Terms of Encouragement- The "I Liked This" Letters

"One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary"

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists"

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

Reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own."

A forward received from one of my ex-bosses. I liked it very much and found it relevant because I have a habit of keeping all these appreciation letters and positive feedback,in fact, I have a blog where all these are updated and stored.

You can click on the link below:
http://vnreferences.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-dozen-people-say-about-me.html

Reading it has been a great tonic and a confidence booster for me:). A practice therefore that I strongly recommend.

TWENTY THINGS SAID ABOUT ME

TWENTY THINGS SAID ABOUT ME

Source: Linkedin Connections
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Head of Operations/COO at RAK Investment Authority
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“Vinod was of great support to us when we visited the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah and was instrumental in us setting up business there. He was thorough in terms of procedure and knowledge of all aspects of the Emirate and its laws and also was able to grasp the requirements of our business based in Hamburg quickly. He was very warm, friendly and went out of his way to make us feel at home which we reciprocate heartily. He continues to remain a well wisher and a friend. We will stay in contact because of his variety of well established business contacts all over the world but esp. in India. He is of great help to establish our business opportunities in India.” March 2, 2009

Markus Wagner , Owner , Middle East Marketing and Investment Group
was with another company when working with Vinod at RAK Investment Authority
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“Vinod is an intelligent and versatile man. I had the good fortune of working with him during our assignment for RAK Dept of Civil Aviation. His sound knowledge and business acumen puts him in good stead with whichever organisation he works with. I wish Vinod the very best in all his future endeavours. Hoshi Siganporia” February 20, 2009

Hoshi Siganporia , Managing Director , The Big Idea Advertising
was a consultant or contractor to Vinod at RAK Investment Authority
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Associate General Manager at McCann Erickson Mumbai (PSL)
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“Early in my career, Vinod was my boss for a brief period of one year. Many years and many many colleagues later, I haven’t met too many who combine Vinod’s passion, conviction, intellectual curiosity and fierce commitment towards his job and his people. Am reassured to see that he retains the same hunger even today. For an organization looking to turbo charge its work culture, I can’t think of too many better prospects than Vinod Natesan.” March 9, 2009
Amit Kumar
Executive Planning Director, McCann Erickson (colleague)reported to you at Leo Burnett in 1993 and was with PSLMcCann Delhi in 1996-98.
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“Vinod is straight and honest at what he wants to achieve. His approach to work is very clinical and analytical, which I've respected much. He grew from being an accounts executive to the position of a General manager in and advertising agency in a very short time, and out did past performances and set records in the agency in terms of new business. Which he has been able to repeat in further careers. He's a hard nut., and a maverick., and any serious business house deserves him.” March 13, 2009
Ara A,, Owner, The Fix (colleague) worked with you at Leo Burnett in 1992-93 and was in touch right through.
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Proprietor at Mayan Consultants International
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“Vinod looked after the marketing activities of the Landmark group for a while and I found him very knowledgeable in all aspects of the function. He was very data driven and collaborated with me in doing a quantitative survey on media consumption habits of regular customers and members of the loyalty club. He came out with very innovative campaigns to promote the Food Court at the Oasis Centre in Jumeirah and the CYBORG entertainment centre. His campaign "what women want" which ran during the Valentines and the Id season in February 2002 was a big success. I was also happy to see him replicate his success with the promotion of Emirate of Ras al Khaimah as an investment destination” March 13, 2009

P.K Faisal, GROUP CRM MANAGER, LANDMARK RETAIL GROUP (colleague)
worked directly with you in 2002 and is now with Bin Hendi UAE.
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“Vinod is a peoples person and is excellent in motivating employees , I met Vinod in chennai and found him extermely sharp , focussed , motivated and always being in control of things I wish him all the best in his career” February 25, 2009

Viney Bhatia , General Manager- Finance at Rediffusion DYR Pvt Ltd was Commercial Manager , Rediffusion DYR Pvt Limited when he worked with Vinod at Mayan Consultants International in 2005.
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“Vinod taught us Advertising at VESIMSR and it was one of my best classes through the MBA course. He is an excellent communicator and extremely organized. I also had the privelege to do a small assignment under his guidance, that brought out his systematic approach to problem handling and positive mentoring approach. He is always there for any discussion and is a great listener.” March 4, 2009

Shubha Chadaga , Merchandise Planner , BCBG Max Azria
was with another company when working with Vinod at Mayan Consultants International
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“Professor Natesan was one of the best professors we had at VES. His intellect, professionalism and vast knowledge on the Advertising Industry certainly had us students begging for more. I can vividly recall some of the examples he would use to depict successful brands (so you can imagine how good he is!). I can certainly vouch for his Marketing and Advertising strategies and would highly recommend him to anyone who wants to make their brand BIG! :) God bless, Sir!” February 25, 2009.Top qualities: Great Results , Expert , Creative.

Nandita Saggu, Specialist-Learning Solutions at Astrum Consulting.
Was a student of Vinod when he was a Visiting Faculty at VESASC and running Mayan Consultants in 2001
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“I know Mr. Natesan from 2001, he was a visiting faculty for us at my BMM Course. Mr. Natesan has a great indepth & intellectual knowledge of the the advertising & media industry. He has worked with the leading Ad Agencies in India and hence, has the upto date knowledge & understanding of his field. I can easily term him as the 'expert'! Would recommend him to anyone looking for a strategist, planner, out-of-the-box thinker. Wishing him the very best in all he does!” February 23, 2009

Sahil Jatana , Asst. Manager - Digital Media at NDTV Imagine
Was a student , VES College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Chembur
when Vinod was Visiting Faculty and running Mayan Consultants International
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Executive at FCB Ulka (91-92) to Visiting Faculty at Management Institutes
In Mumbai (96-08)-SIMSR,VESIMSR, NLDIMSR, SIES .

Vinod Natesan spent some of his formative years with Ulka Advertising in Bangalore and Hyderabad. He has been in touch over the last 15 years as his career has progressed. An MBA from one of the better schools of management, he has kept himself alive and alert with the latest happenings and trends in marketing and advertising. It is laudable that he has taken a lot of interest in education and training. He also has a keen planning orientation, having worked on major campaigns and brands. I wish him all the best.

Ambi M.G.Parameswaran, Executive Director & CEO – Mumbai
Draftfcb + Ulka, Nirmal, Nariman Point. Mumbai 400021
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LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS – Institute of Rural Management Anand & CUSAT(1 semester) - Masters (MBA/PGDRM) Teachers and fellow students.
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“Mr. Vinod Natesan was a student of mine at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, India. I remember him distinctly because of the keen interest he showed in the behavioural science courses I taught there. He used to be relatively quiet and yet quite communicative. Vinod’s recent messages and articles in the alumni pages tell me that his observational and analytical skills, which were visible years ago at IRMA, have become much sharper, along with a well developed sensitivity to social phenomena. I remember Vinod as a genuine, hardworking, reliable and a warm person. With his abilities and well-placed concerns, I am confident that Vinod, wherever he is, will definitely go that extra effective mile to be useful to society.” March 4, 2009

M.J. Arul , Director at Presidency B-School, Presidency College, Bangalore was Professor , Institute of Rural Management, Anand and taught Vinod there .
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“Vinod is my senior and a very prominent alumni. I have known him as an advertising professional and an intellectual. He has helped his clients through his firm Mayan Consultants through many years now. I know from his dedication and intellectual curiousity that he is a person who puts in more than 100% in his work. I wish him a lot of luck in his future endeavors!” March 12, 2009

Desh Kapoor,, Engagement Leader at Infosys Consulting was Student, Institute of Rural Management
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“I have known Vinod for a long time, from IRMA days. Over the years he has worked in the Advertising/Public Relations field and has executed successfully many campaigns. He has a lot of experience in the industry, grasps things easily, and is a person who gives more than 100% at work. He is a very good person to know and have as a friend, and his sense of humor always tends to make me smile.” February 20, 2009

Manesh Modi , Market Research Analyst at MGT Information studied with Vinod at Institute of Rural Management Anand
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Student at University of Kerala and Loyola School Trivandrum
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“Owner of a very strong personality. Very critical and thourough in analysis and quick in decision. Jobs are seen to its completion. A joyous and lovable person, with wide and varied interests in life. A good friend to have with.” February 20, 2009

Santhu Santosh , Chief Manager , SBT advised Vinod at University of Kerala
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“I have known Vinod since childhood. Vinod is a person of high integrity, honor and compassion. Vinod is very passionate about his interests and is very committed to the success of his work.” March 11, 2009

Anil Mukundan, Co Founder and Chief Technology Officer at CodeObjects, Inc. USA.
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“I known Vinod since my school days. He is sincere and hard working and quite passionate at work.In his career he has been able to achieve quite a lot due to his great energy and enthusiasm.” February 25, 2009

Sweth Raghunath , Regional Sales Manager - GCC at Strategic Food International Company LLC .studied with Vinod at Loyola School, University of Kerala and CUSAT (1 sem)
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“I have studied with Vinod for brief period before he moved to IRM at Anand and have been impressed by his passion to excel in everything he does. Unbound enthusiasm, openness to ideas, attention to detail and analytical approach to problem solving are some of his obvious strengths.” February 20, 2009

Sathya Nair , Senior Channel Manager at Motorola - Enterprise Mobility Business Studied with Vinod at Cochin University of Science and Technology
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“Vinod Natesan is an individual with a forceful personality and excellent domain knowledge in his chosen field of advertising. He has notable abilities as a teacher and maintains exceptional tenacity and commitment to perfection, in the projects which he takes up. With his varied experience in the country and abroad and diverse interests transcending the confines of his profession he should be an asset to any progressive organisation.” March 14, 2009

Aananthakrishnan S , Government of India Official
studied with Vinod at University of Kerala_
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ICL vs IPL. Why the first mover came second

IPL vs ICL. Why the first mover came last.

By

Vinod Natesan

Mayan Consultants International

The ‘first mover’ advantage is something that management students are taught as part of marketing strategy. The IPL vs ICL battle has proved that tenet wrong, it would seem.

The Indian Cricket League was the first off the blocks in November 2007 when the country, flush with the victory in the T20 World Cup, was on a cricketing high. There was a call to encourage young blood and if someone mentioned “no country for old men” one would have been in doubt whether the reference was to the Oscar winning movie and the poem from WB Yeats which had that as the opening line, or to the selection policy for the future national cricket team!!

The timing seemed ripe for Subhash Chandra put the weight of the Zee media network behind the venture to start an alternate cricket set up that would bring in fresh blood which was in the fringes and give that talent its rightful place in the sun through the Zee media platform. Along wiith IL&FS, Zee put in Rs 100 crore behind the venture.

However, within three months of the ICL, the IPL was rolled out by the BCCI, and the situation has changed dramatically for ICL . The attempt in this article is understand the revised business situation from the point of ICL and to analyse and hazard a few top of mind options in terms of a way forward.

Those familiar with Michael Porter and his ‘five forces framework’ would understand the dynamics of this situation perfectly. At the risk of stating the obvious, the ‘five forces’ refer to the dynamics that prevails in any industry structure, namely, rivalry among existing competitors (BCCI was a monopoly), threat of new entrants (IPL would have been a logical reaction to counter the ICL challenge),bargaining power of suppliers ( players in this case and the talented ones, who now have a choice ), bargaining power of buyers, ( the 117.million viewers of C&S who with their remotes decide the fortunes of both ICL and IPL), threat of substitute products ( in the vital T20 category, IPL is a substitute and the West Indies league is another competitor for players and an already scarce playing calendar). Shifts within these forces have changed the situation for ICL taking away its first mover advantage and is threatening to leave it as an also ran.

It may be advisable to analyse this situation within the five forces framework and understand the underlying reasons even while hazarding a prognosis on what lies ahead.

Suppliers in this context refer to players. They provide the ’ raison de etre’ for the product. Getting the right talent and ensuring a balance is crucial. Cricket’s appeal has been its uncertainty and sustaining it through the 4 hours of an match is essential. When the skill levels are “electrifying”, to borrow Ravi Shastri’s favourite phrase, we have a ‘cracker of a match”!

ICL tried to ensure that .Cricketers were offered significantly larger fees and nearly 10 international players of the stature of Brian Lara, Lance Klusner, Craig McMillan, Micheal Beaven were signed up for Rs 3 crores apiece for a three year period. Nearly 30crore was invested in “star” players and a similar amount was spent on local talent. For a domestic player of repute, a contract that offered him anything more than 16 lakhs a year was manna from heaven. ICL therefore had a mix of “no namers” who were the local talent and a motley crew of international “brand” players.

Reaction from BCCI, the rival, was swift. It revised the players fee to match that of ICL at almost Rs 36,000 per match for the domestic player. The IPL was also rolled out and the cream of international talent was signed on. 78 to be precise. A lot of talent players switched sides and some even left ICL after signing up.

While overseas associations refused to blacklist players of the ICL, the BCCI went ahead and alitigation for unfair practice did not stop it. To drive the advantage further it has now rolled out a Champions League and has issued a mandate that ICL players will be excluded irrespective of their national cricket association selecting them.

This has been one single factor for ICL’s poor showing in my opinion. And the next ‘force’, which is the buyer behaviour will illustrate this better.

Buyers of the product are viewers and these include ones in the stadium and those in the drawing rooms with remote in hand. It is amply clear to anyone familiar with the business of sports, that it is television coverage and viewers who are the deciding factor nowadays. The Premier League in English football was started to take advantage of the lucrative broadcasting rights. Here too, BCCI’s revenues are accounted for largely by television broadcasting rights. In fact 80%, to be accurate.

What draws viewers to cricket is the unpredictability of the result and when it closely contested, there is excitement. To dish this out you need superior talent. Even when these two are accounted for, there is the question of emotional relevance. They need a player or more with whom they identify with so that they can “support/cheer/ root’ for. Without that, the contest is cold.

ICL managed the first two, talent and excitement. However emotional relevance, or the connect, is missing. The TRP’s of 1 and thereabouts for the ICL is evidence of this. IPL had TRP’s of nearly 5 + throughout and nearly 9 for the finals.

The emotional relevance is due to the absence of any “Team India” player in the ranks. Dinesh Mongia is hardly box office. Sachin , Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sehwag who can eyeballs on their own strength are all with the IPL.

To enhance the loyalty of buyers it is abundantly clear that the valence of the product has to be hiked. The ICL brand has to build equity. The brand architecture indicates that the building block is the “brand” players. The promotional efforts of ICL were very limited. Apparently Rs 20 crores were spent in promotions but this has somehow been washed away by the publicity blitz unleashed by the BCCI /IPL combine. Nearly Rs 190 crores has been spent in promoting the IPL , between the BCCI (Rs 40 crores ) Sony SETMax putting in Rs 45 crores as part of its commitment and franchisees putting in Rs 94 crores on various for a to build their fan base.

Zee and ICL would need to invest in building their players as brands, their teams as umbrella brands ( no , not the ones we use during monsoons, but the collective brandunder which brand players function as one) and the ICL in itself as the mother brand ( no offence to the paternal ones, but maternity is a fact and paternity…).

As Rakhee Sawant who seems to be the ‘underdog’ ( no pun intended and deliberate use of the masculine gender ) brand of the year says “jo diktha he woh bikta he” !! He, He!!

The term “buyer” could also be used for the “investors” in the game. Here too

the rival offering has also been better engineered. ICL has managed to get only low profile sponsors like the title sponsor Edelweiss Capital, the Mumbai ICL team sponsor Dabur Glucose, Bharat Student .com which the sponsor of the Hyderabad team and Pioneer Urban which sponsors the Delhi team.

IPL’s strategy of spreading the ownership and stakes has worked. The investment in the league has been Rs 303 per year by sponsors for the title and nearly 94 crores on promoting the event . With so much prestige and money running on the league, the franchisees have done their bit in terms of raising the decibel level.

The television rights were at an all time high of Rs 385 crores per year and a commitment from the broadcaster to put in promotions worth Rs 45 crores for each season. Splitting this with the franchisees was a masterstroke and brought in investor confidence. Linking the TRP ratings to future sharing of broadcasting revenue will ensure that 8 franchisees will do their bit to handle the ‘buyers”. ICL seems to be fighting this as a lone ranger. Widening the ownership was a trick that was missed.

Rivalry from the BCCI has also resulted in substitutes being used to make the task difficult for ICL. Its maiden league was cannibalized by the Indo Australian series and then the South African tour. With the Bhaji vs Symonds spat assuming international proportions thanks to a willing and eager media, the ICL was all but relegated to obscurity.

The calendar issue is likely to recur with players (suppliers) complaining of excessive cricket and the law of diminishing returns applying to the buyers. ICL would find it difficult to time its events to make a significant connect with its buyers. Summer vacations in the North have been taken by the IPL, the September slot is going for the Champions Trophy and the December season is booked in the Southern Hemisphere with the Australian, South African and New Zealand Associations scheduling summer tournaments.

The way forward for ICL would be what it is planning to do already. The UAE, UK and other markets where the Asian Diaspora exists seems to be the segment to target. Shahrukh Khan’s entry and rise in the Godfather and Family driven film industry is testament to the fact that shrewd selection of target markets and delivering carefully engineered products to these niche segments can make for great marketing successes.

In the overseas South Asian market , entertainment options are few and gate collections in terms of per spectator and per match would be significantly higher. One could keep football as a benchmark here. 35% of club revenues come from the box office. Merchandising is also a money maker and Indian fashion sells.

The time zones and calendar issues can be handled better. Erratic weather in the Middle East is not an issue though it may be, in the US, UK and Canada.

Live telecasts may not be the revenue driver and that’s a fact to live with unless there is migration of brand players who are Team India caliber and have their own fan following. ICL would then have to offer them a lot more than 3 year conrtracts.

Changes in the league ownership pattern and bringing in entertainment as a focus could shift things. Gate revenues could be the money spinner then. A much higher advertising effort and savvy PR could buttress things to some extent too.

As Amir Sohail says ad nauseum “you should play with the right ideas” … leftist’s kindly excuse… this is not the nuclear 123 agreement but the 123 of successful marketing….

Ends