Music for the way it compensated the musicians during the Apple Music Trial period. She took on Spotify as well and refused to put her music on Spotify claiming that they did not compensate artists properly. She has made strong product endorsement deals and handle various negotiations smartly. (She has strong economics DNA for sure. Her father is a VP at Merrill Lynch and her mother was in Mutual Fund marketing).
5. Perfect Philanthropist: No doubt, Taylor Swift is phenomenal as an artist. “Shake It Off” did not get more than 1 Billion plus views or 1984 tour was not a success without any reason. But she is not content with her main day job. She has leveraged the “Taylor Swift” power for pushing philanthropic initiatives that matter. Whether is children education, children health, LGBT or natural disasters, she supports the right organisations. Michelle Obama presented Swift with The Big Help Award for her “dedication to helping others” and “inspiring others through action”. And today’s consumer loves a humane artist, not a wild brat!

Her success has lessons for individuals and businesses – clear goals, focus, execution, perception management, social media best practices, brand values.

So far so good. But Taylor Swift is no regular music diva. She is not going to be sitting on her laurels. As an artist who speaks passionately about being reborn daily, she is pushing the envelope for the music entertainment industry. And she never says never. Keep watching Taylor Swift!

Image Courtesy: Taylor Swift Official Website

Meanwhile, Enjoy my favorite Taylor Swift song:

October 24, 2015
Aylan Kurdi & iPhone7

Europe is facing its biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Thousands of people are displaced and many have died. European crisis calls for compassion and action but the world is yet to come to terms with the crisis. Many countries and many people are not even aware of the crisis. Many European governments and nationals are reacting in a very surprising manner. This is the crisis of humanity and will define how Europe and World value morals and human beings.

The death of Aylan Kurdi gave the face to the crisis. May his soul rest in peace. Read his story on Guardian UK

I was heart-broken to see his dead body. It shocked me. Here was my response in a short few lines.

Aylan & iPhone7

It was not Aylan that was drowned that day
A part of our humanity died that day

Thousands leaving their daily lives for a better tomorrow
Detaching their umbilical homes with a sorrow

Moving out for a better future in an alien land
Moving out seniors in wheelchairs and toddlers in hand

Will they find a better life?
Or will they perish in a man-made strife

Ash, what is the point of this poetry?
When entire Mediterranean is a growing cemetery

May Aylan find peace in Heaven
May the famous Syrian refugee show him iPhone Seven

Maybe they will take selfie in heavenly sunshine
And our world continues just as fine!

September 13, 2015
Paryushan 2015 – A Big Test For Jainism

It is always interesting to note how we find issues and get ourselves busy and play into the hands of politicians. And allow them to deviate attention from the real issues.

Jainism believes in Truth, Ahimsa (Non-Violence), Anekantavad (Respecting Diverse Perspectives) besides Aparigriha (Non-Posession). Jainism strongly supports right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.

Today Jain friends are dragged into the unnecessary controversy – the truth is being ignored and so right knowledge maybe not visible. Non-violence is practiced in thoughts, deeds and real actions – but our minds are being weakened as we experience emotions over the controversy. Certain miscreants went further and committed objectionable actions in front of temples to incite further passions. And this angered many Jain friends as it was designed to create further problems.

Paryushan is the festival of forgiveness and festival of introspection. Jina is one who conquers inner enemies of ego, pride, anger, deceit, hatred and greed amongst other evils. In that sense, Paryushan 2015 is our biggest test !

September 13, 2015
Hard Work vs Smart Work !!!

“Don’t work hard, work smart!”
“Smart work is more important than hard work”

Every person gets this message from his superior, colleague, friend, teacher. The idea is to kill inefficiency, do things in a quicker and effective way, add intelligence to tasks, avoid silly errors etc. Noble intentions and nice management jargon! But is it real?

However, I think hard work leads to smart work. Hard work is essential pre-requisite to smart work. Only when a person gets his / her hands dirty and spends time on understanding the entire process cycle, he will get identify the bottlenecks and add intelligent ideas to make life simpler.

As they say, no elevators to success.

September 1, 2015
SeM Special : Rules of Happy Married Life

Sunday eMahefil and Gujaratilexicon Team have recently released ‘The Collected Works of Sunday eMahefil’. The idea is to meet the popular demand for the concept and spread the SeM magic to maximum people.

Please find the complete SeM here:

I was browsing the old issues of SeM. I found the following note on marriage by Shri Manibahen Dharamvir Bhakta from USA. It is really cool and practical advice on tension-free marriage.

Please find the wonderful article in English. For Gujarati version, check SeM

RULES FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE:

1. Never both be angry at the same time.

2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.

3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.

4. If you have to criticise, do it lovingly.

5.Never bring up mistakes of the past.

6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.

7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.

8. At least once everyday try to say one kind or complimentary thing to your life partner.

9. When you have done something wrong, be ready to admit it and ask for forgiveness.

10. It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong is the one who does the most talking.

September 1, 2015
Piku – The Perfect Digestive Of 2015

Piku is the triumph of the Indian Film Industry. A very interesting subject powered with perfectly written screenplay, extremely strong performances, sensitive treatment and awesome direction.

Piku is a must watch ! It is one of the best movies of 2015 !

Shoojit Sircar and Juhi Chaturvedi move from the front to back this time – from Vicky Donor’s sperm to shit.

An ageing father Bhaskhor (Amitabh) has challenges his with daily motions. A caring, determined and independent daugther Piku (Deepika) lives with her had and has a daily question – Hua? She is a strong-headed architect and has frequent run-ins with the car agency cab drivers. The car agency owner Rana (Irrfan) becomes their unlikely companion when they drive from Delhi to Calcutta on a road journey with the portable potty (Sinhasan)

Watch out for the Bhaskar’s open declaration of her daughter’s sexual independence to potential suitor, Rana’s theory on Indian toilet styles and Bhaskar’s brutal comments on Rana’s dad’s death. Rana says that “Death and potty can strike anytime, anywhere”.

The constant dad-daughter fights, the car agency owner’s direct rebuttals, the aunt’s remarks, dad’s tantrums, the highway journey, the traditional house sale question, the undercurrents of different relations, the unlikely romance, the visuals, wonderful songs – all register a strong mark – they make you smile, they make you think.

Piku (Deepika) and Bhaskar (Amitabh) steal the show. They own the movie and give a stupendous performance. Deepika is independent and kick-ass yet deeply devoted and caring for her father. Amitabh selfish irritating person but pleasingly brutal and honest. Irrfan completes the trio and creates his own space in an effortless universe of dad-daughter. Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghubir Yadav give a credible support.

At the end of the movie, you want more !

The real winner of course is Shoojit Sircar. Take a bow ! The movie seems like a slice of life – a conversation happening somewhere. Yet very observant. Very simple yet touching and enduring ! And Juhu Chaturvedi. Her writing is amazing and very observant. Brings out the special touch to everyday conversations of life.

May 11, 2015
How To Get Your Dream Job? Nina Mufleh Inspires!

All of us have a dream job !

All of us have a dream customer !

All of us have a dream date !

All of us have a dream project !

But as the nature of things go, not all dream assignments land up in our lap. Some times we are lucky, but some times we have to work of it. How many times we really work for it? How many times we just give up?

How many times we can persevere? How many times can we think innovatively?

Here is a great example. I saw this post on NextShark and could not resist writing a post on it.

Nina Mufleh wanted to work for Airbnb. She moved to San Francisco and applied for a job multiple times. She was not successful.

She worked on an innovative way to get the attention and get her dream job. She created a website called Nina4Airbnb. She posted this on social media and got the attention of Airbnb. Of course, she also got a job.

Nina inspires us in many ways:

1. Perseverance – Never take NO for an answer

2. Innovation – Think Innovatively and get attention

3. Ideas To Action – Instead of giving up, she found a new way. She put lot of hard and efforts to push her innovative resume / website.

4. Value – The value proposition was clear. Read each and every word. Including conclusion and humor. She also gave possible ideas. Seeing the website was the proof of all the values she brought to the table. It also showed her creativity, zeal, energy.

5. Top-Down Approach – She pitched the idea to the top – Airbnb CEO.

6. Leverage Social Media – She used Social Media to get her message delivered. Thus she got support of millions of Airbnb fans as well. It would be really difficult for Airbnb to ignore her.

Nina’s ideas can be used by every sales person trying to get that important meeting with the dream prospect.

Image Credits: NextShark / Nin4airbnb.

Credit: http://vancouvercitycentreesc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/dream-job.jpg

April 24, 2015
The Year End Musings

Technology:

1. Cyber wars are here. Sony stopping its release of the movie “The Interview” was a big one. A behemoth like Sony could blink was disturbing. Though Sony released the movie online and in select theaters, the damage was done. North Korean Internet was down for a day. Lot of action for a movie – that was not worth the cyber war ! Freedom of speech is worth it.

2. The Leaks business continue confirming that digital data is never secure. Amy Pascal and others kept PR agencies busy to manage the fall-out. Though Amy spoke venom for Angelina Jolie, her rights need to be protected. The Jennifer Lawrence episode was another reminder of the dangers of digital data. Security is going to be even bolder and bigger font for everyone – beyond traditional CIOs.

3. Digital data may not seem secure but digital business is zooming ahead. Valuations of Indian e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon as compared to brick and mortar giants of the world clearly prove that the future is digital. India has again leap-frogged and embraced the digital economy – as more Indians from small towns and villages are buying from online and mobile marketplaces. As financial inclusion spreads and more Indians get connected, this will be even bigger.

4. Security theme continued with the Uber drama in India and other parts of the world. The ban on Uber seemed inappropriate as Uber cannot be alone responsible for the tragedy. An organization cannot be banned for an illegal act by an employee. But what did not help was the approach and response from Uber – their processes can be improved. Sometimes issues need to be handled with kid gloves.

5. Data Scientist and Social Media Analyst are the hottest jobs which highlight emerging IT trends.

The World Around Us:

1. Homo Sapiens now suffer from new disorders: FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), eCDA (e-Commerce Delivery Anxiety) and Nomophobia. Homophobia is the fear of being out of cell phone contact. According to a recent study, 53% of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they ‘lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage. eCDA is a term for the anxiety caused by wait for the big online purchases made on Singles Day, Black Fridays, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day and other big shopping days.

2. It took 132 kids to make us realize the monstrous inhuman threat that terrorism has become. Assam, Sydney, Nigeria – terrorism continued to be a global disease. ISIS, Boko Haram – new names but old acts of mass murders. 132 Dreams were buried in 132 Coffins. The whole India joined the grief – common man was shaken, people expressed their pain and sadness in many ways – that was real and it showed a sensitive and a caring nation. It also showed a great hope.

3. ‘Germany 7 – Brazil 1’ surprised us more than crude oil hitting below USD 60 and falling of Russian economy. Not surprised that Scotland rejected Independence – ‘The Better Together’ campaign winning was a victory of wisdom and reason.

4. Malaysian carriers are having a tragic run. Three crashes in a year is disastrous and demoralizing and just bad luck!

5. Lack of compassion, lack of tolerance, lack of care, lack of faith, lack of sensitivity – are we human beings converting into our worst nightmarish robots?

Personal:

1. Moving countries is an ordeal. Moving countries with a kid and an infant is a bigger ordeal!

2. Life exists beyond Facebook. And it is equally beautiful as well !

3. Alcoholics can survive without alcohol. Workaholics cannot survive without work.

4. I have still not figured out what really is more outrageous?
– People wasting their time
– People wasting their talent and gifts
– People celebrating mediocrity

5. Daughters are God’s biggest gift!

Image Credit: Ila

December 31, 2014
The Future Of Cars by KIDS

The ‘Toyota Dream Car Art Contest’ asks kids to draw their vision of the “dream car of the future” each year. Over 600,000 kids entered this year, and Toyota is releasing one design from each of 90 finalists a day, complete with a short animation whipped up for each design.

Some took creative approaches to solving actual problems. Several of the designs suggested cars that could scoop up and recycle trash off the street as they drove along; one version turned plastic scraps into low-cost bricks for housing, while another created new products in a section of the car. One kid reinvented the school bus, with individual cars that would be programmed to join together at a certain point to reduce traffic.

Very interesting and very smart ideas.

I showed this to my son and he said that he was thinking of a car that could drive in the sea or river and bring fresh water after recycling it. A solution for Project Ganga for Narendra Modi?

August 4, 2014
Sleep Well – Think Well !

Get Some Sleep ! The advice we hear so often but never implement !

Workaholism may be a badge of honor but it can be dangerous if we are depriving ourselves of sleep as well.

I came across this video on the research on sleeping behavior. AsapSCIENCE has a new video that explains the effects of lack of sleep, from decreased brain function to increased risks of heart disease and obesity. In one study, researchers found that subjects who slept just six hours a night for 14 days had the cognitive wherewithal of someone with a .1% blood alcohol level. That’s legally drunk.

The good news: You can make up modest amounts of “sleep debt” over time.
The bad news: If you suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, over time you lose your ability to judge your own reduced cognitive abilities.

Finally the big one – Oversleeping is more dangerous as well. Workaholic in me smiles !

The best sleep : 7-8 hours !

Get some sleep. Some quick tips:

1. Avoid the anxiety to check work emails. Even though you surf for Facebook or Twitter or Linkedin, you end up replying to work emails. And some contents can start your train of thoughts.

2. Avoid bright lights or television.

3. Spend time talking to family.

4. Drink warm milk. Avoid heavy food or late night snacks.

5. Keep the mobile phone away ! (Ironic for me to write this !)

6. Sleep at the same time daily – It helps !

7. Read – It helps apart from giving you good knowledge and relaxation

Sleep Well. Think Well. Live Well !

July 30, 2014