Friday, December 11, 2009

Are baba.. think simple..think stupid..

So I was at Aunty's Co-op Store buying the weekly rations (which in my case consists of 2235773483421 packets of Maggi and a slightly fewer number of Ruffles Lays packets.. take that you smirking gym goers. Atleast I lead a happy life..)

So anyway I'm done with my purchases and about to leave when in strides Prof Murthi. (yea the God of Distribution and Sales Mgmt fame..) He looks around with his characteristic restlessness, mutters something to aunty in Tamil, looks at me and says.. " So you hotshot MBAs, if you could change one thing in this shop to increase profits immediately what would you start with? "

Marketing student that I am, if there's one thing I've learnt, it's to never answer in 1 line what you could in 20. We marketing folks consider it our divine duty to answer a question with so much of irrelevant mumbo jumbo that the the guy asking the question either runs away shrieking, smashes your head to smithereens, kills himself or (n this is if you are really unlucky) launches into a marketing argument of his own..
So there I was using terms like 'low hanging fruits', 'supplier relationships','voice of the customer' and 'monthly burn' with reckless abandon, when he smiles and says in his characteristic baritone 'Are baba all you are taking about will follow soon. All this will cost money. But what comes first? What can you do without spending a dime?'

N then it hit me. Sometimes we are so engrossed in our solutions, we forget the original problem. Instead of analyzing the problem and trying to find a solution, we try to force fit our solution to the problem.
For the sake of closure, the solution of course was to identify which objects weren't being sold and just occupying shelf space cannibalizing other sales. Items like pillows, bedsheets and buckets which students generally buy in the beginning of the year (and not 6 months into the term) lay there staring at me and suddenly it all fit in.. What a sheer waste of valuable shelf space!

Important Lesson learnt: Always start afresh. Baggage is the biggest barrier to a consulting assignment..

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Indeed mate :) . I seriously want to go sit in Prof Murthy`s class all over again man .

Kafkaesque said...

Cheers on the maggi front, I bet my numbers higher than urs, and I totally survived on chips for my exam yest! :D, glad to know I am not alone!

Sayalee Marathe said...

;) Gym jaanle walon pe jalna band kar motu... :)

And i should be the last person commenting on "Think simple" :P haha...

BTW loving the sarcasm in ur posts... and the writing style :)

Marathi madhe ek writer ahet , PL Deshpande , ur style is somewhat similar to him... Keep writing... Majja Ali vachun khup!

Suppu said...

Kudos.. Although.. Uttering irrelevant crap for filling in spaces is an engineering gift dude.. Marketing comes much later..
Oh and.. Looks like ur gym plans have gone for a toss !! Well 2010 Jan is coming closer for new resolutions :P

bhoomi said...

Indeed that man seems to be an inspiration the bloggers community at Great Lakes! :)

Nightflier said...

gymming shimming, maggi and chips..oh my my :P
loved the important lesson :)
good read!

maverickrishi said...

@ Apoorv:- me too.. value for money his lectures were

@Shayok:- dont be so sure.. I mite just beat your numbers

@S'lee:- thanks.. big compliment :)

@Suppu:- If you thot engg crap was irrelevant you have got to see MBA to blv it..

@ Bhoomi:- I swear.. you too have a blog post on the man I blv