Some 2 days back, I was returning home from work. On that fateful
day, the narrow street of Bangalore was further narrowed by a truck
carrying a huge idol of Ganesha being taken for immersion.
The street was totally jampacked and I had given up all hope of
getting back home in less than an hour. However, much to my surprise
the Bangalore traffic police did a great job of clearing a way through
the street packed with dancers and devotees so that the people
returning back from the office could pass through. Had this been in
Delhi, the police would have simply given up and waited for the
procession to clear up on its own accord. Given the limited road
space in Bangalore and the heavy monsoons here, it is really great to
see the traffic police managing the resources so well.
I hope the Bangalore traffic police keeps up the good work.
Chak De! India - Nice movie. Shah Rukh Khan does not go overboard
with his theatrics. The flow never slackens. Nice photography,
nice music, nice story, great acting. Watch.
Heyy Babyy - Neither good, nor bad. Average comedy, not much of a
plot, average music. Good way to pass time. If you can avoid
watching the movie, avoid it. If not, go in with zero expectation,
and you will not be disappointed.
Companies make a mistake by segmenting markets by demographics or
product characteristics. Instead, write Christensen et al. in
"Finding the Right Job for Your Product," "Customers' purchase
decisions don't necessarily conform to those of the 'average'
customer in their demographic; nor do they confine the search for
solutions within a product category. Rather, customers just find
themselves needing to get things done." The advice is 3-fold:
segment markets by job, identify the job-based structure of a
market, and let innovators understand how to accomplish the work.
The above is the gist from a Harvard Business School Note written by
Professor Clayton M. Christensen.
That has been my approach for solving problems for a long time. When
I start a startup, my product would be centered around solving a
problem or doing a job and not around demographic. It makes me feel
good that I might have been thinking along the correct lines for a
long time.