Starting Up....

Well we've started out on a student venture and the concept is pretty unique (atleast we hope so). We're trying to encompass the variety of cultures represented by the international community on the UM-CP campus and in the process promote the idea of 'Unity in Diversity'. And the way we intend to do it is through an International Terrapin t-shirt featuring the Terrapin in various international costumes.

I think we have a very good team to carry this through, people with designing skills, marketing skills, sales skills etc. And above all everyone is enthusiastic and bubbling with energy. I'll keep you posted about the developments!!

Show me the cards !!

My friend had this day-long interview he was so excited about, so I asked him the day after how it went. And he says "I got the job yesterday!!". Now I know he is a good candidate, but seriously?

Thats when he told me more about it. This particular company had organized a poker tournament among the candidates!! How I wish I had appeared for such an interview. So this got me thinking...

A poker tournament really is a fantastic way to assess how individuals naturally/instinctively make decisions under pressure. In particular:
i) Are they risk-loving or risk-averse?
ii) Do they tend to be influenced by the way others around them are playing?
iii) Are they instinctive or do they evaluate all the information they have.
iv) How good are they at bluffing and maintaining their cool when they do? Does the company or their role require them to be?
v) Does the quality of their decisions change with pressure?
vi) Do they change their behaviors when the stakes get higher?
vii) Do their ethics line up with those of the company? How far will they go to win?

So the next time you're out there looking to hire, you know where to look.

The H1B Conundrum

Many HR departments are claiming an IT skills shortage. And now someone else has joined the skills shortage bandwagon: Bill Gates. Gates, who testified before a congressional hearing on March 12, is advocating lifting the annual cap on H-1B visas.

At a hearing of the House Science and Technology Committee, Gates outlined immigration reforms that he said would help fill “a critical shortfall of skilled scientists and engineers.” According to an article, Gates:

• Urged lifting the annual cap on H-1B visas for highly skilled immigrants.
• Recommended that Congress increase the number of employment-based visas, extend the time that foreign students can stay in the U.S. after degree completion, eliminate visa limits for individual countries, and make more highly skilled foreign employees permanent residents.

Critics of Gates’ efforts suggest that there is no skills shortage in the US and that Gates is just ignoring unemployed IT pros in the United States because they cost more to hire than the employees he can get through the use of H-1B visas.

To this, Gates replied, “These jobs are going begging. We’re not kidding. It’s not an issue of raising wages. We’re hiring as many people as we can.”

What makes this debate interesting is that the majority of these visas go to foreign-based companies (see pic above) while U.S. businesses that need highly skilled workers are getting the short end of the stick.

What do you think?

Bringing back the love

This is one of the most creative ads describing what maybe wrong with your marketing strategy. It funnily points to the difference between what the consumer wants and what in actually is offered by advertiser.

I think this definitely represents what’s happening out in the marketplace and the reluctance of both marketers and agencies alike to listen to consumers and change their behavior accordingly.

Sprite is doing a similar concept using the media to satirize itself: “Things as they are”, that tells real-life situation full of insights.

What do you make of this? How do you reckon “Mr Advertiser” will use digital technologies to win back his “Mrs Consumer” wife?

Brand Ownership

Stories of Brand Ownership turn up in the most interesting places.
Just reading through the web, I came across the story of Jarell Carson.

Diagnosed at birth with severe hearing loss, Jarell first used a made-up form of sign language to talk with family members. When he later learned American Sign Language, his father, Joseph, felt left out and unable to talk to his son. But Jarell, with his passion for teaching others, taught family and friends to communicate his way.

After graduating from High School, it took a second trip by Jarell to Hy-Vee Food Store to convince store director Mike Kueny to hire him. Kueny offered Jarell a job bagging groceries and loading them into customers' vehicles. Three years later, Jarell became a cashier.

Now into his seventh month at the cash register, Jarell is a customer favorite.

"He's about as good as you're gonna get, very polite," said customer Claude Baker after going through Jarell's checkout line.

Kueny said Seven months later, Jarell averages three positive comments to the management a week. E-mail messages commending his work arrive at corporate headquarters regularly and shoppers choose his checkout line even if it means a longer wait.

Using hand gestures, facial expressions and a poster he designed to tell patrons he cannot hear, Jarell owns his unique brand of contagious, friendly service.

Scant resources don’t keep Brand Owners from delivering on their promises. Constraints are opportunities to be creative and different while at the same time delighting customers.

Refuse to complain about what you don’t have and find your unique way of delivering on your brand promises!

Deja vu

I was talking to a keynote speaker at the Dingman Day Lunch at the Smith School of Business about recession and the US economy.

“When I got my MBA in Finance in the 80’s job prospects weren’t great. People with years of experience and an MBA were getting laid off. A time of very weak economy coupled with high inflation – it became known as stagflation.

Back then, the consumer confidence was low, which fed the recession. The Middle East kept pushing energy prices higher and strong unions continued to fight for increases in pay. Persistent government meddling in what should have been free markets created run-away inflation. I worry that the signs are there for a return to a similar mess.”

Well I couldn’t agree more. Confidence is low. We see it in consumer confidence surveys from the Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Consumer confidence slumped in February, accelerating a decline that began in January, according to a report released Tuesday.

We also see signs that inflation is not easing in spite of the slowing economy. Also from the Wall Street Journal:
Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices surged in January and core inflation also climbed above expectations.

Once again, energy is partly to blame for the inflationary pressures on the economy.
Dejavu?

Blog n Business

I know most of you are probably sick of blogs. And there's good reason why you don't like many of them. Some are filled with hatred, some biased and yet others written by those hungry for fame.

But can you close your eyes to them? I bet not simply because they're as revolutionary as the Internet itself. And they have a very tangible effect on businesses - including yours. According to a Pew Research Center Survey of online youths in US, 20.8% publish a blog, 36.6% read a blog, and 26.4% comment on a blog at least once a month. How exactly does that affect your business? The point is that ideas circulate as fast as scandal. Potential customers are out there, sniffing around for deals and partners. While you may be putting it off, you can bet that your competitors are exploring ways to harvest new ideas from blogs, sprinkle ads into them, and yes, find out what you and other competitors are up to.

You may ask:If there's no clear business model, why are the Internet giants so bent on getting a foothold in blogs? Look at it from their point of view. A vibrant community that has doubled in size in the past eight months is teeming with potential customers. "Blogs are what's causing the Web to grow," says Jason Goldman, a project manager at Google's Blogger, the world's biggest blogging service.