AskHarishBijoor

Let’s Celebrate Imperfection

By Harish Bijoor

Q: What makes imperfect things succeed more than the perfect? Look at ‘Kolaveri Di” for instance. It is as imperfect as can be, and yet it is a success.

-Rohini Mullick, Kolkata

A: Rohini, a very perceptive and intuitive question for sure.

Media and mediums have evolved. In the old days we had mediums which were totally top-down. These were typically television, press, radio and Outdoor. Today, mediums have evolved with the consumer. Today, mediums such as the internet are all about peer-to-peer connect and peer-to-peer communication.

Youtube is one such medium. Any Tom, Dick and Harish can get popular. Never mind that the content is not as perfect as traditional mediums typically expect. The Internet in many ways encourages the imperfect.

Take blogs for instance. They allow anyone and everyone to publish and broadcast, never mind whether you are a good writer or a good thinker or not. There is a certainly a celebration of democracy and a most certain celebration of imperfection.

The same goes for Youtube. There certainly is a strong and vibrant celebration of the fact that the largest numbers of the masses are imperfect, and perfection itself is but a small island. Perfection is a minority, whereas imperfection is the majority. Let's celebrate!

‘Kolaveri Di’  thrives in such a classic environment.

Q: How do you see the gems and jewellery market in India shaping up?  Are we on track?

-P Radhe Shyam, Delhi

A: Radheshyam-ji, this has been an exciting decade. Lots has changed. We have moved on and the industry has largely kept pace with the needs and wants of the Indian consumer at large. The industry has however missed the bus of keeping ahead of the consumer need and want curve. In the arena of customer desires and aspirations, the industry has been a step behind. I do believe there has not been enough investment in trend forecasting and scenario planning in the industry. This is a big missing element, which if bridged, could add sparkle to business volumes and value.

The last decade has seen investments in the back-end and India has been home to facilities that are global in standards. There has been an investment on the front of design as well. The number of jewellery designers of repute has grown by leaps and bounds.  Design studios have emerged in both the organized sector, and individual designers have spawned outfits of repute of their own.

If at all there is a lack in any arena, it is the investment in the arena of forecasting consumer trends. Unfortunately we still do depend on western forecasts, which limits the market and limits imagination and scope at large.

Q: What are the latest trends you see in the space of luxury retail? Asking this as we intend to step into this space in a  big way in 2012.

-PP Johnson, Kochi

A; Johnson, let me list the stop 5 trends I forecast for now:

Q: Dhoni is down for now. What would your advise be to him for now?

-Victor Paes, Goa

A: Victor, Dhoni is typically going through a double-dip recession in his career. Corporate India has plenty to teach him. Just as corporate India has learnt a lot from cricket-India, time for Dhoni to take note of some learnings as to how one re-bounds.

Firstly, leadership is never a given. Leadership is what leadership does. Your team members are really on the morph all the time. There is nothing static about it at all. Times change, and people change. Look within for support, but look for that support with new strategies that promise the earth and deliver the earth for sure. A leader and captain is only as good as what he delivers. It is important for Dhoni to focus on his delivery. Time to be single-minded in this. Time to focus on delivery above all else.

Recession is a cycle. It comes and goes. If you are to push it away faster, you need to be proactive, and you need to have planned for it. Time to focus on the fundamentals of cricket rather than the cosmetics of cricket as well. PR is good when the going is good. When the going is bad, hollow PR gets you nowhere. It is results, results and results. Grab the leadership mantle once again dear Dhoni. By the horns.