MxMIndia

Author: mxm_india

  • Starting with the government’s failure to protect cows, the print media has been vociferous in its criticism of Modi

    Modi and Gujarati media: Two swords in one sheath

    By Urvish Kothari

    Blatant and vitriolic criticism of Narendra Modi seems to have become the norm for Gujarati dailies of late. Gone are the days when the Gujarati print media, with an average issue readership of more than 1 crore (according to IRS 2011-Q2), mostly adored the chief minister. It supported, or at least was non confrontational  about his publicity blitzkrieg and his self-projection as a tough, non-corrupt, pro-development, ‘No. 1’ leader with a subtle and not-so-subtle communal slant.

    As is evident from events of the last few months, Modi has been constantly at the receiving end in many issues — be it the arrest of Sanjeev Bhatt or his three-day Sadbhavana Fast. The prominence and the column space allotted to arrest and release of IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt in the Gujarati media would have been unthinkable a couple of years back.

    While English dailies reported the whole episode with restraint, news and images of Sanjeev Bhatt were being highlighted on first and last pages of Gujarati dailies. Bhatt was made out to be a ‘singham’ — a hero.  The pro-Sanjeev Bhatt coverage was not just about appreciating the uprightness of the officer but was fuelled, to a large extent, by the anti-Modi ‘line’. Gujarati dailies had a field day when the late Haren Pandya’s wife vaguely pointed her finger towards the CM in her husband’s murder.

    Recent rhetoric against the Modi government, which was, in effect, against Modi himself, took off from very unusual point: the issue of cow slaughter. The issue was hardly discussed in the public forum. But suddenly the failure of the Modi government in protecting cows became the war cry in two major Gujarati newspapers.

    The purpose of the intensive news campaign that ran for days was to prove that Modi was un-Hindu, if not anti-Hindu. It was to falsify his deeply entrenched claim of being ‘the saviour of the Hindus’.

    Even the usual non-political Modi-baiters were baffled by the anti-cow slaughter campaign which gathered momentum so suddenly. The stage was set, and then came the burning issue of the appointment of the Lokayukta.

    Gujarati dailies grabbed the issue with both the hands, one daily even lowering its masthead with the news of the appointment of the Lokayukta by the Governor and the government’s legal challenge to it.

    When the Supreme Court referred the Gulbarg Society case back to the lower court and declined to monitor it further, Modi famously tweeted ‘God is Great’ and projected the SC’s decision as a ‘clean chit’. Many news channels echoed his view, but Gujarati dailies were more cautious and less jubilant.

    His three-day ‘Sadbhavana Fast’ was treated with scepticism and a pinch of sarcasm, due to the pomp and politics involved. There was criticism about the expenditure incurred during the fast and even the memory of Mahatma Gandhi was invoked for an uncharitable comparison.

     Gujarati dailies have been vocal in making allegations of corruption and in giving considerable weightage to the statements of Congress leaders in Gujarat recently. A Gujarati daily recently devoted a full page to CAG’s criticism of various departments of the Gujarat government. A clean image no longer remains Narendra Modi’s USP, at least for the Gujarati dailies.

    Mostly unfavourable and critical of Modi, for the reasons best known to them, Gujarati dailies have been conscious not to indulge in anything that may be perceived as ‘secular’ by a majority of their readership. During the Sadbhavna Fast, Modi’s advances towards the Muslim community were met with veiled criticism. One Gujarati daily even frowned at his attempted pro-Muslim approach in a eight column banner head line: ‘Allah-o-Akbar: Modi begins his fast’.

    The real irony is, Gujarati dailies with their massive reach have been successful in reflecting general sentiment but their capacity to generate or shape public opinion has diminished considerably — more so in the case of Modi’s criticism. Yet, there is a strange equilibrium between the anti-establishment stance adopted by the Gujarati dailies and Modi’s wide-spread popularity.

    There is a saying in Gujarati that two swords can’t stay together in one sheath, and that seems to be the case when one looks at the strange co-existence of flourishing Gujarati dailies as well as the sustaining popularity of Modi.

    The writer is a Gujarat-based senior journalist and columnist

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on nightly news and in the morning papers

    It was Gaddafi all the way

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Thursday started out with Kiran Bedi, allegations of accounting fiddling, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha and a 15-year-old corruption case and the launch of a new train service in Bangalore (I refuse to call it a ‘metro’, because by my reckoning, metros run underground and this one looked like an elevated service). But by the evening, it was the death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, dictator of Libya, which dominated everything. 

    For the first couple of hours, it was Al Jazeera which provided the most details, CNN and BBC catching up soon after. Indian channels got into it after that and images of people celebrating were soon replaced by pictures of what appeared to be – and was later confirmed as – the body of the dictator. 

    Gruesome as the images were, it was a poignant reminder of how death is the great equaliser and all your power and delusion cannot save you at the end. Please forgive that philosophical digression but sometimes TV will do that to you! 

    Of course, most channels tried to combine reporting with reportage and comment but experts were still grappling with what had happened to really provide any special perspective.

    **

    The prime time news shows on Indian channels mainly remained with Gaddafi – the newspapers on Friday morning informed us of hundreds of ways to spell and pronounce the name – and many ran documentaries on the dictator, his rise and fall. News X did a discussion segment on the Kiran Bedi issue, with a very well put together panel of former Team Anna members — Swami Agnivesh and Rajinder Singh, current India Against Corruption member Abhinandan Sekhri, Tushar Gandhi and activist Shabnam Hashmi. Rahul Shivshankar had to work very hard to allow everyone to speak as Sekhri was in a very defensive mood and took exception to question Bedi as well as the exceptions raised by Singh and Agnivesh. These two were quite clear in their condemnation of Team Anna and the way it operated. The allegations against Bedi were also discussed. Gandhi pointed out what many had foreseen — that the movement was getting lost in personality disputes while Hashmi expressed the viewpoint of those not enamoured of Hazare and his supporters.

    It was in fact an interesting, no-holds-barred discussion, if a little short, but then attention had to shift to the end of a 42 year dictatorship.

    A stop at Times Now in the break showed an interview of minister Kamal Nath over the Bangalore trains by Arnab Goswami. No scope for fireworks there.

    **

    Friday’s papers took the Gaddafi fall further but more or less reiterated what we already knew, so exhaustive had been the TV coverage.

  • NDTV promotes Barkha Dutt and Sonia Singh. Dutt is Group Editor across NDTV and President of the Editorial Board and Singh NDTV's Editorial Director and President of NDTV's Ethics Committee.

    First on MxMIndia: Barkha Dutt now heads edit across NDTV, Sonia Singh is Ed Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    News television major NDTV has announced the elevation of group editor (English) Ms Barkha Dutt and senior managing editor Ms Sonia Verma Singh.

     

    Ms Dutt will now will be Group Editor across NDTV and President of the Editorial Board. Ms Singh will be NDTV’s Editorial Director and President of NDTV’s Ethics Committee.

     

    Meanwhile, NDTV has also instituted an Editorial Board with Ms Radhika Roy as Chairperson. The Board will be responsible for all standards and matters editorial across NDTV. It will meet once a month to take stock of all editorial issues, including of course ratings. The details of the Board, its remit and its exact constitution, which will include the managing editors of all channels and the head of Convergence will be annouced shortly. On the other hand, the Ethics Commitee will develop consistent standards and oversee all ethical issues across the organization.

     

    About the two star news anchors: From her website barkhadutt.tv: Barkha Dutt’s frontline reporting of the Kargil conflict in 1999 raised her to prominence in India. She has reported on many conflicts, ranging from Kashmir to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, she is Group Editor-English News, NDTV, a leading Indian television network, and the host of “We the People”, a weekly discussion show on current events. Barkha also writes a weekly column for The Hindustan Times and Khaleej Times.

     

    Some awards she has won: Global Leader of Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum, 2001; Commonwealth Broadcasters Award, 2002; Broadcast Journalist of the Year by the Indian Express, 2005; Padma Shri (Journalism), 2008.

     

    On the other hand, Senior Managing Editor, Sonia Varma Singh is also an NDTV veteran of nearly two decades. Info courtesy the NDTV website: As an anchor of popular shows ‘India 60 Minutes’ and ‘Your Call’, she has won acclaim from both critics and viewers for her work. Conferred by FICCI with the ‘Young Leader Award’, Sonia Varma Singh has interviewed the country’s top politicians, bureaucrats and stars.

     

    In July this year, Mr Vikram Chandra was appointed CEO of the NDTV group and a member of the Board with overall operational responsibility of the organisation and the network’s sales and viewership numbers. The announcement is in contintuation with the changes in the leadership structure at NDTV.


     

    Image courtesy NDTV.com

  • Dainik Jagran is on the lookout for a creative partner, sources close to the development said while confirming the news to MxM India.

    Dainik Jagran calls agency to handle its creative business

    By Shubhangi Mehta

    Dainik Jagran, the Hindi daily has invited agencies to handle its creative mandates, some of the agencies participating in the pitch are Grey, McCann, Percept H.

    Though no official confirmation could be attained at the time of writing this report, industry sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxM India.

    Dainik Jagran was founded by Puranchandra Gupta in Jhansi in 1942. In 1947 Dainik Jagran shifted its headquarters to Kanpur, where it launched its second edition on 21 September 1947. The Rewa and Bhopal editions were added in 1953 and 1956. In 1975, publication of Gorakhpur edition started, followed by Varanasi, Allahabad and Lucknow in 1979. In 1984, Meerut edition was launched, followed by Agra in 1986, Bareilly in 1989 and Delhi in 1990. Between 1997 and 2006,

    Eighteen new editions were added, and through 2007-08, six new editions were launched.

    More than 55.7 million people read Dainik Jagran making it the largest read daily in India. Currently, Dainik Jagran’s 36 editions are published across eleven states of India.

  • I wonder if the carpet bombing of the media that SRK and some other producers do really makes a difference to a movie’s fortunes.

    Hard Knocks: Do movies need so much hype?

    By Anil Thakraney

    There are two things I will do this Diwali for sure. One is to try my best to make my house soundproof in order to escape the deafening cracker explosions. And two, avoid the other mega explosion: Mr Shahrukh Khan. The man is leaping out at you from every single media vehicle, whether it’s old media or new media. I even fear going to the loo these days, the star may creep up on me there too.

    On a serious note, I wonder if the carpet bombing of the media that SRK and some other producers do really makes a difference to a movie’s fortunes. Khan has, of course, gone ballistic in his marketing and has even done brand promo tie-ups, gaming, merchandise… the works. Not to speak of the PR machinery on overdrive. I am not sure how much the marketing budget for ‘Ra One’ is, but it would be safe to assume it’s at least 30% of the cost of the film, and that’s many serious crores of expenditure. When you consider ‘Rang De Basanti’ scored big with zero marketing and SRK’s own ‘Chak De, India’ made no noise and still went on to be a big hit, you wonder if movie makers are wasting their money. It’s Diwali, a long holiday weekend, and there’s no reason why the janta won’t fill up the multiplexes anyway, especially with Shah Rukh in the house.

    There’s another thing: This level of marketing raises expectations to dizzying heights. And if the movie doesn’t live up to those, it comes crashing down even harder. Recall some of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s more recent films. As it’s often said, nothing kills a bad product faster than brilliant marketing. So perhaps it makes sense to cut out the marketing expenditure, and invest it into the film’s production. Keep the expectations low, and then surprise and delight the audiences with great cinema. Guess SRK is destined to learn this lesson at a huge price.

    As for me, this 360 degree blast for ‘Ra One’ ensures I keep 180 degrees away from the multiplexes. I can only handle that much noise. Good luck to SRK!

     

    ***

     

    PS: One media ‘innovation’ I totally detest is the half-page cutout ads in the newspapers. Where the front page of the newspaper arrives half. This makes it very unwieldy and painful to hold the newspaper. Perhaps the new press council head, Mr Katju, should clamp down on this malpractice. Paid news I can live with (it’s easy to smell it out). But not deformed newspapers that are a struggle to deal with.

  • One more reality show on TV featuring a superstar. And this time, it’s Star that’s joined hands with Aamir Khan.

    Aamir-Star reveal mega-show plans

    By A Correspondent

    Superstars on television don’t always work, but they are also known to succeed with a bang, and the Aamir Khan-Star combo is a good candidate to win.

    At a press conference on October 22, though officials from the broadcast major and Mr Khan too did not reveal much about the show, the buzz is that it will be a talk show, where the perfectionist will take the lead in telling stories of the common man. The format, however, is not clear.

    The official communiqué released at the event carries some information about the show:  “A show about India and its stories. A show that will change lives. A show that will touch the heart of every Indian. A show that will inspire a billion imaginations.” Time will tell if the show is really able to inspire a billion imaginations. But, the duo of Mr Khan and Star CEO Mr Uday Shankar were successful in inspiring imaginations at the press gathering.

    The show will be aired simultaneously in eight different languages, on network channels – Star Plus, Star World, Star Majha, Star Jalsa and Asianet, among others.

    Walking down memory lane, we know that Star has been the frontrunner in doing path-breaking shows, redefining television content on occasion. KBC was a huge success, as was Kabhi Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kiran Bedi’s Aap Ki Kacheri. But in this case, the brain behind the show is Mr Aamir Khan, who rejected several television offers for this piece, which was playing in his head ever since he first thought of it some three or four years ago. So it is a case of him choosing Star, more than anything else. The show will be produced by Aamir Khan Productions, and will be marketed by Star Network.

    January 2012 is thus a date to watch, and, from what the industry and viewers know of Star and Mr Khan, it is likely to be a rousing success.

  • Mindshare promotes R Gowthaman to chief client officer for Asia-Pacific as Ravi Rao will take his position as head of Mindshare South Asia wef Jan 1

    APac beckons Gman as Ravi Rao to be new Mindshare South Asia boss

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media agency major Mindshare has appointed Mr R Gowthaman as Chief Client Officer for the Asia Pacific region, effective January 1, 2012. Mr Ravi Rao, who has been leading the South Asian operation for Team Unilever since 2009, will succeed Mr Gowthaman in the position of Leader, South Asia effective Jan 1.

     

    Mr Gowthaman will be based in Singapore and will report to Mindshare APac CEO, Mr Ashutosh Srivastava.  According to a press communiqué, he will lead a team of regional client leaders who provide strategic direction and coordination for Mindshare’s work on key regional and global accounts across all Asia Pacific countries.

     

    Mr Vikram Sakhuja, GroupM CEO for South Asia said, “Gowthaman has done a fine job of laying the architecture of the new Mindshare in India, by re-shaping the organization into one capable of delivering business planning, integrated communication solutions and robust media implementation for its clients via highly customized offerings. In the process he has re-enforced Mindshare’s supremacy in India as being not only India’s largest Media Agency, but also the best.”

  • NCT Data Wk 42 ’11

    Source: News Content Track – A service of TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd

    Channels: Aaj Tak, CNN IBN, Headlines Today, IBN 7, India TV, NDTV 24/7, NDTV India, Star News, Times Now & Zee News

    Period: Wk 42 – Oct 9 to Oct 15, 2011

    Note : Analysis is based on the telecast duration

     

     

    About TAM Media Research

    TAM is a joint venture between Nielsen Company & Kantar Media Research. Besides measuring TV Viewership, TAM also monitors Advertising Expenditure of Television, Print & Radio through its division AdEx India. Since 2004, it extended its presence in the PR Measurement & Analysis space for Corporate/Marketing Clients by setting up a separate division Eikona PR Measurement.

    In 2007, the joint venture introduced RAM (Radio Audio Measurement) service to track Radio Listenership for the Indian Radio Broadcast Industry. In year 2009, TAM launched a division, called TAM Sports that specializes in monitoring Sports Sponsorship ROI.

    TAM Media Research’s objective is to fuel media insights that will drive the growth of the Indian Media Industry.

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on nightly news and in the morning papers

    Times Now finds itself in a bind as the heat’s on Team Anna

    By Ranjona Banerji

    After almost a year, I decided to watch We the People on NDTV. Ever since the Radia tapes were made public, I decided not to watch NDTV or read anything by Vir Sanghvi. This may be ridiculously self-indulgent but I did feel that they did journalism a disservice. However, since this We the People was about the demand for a ‘Right to Reject/Recall’ and featured Kiran Bedi, recently exposed for being a bit creative with her accounting habits, I thought it would be worthwhile to swallow my sanctimony and watch what happens.

    Of course, no one called out Bedi for her bill-making. But the discussion did display the naiveté of Team Anna when it comes to its demands to save the nation. Congress MP Navin Jindal had to point out to the highly decorated IPS officer that it was not the job of members of Parliament to build roads. This task was best taken up at the local level. One would have expected Bedi to know at least that much.

    Several objections over the ‘Right to Recall’ were raised by the audience, mainly to do with electoral expenses and the problem of having incessant elections. An annual audit of MPs was then called for — so that the voter could assess what his or her representative had done. Once again, Bedi  —  whose idea it was — could not provide a framework within which this report card would function.

    Dorab Sopariwalli pointed out that it was arrogance and an insult to the voters of this country if elected representatives were referred to as “galat” as in wrong or bad. He also said that many middle and upper class citizens do not exercise their franchise, which is also a problem.

    Several panellists — social activists, politicians, former bureaucrats — had divergent views on the right to recall/reject, which proves at least that the argumentative Indian is still alive.

    One only wishes that anchors on these shows would push their panellists a little harder and call them out on sophistry, obvious fuddling and ignorance.

    **

     If TV in India very often demonstrates how distance and scepticism are difficult for this brand of journalism, the sheer partisan nature of some of them is very amusing. Times Now, a constant champion of both Indian Against Corruption, Anna Hazare and the remaining core members of Hazare’s advisers, found itself in a bind when Swami Agnivesh alleged that the money donated to India Against Corruption had gone into a trust run by Arvind Kejriwal. As it turns out, Agnivesh’s contention was not denied by Team Anna. The explanation proffered, in a nutshell, was that they had not got down to doing it yet. Times Now reporters and anchors (not Arnab Goswami) went into victim-mode over the allegations and expressed pain that Agnivesh had made such remarks. The reporter pointed out that Team Anna feels that people are conspiring against them, which means that there is a conspiracy against them — the clarification in case, presumably, the viewer did not understand the first time. Why oh why did Agnivesh choose this time to make this allegation, asked an anguished anchor.

    At the risk of sounding like a fuddy-duddy lecturer, one cannot understand TV’s allegiance to ratings. But this looks like they’re monitoring who their viewers sympathise with and then doctoring the news to suit that constituency.

    Hmmm.

  • Zee Entertainment executive director (revenue and niche channels) is reported to have put in his papers to take on G Krishnan's roles as TV Today Network CEO

    First (and only) on MxMIndia: Aroon Purie informs senior execs of Joy Chakraborthy’s appointment as CEO of TVTN

    By A Correspondent

     

    Joy ChakraborthyIt’s now confirmed. Mr Joy Chakraborthy, Zee’s executive director (revenue and niche channels) and a veteran media industry professional, will be the new CEO of the TV Today Network. Mr Chakraborthy takes charge of the position left vacant due to the resignation of Mr G Krishnan early last month.

    MxMIndia broke the story on Saturday, October 22 evening even as many senior executives in both media conglomerates were unaware of the development.

    On Monday evening, TV Today Network chairman and managing director Aroon Purie met senior executives of the company and announced the move. Earlier in the day, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited officially announced that Mr Joy Chakraborthy has stepped down after a stint of six-and-a half years, to explore new vistas. Along with heading the media sales, Mr Chakraborthy was also the business unit head of niche channels which includes Zee Khana Khazana, Zee Café, Zee Studio, Zee Trendz, ETC and Zing, a communiqué said. At the time of writing, there was no written communication from TV Today on Mr Chakraborty’s appointment.

    Mr Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zee) said, “I have accepted his resignation with a heavy heart. He did lead a strong team at Zee that will continue to be part of our family. The entire Zee family wishes Joy all the success in his new endeavors.”

    Speaking on his tenure at Zee, Mr Chakraborthy said, “My journey for the past six-and-a-half years has indeed been extremely rewarding and fruitful, which I shall cherish. I am thankful to Zee for giving me the opportunity to explore and broaden my experience in diversified functions. Now as I step out to expand my horizons within the media industry and take a leap of faith to venture into a world beyond Zee, I wish Zee – Chairman, Punit as well as my colleagues – the very best. Since I will be at Zee for some time, I will indeed be ensuring a smooth transition of all my portfolios.”

    ZEE will be announcing the appointment of a successor for this position in the near future.

    Information courtesy Zee corporate site: Over and above Zee, Mr Chakraborthy has rich experience of 15 years in strategic media sales across media organization like The Times of India Group and Star Network. His academic armory includes graduation from National Defence Academy, Masters in Marketing Management from NMIMS and, more recently, the Advanced Management Programme from the Harvard Business School.

  • How do I gift stuff to anyone if all my savings have been burnt on getting KLPD*? Still, three ads caught my attention.

    Debrief: The Diwali Special

    By Anil Thakraney

    Diwali special

     

    Not much Diwali themed ad action this season. Guess because the sentiment is a bit dull in the market place, thanks to the heavy inflation. How do I gift stuff to anyone if all my savings have been burnt on getting KLPD? *(For the one-track mind wallahs, that’s Kerosene, LPG, Petrol, Diesel.)

    Still, three ads caught my attention. The Cadbury’s ad I have already dealt with earlier. The other two are from Coke and Big Bazaar.

    `

    [youtube width=”320″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfH9hm9Ea7o[/youtube]
    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. Only for the jingle. Watch this commercial with your eyes shut, and it works rather nicely!

    Coke: Great audio, poor video

    To begin with, there’s no direct connect between a soft drink and Diwali. No one gifts a cola on D-day. Unless, of course, very subtly the Coca Cola guys are asking us to do just that, since we are all so bloody broke! Coke’s ad wants us to light ‘two extra diyas’ this Diwali. I suppose this is an extension of their ‘open happiness’ idea. And the execution involves kids lighting diyas at their regular haunts. College canteen, girls’ hostel, on the wall that serves as ‘stumps’ for their cricket matches, etc.

    I think it’s a nice idea wasted on juvenile imagery. Coke should have taken the ‘share happiness’ route and come up with situations that are touching and emotional without being heavy. ‘Khushiyaan baanto’ as a concept lends itself to emotion very well. Even the jingle is warm and tugs at the heart. But the silly visuals leave you cold and detached. I suspect this is what happens in the desperation to feature kids at all costs. Even accepting that, surely there’s more to youngsters than canteen and cricket.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5. For the advertiser’s deep empathy with the target consumers. 

    Big Bazaar: Relevant and thoughtful

    It’s a simple, no-frills Diwali commercial. And you know what? It works perfectly well for me. Because the idea and the execution reflect a clear and sharp understanding of Big Bazaar’s core target market.

    The TVC features a teenage girl inside her home. She looks fed up of her regular salwar kameez, and yearns for a stylish one she spots in a magazine. The setting and the casting clearly tell you this is a lower middle class household. However, her dad, who’s decorating the house, smiles and tells her: ‘Diwali aa rahi hai’. And yes, it’s time to hit Big Bazaar and get hold of that salwar kameez, and more!

    Good one. I like the fact that Big Bazaar is totally clued in on their key customers, which is the middle and the lower middle class segment. And this results in an engaging, warm, and very relevant communication. Big Bazaar and the ad agency will definitely not win any awards for this effort, but the store will surely get many footfalls this festive season. And in the end, that’s what really matters.

  • From making your communication work better, to building a dedicated core team.

    The Anchor: 6 mantras when starting your own agency

    By Shanawas K A and Karun Venugopal

    #1 Client focus, innovation & transparency: In a world of clutter, making your communication work better is quite a challenge. If you focus on the right chord and develop it into the right strategy, it can work wonders. How differently you think and develop has been the key focus for us. A client-agency relationship is just like a doctor-patient relationship, If you diagnose the issue right, you can solve it in the right manner. If the patient doesn’t open up, the wrong solutions get parked.

     

    #2 Business model: There are multiple ways to start a business set up. Be absolutely clear on the Dos and Don’ts in your business. Have clear demarcation. Build a corpus to expand and, most importantly, think long-term.

     

    #3 Dedicated team/personalized service: Often, great presentations happen, promises are made, dreams are shown but the question is- are you able to fulfil them? Are you present and equally involved when some crucial decisions are taken? The values have to be embedded into your core team and have to flow till the last string. The team should have a belief and buy in to make a business successful. Also it is critical to have stakeholders involve in the business in the best possible manner.

     

    #4 Option of suppliers/partners: Multiple clients have varied needs from time to time. Hence, it is critical to have choices and result-oriented suppliers and partners.

     

    #5 Accountability: While being on your own, it also means that accountability is at its peak. Since you run it, you and your team are totally responsible and accountable. Unlike in a profession where someone else makes the mistake and a different person gets blamed. There is no scope for error here – if there is an error, you pay for it!

     

    #6 Liability and risk: Take the right risk, be steady, be consistent. Don’t take on any liability unless you are ready for it. If you are here to stay, think long-term and choose the right resource, partner the right associates.

     

    Most of all, the learning from being on your own is tremendous. There are newer areas into which you would not have ventured, which can be tapped. Its helps you as an Individual too, as it completes you as a true professional. Truly, the sky is the limit!

     

    Shanawas K A and Karun Venugopal are Directors at ThoughtBox.