Ekla Chalo Re...

Following is Tagore's English translation of "Ekla Chalo Re" .... Truly inspiring.

 

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,

If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,

O thou unlucky one,

open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,

O thou unlucky one,

trample the thorns under thy tread,

and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,

O thou unlucky one,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart

and let it burn alone.

When CRM is no more about the customer....

I remember my days at University. One of my professors kept reiterating that good business is always about giving the best to your customer. Almost four years down the line, I wonder at those remarkable words. Circa 2012, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) sector is slowly being tranformed from an empowering force into a gimmicky buzzword, one that appeases Wall Street gold diggers and panders to Silicon Valley's unimaginative pseudo-technocrats.

The mantra "CRM" includes two keywords: customer and relationships. Good businesses always focus on their customers. Great businesses go one step further, always looking to genuinely connect with their customers. However, the lousy ones just identify ways to "market" their commodities and "manage" their own bottomlines. "Commodities". Hmmmm...

Lets consider the two sets of folks -- those who sell CRM stuff and those who use CRM stuff. The problem with the first group is that they are more interested in selling their own stuff than understanding what their users want. They consider themselves to be the modern era's dream merchants. Alas. If only that were true. Most of them are nothing more than a poorly crafted repackaging of the erstwhile snake oil charlatans. Ofcourse, there are a few folks who really understand how to provide their users with a serious competitive advantage. Unfortunately, they are a minority in the vast abyss of mediocrity. Now, consider the second group. The ones who actually use CRM stuff to find and target their customers. Somewhere down the line, these people forget that their so-called target consumers are actually real people with real needs who seek innovation that can not only improve their lives, but also enable them to clearly make a positive impact on their private life, worklife, and all other activities. Instead, the requirements of consumers are "commoditized". At some point, those consumers anxious for great products are themselves "commoditized" by these agents of "selling" and "managing".

No surprises then when most people today tend to focus on selling, marketing, managing operations, and above all maximizing their margins. How great would it be if these people went back to the basics of CRM! Why not focus on "what do my consumers want and why and what can we do for them" instead of "how can we sell whatever we have and make a grand splash"? I wonder....

A few closing thoughts. All is not lost. CRM industry can definitely come back with renewed vigor. Both the creators and users of CRM stuff need to rethink their current way of doing things and change. Listen to their customers. Understand their customers. Most importantly, "work" with their customers. Re-emphasize the truth about CRM that it is really about forging relationships with one's customers at every step.....ya, every step.

Can a bureaucracy really get anything done?

In the movie The Dark Knight, The Joker tries to explain to the Bat what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Well, in the real world, gravity beckons and a bureaucracy is born. Bureaucracy. Something intransient. Something systemic. Something that is castigated as the bane of all things progressive. Is it so bad? Does it really hamper everything around which it spreads its tentacles? Is everything broken when a bureaucracy takes over the reins? Hmmm. I wonder. For the sake of this discussion, lets just try to think through one simple question -- Can a bureaucracy really get anything done?

Most organizations succumb to this phenomenon at some stage of their existence. And the ones who don't, they need to pat themselves on their back and stay on the vigil. What begins as a formula to sustain growth ends up becoming a self-sustaining, self-multiplying eco-system in itself. Having spent an unforgiving time close enough to one, on the surface it appears that a forward looking outlook is replaced by a "worry about the now" ideology. Innovation is just a theory on paper waiting to be discarded in the nearest bin. Probably the most damaging aspect of a bureaucracy is that a passionate, hard working individual may get crushed by an unyielding forcefield of negativity and hypocrisy.

If most people despise a bureaucracy, how does it maintain its modus operandi and thrive in every corner of the world? Well, for starters, a bureaucracy is a by-product of organizational growth. As more and more people join any group, the system of checks and balances moderating the entry point to that group weakens. Any attempts to restrain or control this pattern is dampened by the inherent defensive nature of a bureaucracy.

By no means am I saying that nothing gets done in a bureaucracy. Although a breed of visionary, inspiring leaders is replaced by a motley cabal of "managers", things do move. Stuff happens. Slowly. If it hadn't, then many organizations would have died a painful death by now. The fact that they have survived and continue to gnaw at the rope of progress is a testimony to the possibility of things getting done by a bureaucracy. But, to anyone who has slogged their way in such a surrounding, it is clear that getting rid of it needs a major shake up. Alas. That usually does not happen...

Final closing thoughts. Any organization without an entrenched "establishment" is far superior to one that has it. Such organizations promote free and fair discussion and decision making, providing vertical momentum to any fruitful idea. If honest, industrious people make it a point to sustain their vitality by thinking and acting for the greater good of the organization and not let "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" culture creep in, their organization holds a fighting chance against the onset of bureaucracy.

p.s: while rats are the first to jump off a sinking ship, bureauc-rats expect to be rewarded for sinking the ship....

Obsession with the precious ...

"We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious." - Gollum

Something which perplexes me is this vicious sequence. When does desire become need? When does need become an entitlement? When does an entitlement become a privilege? When does a privilege become an obsession? And ultimately, when does an obsession become the sole moving force of life?

My precious. Yes. Strange as it may sound. But Gollum manages to catch our attention for almost six hours with just his obsession with the precious. Well. Is it just him? Or is there a bit of that within all of us? I don't know. Hmmm. The precious. Yes. To each, it means something different, something that excites, and most importantly, something that means above all else. I don't know how dangerous obsession can be. But, can obsession in itself be considered dangerous? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The weight of a single obsession lies on a razor thin edge, one which borders upon an innate passion for something and beyond which lies the far abyss of pain. Obsession with the precious consumed Gollum. Gollum is not alone. Far better men and women have been claimed by this wretched devourer of restraint. I am not aware if Freud and Jung spent a lot of time wondering what drives obsession. But it is plainly obvious that lust and pleasure are the key driving factors since times unknown.

Anyways, I guess I need some time to think on this. Can obsession be channeled in a positive manner? Can it be used to preserve something precious instead of just craving for the precious. Need to check with Gollum......

After a break...

Back after a break. Phew. My last blog was quite some time back. One year went by. A new year came forth. New tidings. Old grievances. Hmmm.. Hoping to resume actively blogging very soon!