Coming Up - Holi and Women's Day

 Two unconnected events falling on the same day. Holi, there's enough said and done each year, so I'll concentrate on the other.

I already did a facebook album with women golfers' pics from my archives. Why I like this subject is because even among Men, Golf is a game only a few people play! These are markers of where women can go. Already, women pilots in commercial airline companies are many in number. Proving yet again, if proof was ever needed, that they can do as well or better than men.

Rakshita, a student at NMIMS Bangalore, tries out Golf.. above.

Continuing on the Golf theme, I found most women-students, faculty or staff colleagues- open to learning Golf, when assured that they didn't need to buy any equipment! I used an old kit that I still use, to train whoever wished to get trained in the basics. And I am happy that all students-male and female- of at least one batch of MBA at NMIMS, and at least two at IMT Nagpur- were given an orientation to the game, and a lot of them enjoyed it and were good at it!

A tiny friend we made at Kodaikanal Golf course was the youngest kid I saw on a Golf course. She was with her Mom, and was sporting enough to try adult-sized clubs to play a few shots! Three cheers to Women in Golf! I also went to my first amateur golf tournament in Thailand thanks to Jogeswari, a former student who was a part of Golftripz, an Indian startup. So there!

Relaunching the Seminar on Thought Leadership

There was this course that I ran in IMT Nagpur a few years ago. We had around 40 students in it, and I had generated a list of thought leaders (authors, playwrights, inventors, explorers) or ideas that have impacted the world or society in a big way. The students in groups had to research the topic given and tell the class through a presentation how the given person or idea changed the world. There would be  a critique of the presentation from me and a couple of students from the audience, and a Q and A.

I still remember the course vividly, and hope that students do too. I am collaborating with my colleague Shweta Kushal at IIM Indore to relaunch the course here for our 5-year integrated program students. We both hope that we will learn a lot about history, inventions, art, etc. that changed society and our lives, along with our students. Two of my former students, Padmapriya and Jogeswari had also come in to guest lecture in the earlier edition of the course, and added diverse perspectives-one worked with an NGO, and the other was a director of a Golf tours company- Golftripz..

Doffing the Hat to Flipkart

Working out a successful logistics model in India is a nightmare, as anyone who has tried it will probably tell you. But to do it consistently over a period is almost an impossibility. In a time when we keep eulogizing the Apples of the world, Indian companies must not get the short shrift. Flipkart is one such company that has managed the 'Mission Impossible' mentioned earlier, and pretty well too. Any customer of theirs I have talked to, swears by them. It is a different story that my autobiography started selling a little more when they started selling it. That's more out of convenience, I guess.

One more I can think of is Golftripz, for amazing customer service. I have used their services to go on a golf tour, and I feel sorry for myself when I miss one of their tours. There are many such companies that have done well for themselves and their customers and given time, will do so for the shareholders or investors. Some have not, but everyone is not eligible for bailouts like the banks which defrauded millions of investors, and still survived and are thriving.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that Indian enterprise is thriving, and lots of examples are there to prove it. Let's give them their due, once in a while.

Our Book on Brand Management

There are a couple of good books on Brand Management in the market, but not too many. That gave us the idea to write one, and we finished a draft about three years ago, maybe more. The book did not happen, due to publisher troubles. A publisher change later, we are all set (my co-author Bhagyalakshmi Venkatesh who teaches at KJ Somaiya and I) to see it see the light of day early next year. We handed over the manuscript to Tata McGraw-Hill, with whom I have worked on my earlier books.

Among other firsts, like a lot of Indian material, this will also contain a case I wrote some time ago called Golftripz, based on the story of a company founded by a former student and her partners which takes Indians on golf tours.

So it is a happy day of sorts, and we are celebrating-though in different places. Cheers!

Golf Lessons for New Students

Life's lessons can be learnt in many ways. Sports can be pretty useful in learning some. I played cricket for my school team, and have played many other games like Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis without a table, Basketball, Volleyball, Hockey at some point at least for a trial. Badminton a little more than others.

Golf was a late entrant into my life, and we started because of easy access to some cheap courses in the U.S. For about 5 dollars, we could play nine holes in the Clemson, SC area. So we just hit the ball around, not achieving any degree of expertise. In Harihar, while I was at Kirloskar Institute, we had an 18 hole course within walking distance in the campus, and made full use of it.

This week, we started Golf lessons for the new batch of IMT Nagpur students. It's just an intro, but the idea is that those who get interested will pursue the game. Looks easy, but is a tough game. And teaches you a lot about yourself, like most others. One lesson I have learnt from it is that you are competing (fighting?) mostly with yourself, and not with an external competitor- student, colleague, wife or boss. If you are at peace with yourself, it shows in your (Golf) swing and game. If not, it also shows- and how! Anyway, the excitement among the learners was palpable, and it gives them something to talk about, even if they don't play it hereafter! B school is also about networking, and Golf terminology adds to the vocabulary too.

On the academic side, I have written a case about a company called Golftripz with an accompanying video (interviews with two directors of the company), which illustrates the launch of a new service aiming to take Indian golfers out to play on foreign shores. Used this in some training sessions, and it led to some good discussion.

Two Films and a Lecture

Saw two movies this past week. Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji by Madhur Bhandarkar and Yeh Saali Zindagi by Sudhir Mishra. Both are very good, in different ways. The first is a nicely flowing film with a surprise ending, about three guys and their love stories. Ajay Devgan has acted really well, and his love interest brings a freshness and vivacity to her role. Emraan Hashmi is competent, but funnyman Vaidya who debuted in Three Idiots is the one who makes a greater impact as the innocent poet-ardent lover.

The other, Yeh Saaali Zindagi, is a black comedy about a bunch of gangsters and two love stories connected with two of them. The scene-stealer is actually Saurabh Shukla, a third gangster. Very intricate plot, a tight script which brings the complexities to a very interesting climax, and good acting by Irrfan Khan, Chitrangada Singh, Aditi Rao (her debut) and Arunoday Singh, and most others makes this a treat to watch. It has shades of Johnny Gaddar in terms of pace and type of plot, but this is probably a tougher story to tell.

Also had a couple of directors of a company, golftripz, coming in for a guest lecture yesterday at IMT. Jogeswari, a former student at Kirloskar, and her co-director, Madhav Misra, were the two guests. They explained the genesis of the company in 2009 April, and what their plans are to take Indian golfers on golf tours outside the country. A very interesting concept, it elicited a lot of questions from students. We rounded it off with an interview recorded for a possible case study, and a round of golf at our institute's greens on the campus.

Golfing in Pattaya

In Pattaya for a golf tournament organised by a friend and Director of Golftripz, Jogeswari. Excellent facilities, courtesy, and organisation. The golf (mine) is iffy, but that is always the case. When you sign up for it, you know it will be. But how does it matter? The idea is to have some fun and enjoy the companionship, and the opportunity to make new friends. Despite the pomposity of most golf clubs, golfers always get along, and make friends easily. At this age, or any age for that matter, what else does one need? 

This outing is organised by golftripz.com, who are new to this game but very good at what they do. May their tribe increase and prosper. Good for mortals like me who like to play for the fun of it, not necessarily to win a trophy. A thought that occurs to me, by the way, is, if Pattaya area can have 50 golf courses, why can't a city in India? We played at three courses- Burapha, Phoenix, and Laem Chabang, all close to Pattaya. The last was designed by Jack Nicklaus, and is very scenic. Spent a lot of time taking pics. We also had a party most evenings, also called 'the 19th Hole' in Golf parlance.

The caddies are women, in all the courses. They also drive you around on the golf carts, and are very nice, with lilting accents tellling you how to play, and commenting....shot no gooo.. means you muffed it. Right OBeeee, means it's gone out of bounds (O.B.) on the right, and so on. Goooo..means it was a good one. Putting instructions were also handy because the greens on these courses were extremely tricky to read. Had a party at Laem Chabang too, on the last evening, with a female singer who sang many old numbers, and the Dhoom machale song too. Think it was a Thai who sang the number.