SIMPLE YET POWERFUL LESSONS IN MARKETING

 

SIMPLE YET POWERFUL LESSONS IN MARKETING

 

1.    When a brand is perceived as the benchmark in its category, discerning consumers begin respecting it. They seek  varied ranges of products from the brand. Sustained success for the brand arises from the expertise the brand builders pick up over a l ong period of time.

2.    Brands gain significantly from staying true to their heritage even as they launch contemporary ranges of products.

3.    Consumers happily pay a premium for an unbeatable combination of heritage, expertise and high quality.

 

READING MAKETH A FULL MAN; CONFERENCE A READY MAN; AND WRITING AN EXACT MAN

Francis Bacon

 

This was written a long, long time ago. But it holds true forever.

Unfortunately, the new gen is not interested in reading. Recently, a girl with a basic degree came to my office. She said she was trying for PG admission. She was also trying to find a job. She was the daughter of a non teaching staff at the office. I told her, for both the pursuits she has to develop her skill in communicative English and above all she has to be well versed in General Knowledge. For a starter I asked her who Biden was. She blinked. She didn’t know. I asked her whether she was reading any newspaper. Deshabhimani, she replied. I suggested, it would be better if she read one more news paper, preferably an English newspaper. She agreed. I never saw her again.

 

Papa had been subscribing to The Mail, an English newspaper. I grew up watching him read newspapers, both in Malayalam and English. I was a child. But I used to take a comic strip in the English newspaper to him and ask him to explain it to me. I didn’t know any English at that age. My grooming began there. When The Mail stopped publication, Papa subscribed to the Indian Express. By that time I could read English haltingly. I read the Sports page with interest. With the years passing by I became infatuated with the editorials and articles of Frank Moraes.

 

When we started residing in Trivandrum, I continued with Indian Express.

 

Then, one day, we were on our periodical visit to Thalavady. Laji, vehemently told us to switch to The Hindu. He said it offers the finest language.

 

Back in Trivandrum, we switched to The Hindu. It has stayed with us ever since. It has improved our language manifold.

 

Why do I put it here? It is obvious. I would advocate everyone especially the young to read an  English newspaper every day, if they are not doing it till now, to equip them address the challenges they are bound to come across in life.

 

Abraham Jacob

17^th May2024

Rafael Nadal: What we can learn from the greatest

 

Rafael Nadal: What we can learn from the greatest

“Every match I play here, I don’t know if it is going to be my last match in Roland Garros, in my tennis career. (He won French Open the previous day)

As I said in the past, me, Roger, Novak, we achieved things that probably we never expected. We achieved our dreams. What keeps me going is not this competition, it’s the passion for the    game and moments that stay inside me forever. To play in front of the best crowds in the world and the best stadiums. That drives me.

It’s not about a goal to win more titles. It’s about a goal, the goal to give myself a chance to keep doing what I like to do”

FAMILY

 

FAMILY

The Husband and the Wife, together, build the family. Happy families make happy societies.

If the family is the nucleus of the society, the lady of the house is the nucleus of the family. She is the anchor, bedrock and pivot on which so much rests. She sacrifices a lot, achieves a lot on her own and facilitates achievement. She guides the children.

If  the husband declares, "I owe so much to my wife. If it were not for her, I would never have been able to achieve whatever I have done," it would never be an understatement.

Yet, apart from the family responsibilities he has to shoulder, the demands on his job would be taxing him inexorably.

But he knows how to compartmentalize and multitask. It makes him switch on and switch off and juggle his responsibilities with no overhang.     He creates quality time for the family. Though he could not be physically present at all  important events in the family due to  his commitments, he would compensate for it with the quality of attention  he  provides when he is with the family.

He supports his wife and encourages her to realize her own potential and transform.

The children love him as he would be there when they need him.

Wherever he is, he inspires everyone around him.

The JV prospers.

Abraham Jacob

November 1, 2024

 

Management Lessons from Rohan Bopanna

 

Management Lessons from Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna is an astounding, evergreen phenomenon.

He went after his passion, Tennis. Riches at home did not deter him.

He says there is no age limit to possibilities. You need to keep your mind open and free yourself from limitations that are thrust upon you at different ages, like at 20 you need to achieve this, at 30 you need to do that and at 40 something else.

At 44, he has become the oldest number one in men’s doubles Tennis.

 

How?

The biggest factor is his mental strength and perseverance.

His ability to adapt and find solutions at various junctures in his career has helped him understand himself. It has been translated to the tennis court.

His driving force is his self belief.

He has been his own critic.

He focuses on what he is doing wrong and where he could get better before playing with somebody.

He knows when he starts improving, his partnerships would improve.

Keep pushing he tells himself. It has sustained him at the highest level for two decades.  

It has been a fulfilling experience for him competing at that level.

 

It is an incredible journey of persistence, longevity and eclipse of the age factor.

He says, he is at level 44, not age 44.

 

Source: Times of India , Trivandrum Times, 13 April 2024.