Lets try a post that might’nt make much sense. The first of its kind.
The joy of living is in the uncertainties and the surprises thrown up each instant. But certainties can be fun too.
For example, lets say I was closely observing the behaviour patterns of certain individuals over a long time period, and based on recurring patterns and themes, made a hypothesis of expected future behaviour
It was almost like a mathematical regression. Finding out the general trend and the cyclicity. And developing a rough formula based on cycles and environmental inputs. And the formula was shared. Then plugging in values of certain environmental condition variables at any point in time to get an output of expected response and behaviour.
In simple terms, predicting what they would do next.
And bingo! The actual behaviour followed in copybook fashion. All the indicative parameters confirm it. I don’t know whether to feel vindicated or amazed. Either way, it gives quite a kick.
Try it some time. The thrill of concurrence and certainty can be heady.
P.S: Once upon a time I used to be a master at saying minimum in maximum number of words. A pro at pedantic and longwinded form of writing that gave me a high. Until the corporate world and subsequently MBA with their penchant for precise writing ruined me. This is an attempt at a quick trip into those good-old-days.
Just felt like getting inside the head of a “Fin-Guy”. The post stems from my observation of behaviour exhibited by three batches over one year at a B-School. Use of the word “Guy” is not intended in a sexist way. It seemed the best word to use.
There are certain words which trigger huge reactions in a B-School. “Placement” is one of them. But this post is to talk about another one - “Finance”
I will classify the typical “Fin-Guy”. The classification is mainly on the basis of the reasons that made them take it. We aren’t talking of how good or bad they are at it. Refer the adjoining Pyramid, obviously narrowing at the top.
Fin Lovers : People who intrinsically like it, and have full appreciation of how it is integral to their career. The Fin gods form a small subset of this set, the ones who like it and are really good at it.
Generalists :Though they don’t like it particularly, they realise it is a necessary evil that is required in some of their future plans and hence unavoidable. It also includes people with other core specializations, wanting to know some aspects of finance.
Sequential Processors:Most likely number lovers, these people believe their mind and thought process is suited for it but are still unsure if they like it. They would typically say all MBA is fuzzy logic and X input can give infinite outputs. Finance, to them is the only area in MBA where X input will give Y output.
Herd Members:They think it will be something good for them and hence go with the flow in the hope that it will bear fruit. Everyone’s doing it let me too.
Unfortunately an overwhelming majority forms part of the fourth group.
The evidence is in overflowing classrooms and crazy number of subscriptions to Finance interest groups right after stepping into college. A Pre-set mindset without exploring any options. There is also a mad scramble for finance certifications Most people don’t know what they are but they know it is “desirable if you want to get into finance”. Getting into finance is the central theme. Sometimes the love is absurd. While selecting a topic for a Strategy or a Marketing project, without having an idea of what the topic is, people invariably pick the topic if the magic word “Finance” or any of its derivatives “Financial” etc appear in the title. Then there is the mad scramble for finance companies. Maybe even some demand supply economics act on the psyche.
This brings us to the next factor about motivation. Whatever the reason might be out of the above four, the fact is it is motivating enough to make people,say,attend Finance workshops,for example. The same people who crib at attending any other kind of session would wake up early morning and readily go and attend a long Finance workshop. Even prepare for the session beforehand. Which is good.
The takeaway, though very generic, is that give people what they think they want, or atleast associate your offering in some way to hit that sweet spot, and they would come in droves. Conversely, coercion to push unwanted offerings rarely works.
The fortunate part is that such devotion tends to shift people up the Pyramid (or the reason chain).
Everyone might not end up at the top of the pyramid but atleast they move up. Which is good for them and good for the society. Also, the love and devotion generates huge motivation which makes many people persistent to overcome difficulties,for example while learning tough concepts.
Here’s wishing more people progress up the pyramid, and may it ideally become an inverted pyramid.
Disclaimer: The intention isn’t to hurt any ideologies. The views of the author may stem from pure ignorance. So kindly forgive. I have deliberately not done a Google search to learn more about the topic before writing as the purpose of the post was to capture the extreme customer evangelism and Word-of-mouth as I observed it.(As part of a course on consumer behaviour)
It was 2005. I had a friend. Pretty normal girl who used to talk of normal things. College and fights with boyfriend and art and literature. Then she attended an Art of Living session. I heard the name and thought.”Queer Art to teach”. Well, clever naming, intended at the target segment perhaps. Anyways, after the session, my conversations with her went in only one direction.”Why don’t you do an AOL course? Its so enlightening, the best thing ever to have happened. I practice the various techniques they teach and my life has taken a U-Turn.” Fair enough the product might be really great. But is it only the product? Couple of months down the line she told me how she braved huge crowds and was blessed to have met Sri Sri himself.
I would skip a couple of more instances of this kind.
Fast forward to 2009 August, Term Break after a wretched fourth term. An old friend from college pings.”Jai Gurudev!”. Had not been in touch for three years. So much so that I took a split second to recognise and place him. A hardsell followed which would put the best trained salesperson to shame.”There’s a DSN workshop taking place in Chennai, just happens once an year..a joy ride you CAN’T afford to miss. People are putting off going to the U.S and Dubai to attend this. I’m sure your profs aren’t that interesting, you can miss 3 days of classes from 3-5 Sept to transform your life.” My feeble attempts at convincing him that I cant find the motivation failed to impress him. “That motivation should be like the need to eat food or drink water when one is hungry or thirsty” Then knowing me, he tried a different approach to persuasion. “It’s a tough course, a challenge, it’s not for the feeble hearted”. Whew! Reminded me of AOL. Did a Google search on “DSN” and found just “Digital Signal Networks” at first. Later came to know DSN = “Divya Samaj ka Nirman”, a course open to people who have done Art of Living Course-I. Perfect excuse to get him off my back. I haven’t done AOL! “Oh really? You haven’t done ANY AOL course? I don’t know how I even know you!” “Jai Gurudev!”
The point is, the product might be really great but what causes people like you and me to be such strong referrers to the product? Anybody who has done an AOL course would vouch for it and be a fierce fan. Something resembling a religion conversion. Yes it has nothing to do with religion though. A movement run by professionals. And the most unreligious people become fans. The effect of this coercive word of mouth can be immense. Analogous to the typical medical model of culture change.(Which basically talks of the network effect whereby a new trend spreads fast like a contagious disease would spread, and the rate of spreading increases geometrically as the number infected increases). Another interesting point is about the international spread of the “movement” so to say. “Back to the roots” fad eh?
I might join the ranks once I undertake the course. And from a neutral standpoint, the courses seem to be really good and bring out the best in you and help you discover yourself. But the cynic that I am, such hardselling puts me off. I refuse to believe it’s just the quality of the product. Comments from those in the know are welcome to decode the mystery. But a very interesting and queer thing to study. Can be a powerful tool for marketers.
I know, any AOL fan would brush this off saying “Agyaani who hasn’t tasted the fruit”. Fair enough.
A guy boards a bus. Almost empty. Just three seats occupied, one of them a ladies seat, on which a single girl is sitting. He invariably goes up to her and sits with her. Delhi.
Same situation. He sits on the most convenientseat, not necessarily with her. Mumbai.
Situation 2
Reverse the situation. A girl boards a bus, almost empty. She makes a beeline for the ladies seat. Delhi.
Same situation. She goes up and sits on the most convenient seat, lots of times alongside a guy. The ladies seats remain vacant. Mumbai.
To cut a long story short, behaviour exhibited in situation 1 causes the behaviour exhibited in situation 2. Simple phenomenon. Culture. The females feel like human and “normal” in one city, while they’re constantly wary and feel “objectified” a lot of times in another.
Situation 3
An elderly person boards a bus. Almost full. Nobody cares. Forget the reserved seats, nobody cares to offer them a seat.
Corollary: At last, a guy gets up and offers his seat to the elderly person. A girl standing nearby gives him a look of admiration as if he’s made the biggest sacrifice she’s ever seen. Needless to say. Delhi.
I need’nt waste words to explain the counter situation in Mumbai.
Situation 4
This is very interesting. A guy boards a bus. Ten males are already standing. But there’s an empty seat. A seat on which a lady is sitting. Nobody dare go and sit next to her. Kerala.
I remember when I was 8 years old and travelling in a crowded bus during one of my Kerala trips in summer vacations. I was glad to have a seat. A lady turned up and asked me to get up. Thick skinned that I was, did not pay heed and looked away. Usually works. Endured the whole journey listening to taunts about how “uncivilised” a kid I was. Questions were raised about “Which school did I study in”? The best indicator of character probably.Of course I'd committed the cardinal sin of occupying a ladies seat. Compounded manifold by the impunity of not getting up when required.
Situation 5
Buses Crawl. Buses Speed. Rude conductors. Haggling for change.Smoking people. Defaced bus bodies and seats. Smelly interiors. Clouded windowpanes. Buses stop anywhere else other than on the prescribed stop.Delhi, of course.
Disciplined driving..Clean buses, not so pretty. Standard efficient service. Buses will stop right in front of you if you are on the stop. And you follow gate discipline. But all instructions in Marathi. Mumbai.
Buses drive Crazy fast. Faster mode of transport than cars a lot of times. Pretty and decked up. Innovative and colourful bus bodies. Clean windowpanes. (Or no windowpanes) Educated conductors who read newspapers. Plentiful change. Kerala.
The culture exhibited in a public transport system is a good indicator of the culture, as well as the dominant socioeconomic characteristics of the society as a whole. I don’t think its necessary to point out the specific inferences about culture that can be drawn from each of the above and make the post long.
I’ll end with my favourite story.
My first day of summers in Mumbai. Was taking a midnight walk on the Chowpatty beach. Was extremely glad to see some girls doing the same, feelingsafe and normal at that hour, and dressed in pretty revealing partywear. No questions asked. Quite a novelty for someone brought up in Delhi. Felt nice about the culture. No gawkers, no teasers, no whistles. Suddenly a car stopped. And reversed. And the guys in the car started ogling. I looked back to spot the number plate of the car which said “DL 4C T9XXX”.
P.S: I love the public transport infrastructure in Delhi. Grew up travelling in DTC buses and Metros.
