Yes, that is correct. I finally read my first Harry Porter book. Younger cousins of mine have been after my life, for what seems like a life time to read Harry Porter, but I always refused thinking it would be too kiddy and I would hate it and it would be such a waste of time, especially when there is so much more stuff to read out there.
But to my surprise....I actually liked the book quite a bit. The only reason I really took it up was because of how small it was. When my cousin first handed the book to me, I thought it was an abridged version(something else I dislike-but cant hate cause thats how I actually started reading. Its actually quite shocking to me that I enjoy reading now. As a kid I hated it). And she said it was not. So I decided that this book would be done in 4 days tops, and started right away. Sure you can feel its written so that children can read it, but there was nothing too kiddy about it. I guess its cause the other has writen it in such a way. You read about Harry and instantaniously want to know more about him. About his life. About what is going to happen to him....
I enjoyed it. Looking forward to book too. Lets hope someone I know owns a copy. (I never buy books cause the ones I buy I never end up reading and therefore just end up wasting my money.)
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
She cannot stand
We take too many things for granted...
We have so much to be thankful for...
The people who need certain things the most, don't seem to have those...
There is a clinic that offers free treatment for ailments, in the building where I work. Everyday I see some poor, sick people who come there, with their hearts filled with hope.
Its very sad to see that not only are they poor but also not physically fit, and worse still that they might never get well but they are still hopeful. Shattered dreams might end up being the only thing they get in the end. Anyway this clinic is on the 1st floor and these people cannot use the lift. They have to walk up. Which would be alright except that they cannot walk up. Not with ease atleast. Many of these patients are old...
Today there was this lady sitting on a chair inside the premises, when I walked in (which is not allowed. They can sit outside the building if they like but not inside). And I heard this man (staying in the building most probably) asking the watchman, why the lady was sitting there. And the watchman said 'woh khade nahi re sakti' (she cant stand). I just happened to look her way and she looked soooo weak. Not physically very thin or anything, but as if there were no life in her. As if she were dead and just propped onto the chair. It was horrible. Sometimes I wish I could just scream....
We have so much to be thankful for...
The people who need certain things the most, don't seem to have those...
There is a clinic that offers free treatment for ailments, in the building where I work. Everyday I see some poor, sick people who come there, with their hearts filled with hope.
Its very sad to see that not only are they poor but also not physically fit, and worse still that they might never get well but they are still hopeful. Shattered dreams might end up being the only thing they get in the end. Anyway this clinic is on the 1st floor and these people cannot use the lift. They have to walk up. Which would be alright except that they cannot walk up. Not with ease atleast. Many of these patients are old...
Today there was this lady sitting on a chair inside the premises, when I walked in (which is not allowed. They can sit outside the building if they like but not inside). And I heard this man (staying in the building most probably) asking the watchman, why the lady was sitting there. And the watchman said 'woh khade nahi re sakti' (she cant stand). I just happened to look her way and she looked soooo weak. Not physically very thin or anything, but as if there were no life in her. As if she were dead and just propped onto the chair. It was horrible. Sometimes I wish I could just scream....
Thursday, January 26, 2006
I miss tennis :(
Well I wasnt doing anything much last year, so I got hooked onto tennis. I use to watch tennis when I was a kid, but somehow totally stopped within a year or 2 and would then catch matches once in a blue moon. Last year I watched a little of the Australian Open...yesss because Sania Mirza was playing....and I got hooked. Watched as much of tennis as I could. This year I dont have the time :(
Obviously I'm a fan of Sania. Sad to see her play this badly this year. The only good thing is, she is working with different coaches, working on different aspects of the game....her strong shots cant make her win everything. She needs to be good at every aspect of the game...and shes working toward that.
Not a big fan of the William sisters. Unbelievable to watch so many of the older players still play. Navratilova and Agassi dont even need mention..but even Mary Pierce....its all good.
And well obviously I'm a Roger fan. Who wouldnt love Federer. Dont mind Safan either. Dislike Hewitt, but got to admit he plays well. Havent watched enough of Nadal(on courts other than clay)...
Obviously I'm a fan of Sania. Sad to see her play this badly this year. The only good thing is, she is working with different coaches, working on different aspects of the game....her strong shots cant make her win everything. She needs to be good at every aspect of the game...and shes working toward that.
Not a big fan of the William sisters. Unbelievable to watch so many of the older players still play. Navratilova and Agassi dont even need mention..but even Mary Pierce....its all good.
And well obviously I'm a Roger fan. Who wouldnt love Federer. Dont mind Safan either. Dislike Hewitt, but got to admit he plays well. Havent watched enough of Nadal(on courts other than clay)...
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Marketing in the real world, real time...
Todays nick is about some truths, some cliches, some thing you need to keep your eyes and ears open to realise ...
I was late and slightly lost and I'm actually glad of it. Well it happened that my office friends and I, decided to go for a drive. We ended up getting late. Decided to catch the train from a different station since we were close to that one. Luckily I had a friend who knew on which platform my train would stop. Made it to the platform and just in time, but I didn't know where the ladies compartment was. Found it but decided I shouldnt push my luck too far incase the train started. + the train was really crowded, so I decided I'll just wait another 3 minutes and catch the next one instead. Luckily the station wasn't too deserted.
So anyway my trian comes and I get on...and its not too bad...cause its not too crowded and I get a seat...and what a seat it is. I really learnt something that day. Thing that are mentioned in Management Books, I finally understood.
There was this lady...must have been 50+...she was selling stuff. Cheap chocolates, wafer biscuits, chewing gum etc. Now the beauty of it is that I got double lessons. Firstly by watching this lady and the way she carried on her 'business'.
She was super sweet...not only to ladies she was selling stuff to but also to other ladies sitting around... Be Pleasant...
She wasnt loud. Didnt go around screaming about what she was selling... Dont create nuisance value...
She spoke 3 languages if not more.... Have communication skills...
She was talking not only about her stuff but also other things ... Be Friendly...
She wasnt rushing or pushing her products in everyones face ... Dont overwhelm your potential buyers...
Well apart from this lady's selling skills, what struck me, and struck me stonger was the lesson about "know your product" and "know your audiance".
What this woman was selling was the right stuff to the right people. She had a lot of variety. She sold mostly cheaper chocolates/buscuits. She had the right idea if you ask me. Her prospective clients were women, returning home mostly. Tired after a hard long day of work. Maybe even pretty hungry. Maybe returning to their kids. What she was selling was the absolute right stuff. Something prospective clients would consume...because they wanted the product and because they could afford it. She also carried some of the bigger brand names...so she could cater to even other prospective buyers who were in a 'different segment'. Women who wouldnt buy unbranded (or lesser know brands) and cheap stuff. She also had the right amount of products. Her fastest sellers were small 1 rupee chocolates and 2 rupee wafer buiscuts...and she had plenty supply of them. Its not like she ran out of them despite the demand.
Apart from knowing what to sell and to whom, it was also important to know where to sell. If this woman stood on a busy street with all this stuff, chances are that she might have got only a small % of sales she actually got. She was selling to women returning home, sitting in a trian, relaxing while they could. Hungry. People who had the time, the money and the reason to buy what she was selling.
Another thing that stood out was that after one woman bought something, a little while later someone sitting close to her would also buy something. A lot of women went in for repeat purchases and a lot of them talked about how good this was and that was...and it just increased other peoples curiocity and more people started buying. She didnt have to do any sales promotion. The product, the desire to buy and 'word of mouth' of fellow passengers, help her make sales with very little effort.
Man I think I can go on forever...never been so glad to be late and miss a train...thats for sure...A REAL EXPERIENCE.
Seeing is believing...Nothing beats reality...Learning from life...Experience is the best teacher....
I was late and slightly lost and I'm actually glad of it. Well it happened that my office friends and I, decided to go for a drive. We ended up getting late. Decided to catch the train from a different station since we were close to that one. Luckily I had a friend who knew on which platform my train would stop. Made it to the platform and just in time, but I didn't know where the ladies compartment was. Found it but decided I shouldnt push my luck too far incase the train started. + the train was really crowded, so I decided I'll just wait another 3 minutes and catch the next one instead. Luckily the station wasn't too deserted.
So anyway my trian comes and I get on...and its not too bad...cause its not too crowded and I get a seat...and what a seat it is. I really learnt something that day. Thing that are mentioned in Management Books, I finally understood.
There was this lady...must have been 50+...she was selling stuff. Cheap chocolates, wafer biscuits, chewing gum etc. Now the beauty of it is that I got double lessons. Firstly by watching this lady and the way she carried on her 'business'.
She was super sweet...not only to ladies she was selling stuff to but also to other ladies sitting around... Be Pleasant...
She wasnt loud. Didnt go around screaming about what she was selling... Dont create nuisance value...
She spoke 3 languages if not more.... Have communication skills...
She was talking not only about her stuff but also other things ... Be Friendly...
She wasnt rushing or pushing her products in everyones face ... Dont overwhelm your potential buyers...
Well apart from this lady's selling skills, what struck me, and struck me stonger was the lesson about "know your product" and "know your audiance".
What this woman was selling was the right stuff to the right people. She had a lot of variety. She sold mostly cheaper chocolates/buscuits. She had the right idea if you ask me. Her prospective clients were women, returning home mostly. Tired after a hard long day of work. Maybe even pretty hungry. Maybe returning to their kids. What she was selling was the absolute right stuff. Something prospective clients would consume...because they wanted the product and because they could afford it. She also carried some of the bigger brand names...so she could cater to even other prospective buyers who were in a 'different segment'. Women who wouldnt buy unbranded (or lesser know brands) and cheap stuff. She also had the right amount of products. Her fastest sellers were small 1 rupee chocolates and 2 rupee wafer buiscuts...and she had plenty supply of them. Its not like she ran out of them despite the demand.
Apart from knowing what to sell and to whom, it was also important to know where to sell. If this woman stood on a busy street with all this stuff, chances are that she might have got only a small % of sales she actually got. She was selling to women returning home, sitting in a trian, relaxing while they could. Hungry. People who had the time, the money and the reason to buy what she was selling.
Another thing that stood out was that after one woman bought something, a little while later someone sitting close to her would also buy something. A lot of women went in for repeat purchases and a lot of them talked about how good this was and that was...and it just increased other peoples curiocity and more people started buying. She didnt have to do any sales promotion. The product, the desire to buy and 'word of mouth' of fellow passengers, help her make sales with very little effort.
Man I think I can go on forever...never been so glad to be late and miss a train...thats for sure...A REAL EXPERIENCE.
Seeing is believing...Nothing beats reality...Learning from life...Experience is the best teacher....
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