Two London Zoo Shots
There are some shots from London Zoo at Bhavik's Gallery - the latest post. Here are my two favorite. Which are yours?
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I'm founder of Inner Rhythm, an independent music business consultancy in London. By academia, I'm a geneticist. I'm also a Tabla player.
http://londontabla.com
http://innerrhythm.org
August 23, 2008
August 22, 2008
Public Relations 2.0 Manifesto
Paul Holmes wrote a manifesto for "The 21st century Public Relations Firm" last year. It's a brilliant insight into how public relations has evolved and how to take advantage of it. He talks about how marketing is a dialogue and no longer a monologue - something I'm discussing in my free upcoming e-book on Sept 9th, entitled, "How To Design A Winning & Profitable Music Business".
Here are a few wise words from the script:-
"It was about earning attention rather than demanding it. It was about dialogue rather and conversation rather than monologue. And it was about multiple stakeholder groups rather than customers alone."
Companies need to start training their employees in brand awareness, making them brand ambassadors to instigate the dialogue. Here is a quote from the paper that reflects this:
"Last year, after GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would be training its employees to become brand ambassadors, to answer all the difficult questions ordinary Americans have about pharmaceutical costs and safety issues, the CEO of a rival company was quoted in the advertising trades expressing skepticism. Was it really safe to put the brand message in the hands of ordinary, untrained employees, he wondered. How could companies hope to control the message? Even then, those sentiments sounded hopelessly out of touch. Was there really a bygone age in which employees were not ambassadors for the brand, in which they did not discuss corporate issues outside of their cubicles or factories or labs? The choice—as smart companies understand—is not whether employees become brand ambassadors, but how effective they are in that role."
He summarizes that we've entered the age of "DNA branding". Of course as a geneticist, this attracted me and it made clear sense. Your personality, service, attitudes, etc are all a reflection of your branding. Your company's marketing and branding is therefore a reflection of your genetic make-up. For me, this is an area where I want to explore more and bring in both my passions of business and genetics. More to come soon here.
For now, read the entire essay by Paul Holmes here.
Here are a few wise words from the script:-
"It was about earning attention rather than demanding it. It was about dialogue rather and conversation rather than monologue. And it was about multiple stakeholder groups rather than customers alone."
Companies need to start training their employees in brand awareness, making them brand ambassadors to instigate the dialogue. Here is a quote from the paper that reflects this:
"Last year, after GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would be training its employees to become brand ambassadors, to answer all the difficult questions ordinary Americans have about pharmaceutical costs and safety issues, the CEO of a rival company was quoted in the advertising trades expressing skepticism. Was it really safe to put the brand message in the hands of ordinary, untrained employees, he wondered. How could companies hope to control the message? Even then, those sentiments sounded hopelessly out of touch. Was there really a bygone age in which employees were not ambassadors for the brand, in which they did not discuss corporate issues outside of their cubicles or factories or labs? The choice—as smart companies understand—is not whether employees become brand ambassadors, but how effective they are in that role."
He summarizes that we've entered the age of "DNA branding". Of course as a geneticist, this attracted me and it made clear sense. Your personality, service, attitudes, etc are all a reflection of your branding. Your company's marketing and branding is therefore a reflection of your genetic make-up. For me, this is an area where I want to explore more and bring in both my passions of business and genetics. More to come soon here.
For now, read the entire essay by Paul Holmes here.
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August 19, 2008
What Makes You Unhappy
Unhappiness comes not from what you have, but what you want.
Read that sentence again. It makes clear sense. I believe that to be true to some extent. I was reminded of it by Seth Godin's latest post.
Who makes you want stuff? Great marketing. Hypotists. Good sales pitches.
Happiness is separate from the objects to which we attribute it.
Read that sentence again. It makes clear sense. I believe that to be true to some extent. I was reminded of it by Seth Godin's latest post.
Who makes you want stuff? Great marketing. Hypotists. Good sales pitches.
Happiness is separate from the objects to which we attribute it.
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August 06, 2008
Creative Capitalism: How To Help Those Left Behind
Got back from a few days in Barcelona. Went through my mail and saw the latest issue of TIME. Was attracted to it because its main feature is an article on "How To Help Those Left Behind" written by Bill Gates. (Internet version of article)
It discusses his idea on Creative Capitalism, how we should pursue business opportunities that exhibit social responsibility by creatively delivering solutions to needy problems and helping out those who need it whilst profiting from it too.
He shares several examples including that of how Vodafone's Safaricom mobile company in Kenya is offering pay-per-second payment cards to people in Kenya and as a result, they have 10 million customers (Rather than their initial estimated 400,000 maximum). Not bad. He also highlights the (RED) campaign, started after great persistence by Bono and others. (RED) branded stuff is sold by companies worldwide and donates a chunk of each sale to a fund fighting poverty and AIDS in Africa.
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July 28, 2008
Photos from our trip to Sharm el Sheikh
Rupa and I went to Sharm in the first week of June. Only recently did I take the photos off the camera and so here are a few shots....
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July 25, 2008
A Guide To World Domination
Chris Guillebeau released his manifesto, A Guide To World Domination, last month and you can read it here for free. In it, he asks two main questions:-
- What do you really want to get out of life?
- What can you offer the world that no one else can?
He says that world domination is possible by adding value to the world AND getting what you want. It is not a matter of either-or. I loved reading this manifesto and I recommend you do.
In the manifesto, he gives a few examples of individuals who are doing their bit. One is Professor Randy Pausch who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and gave a now-famous speech at the Carnegie Mellon University entitled, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" which I watched on YouTube today.
It was the first time I came across Randy Pausch and in doing so, I discovered that he passed away today, Friday 25th July. His lecture was The Last Lecture and in his time he had also written a best-selling book with the same name.
Here is his Last Lecture, September 18th 2007.
(Update: After watching this, Garry put up some of his own thoughts here)
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July 20, 2008
Sacredness exists - whether or not there is a God.
AJ Jacobs, a journalist at Esquire magazine, spent a year living the bible as literally as possible. This book is on my reading list. For now, I just watched the 17-minute talk he gave at TED. Here it is:
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July 17, 2008
What Lies Are You Telling Yourself?
Interesting question - I asked it to my musician readers over at http://innerrhythm.org in a blog post today off the back of someone else's post. But apart from the music industry, this question applies all round. What lies are you telling yourself about yourself? your life? your finances? your career? your health?
Recently, I've made health my number one priority. I'm not overweight but I don't feel optimum either. I lied to myself for a very long time that I was in good shape but I couldn't jog 10 minutes without going out of breath. I can do that now. I now drink a lot of fresh juices and smoothies. I play tennis 2-3 times a week. Health is my number one priority. I gave up lying and I told myself the truth - isn't it about time we did that to all areas of my life?
The answer should be a loud and clear yes, but that usually never goes to plan. Things happen at the right time for the right reason and that's all there is to it.
Your thoughts?
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July 15, 2008
Tabla photos from the Biennial party
Played some background stuff for a private party celebrating Liverpool Biennial's 10 years last night. Played 3 sets of 20 minutes, sometimes longer, of some classical and contemporary stuff creating an atmosphere at the grounds. Lovely weather outside so it was a great evening. Here are a few shots taken by Rupa.
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July 10, 2008
Movie Marathon
I went to the Wood Green UGC cinema yesterday and signed up for their Unlimited Movies pass at £11.99 a month. Even if you see just two movies a month (usually £7-ish each) it works out cheaper. I made it worthwhile in a day - I saw three yesterday - movie marathon.
First saw The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian. I thought it was a good film. Main takeaway: don't mess with nature. I haven't read the books yet so can't comment on whether they are the same or different.
Next, we saw Hancock starring Will Smith. Interesting film with supernatural powers. Didn't know what it was about when I went in, just heard everybody saying it was a good film. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would and it was quite predictable.
The best of the day was the third film we saw, The Forbidden Kingdom, the first on-screen pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It was a great film with deep roots of Buddhist tales. It was a standard plot with a young hero getting whisked away to another land to achieve a mission but nevertheless it was a well-told story. One quote stood out for me: "Music is a bridge between earth and heaven."
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