BlogQuotes: Marketing #1 November 20, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in BlogQuotes, Companies of the future, Everything 2.0, Marketing, Quotes, Thought leadership.Tags: client dealings, customer, Innovation, Marketing, relationship, Sunil Malhotra
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1. Customers are human beings, not statistical aberrations.
2. Always remember you’re a marketer, not a marketeer.
3. If the client is God, worship him. Don’t work for him.
© Sunil Malhotra. 2009
Vendor-Client relationships November 14, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Innovation.Tags: absurdity, client, conti, Cost cutting, Culture, Ideafarms, Innovation, negotiation, outsourcing, partnerships, provider, vendor
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Whatever one may try in building relationships with customers, it always comes back to negotiating prices the way it was done in the industrial (material) age. This hilarious, in-your-face video says it all. Is our client listening?? Can they laugh as loudly as we at this beautifully captured absurdity
Read Ann All’s post “Squeezing Vendors Isn’t a Good Idea“
Designers w/o Borders September 30, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Companies of the future, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Globalisation, Innovation, Thought leadership.Tags: Design, Ideafarms, India, Indo-Dutch collaboration, Industrial Design, Industrial Designers, Innovation, International Design, New Business Models, Sunil Malhotra, Sustainability
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World Trade Centre, Rotterdam, 25th September 2009. Indo-Dutch collaboration summit focused on Industrial Design. Hmmm … (Design Crossover).
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- A view of the audience
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- That’s me on the right!
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- Raijmakers & Oberdorf
Why they invited me to speak is still somewhat of a mystery considering I dropped off the Industrial Design radar towards the end of the last millennium. I guess it could’ve been because my company, Ideafarms, has been able to maintain a growing relationship between India and Europe over the last 8 years through projects and partnerships with Dutch and German corporations.
I’ve never been a champion of networking – I’ve actually often criticised some of my friends for using networking to get ahead – but am quite overwhelmed having been in the midst of some of the most ‘conscious’ designers of today. Jeroen 
Raijmakers of Philips and Jos Oberdorf of NPK Design are inspiring to say the least. I’m grateful to Ruchita Puri for the opportunity to meet them at the event.
From whatever was presented, it looks like good design can be really good business. There’s a case to be made out for a design collaboration without borders. Couple of good reasons here …
1. European design reflects high quality, the idiom being minimalistic and functional. Whereas India’s design sensibilities are more embellished. Their combination will raise the aesthetic appeal without compromising design values.
2. Pure economic tenets come into play when we see the sheer number of people both on the supply side (design talent is plenty in India) and the demand side (India is emerging as one of the largest markets). Leveraging the ‘great Indian talent pool’ is an opportunity.
3. The life sensibilities of India’s cultural make-up have always been in the mould of sustainability, something the world has woken up to only recently. Add to this the rich craft-based traditions and you have a universal design paradigm that’s as powerful as Buddhism.
Jump into this conversation folks. You don’t want to be left out. Really!
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Shoe-throwing goes global April 29, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Culture, Innovation, Innovation 101, Politics, Wisdom of the leaders.Tags: Innovation, shoe-throwing, spoof, tamasha
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Even in these uncertain times, the US can be credited for leading innovation and for its trend-setting ways. India has been the quickest to catch on and I’m sure we’ll see other countires following ’shoe’t very soon. Read the spoof here Frustrated minister throws shoes at public « The Daily Tamasha.
Fed up of recent shoe-throwing incidents at his last three election rallies, Minister of State for Leather Industry, Balwant Kelkar, today started his Jabalpur rally by throwing a few shoes himself. Unsuspecting supporters of Kelkar were in for a shock as he followed his garlanding with throwing five-rounds of shoes, hitting his random target three times.
and my BIG idea for innovation for shoe companies to steal. (I’m an open source guy!)
Here goes …
Shoe companies that can double their revenue with just a little repackaging.
1-2-3!
Concept: “To package each shoe separately (and not in pairs) targetted at the emerging shoe-throwing segment”.
1. This will open up new segments – shoe catchers, shoe matchers, shoe collectors – and also possibly inspire the fashion designers to come up with ‘walk the ramp with one shoe’ shows.
2. The idea-starved event management companies can then replicate this for re-use in the ‘Great Indian Wedding’ (of course this is rather seasonal unless they plan to go global).
3. Politicians and other public figures (beneficiaries of the new model) will be able to make early requests for which foot (not in the mouth variety) they prefer to be thrown. Eg. Left shoe is better ’shoe’-ted for Karat and co. It will also make it easier to switch loyalties – just exchange shoes!
Innovation 101 – Mouse Trap? February 25, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Design Thinking, Illusions, Innovation, Innovation 101, Leadership Innovation, Perception.Tags: Next Practices, Innovation, Innovation 101, JohnLennon, Albert Einstein, mousetrap, Pied Piper, out of box thinking, generalisation
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Enough about money and the Oscars. And I’m still wondering why all the fuss about Slumdog Millionaire. Just like one swallow doesn’t make a summer, one event doesn’t make a nation. Sorry guys, but I’m getting sick and tired of diversions.
First it was Obama’s swearing in that we were waiting for. Come 20th January and we kept waiting for a miracle. Then came the Oscars and we’re all very euphoric that Slumdog Millionaire bagged 8 golds. Now we’ll wait for India to go to the polls and hope that the new government will right the economy. All we’ll do is wait.
The Pied Piper has driven out all the rats - now he’s after our children. And we continue to build better mousetraps while wondering why there are no takers. The ’smarter’ guys believe that if the mousetraps were cheaper, they would be able to sell. For me it is a no-brainer that a mousetrap is needed only if there are mice! Come let’s innovate they say. How about a GPS system that will show us where each mousetrap is located. Maybe some wheels to move it around. And a radio controlled wheelster on which to mount it. Gimme a break people - who’s going to ‘grow’ the mice?
We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them. — Albert Einstein
The first law of holes: If you are in one, stop digging. — Anonymous (more…)
