I have been glued to News channels & followed a host of websites in last 6 months. I almost followed the articles of every known political commentator.
After the results & the government formation, I tried to analyse - results of the elections vis-à-vis my career in sales & marketing.
The entire exercise of political campaigning was very similar to 2 (or) 3 companies - trying to woo consumers (say voters). All the rules of the strategy were employed by the leading political parties. The basic premise is simple - why some people win & some lose? What differentiates winners & losers?
I agree politics is not simple & has too many variables. But, so is life !
If you closely observe the election preparations of our major national parties - nearly 8 of top 10 things what they did was common - profile each constituency, candidate selection, handling of the media, speeches, campaign management etc. Yet results were starkly different - congress swept in few states (read Delhi), BJP in few (read Karnataka) & others in few (read Orissa).
In real world & my profession - what differentiates winner & loser is the "extra mile". Both winners & losers did a host of things common & correct. Probably, the extra mile mattered!!
I tried to list few factors:
1. "Hard + Content" V/s "Soft + Content": If you observe the manifestos of BJP & Congress, most of the policies & promises are same.
I guess the situation of a voter is similar to that of the confused consumer - who is trying to buy a TV, laptop or a gaming console (LG-Samsung. Dell-IBM, Sony-Xbox). The product specifications are almost similar. What matters is who sells it.
In my selling experience, I have seen customers buying from them whom they perceive as - as gentle & honest. Looks like Indian voter this time has choosen mild mannered Mr. Singh.
2. IT is only an enabler, Dirty work matters: If you observe the websites of leading political parties, BJP always has been way ahead.
BJP Website: Always updated, exhaustive flash content, videos, blogs, connectivity to YouTube, presence in networking sites & finally personal website of Advani
Congress Website: Just data, few pictures & pdf files and no regular updations (even today the website has data during election days, even after forming the government).
In IT & Telecommunications, BJP wins hands down (remember the phone calls from Vajpayee on your cell in last general elections). Surprisingly, inspite of all this Congress has 201 seats on its own.
The same has happened to me many times. Inspite of my colorful brochures, video demos & senior management meeting client, the competitor has won the deal. Later I understand the competitor has been working in the client place & selling at all levels in the organization from last 1 year.
Perhaps Congress did a similar thing in UP...
3. Focus V/s Spread - The debate never ends.
In the recent elections, Congress was virtually present itself in every state & to form the government - it needed to win big in few & win moderately in few. The same thing happened. In contrast, to form the government BJP was expected to make big (virtual sweep) in few states & we know the result.
The scene is similar to my career, whenever I was dependent on few large customers, I have doomed. In contrast, when I banked on a large portfolio of customers - my review with boss was smooth.
4. Performance (even less than desired) counts: I guess this time the average Indian voter has compared the following:
Performance of previous government of Mr. Singh Vs Promises of Congress V/s Alternative Options
In my profession, I have often observed customer ended up in selecting our solution as long as alternative solutions scored low (even though our solution did not solve all their problems). Sometimes, client knows BEST is simply in theory. The real world is full of trade-offs.
But, I guess this is a short term win. Long term - consumer (or voter) will try alternative options.
In summary, Indian consumer & voter are smart. The road ahead for me & Mr. Singh is TOUGH.
After the results & the government formation, I tried to analyse - results of the elections vis-à-vis my career in sales & marketing.
The entire exercise of political campaigning was very similar to 2 (or) 3 companies - trying to woo consumers (say voters). All the rules of the strategy were employed by the leading political parties. The basic premise is simple - why some people win & some lose? What differentiates winners & losers?
I agree politics is not simple & has too many variables. But, so is life !
If you closely observe the election preparations of our major national parties - nearly 8 of top 10 things what they did was common - profile each constituency, candidate selection, handling of the media, speeches, campaign management etc. Yet results were starkly different - congress swept in few states (read Delhi), BJP in few (read Karnataka) & others in few (read Orissa).
In real world & my profession - what differentiates winner & loser is the "extra mile". Both winners & losers did a host of things common & correct. Probably, the extra mile mattered!!
I tried to list few factors:
1. "Hard + Content" V/s "Soft + Content": If you observe the manifestos of BJP & Congress, most of the policies & promises are same.
I guess the situation of a voter is similar to that of the confused consumer - who is trying to buy a TV, laptop or a gaming console (LG-Samsung. Dell-IBM, Sony-Xbox). The product specifications are almost similar. What matters is who sells it.
In my selling experience, I have seen customers buying from them whom they perceive as - as gentle & honest. Looks like Indian voter this time has choosen mild mannered Mr. Singh.
2. IT is only an enabler, Dirty work matters: If you observe the websites of leading political parties, BJP always has been way ahead.
BJP Website: Always updated, exhaustive flash content, videos, blogs, connectivity to YouTube, presence in networking sites & finally personal website of Advani
Congress Website: Just data, few pictures & pdf files and no regular updations (even today the website has data during election days, even after forming the government).
In IT & Telecommunications, BJP wins hands down (remember the phone calls from Vajpayee on your cell in last general elections). Surprisingly, inspite of all this Congress has 201 seats on its own.
The same has happened to me many times. Inspite of my colorful brochures, video demos & senior management meeting client, the competitor has won the deal. Later I understand the competitor has been working in the client place & selling at all levels in the organization from last 1 year.
Perhaps Congress did a similar thing in UP...
3. Focus V/s Spread - The debate never ends.
In the recent elections, Congress was virtually present itself in every state & to form the government - it needed to win big in few & win moderately in few. The same thing happened. In contrast, to form the government BJP was expected to make big (virtual sweep) in few states & we know the result.
The scene is similar to my career, whenever I was dependent on few large customers, I have doomed. In contrast, when I banked on a large portfolio of customers - my review with boss was smooth.
4. Performance (even less than desired) counts: I guess this time the average Indian voter has compared the following:
Performance of previous government of Mr. Singh Vs Promises of Congress V/s Alternative Options
In my profession, I have often observed customer ended up in selecting our solution as long as alternative solutions scored low (even though our solution did not solve all their problems). Sometimes, client knows BEST is simply in theory. The real world is full of trade-offs.
But, I guess this is a short term win. Long term - consumer (or voter) will try alternative options.
In summary, Indian consumer & voter are smart. The road ahead for me & Mr. Singh is TOUGH.
