Tag: brand

Documenting the Day, Life

Weekend lessons

Some quick lessons I learnt this week:

  1. Change is the only law of life. Don’t go by what someone said a month or six months ago. If they are positive, they’ll encourage you evolving. If they aren’t, then you don’t need to bother 🙂
  2. You will be judged, even when you have your finest intentions. The best thing you could do is still have those finest intentions because that is who you are!
  3. Being the bigger person and not taking credit for that is superpower!
  4. Just because everyone else in the team is submitting work late, don’t lower your standards and be the latecomer. Always be a day in advance. Your brand is built by what you do every day.
  5. Everyone is trying their best. Just because their best doesn’t match with your standards of worst, they need support. Not internal trolling from you.
  6. Twitter is the best way to improvise on your writing.
  7. Spending less time on WhatsApp and Instagram is the secret sauce to eternal happiness.
  8. Evening walks in the sun are therapeutic.
  9. People want the best for you, trust them! If they don’t, trust yourself!
  10. People will behave kiddish. Most don’t want to see that. So smile at them for who they are. And move on.
  11. Most of the times what we are crying for is NOT even happening! The best way to solve problems is through communication.
  12. Learning is the licence to happiness.
  13. You matter!
Truth be told

Apple is a statement

I was once in a conversation where an app developer for an android phone was listening to customer concerns. The app was a skill-development learning app.

One of the customers asked for the app being released in Apple App store, as they had an iPhone, while the app was available only on the Google Play Store.

The app developer remarked, “You own the iPhone man, you don’t need this skill development app.”

This statement made me think.
The app developer was right.

Not because I’m an iPhone user for almost six years now.
Not because I have something against the Android users.

Rather because Apple is indeed a statement.

It is not just a brand, it is a brand for those who have the money to afford it AND the personality to match to it.

It’s almost you can catch a rich non-Apple user and not-so-rich Apple user by the values they stand for. Yes there are exceptions to the rule where status game kicks in, however, most of Android users and Apple users have a lifestyle that defines their choice of brand.

For example, people with super expensive Android phones are the ones that despise iPhone the most. Whereas, iPhone users earning a mediocre income have nothing against Android users, because they know what they want is what their phone has.

Why are we talking about it right now?
Well, you know if you know!

Knowing Yourself

Split personality disorder

It is a disease not restricted to a few people.

Rather, there are very few people who don’t suffer from this.

Well, what to do if you want to be one of those few people?

a. Being kind even when you have the right to be unkind is an unprecedented advantage.

b.      Replacing “you’re an idiot” with “I think there is a miscommunication” lets the other person know that they’re not unwanted.

c.       More than anything else, when we move around the world with the backstory that we are the hero and our role is to make others rise, instead of being the villain who wants everyone to fall down.

Split personality disorder is real and more rampant than we ever thought. What we need is a decision to have a personality we would be proud of.

And to live to that personality when things inevitably don’t go vanilla.

Knowing Yourself

What do you stand for?

If something in the work goes wrong, do you own it up or let it hide under the covers – until it finally does come out!

If someone in the team has failed to deliver on a project, do you help them out or do you go to the manager?

If someone in family wants a solution, do you sit and listen?

What we stand for, stands along with us.

What we do, becomes our bio-data.

The real choice is when we have a dilemma, not when life is vanilla.

Brand

Building a great brand

In a world where most of us are quarantined, being customer centric versus self centric is a wonderful opportunity brands can leverage.

For example, Zomato, the food delivery app, is still accepting orders. However all their online content is now focused on eating home-made food. 

Air Asia, is the airline that has had zero lay-offs when all its revenue is built down to zero. The senior officials have foregone their salaries. A perfect example of running a family.

Similar is the case with Fittr, whose business also came down due to lockdown.

A brand is defined by what it does in difficult times. The hearts we touch is the blessings (and consequent revenue) we receive.

Uncategorized

What’s the price?

“What’s the price?”

Most of us have been brought up and made to practice the above phrase.

…which is often relevant. However, not always.

If your financial needs were taken care of and you were invited for an internship with Steve Jobs (if he were alive) for zero stipend, would you still go for the money thing?

Think about value. Think about building your brand. Think about thinking long term and macro versus short term and micro.

Uncategorized

The Best and the average

The best is the best.

The best became the best through a lot of hard work.

The best went through many hardships to reach there.

Now there is only one cliché: no one knows the best.

Do you know why?

Because the Best did not invest any efforts, time and maybe a little bit of money in promoting themselves and creating their brand.

A lot of people do know “the average”.

Do you know why?

Because the average engaged with their audience and built a brand through promotion and giving incredible value always.

Well, there is another cliché:

The best can still be the best known by others, if they start now.

If they start Now, not next Monday or birthday.

Now.