Category: Personal Kaizen

2008 – Passing of yet another year ….

2008

As the year comes to a close, I can confidently say that the one feeling that I have constantly had through the year has been that of shortage of time – so many things to do, yet so little time. This is characterized in this posting too – I have just a few minutes to wrap this up.

  • The recency effect ensures that the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks is the one high recall incident of the year. A section of the press (eg. Vir Sanghvi on Mint) has been talking about how mature & measured the Indian government’s reaction to the incident has been. I am a subscriber to this point of view.
  • I do realize that there might be a lot more pressing issues than curbing public smoking for India. But you have to give it to Ramadoss! This one surely is welcome.
  • The 2008 financial meltdown is being hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime events. Being a Warren Buffet fan, this surely is one heck of an opportunity if you have maintained decent liquidity levels (as mentioned before – Liquidity for grabbing an opportunity!). Only time will tell how best I make use of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
  • Post the terror attacks, there have been reactions of varying nature – call for a revolution, change of ministers, sacking of officials, call for technocracy, etc. For me the most important reaction would be the sense of awakening or revolution in every individual of this country. The realization that every one has to make a difference through their actions – small or big, high impact or low, political or otherwise, in every day actions or something over and above. It could be as simple as applauding someone else doing something to this effect. Its a matter of numbers (read masses) & their actions (not just intent or wishes).
  • The Oz cricket team just got belted by the South Africans. And the men in blue have had a good year. Hopefully this will continue into the next year. Nothing does better than a cricket victory in giving our nation a mass high.
  • On the personal front, the practicalities of a 2 kid family really hit us head on this year. With the youngest kid crossing the 12 month mark, things have started improving. 2009 will see us returning to some sort of a normalcy from the “having kids” phase of our lives.
  • This has also been a year where I probably read more on electronic media (laptop / mobile / PSP) than via traditional media (paper / books). I anticipate this trend to continue ..while my search for an all in one hand held device (currently on Nokia N95, iPod Nano & PSP) continues.
  • Health was a priority when I started the year & this got off the rail during the second part of the year. The positive thing is, I don’t have to think much about a priority for the next year.
  • The year also marked my first visits to New Zealand & Japan, my first bungee and my first river rafting (a very tame version though).
  • First concrete step towards a dream home too!

Well, this is the kind of babbling you can expect to read on my blog going forward. Paucity of time will continue to be an issue into 2009. Miles to go ……

Happy New Year to all of you out there!!!

Personal Annual Review

Getting into the last week of the year (& into my vacation time), I have started thinking about summarizing the year that has gone by & plans for the new one.

I came across this helpful post at The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris goes through the exercise of a personal annual review – a detailed description with examples – very helpful & inspiring if anyone is planning to do the same.

BTW, The Art of Non-Conformity is an interesting read for those interested in travelling too. Check it out.

Gandhi on being open to new cultures

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Intended for this to be a Oct 2 (Gandhi’s birthday) post. Better late than never.
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“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed.
I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.
But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.“
– Mahatma Gandhi –

Brand Taglines

I did some research on brand taglines for a professional requirement. Am sharing some info I collated. Hope its useful to someone.

Tagline is an often repeated phrase associated with an individual, organization, or commercial product.

A tagline should do some or all of the following:

  • Clarify (what you do, how you are positioned, etc.)
  • Express an important brand attribute
  • Support your positioning
  • Help people recognize and remember you
  • Emphasize a compelling customer benefit
  • Brand promise
  • Remind your organization of key focus
  • Amplify central marketing message

Helps to visualize what the tagline should be :

  • Think of a tagline as an opportunity to articulate your differentiation, express your personality or convey some other important brand quality
  • One of the few ways a company can explicitly articulate its brand promise express your company’s vision or unique market
  • Think of your tagline as a final exclamation point that wraps up your elevator pitch
  • Think of your tagline as a promise
  • Value of a great tagline to be two-fold—it helps explain your brand to your customers, and it continually reminds you of your brand’s ultimate focus (what you are trying to be)

8 Ingredients of a Great Tagline

  • Keep it short
  • Convey a single simple idea or benefit
  • If possible, be specific
  • Be sure your claim is believable
  • Avoid generic or clichéd statements that could apply to other businesses
  • Support or explain your positioning
  • Make it memorable
  • Stick with your tagline for the long haul

Characteristics of a good tagline:

  • ‘sell the sizzle, not the steak’ (benefit vs. feature)
  • not be usable by a competitor
  • impart positive feelings about the brand
  • differentiate the brand

Examples:

  • “Innovation” (3M)
  • “Better things for better living, through chemistry” (DuPont)
  • “Disease has no greater enemy” (Glaxo/Wellcome)
  • Holiday Inn: “Pleasing people the world over”
  • Karry-Lite: “Takes the ‘lug’ out of luggage”
  • Polaroid: “The fun develops instantly”
  • The Economist: “Free enterprise with every issue”
  • British Rail: “We’re getting there”
  • Cheese Council: “Anyway you please it, cheese it”
  • Timex: “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”
  • Metropolitan Home: “Mode for your abode”
  • Apple: Think different
  • TAZO: The reincarnation of tea
  • FedEx: The world on time
  • Saturn: A different kind of car company
  • eBay: The world’s online marketplace
  • Target: Expect more. Pay less.
  • GE: We bring good things to life

Test for a good tagline:

  • Is your tagline consistent with your brand name and brand positioning?
  • Will your target audience understand the language you’ve used?
  • Are you communicating one simple idea?
  • Will your tagline stand out in advertising and corporate communications?
  • Have you tried out the tagline with clients and prospects?
  • Does your tagline differentiate your firm from the competition?
  • Have you removed all acronyms and jargon?
  • Are you using specifics rather than vague words or generalizations?
  • Lastly, check if your tagline communicates your brand promise to your prospects and customers. And helps them choose YOU in a cluttered marketplace.

Online Resources: