The Power of Effective Business Communication & Personal Branding!

As an add-on to our course on Business Communication, our Prof. T. Prasad invited Mr. Nikhil Kulkarni for a talk on "Business Communication in Consulting ".

Mr. Nikhil is an alumnus of NITIE and had a successful stint at KPMG. To follow his passions, he later founded DarwinTech, a holiday planning firm that provides a one-stop solution for all travel needs. It is based on B2B and B2C models of e-commerce.

Mr.Nikhil spoke at length about technical skills, presentation delivery, content management and branding.

In Nikhil's view, the Office Suite is vital to the success of any management professional. It enables them to present data meaningfully and thus assist decision making. Tools such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are well suited to specific applications.

Reports and proposals are best presented in Word or PowerPoint. If you wish to brief an executive, PowerPoint comes in handy. A DPR may be drafted invariably using MS Word.

Moving to the presentation skills, Nikhil gave us tips and tricks to make the presentation catchy and compact. He suggested a few ways, to begin with, the presentation. A relevant quote, question, statistic or a video may serve as a good starter. Further, the layout of the content has to be done carefully to keep the audience interested.  The foremost thing is context-setting. It gives a brief idea about what to expect from the slideshow. The main message given through the first few slides has to be supplemented by sub-messages. The sub-messages may take the form of ideas, data, facts or logic. Supporting information may be provided in the form of bullets, charts, etc.

To drive home the point of making effective presentations,  Nikhil elucidated what he calls "The Pyramid Principle ".

The principle actually is a baseline to an excellent presentation. It emphasizes the objective, the intended audience, context of the content and coverage of all relevant aspects. Breaking down the coverage of aspects further, Nikhil insists that we must present all the aspects in a "mutually exclusive,  collectively exhaustive " manner. This means that we must avoid repetition when we speak of various facets of a topic and yet cover all of them. This results in better coherence and tends to appeal to the viewers. Further, it reinforces the way human mind sorts ideas into logical groups.

The next important aspect of a management professional is personal branding.  Branding oneself allows you to achieve your growth without depending upon anyone. Personal branding is more than your CV and speaks volumes before you even speak about yourself. It gets your work done. There are various ways to brand yourself. One very commonly used method is having a presence on social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or even blogging on Medium,  WordPress or blogger. With personal branding comes trust, credibility and authenticity.  It makes people feel comfortable to work with you.

In a nutshell, we learnt about how to present our content and personality effectively.  This interaction with Nikhil Kulkarni, therefore, was indeed useful and informative.

Kindly check Nikhil's brain-child here:

http://www.techdarwin.com/

BookMyTraveller: one of the product @techdarwin.com

Swadeshi MahaMandi 2020 || NITIE || Vocal for Local || Kalakriti

 

In keeping with its annual tradition, the MIG of NITIE has organized MahaMandi 2020, a marketing festival in August 2020. This is aimed at giving students a first-hand experience of selling in an open market. They become conversant with consumer behaviour and various aspects of the product life cycle. This calls upon the young management students to conceptualize, sell and learn or "Socho, Becho, Sikho!"- T. Prasad.

With a renewed thrust on self-reliance, it would be unfair if this event remained untouched by the theme of "ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT." The COVID 19 pandemic has exposed the supply value chains globally, and hence the atmosphere is pretty uncertain. Small local businesses bear the brunt of this uncertainty. In order to help them resist the 'force majeure,' usage of indigenous ingredients and labour has to be given to priority. This translates in the form of being VOCAL for LOCAL.

So my friend Tejesh and I have chosen a very noble initiative "KALAKRITI" to promote. This is an initiative run by a small group of people who provides employment opportunities to local women by teaching them and selling Customized, Handmade and Environmentally Friendly products made from scrap items.

 Our product range for the Swadeshi Mandi is called "Kalakriti" or piece of art. It derives the aesthetic value from its unique assortment of scrapped materials. The reuse of trash makes our products eco-friendly. In addition, local women are involved in the making of these products. This gives them a channel for monetizing their innate skills and also provides the merchandise with a homely touch. Thus, women are able to contribute meaningfully. They are not just employed but also empowered.

One small step for women, one giant leap for society!

 

#Business_Communication #Mahamandi #T_Prasad #1/12_Mandi_Sir

#ATMANIRBHAR_BHARAT #VOCAL_for_LOCAL

H_2002244_Akash_Thakur

H_2002244_Tejesh_Bhosale

Do share your Comments/ Suggestions.

 

For more such initiatives do check out:

MiG (Marketing Interest Group, NITIE), Mumbai

https://twitter.com/mig_nitie

https://www.instagram.com/migofficial_nitie/

https://www.youtube.com/user/nitieprasad1/playlists

Zayka ka Tadka...a glorious startup by NITIE alumni!

Willingness to change with time is what helped me to learn & grow. -Vijay Haldiya

Over traditional ages, the ‘homemaker’ culinary art of fine delicacies brings the family together.

Owning a critical role, she is oft belittled & de-emphasized.

In two stints of cooking and sharing recipes over the internet & Apeksha’s idea, Zayka ka Tadka grabs its first breath. With an extended list of recipes to assemble along with the snapshots, focus, perseverance & efforts were tested, resulting in success.

With today’s high tech it’s just not about appealing viewers, it’s for all those homemakers, women, mommy’s & workwoman to pursue their interest & similarly can share their culinary skills, transform into a food author & in succession acquire acknowledgment & the admiration that they honestly deserve without compromising. A platform where you can find a culinary understanding of older times along with the revolution of modern times with a more satisfactory work-life harmony.

With a journey to entitle women & enlighten them that their addiction is certainly cherished & precious. With a wide range of perspectives of reaching a couple of ft. to 12000ft high becoming number one food networking system coexisting 50 lakhs plus members on social media channels.

Realizing the potential of women & transforming from a Housewife to a confident and outstanding individual, ZKT is proceeding to alter the outlook of a woman bringing her to the limelight with esteem & high privilege in our community.

A Glimpse of Inspiring Webinar!

References to know more:

https://www.zaykakatadka.com/meet-zkt-founders-the-inspiring-mother-daughter-duo/

https://rustler.co.in/youtube-channel-zayke-ka-tadka-where-passion-meets-cooking/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/apekshahaldia/

https://www.youtube.com/c/zaykakatadka/about 

Visume Video: a brief about Yourself

 

A ViSume / video resume is a short video you to introduce yourself to the hiring manager or recruiter. It is often submitted in addition to a resume and cover letter. You can use the video resume to highlight a skill or experience to show you are a perfect fit for the position.

During your career, you may need to make a video explaining your skills, abilities, and qualifications. This video may be your presentation, personal statement during the job interview process, or self-appraisal for advancement opportunities. Learning how to make a video about yourself accurately can increase your chances of receiving a job interview or promotion.

     You can follow these steps to make a video about yourself:
1.     Introduce yourself
2.     Include the most relevant professional experience
3.     Mention significant personal achievements or awards
4.     Introduce personal details
5.     Use a casual and friendly tone

Youtube uploaded video : 

Artificial Intelligence : Creating the Future

 

Most of us have used Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, or even Bixby at some point in our lives. What are they? They are our digital personal assistants. They help us find useful information when we ask for it using our voice; we can say ‘Hey Siri, show me the closest fast-food restaurant’ or ‘Who is the 21st President of the United States?’, and the assistant will respond with the relevant information by either going through your phone or searching on the web. This is a simple example of Artificial Intelligence! Let’s read more about it!

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is the ability of a computer program to learn and think.

John McCarthy coined the term Artificial Intelligence in the year 1950.

He said, ‘Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. An attempt will be made to find how to make machines use language, form abstractions, and concepts, solve kinds of problems now reserved for humans, and improve themselves.’

How does Artificial Intelligence work?

Computers are good at following processes, i.e., sequences of steps to execute a task. If we give a computer steps to perform a job, it should easily be able to complete it. The steps are nothing but algorithms. An algorithm can be as simple as printing two numbers or as tricky as predicting who will win elections in the coming year!

So, how can we accomplish this?

Let’s take an example of predicting the weather forecast for 2020.

First of all, what we need is a lot of data! Let’s take the data from 2006 to 2019.

Now, we will divide this data in an 80:20 ratio. 80 percent of the data is going to be our labeled data, and the rest 20 percent will be our test data. Thus, we have the output for the entire 100 percent of the data that has been acquired from 2006 to 2019.

What happens once we collect the data? We will feed the labeled data, i.e., 80 percent of train data, into the machine. Here, the algorithm is learning from the data which has been fed into it.

Next, we need to test the algorithm. Here, we feed the test data, i.e., the remaining 20 percent of the data, to the machine. The machine gives us the output. Now, we cross verify the output given by the machine with the actual output of the data and check for its accuracy. While checking for accuracy, if we are not satisfied with the model, we tweak the algorithm to give us the precise output or at least somewhere close to the actual output. Once we are satisfied with the model, we then feed the data to the model so that it can predict the weather forecast for the year 2020.

What are the major subfields of Artificial Intelligence?

Machine Learning: Machine Learning is the learning in which a machine can learn by its own from examples and previous experiences. The program developed for it need not be specific and is not static. The machine tends to change or correct its algorithm as and when required.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are the two most commonly misinterpreted terms. Generally, people tend to understand that they are the same, which leads to confusion. ML is a subfield of AI. However, both terms are recalled simultaneously and repeatedly whenever the topics of Big Data or Data Analytics, or some other related topics, are talked about.

Neural Networks: Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were developed getting inspired by the biological neural network, i.e., the brain. ANNs are one of the most important tools in Machine Learning to find patterns within the data, which are far too complex for a human to figure out and teach the machine to recognize.

Deep Learning: In Deep Learning, a large amount of data is analyzed, and here the algorithm would perform the task repeatedly, each time twisting/editing a little to improve the outcome.

Cognitive Computing: The ultimate goal of cognitive computing is to imitate the human thought process in a computer model. How can this be achieved? Using self-learning algorithms, pattern recognition by neural networks, and natural language processing, a computer can mimic the human way of thinking. Here, computerized models are deployed to simulate the human cognition process.

Computer Vision: Computer vision works on allowing computers to see, recognize, and process images, the same way as the human vision does, and then it provides an appropriate output. Computer vision is closely related to Artificial Intelligence. Here, the computer must understand what it sees, and then analyze it, accordingly.

Natural Language Processing: Natural language processing means developing methods that help us communicate with machines using natural human languages like English.

What are the applications of Artificial Intelligence?

The various domains where AI can be used:

1. AI In Marketing
2. AI In Banking
3. AI In Finance
4. AI In Agriculture
5. AI In Healthcare
6. AI In Gaming
7. AI In Space Exploration
8. AI In Autonomous Vehicles
9. AI In Chatbots
10. AI In Artificial Creativity

Conclusion

There is a growing fear that the widespread implementation of AI will erode human jobs. Not just commoners but entrepreneurs like Elon Musk are voicing alerts at the growing pace of researches undertaken in the AI domain. They are also in a view that AI systems may pave a way for large-scale violence in the world. But that is a very myopic way of looking at things!

In recent decades, technology has grown rapidly and massively. During the entire course, for every job lost to technology, there were always fresh and new job roles emerging. If it had been the case where a new technology replaced all human jobs, then, by now, the majority of the world would have gone jobless. Even the Internet during its inception had garnered much negative reviews. But, it is now obvious that the Internet can never be replaced. You wouldn’t be reading this blog if that was the case. Similarly, though it automates much of the human capabilities, it will rise up in its potential and goodwill and benefit mankind in general.

Shanti Mantra – Achieve Universal Peace & Calmness

 

Prof. T. Prasad, aka Mandi Sir, conducted another dedicated lecture on Shanti Mantras: Power & Benefits & its use in real life.

 

Let us understand more about Shanti Mantras: Power, Benefits & Procedure

 

The word Shanti means peace/ tranquillity. Most of the time, no matter how peaceful you are, the surroundings in which you live in is not as calm as you desire it to be. In fact, there are lots of people who often complain about not having peace at home, despite their efforts. What if we say there is only one more effort that you can put, & you can get the peace that you wish to enjoy not only at home but also within yourself?

 

 

Power:

• Shanti mantras are highly powerful & are said to bring miracles into your life.
• Shanti mantras are not only for bringing peace to your home & heart but also to break the blocks &  allow your problems to calm down.

Shanti Mantra – Achieve Universal Peace & Calmness

Shanti means peace, & a Shanti mantra chant is a way to achieve peace of mind. Shanti mantra has its origins in the Upanishads, the ancient Vedic scriptures we have. The Vedic had very deep knowledge about how the mind works, & they had well-established methods to achieve a meditative state.  Peace is the state where anxiety leaves

 

Peace is a state where anxiety leaves us, & we become entirely present in Current situations. When you learn to ‘just be,’ then you become devoid of any judgments & distractions of the past & future. You learn to harness the unique ability to attain calmness & ultimately peace willingly.

Shanti mantra is usually recited after or before any Hindu religious ritual. The Shanti mantra symbolizes the peace of your mind, your physical body, & your soul. It is believed to bring individual, collective & universal peace.

 

Why Shanti Mantras?

• Shanti mantras are most powerful because it calls in for the Lord to protect us & bless us with the positive powers he has.
• They allow us to accept nourishment from Lord’s end.
• They always make you believe in unity so that you can work on evolving yourself, as well as humanity, & achieve all those goals that you have planned for yourself.

 

 

Benefits of Shanti Mantra Chanting:

By chanting this mantra continuously, you are purifying your physical body of any diseases, any negative energy, or sufferings. Your body is refreshed. Like, it fills your mind & soul with peace, & all the sorrow, stress, &  negative feelings go away.

1.      The recitation of the Shanti mantra helps one in removing physical, divine, & internal obstacles.

2.      It allows your problems to settle down & relieve you from stress caused by thinking about them.

3.      It will enable us to accept nourishment from the ‘Supreme’ or the Universe (it’s up to your interpretation). We can acknowledge the peace that exists in the Universe & then receives it.

4.      It develops humanity in our hearts – the ability to show compassion towards other people.

5.      It can help open up the different spiritual experiences & relate to more profound experiences in our life.

6.      The mantra can be chanted when you experience any sort of frustrations or any trouble to calm yourself.

7.      The chanting of this mantra leads to thorough relaxation without going into sleep.

How to practice it?

One of the significant uses that the Om Shanti mantra has is the power to put your mind at ease state. It prepares you for meditation. If you are feeling troubled, confused by anything, or want to achieve calmness & peace, you can start by chanting this mantra.

Have a relaxed position & keep your spine straight & aligned with your body. Take a deep breath & say, “Om Shanti…Shanti…Shanti…”

Chant the mantra, most preferably early in the morning (between 6 am to 8 am), so that you can stay calm throughout the entire day. Meditate for some time & feel the positivity inside in you.

MahaMandi 2020 : Campaign Video

 

In keeping with its annual tradition, the MIG of NITIE has organized MahaMandi 2020, a marketing festival in August 2020. This is aimed at giving students a first-hand experience of selling in an open market. They become conversant with consumer behavior and various aspects of the product life cycle. This calls upon the young management students to conceptualize, sell and learn or "Socho, Becho, Sikho."

With a renewed thrust on self-reliance, it would be unfair if this event remained untouched by the theme of "ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT." The COVID 19 pandemic has exposed the supply value chains globally, and hence the atmosphere is pretty uncertain. Small local businesses bear the brunt of this uncertainty. In order to help them resist the 'force majeure,' usage of indigenous ingredients and labor has to be given to priority. This translates in the form of being VOCAL for LOCAL.

So my friend Tejesh and I have chosen a very noble initiative "KALAKRITI" to promote. This is an initiative run by a small group of people who provides employment opportunities to local women by teaching them and selling Customized, Handmade and Environmentally Friendly products made from scrap items.

YouTube Link : https://youtu.be/f1hjmKfsQY8

SMART Goals: a must have in your Arsenal

 

Prof. Mandi Sir aka T.Prasad Sir conducted a dedicated lecture on SMART Goals and its application in real life. I personally found the topic not only relevant as part of the business communication subject but also useful in day to day activities.

Here, I will try to explain the concept of SMART goals and importance/ need of setting SMART goals with business relevant examples.

1st use of Term SMART:

The SMART acronym was used by George t. Doran in 1981 for a magazine named as: there is a smart way to write the management's goals & objectives.

SMART is an acronym that stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

Specific

Specific goals are clearly defined & clear on what needs to be accomplished. What exactly do you want to achieve? The more clear the description, the less room there is for interpretation between good & bad results.

Examples:

• Good: Get a written commitment from 35 customers to enter product feedback
• Bad: Talk with customers about product feedback.

In the bad example, it is not specific enough about what success looks like. If you have fewer conversations with customers, will the goal be accomplished?

Adding more specific deliverable like asking for a certain no. of committed customers makes the goal Specific.

Measurable

Measurable goals have clearly identified how you will evaluate whether or not you are successful or not. Usually, this also means breaking your goal down into quantifiable evidence of whether it's accomplished or not. Eating healthier is not a goal, but eating vegetables twice a day & dessert only once in a month is.

Example

Good: Onboard 20 customers into product beta and deliver a list of product feedback suggestions.

Bad: Run a product beta to get feedback from the customers.

In the bad example, it is not measurable enough what success looks like. How many customers do we need to get great feedback from your product data? If customers are invited to the beta but don’t participate, is that still considered a success? By defining a no. of customers as well as a clear deliverable of product feedback suggestions, these particular goals become Measurable.

Attainable

Attainable the goal is realistic about what is possible given that the availability of resources, time, and knowledge. Ideally, it should stretch your ability but remain in the realm of possibility to get complete.

Example

Good: Schedule meetings with at least 3 of our customer CEOs during beta.

Bad: Have a meet with all customer CEOs during product beta.

While every situation can be different, it's usually very hard to get the meeting on the calendar with CEOs so meeting with the entire customer list would be truly unrealistic. Managing the goal to schedule with 3 or more, this actually creates room for making the goal Attainable.

Relevant

Relevant goals are important to you & will make a material impact on achieving your larger objectives. Does that make a difference to your overall objectives if this goal is met? Though many goals are worthwhile expenditures of time duration, it may not always be the right timing and match to current needs.

Example

If the main focus for the business is getting beta feedback prior to an official launch, an example of an irrelevant goal would be sponsoring the industry conferences during the beta period.

Time-Based

Time based goals lock goals into a specific timeframe & specify when they will be completed by. This ties into the M for the measurable goal because in order to a goal to truly be measurable, it needs to be time-based.

Example

Good: Onboard 15 customers into product beta by end of Q1.

Bad: Onboard 15 customers into product beta.

While the "bad" example is actually quite measurable and very specific, it doesn't specify by when. By changing the goal to be clear on when the goal needs to be achieved, it becomes Time-Based.

Why the smart goals are so Important?

Smart is one of the most useful tools that provide the focus, clarity & the motivation that you need to achieve your desired goals. It can also improve your abilities to reach them by encouraging you to define your objectives and set a completion date beforehand.

Another thing that is very important when setting smart goals, is formulating it positively. Always remember that what you focus on, increases. Hence when you focus on not doing something, all you think about is that thing and it will increase. So you don't 'stop procrastinating', but 'achieve a daily discipline'.

New Trends in Operations Management in a Post-COVID World

 

When you’re running a business, there are two ways to increase profit:

1. Increase revenue
2. Decrease cost

Let’s focus on number two. Even seemingly insignificant savings can add up over time. Shaving just two cents off your landed cost per unit by increasing operational efficiency can add millions of dollars to your bottom line in the long run. This is why operations managers are so fundamental to a company’s ability to stay profitable. 

While the pace of technology innovation moves at breakneck speed and businesses rush to catch up to the latest trends, operations managers play an increasingly important role in carving out a competitive edge. As we embark on the “new normal” for businesses in a world that have been rocked by a global pandemic, operations managers are more important than ever. 

Operations is a broad job function. These leaders will be responsible for keeping the business running efficiently through the aftermath of COVID-19. They will also play a leading role in paving the way towards a new future for companies around the world. 

So, whether you’re planning an organizational overhaul to become more competitive in your market or merely seeking to cut down on your overhead costs, staying ahead of these seven trends will help deliver the results you need to meet your operations management goals in 2020.

1.  Streamlining Organizational Communication

There are countless communication tools for office workers: Slack, Teams, Flock, etc. But in reality, these tools only get half the job done. Workplace communication technology often leaves out frontline workers who represent 80% of the global workforce. Any employee who doesn’t work behind a desk needs a mobile communication solution in order to stay connected to the broader business, and do their job more effectively. 

What’s more, better communication can boost a manufacturer’s bottom line by 10%. This cost savings is the result of more timely communication between head office, team leads, and frontline workers. With less time spent in meetings, frontline managers can focus on leading their teams and improving performance, while eliminating non-value-added tasks.

Here are a few other ways that streamlining organizational communication can save time and money by reducing. . . 

• Time spent coordinating projects and tasks 
• Mistakes
• Time spent identifying and resolving issues

When teams are communicating, they get more done and they solve problems faster.

2. Mobile Communication Tools

Digitally enabling your frontline workforce is the singular most impactful investment you can make to optimize productivity, increase safety, and reduce costs in the current uncertain climate. 

If your business’s operations and internal communications are not mobile, you may be leaving a critical part of your workforce out of the loop — frontline workers. Whether you’re in the technology industry and rely on mobile devices to achieve sales targets, or you’re in manufacturing and the company is facing constraints on output, mobile accessibility will play a vital role in operations management for 2020.

Apart from today’s reliance on mobile devices for communication, consumers also turn to their smart devices for everything from household goods to travel accommodations and job applications. When it’s all said and done, your frontline workforce will expect the same access, ease, and utility from their tools at work.

While researching digital workplaces or tools to digitally enable your teams, it’s important to keep in mind that leadership and frontline workers might take different criteria into account as it relates to their scope of work and priorities. One way to successfully navigate this potential area of divergence is to make sure positive user experience is core functionality. 

3. Extreme Efficiency Through Automatization 

Research from McKinsey shows that up to 50% of all work performed today can already be automated with currently available technology.

Automating internal processes throughout your business can save money and increase overall efficiency. For industrial and heavy industries such as manufacturing, construction, and the energy sector, many companies are now exploring automation possibilities beyond the production line. 

Despite some initial hesitation around adoption, we predict that the use of digital tools to automate processes and streamline communication will rise in 2020. 

We expect to see increased use of automatic scheduling and delivery of targeted internal media campaigns, work schedule notifications, and read-receipt functions in the company, which will further streamline daily operations for the organization. 

4. Emphasis on Health and Safety 

As companies work through and recover from the impact of COVID-19, maintaining the health and safety of both employees and the public will be a top priority for operations managers. 

The number of health and safety issues reported each quarter is steadily increasing for many companies simply because employees don’t have access to the necessary information. 

What’s more, it’s often difficult for organizations to find evidence and keep updated records of safety-related issues and incidents.  

It will be important for operations managers to look for new ways to reduce the number of health incidents and workplace accidents. This means companies will need to understand new regulations around safety and compliance, and it will be up to operations leaders to implement swift changes to internal processes and procedures in order to remain compliant.