Leadership in a Crisis

 There are many different things that a crisis will test. For instance, the speed with which you can act to respond. Obviously, that power rests with the leader/s in an organisation or nation/state.

Second, getting advice from the right people. If the leader has no expertise in a given matter (and he/she can't possibly be an expert in everything, by definition), he must know who the expert is, and get them on board on his side.

Some anticipation of what different options will result in. A cause and effect prediction-not just one, but for at least 3-4 options. Typically what we do in a case analysis pioneered by Harvard University, and now copied worldwide. Except that it's more complicated in a crisis. Multiple actions may be needed on many fronts.

Another option is using simulation, where multiple scenarios instead of only a few, can be used for scenario-building, with consequences that can be debated. Any scenario can be tackled if you know it's probability. It keeps you much better prepared.

Firmness or decisiveness once the discussions are over and done with, willingness to try one option out, while keeping your mind open if anything unexpected happens, are some other desirable qualities.

Yes, this second wave of COVID is what inspired this post. No blame game, but an academic point of view.

Understanding Unnaming

 I can understand Unacademy being an academy of coaching, like Byju's or Rao's Tutorials. Or Aggarwal Classes (in my days, Kota was known for stone only). 

Long ago, there was a famous campaign for one of the soft drinks that talked of it being Uncola. It was quite cool, not un-cool at all.

Then, a Pepsi commercial took a dig at the official sponsor, Coke, in a guerrilla campaign before the Cricket World Cup, with a witty tagline- Nothing Official About it, and got more publicity for less money than Coke did.

Anyway, back to the point. It is certainly democratic to criticize an undemocratic party, in a republic- or is it the other way around? I am confused. Should a campaign for vaccination be tagged with a line Unvaccinate Yourself, for greater impact? Some people may be unnerved by that.

Anyhow, we are fine, as long as the undertaker is not involved. Or the Maker..wouldn't dare to call Him the Unmaker.

Brands That Surprise Me

 Either with good product quality, or with service, I mean.

Dabur Red toothpaste. It looks good, tastes good, and I have the same kind of loyalty to it (my wife discovered it, to be fair) that I once had for Colgate. But Colgate was in a monopolistic situation, with not much of competition. Dabur is also a home-grown brand.

Polo. I have grown fond of the mint with a hole since the pandemic began, and I usually have it around me in office and at home. It's comfort food, and doesn't do much harm.

Airtel has improved its service over the years. Now, it's pretty good. Pre-sales and after-sales, particularly. 

Wion, among TV channels that I watch for news, is pretty decent. Also, I am now a regular watcher of some films and serials 3 days a week on TV 5 Monde (Asie), which has no ads, and decent evening content with English subtitles. 

Branded clothes, I was never a great fan of, I care more about fit and comfort, which no brand seems consistent with. So I am a switcher, and stick to a budget.

The deliverers and their back-end have improved a lot. The food deliverers are a deliverance for many during the pandemic times.

Bookstores. I am now a fan of Blossoms and Bookworm, both on Church Street, Bangalore. I recently found a few Nero Wolfe (by Rex Stout) books at Blossoms, so doubly a fan. 

Sayaji at Indore used to be consistently good with food. Barbeque Nation is their brand, though I haven't seen much of that.

Park hotel in Belapur was pretty good with its service, and I spent a lot of time there. The breakfast buffet was very good, better than a lot of others. In Kolkata, I liked the Peerless Inn. The Adamas Hotel in Hanoi was a good international one I stayed at. 

ANA, the Japanese airline, and Sri Lankan were two that surprised me pleasantly. Almost everything about Sri Lanka as a destination, actually. 

Moods- Blues and Greens

 Just through pics.. many moods.

The Art of Writing a Blog

 I have seen a lot of ads on my social media pages that offer training on making films, giving speeches, and the like. This is not an attempt to enter into that territory, but just to make some confessions. I used to read a lot of blogs, regularly. Now, that regularity is reduced. No wonder, because anyone reading anything regularly is now an exception more than a rule. But I wanted to simply share my thoughts about writing. A blog is only one part of it. If you think you have something to say, you say it. Not always true. You may be an introvert, wonder if the boss (or anyone else) will like what you are going to say, and NOT say it.

But social media in general, and blogs in particular, allow you to write down your thoughts about various things. In my case, my thoughts about books, films (when I was still watching), people (students, colleagues, bosses!), TV anchors, Air hostesses, and of course, management education. And, of course, funny stuff, witticisms, or PJs included-that, some say, is my forte. Well, it's a natural talent, so I won't deny it. 

But my point was this..that you can pretty much write in any style (it's the closest thing to a democracy), and about what pleases you most. I have always admired those who can write long pieces, for example. Mostly, I cannot. Some are good with words, some others with visuals, and some equally facile with both. I use visuals to enhance the written word, if at all. Many of my posts are all-text. 

Readership, you can let it build naturally, and also help people find you through promotion on other media that you use. People can subscribe to your blog if you use a mainline blogging platform, and write regularly. 

Year 2 of The Coronavirus Pandemic

 It was around a year ago that we first heard about this new virus. Never imagined that it could have such a profound impact on lives. Historically, humankind has lived in jungles with predators, ill-equipped to deal with them. The way our ancestors survived was by using their brains to develop tools that they could use to protect themselves and also to hunt for food-non-vegetarian food. Today, with an excess of humans on the planet, nature may want to restore the balance-and man is helping, with chemical or other weapons, biological ones too. These have been used in parts of the world, to carry out mass killing.

Anyway, the point is, this is not the only pandemic we have to worry about. We have a few vaccines, and will invent more, and it will pass-in a year, maybe. At least the life-threatening part will. It may morph into another virus like the common cold virus, which also has no cure. But it has forced us to re-evaluate what is important for Nature and for Humankind, I hope. Why can't governments around the world concentrate their energies on Healthcare for all, at a low cost, even if it's not free? Why are natural disasters man-made, more often than not? Why do we almost always focus on the non-essentials, except in a pandemic or other emergencies/disasters? Are exams really important? This last is a question for the education sector, particularly in India. Learning can happen without necessarily having so many exams. At least, that's my theory, and it can be tested. I once worked in an institute of management where, due to time pressure, we admitted students without an entrance exam, only through a personal interview and they were as good as any other subsequent batch of students. Prior academic performance indication was already available through some other certificates they had. Just an example of how it did work.

I also wonder how the world, with so many resources-particularly human resources-at its disposal, cannot organise itself to focus on the essentials. Among world leaders of this century and the last, I can only recall Gandhiji advocating simple living. What would he have thought of the world in 2021? I wonder...

One-time Experiences in Life

 Some experiences are once-in-a-lifetime ones, like a visit to a particular place, out of your normal circuit. Here are a few of my experiences.

Scuba-diving. That too, in an exotic place, the Bahamas. Went there with friends in 1987 or so. We got trained by the company's instructor, and then were taken out into the Ocean, where we could do the real thing. Thailand, near Pattaya offers the same, as do a few other destinations. It's worth doing, at least once. Bungee jumping, I don't think I have the stomach for. 

Acting in a play. I had never done it before, but for some reason, my friend Harish, who was directing, called me for an audition, and gave me one of the two lead (male) roles. That remains a cherished experience, back in 1983/84, at IIM Bangalore during my MBA. Since then, I have been a spectator. Watched a couple of excellent plays at IIM Indore staged by another good friend, Shweta Kushal. 

The only other time I have come close to acting was in a video I did on Personal Branding recently. And it was not all acting. At IIMB, I also did Radio Jockeying or RJing (in today's terminology) for a show that my friends had put on the Bangalore Youth channel of All India Radio.

Some destinations that I only visited once have been Brussels, Northwest France (Brittany), Greece, Cambodia, Vietnam and Ladakh and Kashmir in India.