Monday, January 30, 2012

Understanding The Business of Marketing


Just like our offline personality, your online persona now forms a significant part of your professional identity. Understanding how those personas align, diverge, and complement one another is crucial to ensure our leadership effectiveness, on- and offline.

According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group in a study supported by web giant Google, it is assumed that in four years 3bn people will be using the internet, or nearly 50% of the world's population. Right now, every year about 200 million people are going online for the very first time.

Before we can maximize our online footprint, let us try to understand the leadership responsibility of marketing in a basic offline setting.

A Professor at one of the Business schools was explaining marketing concepts to the students:

1 Direct Marketing: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!"

2 Advertising: You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him."

3 Telemarketing: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me."

4 Public Relations: You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car) for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you marry me?"

5 Brand Recognition: You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says: "You are very rich! Can you marry! Me?"

6 Customer Feedback: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.

7 Demand and Supply: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband.

8 Competition: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person comes and tells her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him.

9 Market Restriction: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" Your wife arrives.

I hope you will agree that the professors' explanations are accurate and non-complicated.

Your offline activity as well as your online activities such as on twitter, linkdn and facebook will be directly proportional to your success.

I Wish You Great Success

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Healthy Man, Healthy Business

Welcome to 2012, most people in the new year make health resolutions. 
Here are a few tips that can help.

There is strong evidence that certain fruits and vegetables rich in plant-based nutrients can both prevent cancers from starting and halt their growth.

Blueberries- Brazilian acai berries, raspberries and cranberries come from phytochemicals that protect against numerous types of cancer. In studies particularly important to women, cranberries have recently been discovered to be an important weapon in the fight against deadly ovarian cancer.

Green tea- have been known for some time to prevent and reduce recurrence of breast and other cancers. With just two cups a day a chemical known as EGCG inhibits breast tumor growth.

Garlic- The strongest evidence so far has focused on digestive cancers, but garlic appears to protect against all types of cancer, including breast and prostate. The more raw and cooked garlic a person consumed, the lower his risk of stomach and colorectal cancer; one study found that middle-aged women who regularly consumed garlic had a 50 percent lower risk of developing colon cancer. Two active ingredients in garlic, allicin and allyl sulfur, prevent and fight cancer in both animals and humans. 
Add crushed, fresh garlic to your meals whenever possible; some experts also recommend waiting 15 minutes between peeling and chopping the garlic to get the full effects of the active compounds. A diet high in garlic, onions and leeks shows a direct relationship between high consumption of "allium" vegetables that reduces the risk of many common cancers.

Broccoli- Consuming broccoli four times a week prevents the growth of prostate cancer. Other studies have shown anti-cancer benefits from eating cabbage, brussels sprouts, and other cruciferous vegetables.

Tomatoes- lowered the risk of many different cancers, particularly prostate, breast, lung and colon cancer. The good news is that cooking tomatoes seems to enhance the effects of lycopene, qualifying tomato-based spaghetti sauce as a nutritional powerhouse.

Red wine- centers on an antioxidant called resveratrol that's present in grapes and grape juice but is most concentrated in red wine. Cancer Prevention Research demonstrated that resveratrol suppresses the abnormal cell growth that leads to most types of breast cancer. Breast cancer is fueled by estrogen, and resveratrol acts to block the action of the estrogen, preventing it from feeding tumor growth.  87 percent reduction in the risk of developing prostate tumors of the most dangerous kind.
Recommended solution? One glass of red wine a day,

Soy- the active ingredient genistein, which is a phytoestrogen that protects against hormone-dependent cancers. It's also a powerful inhibitor of several proteins that are implicated in the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. To get the anti-cancer benefits of soy, you need to consume about 50 grams per day of the whole food, such as raw fresh soybeans, known as edamame, dry roasted soybeans, or tofu.

Turmeric- spice best known for its role in Indian curries and other Asian dishes, fights cancer because of an active ingredient, curcumin, that's a powerful antioxidant. Researchers concluded that curcumin demonstrated anti-cancer effects at virtually all stages of tumor development. The great news about turmeric is how easy it is to work into the diet, because you don't need very much. Add a teaspoon of the spice to soups, salad dressings, meat and pasta dishes and you'll reap the preventative effects.

Watercress- consuming watercress everyday can prevent the DNA damage that leads to cancer. Research found that antioxidants in the nutrient-rich greens prevented free radicals from damaging healthy cells. Spinach, which we're all more familiar with, is also a cancer-fighter; research conducted showed spinach to protect against bladder cancer. The chemical that gives spinach its dark green color, chlorophyllin, proved to reduce the risk of liver cancer.

None of this is to say that an anti-cancer diet or nutritional supplements should be used in place of doctor-recommended treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

A great resource for those interested in learning more about making dietary changes to prevent cancer or cancer recurrence is a new book, Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, an MD, PhD, and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

What is good for the body is good for the brain is good for the business; To a healthy business in 2012.