Management through common sense, Dew Drops, Ravichander Rao
Management at a very high level is, providing a guiding path using ones common sense. The common sense, so to speak is not a generally known to everyone, though it is freely available. Only a few people discover or become aware that common sense is freely available, and it is for us to obtain it. There are various ways to acquire common sense - reading books, going to the school, experience in lifetime, and by observation. Of all the four, observation is the least exploited method, though it is the most powerful. The power of observation lets a person to bring learnings from superficially totally disconnected things. For instance, the Shinkansen's (Japanese bullet train) cockpit was designed based on the kingfisher's beak to improve the aerodynamics. There are many more such examples. If you are more interested, then watch this video on Biomimicry by Janine Benyus <<http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Janine+Benyus&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#>>
Most of the common sense can be learnt by observing people on a roadside in India or watching traditional home. Most of the presentation skills can be learnt by observing how a grandmother tells a story without any slides. Inotations, rhythm of the voice, hand gestures, conviction...all are used to make the story so compelling that kids and adults both want to listen to the same story again and again. Ram Charan the management guru mentions in his book - "What a CEO wants you to know" that he learnt balance of volume and velocity for making profit by observing the vegetable vendors of India. There are other interesting examples along these lines which I would like to share with you.
The balloonwala or the person selling balloons offers one of the best lessons in running a business that no other book can teach. His customers are young kids whom he can sell only by attracting their attention and offering their parents a bargain. His tools are balloons of various colors and shapes, his imagination and a few side skills - such ability to play flute and casual conversation. He creates various colorful forms utilizing the fully inflated balloons. Some are shaped as a flowers and some are shaped as swords, using some round ones, a few long ones, a heart shaped, etc. Then he walks on the streets, stands in park and in a crowded area, and plays nice music on his flute to catch the attention of the children.
The balloonwala is a CEO of an organization. Metaphorically, the balloons of various shapes and sizes are his resources, flute and color of balloon are his marketing tools, how many forms and how many numbers he makes is the manufacturing, locations where he stands are places/market, various forms he creates are the products, the children are the direct customers and parents the sales department. The balloons come in different shapes and sizes are the people with different skills and attitudes, they need to be managed and valued for the unique strengths that they bring to organization. If he employs all round ones or all long ones, or if wishes to convert all the round ones to all long ones or vice-versa, he cannot create the forms/products he desires to. This will lead to business collapse. Without the skills in flute playing or without multiple bright colored balloons, his ability to attract children will be limited. If stands in a remote corner he cannot make any sell. Even if he does all of this correctly, he still cannot sell a balloon, if he cannot negotiate a bargain price with their parents. Most important of the all, he needs to ensure that he makes right amount of products so that he can suistain the product to its full potential (keep them fully inflated) and also make profit to take away to his home. Now think about it, who taught the balloonwala all these things? For him this is a common sense, but in the business school - it is management lesson on product, place, pricing and inventory management.
There is one more mataphor - driving a vehicle, which provides me a great insight. While driving a car, one has to follow the rules of the road one is driving on. The roads in India can be crowded and chaotic for someone who is driving there for the first time. But for the daily commuters, it is a normal traffic, and they know how to wade through it. The drivers in India are so successful at it because they understand the human behavior or response to the other persons' action. This helps them in avoiding accidents. While traffic in the US is so fast paced that one would think there would always be accidents. In both the cases, the systems have evolved so much so that, there are not accidents every minute, which one would not expect in such systems! The drivers in the US follow the strict driving rules to avoid the accidents. These two different driving conditions are the two different business environments or cultures. One must learn how to wade through by understanding the differences.
Management at a very high level is, providing a guiding path using ones common sense. The common sense, so to speak is not a generally known to everyone, though it is freely available. Only a few people discover or become aware that common sense is freely available, and it is for us to obtain it. There are various ways to acquire common sense - reading books, going to the school, experience in lifetime, and by observation. Of all the four, observation is the least exploited method, though it is the most powerful. The power of observation lets a person to bring learnings from superficially totally disconnected things. For instance, the Shinkansen's (Japanese bullet train) cockpit was designed based on the kingfisher's beak to improve the aerodynamics. There are many more such examples. If you are more interested, then watch this video on Biomimicry by Janine Benyus <<http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Janine+Benyus&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#>>
Most of the common sense can be learnt by observing people on a roadside in India or watching traditional home. Most of the presentation skills can be learnt by observing how a grandmother tells a story without any slides. Inotations, rhythm of the voice, hand gestures, conviction...all are used to make the story so compelling that kids and adults both want to listen to the same story again and again. Ram Charan the management guru mentions in his book - "What a CEO wants you to know" that he learnt balance of volume and velocity for making profit by observing the vegetable vendors of India. There are other interesting examples along these lines which I would like to share with you.
The balloonwala or the person selling balloons offers one of the best lessons in running a business that no other book can teach. His customers are young kids whom he can sell only by attracting their attention and offering their parents a bargain. His tools are balloons of various colors and shapes, his imagination and a few side skills - such ability to play flute and casual conversation. He creates various colorful forms utilizing the fully inflated balloons. Some are shaped as a flowers and some are shaped as swords, using some round ones, a few long ones, a heart shaped, etc. Then he walks on the streets, stands in park and in a crowded area, and plays nice music on his flute to catch the attention of the children.
The balloonwala is a CEO of an organization. Metaphorically, the balloons of various shapes and sizes are his resources, flute and color of balloon are his marketing tools, how many forms and how many numbers he makes is the manufacturing, locations where he stands are places/market, various forms he creates are the products, the children are the direct customers and parents the sales department. The balloons come in different shapes and sizes are the people with different skills and attitudes, they need to be managed and valued for the unique strengths that they bring to organization. If he employs all round ones or all long ones, or if wishes to convert all the round ones to all long ones or vice-versa, he cannot create the forms/products he desires to. This will lead to business collapse. Without the skills in flute playing or without multiple bright colored balloons, his ability to attract children will be limited. If stands in a remote corner he cannot make any sell. Even if he does all of this correctly, he still cannot sell a balloon, if he cannot negotiate a bargain price with their parents. Most important of the all, he needs to ensure that he makes right amount of products so that he can suistain the product to its full potential (keep them fully inflated) and also make profit to take away to his home. Now think about it, who taught the balloonwala all these things? For him this is a common sense, but in the business school - it is management lesson on product, place, pricing and inventory management.
There is one more mataphor - driving a vehicle, which provides me a great insight. While driving a car, one has to follow the rules of the road one is driving on. The roads in India can be crowded and chaotic for someone who is driving there for the first time. But for the daily commuters, it is a normal traffic, and they know how to wade through it. The drivers in India are so successful at it because they understand the human behavior or response to the other persons' action. This helps them in avoiding accidents. While traffic in the US is so fast paced that one would think there would always be accidents. In both the cases, the systems have evolved so much so that, there are not accidents every minute, which one would not expect in such systems! The drivers in the US follow the strict driving rules to avoid the accidents. These two different driving conditions are the two different business environments or cultures. One must learn how to wade through by understanding the differences.
