"3 Idiots" and the other side of the coin

3 Idiots the movie has been termed an all time hit and its content has raised many a debate about the Indian education system. There is a soft sermon to parents too to provide the requisite freedom to their kids to choose the path that they are passionate about. Nothing wrong about the subject in general and it is indeed a trigger to many of us - parents to not be narrow in determining the choice our kids should make. There is a life and career beyond an engineering, medical or MBA degrees.

Having said the above, i believe it is human nature to make safe bets and as a parent (and a professionally educated one at that) it is an impulsive inclination to think about safe paths which have a proven history of employ ability. It is also not easy to determine a cut-off point when we feel our kids have the capability and sensibility to make the right career moves. There are times when we are pleasantly surprised by the depth to which our children can articulate what he or she wants but in the absence of it, it is but natural to choose a path for them and in all probability a safe one. A desire to be at one of the ivy league institutes is common thinking and it does have a visible guarantee to success.

I will not claim that i knew i wanted to be an Engineer and MBA from top notch colleges at the age of 14 (when i passed my tenth grade); to be honest, i don't think i had the maturity to think beyond for a radically different career path. In hind sight i feel i could have been a good musician or may be a good cook even but i have no regrets today with where i am and what i have accomplished (i am at the moment trying to give wings to some of my cherished dreams though).

Compared to a decade+ ago, the options available today are many. The proliferation of content / information in all shapes and sizes does make a child mature faster and gives him / her certain ideas on what he / she wants. They may be able to articulate better but yet, i will advise caution to evaluate any decision and check genuine interest or indicators before a go ahead is given.

While it is good to start early in a particular direction, it is never too late actually to start after securing a good employable / professional degree. Chetan Bhagat an IIT and IIM started writing much later in life and as on date has moved on from being an investment banker to a full fledged writer / columnist.....i know of a singer too who completed her professional degrees and later took to being a playback singer and i should add ...a successful one too.

Allow your children to follow their dreams....it is critical.......but understand there is nothing wrong in the common way of thinking that provides the children and the parents with a sense of security.

Relevance of content in B2B publications

"B2B publications.....well no one reads them" is an often heard statement.....more so from many of my colleagues who have worked with me through my 11 year stint in the B2B media industry. While B2B media commands only a fraction of the advertising pie in the industry in India, the cost economics works well in its favor to give a much lower break even point and higher margins compared to any B2C publication - primarily because one can do with a smaller team and lower circulation (as most of it is controlled). Most of the publications survive by re-hashing press releases some even creating lengthy stories (albeit boring and wholesomely irrelevant at times) just to catch a client's attention.....hoping he would see it as a favor to place advertisements in the publications. Many go to lengths to offer a red carpet to the client - you order and we can help you with it - interviews, company profiles, custom case studies and very often glorifying duds as well, all in the hope of making that extra buck. Very often, some clients with deep pockets wriggle out what they want - typical mafiadom as they wield great powers to influence their peers in the industry as well. The reason for their behavior is simple....they view publications more as an advertising catalogue that a reader would flip through in five minutes rather than making time to read through what is written. Ask yourself, would you spend time on anything that does not add value to your life or business?

While this route helps get in all the numbers without an iota of remorse - i still continue to question the very basis of these thoughts; more so as i am on the other side of the table today and have been scurrying to find good genuine data pertaining to the industry i am in. Here is my wish list that can actually help me in what i am doing and possibly make me a fan of any publication who can cater to my needs....

• In a cost intensive industry such as ours, every bit of analysis to reduce costs will buy my attention
• Sectoral research - done methodically and with rigor to provide me with key analysis, inference and a path forward will force me to spend time or even quote it in all my meetings to make my planning simpler
• Intensive study of changes in technology and its implication there of can help me gain a competitive advantage by being an early adoptor
• Analysing a particular issue by quoting from say ten case studies and studying the pattern in detail to draw conclusions

These are just a few to quote. The age old formula of stickiness of content is easily forgotten as it is the hard path to stand tall and be on your own. It takes immense effort to reach a pinnacle but alas only few follow the path to the top.

I wish to quote what many gurus in marketing have repeated a zillion times over.....it is important to create entry barriers by doing something that will take a competitor ages to catch up.