Consumer Psyche

Change is so unexpected but happens in Cricket. Read an interesting observation by Mike Browning on the missing relevance of slip position in Cricket over the years.

The popular saying goes, “Bowlers win matches.” In the longest form of the game they can’t without help. First-class and Test matches are also won by guys who are usually the least athletic members of the team. They are the fieldsmen who don’t run much and stand with their hands on their knees; sticking out their backsides at the spectators. For these are the “slippers”, the unsung heroes of Test cricket.

As a quality pairing though Australia were never in better shape than when Mark Taylor stood at first and Mark Waugh at second slip. They were equally brilliant catching spin or pace and added pressure to opposing batsmen who must have believed any mistake would be their last. Taylor like Colin Cowdrey and Greg Chappell at one time topped the tree for Test catches. In one of the greatest fielding feats of all time he won the Man-of-the-Match award in a one-day international against West Indies at the SCG in 1992 for taking four slips catches.

Mark Waugh, who has now be pushed to second spot in the Test catches list by Rahul Dravid, has said, “Slip is a position where you have to be a natural at it. Really, you’ve either got it or you haven’t. You have to have reflexes and the ability to concentrate every ball. You might be in there all day and the ball comes to you once and you have to be ready for it. It’s a tough spot.” Waugh’s spectacular ability was best demonstrated with the low right-handed horizontal dive when he caught Alec Stewart at Leeds in 1993. It is available on recorded vision and one of Waugh’s own personal favourites. The anticipation, speed and flexibility will leave any viewer gob smacked.

We are back in November, I like to call Know-ember! So start exploring, learning, understanding things around you. Personally I have learnt so much from this blog as I had to read a lot and then post thing that you would love to read and take home some. While I keep doing that you can help me by reading, commenting, referring to your friends, colleagues about this blog.





Here is a video of some amazing tricks with football. The search for perfection is a never ending one. You never stop getting better. Just keep at it and when you have surpassed all your competitors, you compete yourself. Good luck and happy Know-ember.

While audiences across the whole world are awestruck by the This is it performance and disbelief that Michael Jackson is no more, many fans are finding it hard to believe that he was so overused to bring in extra bucks for the companies behind the come back tour. Though the propaganda may be questionable, this video from This Is Not It speaks a lot.



The controversies would never die down as long as they get the kick out of it. Who cares? MJ lives on.

From Robin's blog:

Six of the most common things that uncommonly good communicators do:

1. They tell stories and paint pictures through the words they use
2. They are interesting and entertaining
3. They are sincere and authentic
4. They are able to distill complexity into simplicity
5. They radiate passion
6. They listen spectacularly well

Slowdown or no slowdown, parents never seem to ease up on indulging their kids. I see long queues in Calicut everytime I go to Focus mall. It is echoed in all the other metros too. With spends on kidswear showing no signs of letting up, even major players in the premium kidswear segment like Gini and Jony and United Colors of Benetton are eyeing growth of 10-40%, while at the same time, going in for significant expansion. There are many new varieties and options for kids clothing that have come up recently. Though the prices are on the higher end people just seem to pick up stuff.

Checking with few of my friends and colleagues about the changing buying pattern after having kids, if there is any, after they had kids revealed interesting facts. The better dressed the kid is, the lesser attention the parents get! So concentrate on the kid and you have passed the test. For all I know the most precious one gets the most attention. So for the marketers and sales force out there, the message is clear. Concentrate on the kid and you get the parents emptying their pockets. The target is the parent here more than the kid.

True contentment is found, not in having everything you want, but in not wanting to have everything. Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), a great Christian thinker, has penned these words: "Nobody who gets enough food and clothing in a world, where most are hungry and cold, has any business to talk about misery!"

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows and the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey!

(John H. Sammis, 1846-1919)

It seems good times are back on the horizon. Here is why... the Naukri.com Job Index climbed up by 4.1% in September '09 as compared to August '09.

Overall highlights of the report :

• 4.1% increase in hiring activity: The Naukri JobSpeak at 729, indicates an uptrend in hiring activity by 4.1% in Sept '09 as compared to Aug '09
• Hiring up in metros: Hiring activity in Mumbai and Chennai was up by 9% and 8.4% respectively
• Uptrend witnessed for ITES: The ITES/BPO and Real Estate industry saw an increase by 18.3% and 36.8% respectively
• More good news for ITES professionals: Hiring for ITES/BPO, HR and Admin professionals is gaining momentum with an increase by 21.4% and 10.4% respectively in Sept '09 as compared to Aug '09
• Demand for freshers rises: Freshers and Trainees showed an increase of 39 % in hiring in Sept '09 as compared to Aug '09

Consumers cope with soaring inflation by making significant lifestyle changes. Statistics are like bikinis. They reveal less than what they hide. Never has this been truer of India's inflation. Months of exorbitantly priced vegetables, fruits and pulses, and weeks of crippling supply constraints are wiping the smiles off the faces of the Indian consumer. What's more, they now have to make adjustments in lifestyles to cope with the monetary measures taken by the government and the Reserve Bank to curb the 'recalcitrant' inflation. Spiraling loan interest rates have sent the equated monthly installments for housing and consumer durables sky-high. The hardest hit are those with existing loans.

Even while the cash crunch continues, the future outlook is not bright. According to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the demand for refrigerators, television and two-wheelers, largely supported by personal loans, has shown stagnation. This could lead to a mismatch in supply and demand of transportation, which could lead to increase in transportation costs.

Chandigarh-based Rohini Trehan, a senior software development manager in an MNC, illustrates the effect of inflation in her household. "Our leftover food used to go to the dustbin. When things got costlier, I gave it to the maid. Then, when the dals became really costly, I started keeping the leftovers in the fridge for the next meal. Now there are no leftovers, because I'm conscious about the quantity I cook," she says. Her costs have gone up by more than 20 per cent. "A half kg of dal used to cost Rs 20, now it is Rs 50," she says. Factor in a 25 per cent hike in her son's school fees and the family's performance-related compensations, and they are still counting money. "There are so many hidden costs," says Rohini. The Trehans are in the process of renovating the driveway of their home. "If I had done this last year, I would have paid only Rs 180 for a bag of cement, now it is Rs 226. And labour cost has gone up by 25 per cent," she says.

"A salaried person has already divided his pay between the EMIs and other household expenses. How will he manage an additional 50 per cent increase in expenses on account of the hiked interest rates?" asks Alka Chawla, a lecturer at Delhi University. Alka had plans to sell her house for a new one. "We have shelved our plans," she says. "I have cut down on non-vegetarian food. Then there are expenses of education and health. You can't compromise on those," says Alka. Her daughter's school has just raised the tuition fee and things seem to be spinning out of control for Chawlas. Their new investment mantra is short-term savings.

---Nivedita Mukherjee

If stairs played musical notes when you walked on them, would you be more likely to take them?

The video of people skipping the escalator in favor of composing music on the piano stairs of Odenplan subway station in Stockholm, Sweden, has been viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube.

The video is part of a new viral marketing campaign called “The Fun Theory.” The concept, created by Volkswagen Sweden and ad agency DDB Stockholm, is based on the idea that “fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better.”

Welcome to the beginning of the biggest phase of consumer spending in India! Among all your purchases try and send some happiness to someone who really needs it. Light up a heart that hasn't felt love in a long time. Trust me that would give you more solace than the biggest present you have ever received.

For the Top 100 Most Visited Articles on Wikipedia in 2009 click here. Here are the top ten.

1. Wiki (131,383 page hits per day)

2. The Beatles (111,896)

3. Michael Jackson (79,734)

4. Favicon.ico (78,077)

5. YouTube (72,318)

6. Wikipedia (52,542)

7. Barack Obama (49,401)

8. Deaths in 2009 (48,758)

9. United States (46,545)

10. Facebook (42,679)

You will never be out of work if you can demonstrably offer one of the following:

• Sales
• Additive effort
• Initiation

Sales speaks for itself. If you can sell enough to cover what you cost and then some, there will always be someone waiting to hire you.

Additive effort is distinguished from bureaucracy or feel-good showing up. Additive effort generates productivity far greater than the overhead you add to the organization. If your skills make the assembly line go twice as fast, or the sales force becomes more effective, or the travel office cuts its costs, then you've produced genuine value. That surly receptionist at the doctor's office--she's just filling a chair.

The third skill is the most difficult to value, but is ultimately the most valuable. If you're the person who can initiate useful action, if you're the one who makes something productive or transformative happen, then smart organizations will treasure you.

--- Seth's Blog

Covetousness kills revival. There is no point in blaming that the world is unfair with you, your job, family and life. This is a world that applauds the winner and forgets who came second. No one actually cares if you have put in equal or some times more effort and still haven't succeeded. Not every one can be a P T Usha who came back time and again. To covet is not going to help as it never happens for real. And it is not fun. You need to be focussed on updating your self, training, working hard and ensure that you get it the next time you have a chance. Revival is needed to ensure that you are on your track.

Many times brands try to wrench a leading brands market share but fail miserably. Instead work out a niche and cater to that niche. The chances of success are pretty high and are the satisfaction is too good. To develop a niche you need to go back to your drawing room, check for market opportunities, gaps and build it up.

Much better than complaining that you deserve better. Ain't it?

"Do you have '2 states' by Chetan Bhagat?"
"No sir! The book is going to be available only by this month end!"
"But it got released yesterday?!!! Why the delay?"
"Stock has not come to Bangalore yet!"
"I don't think so. Any ways here is my card. Call me once you get it. Also reserve me a copy please."
"Sure"

The call never came!

Well that's what happened at 10 AM today at Landmark, Forum Mall, Bangalore. And when I waked in with few friends at 9 PM there they were. A complete stack of '2 States' staring at me right at the entrance. When I checked why they hadn't called, the excuse is that the stock had come just now. I checked with other staff and the stock had come around 12 noon. I asked them to check for my order and cancel it. They didn't have it! If only I had trusted in them. This is what usually goes on Twitter for such cases: Landmark #fail

I got my copy and here is a pic of the display. The red color made them stand out from the rest but I didn't find any frenzy around. Hopefully should pick up tomorrow!



If you are looking for a well spent weekend reading a good book you know where to go and what to buy. What are you waiting for?

The Norwegian Nobel joke continues. Its Obama for Peace.

The liberal winner cup overflows.

We have seen the likes of Jimmy Carter, a gutless appeaser, Yasser Arafat, a terrorist thug and Al Gore, a lying Green win the same prize in the past. Therefore should we be surprised at the Obama choice?

(Plagiarized from BBB)

Just a crazy idea...

What can Obama do to top all this adulation and attention he is in right now? Decline the peace prize and say this is just a beginning and he would like to wait to deserve it! There goes all the hate.

What ya think?

Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography well known for redefining Vogue!

RIP Penn.

Pic