I remember reading somewhere that there is more to learn from failure than from success. I think this is true, because I have indeed learnt a lot about selling skills, by virtue of being such a bad salesman myself! I have put down here just a few of my thoughts on what goes into making [...]

This term is not quite new; it has been around since the 1960s, but one is hearing it used a lot more these days than earlier. Simply put, a social entrepreneur is a person who brings an entrepreneurial outlook and approach to a social cause. The entrepreneurial outlook and approach can be considered to include [...]

“There are lies, damn lies, and then statistics” is a remark attributed –probably wrongly – to Benjamin Disraeli and subsequently popularized by Mark Twain.  Essentially, it refers to the use of statistical analysis and data to bolster a weak argument, or to further a case that has no other justification. Naturally, such a tactic, assuming [...]

What dads, teachers, and immediate bosses used to do – for free, and as a matter of course – is now almost a full-fledged commercial service by itself. The concept of mentoring has been around for centuries in human society. The ancient Indian gurukul system was one very good example of a functional and successful [...]

We have all heard this term used very, very often by just about everyone who is associated with marketing (and who isn’t?). Unfortunately, the use is not always in the right context. One of the best examples of successful use of viral marketing is that of Hot mail. And another one is the enormous popularity [...]

Just about everyone knows that marketers often run a test market for their new products before going on to a full-fledged launch. And just about everyone will also agree that this a good practice which can help the marketer avoid a lot of grief. Let us look at this concept of test marketing in a [...]

Actually, a better title for this edition of capsule would have been “my struggles with time management”, because I am essentially drawing lessons from those struggles. And as with all such lessons, I find it easier to preach them than to actually practice them! As we keep hearing right through our lives, success is the [...]

Ad agencies are very much a part of our lives, given the fact that we are exposed to so much advertising on a daily basis, and on virtually very medium that we see – TV, newspapers, websites, hoardings, bus shelters, bus panels etc. However, except to those in related professions, ad agencies themselves maintain a [...]