I have moved on...

I know, it's been long since I wrote and there are lot of things which have happened in the last month. Its been over an year I joined naseba in 2007. I joined naseba as the marketing manager and kept growing. I Became the Sr. marketing manager in a months time (much credit to my ex-colleague Zafar Siddiqui who left naseba quickly and now works with Honeywell in Dubai) and moved on to become the marketing director within 4 months of joining. While at naseba I showed some good results (oh BTW marketing metrics is BS @ naseba)... I am talking about revenue here...And now I have moved on from naseba.

At naseba, my job was to setup a marketing department. Setting up a marketing department can be a daunting task, especially when you are in a company which survives and earns its bread and butter only through sales (sales people who are hard-wired to sell to a the CXO level audience), it's a strenuous job. Phew! Your a$$ is on fire most of the time but then it makes you a seasoned salesman and I guess you can crack any sales interview or negotiation anywhere across the globe (or this is what everyone thinks). And yes, I was supposed to set up a marketing machine which generates quality leads for the sales guys to close and generate continuous revenue.


Well this brings me to a point on - How to sell to CXO level audience? Which I will discuss sometime else but now coming back to the topic, I have moved on....

In the last yr, I believe I have learnt a lot...

• How to establish a Marketing Machine
• Getting to work with Multiple Cultures
• Getting Management Buy-in
• How to influence people and get things done (making it happen)
• Email and Online media - the new marketing mix
• How to manage people (especially when they are older than you)
• How to build relationships and how to break them
• Grass is NOT greener on the other side
• Consistency is a choice

Well, the one thing in my life which is constant is my Passion and Consistent Love for marketing. Many people are of the opinion that my passion for marketing is insane but I feel that's the depth of my passion which keeps me awake and kicking day and night.

I was your regular guy out of the school who thought he is one day going to be a big time engineer in some power plant as this is what was told to him at that point in his life. You can blame the Indian education system and partly the protective nature of parents in India for drilling these engineering/medical dreams in children. Till the time the children reach their graduate school, they have not made any choice of what they want to become in their life. It's all driven by someone else's wish. This simple guy who passed out of college after doing his graduation in Engineering, realized during the course of 4 year's that he is made for something else. Off-course, realizing what you want to achieve is one thing and realizing what you can achieve with what you are good at is completely another ball game.

But the self realization of your skills is something which takes you a long way. Not only do you get a clear focus in life but, you aslo get to learn and work towards your goal faster and in a more focussed way. It brings a purpose to life and helps you strive harder to achieve success. Who would have thought a small time software engineer from Wipro Technologies would aim to become a techno-marketing guru and would actually keep getting closer to it in this much time.

Now, I have moved on from naseba and joined a small start-up in the suburbs of Mumbai. It's called www.games24x7.com . Yes, as the name suggests it's a online gaming company. It's a humble start-up with a simple goal - of providing a platform to play online, Games like Chess, Rummy etc.

A new start, a new effort, a new business! Wish me luck.

SEC on Blogging - It's a Open Blogger's World - CEOs Blog More!

According to BNET, the new SC regulations on Blogging clears it all up for corporate bloggers. Let’s say you’re the CEO of a company. A competitor or disgruntled ex-employee posts nasty and inaccurate information on a blog that your company website operates. Are you under any regulatory obligation to correct it?

No, you are not. At least that’s what the staff of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission said it is recommending today in a draft of new rules designed to encourage more corporate use of websites to disclose required information.

What’s more, the new rules could do much to clear up confusion over meeting the Full Disclosure (FD) rules of the SEC regarding Internet use.

At an SEC meeting today where the rules won a 4-0 vote to go to the next level, new measures were explained that could allow companies to use their websites and blogs to meet requirements under the FD rules. Under certain conditions, such electronic media can be the sole means of disclosure.

A few other measures in the proposal:

* The information on the blog or company Web page does not have to be in “a format comparable to paper-based information” unless the SEC explicitly requires it.
* Hyperlinks to other sites can be used provided that the company explain their relevance.
* Information disclosed on the Web is not generally subject to under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (of course, the company must still follow SOX for other forms of financial disclosure and attestation.).
* Companies are responsible for what they put out on their Web pages or blogs but are under no obligation to correct inaccurate or misleading information that outsiders post.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox says he sees the new Web-based rules as a way to make for more efficient and more creative ways to inform potential investors about a firm. Cox argues that using the Web can cut disclosure costs for companies while improving their communication with shareholders.

Indeed, some tech-oriented CEOs, such as Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems, have complained that they want to communicate with investors and customers on blogs but feel they have to undergo tedious consultations with their lawyers because SEC guidance is so unclear.

Maybe this new round of rules will clear up those concerns. For more info, check a story by IrWebreport and an SEC statement. Full issuance of the rules may occur in about six months.

Categories: Technology, Regulation

Tags: Web, SEC, Blog, Rule, Blogging, Channel Management, Internet, Marketing, Peter Galuszka

Chetan Bhagat - Spark Keep it Shining Speech! - What about the ACTION?

Summary: I liked the speech given by Chetan and they way he showed the 4 thunderstorms of disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation trying to thwart you. What I couldn't notice in his speech was the Umbrella or the Rain Coat to save yourself from these thunderstroms: THE ACTION. 

"Sincere ACTION is the Umbrella that can help you brave the thunderstrom!"

-Sachin Uppal, 1st August 2008

I was reading Chetan Bhagat's speech at the inaugural function of Symbiosis College in Pune, India. He spoke about a simple concept that keeps people kicking and striving to reach higher success. He likes calling it Spark, and urges to keep that Spark Shining. It is nothing but your will power and your passion to achieve something more in life and your continuous drive to reach it. 

Download the complete Speech in a PDF format along with comments here.

In my life I have learnt that this spark comes to you if you are passionate about something and that passion is driven from your goals. If you set your goals (short term and long term) you always have a direction and you can measure and strive harder to achieve the same. Some time back I wrote about Goal Setting and how it's important to achieve and bring a direction to your life.

When I look around I see a lot of talented people and see a lot of them with new ideas but what I fail to see is people taking action to fulfill their dreams. Having a long term and short term goal helps you get focused in your life and you can actually achieve what you have set out to achieve in your dream.

I liked the speech given by Chetan and they way he showed the 4 thunderstorms of disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation trying to thwart you. However, while saying that don't take life too seriously, instead sincerely, what he missed out was a BIG point: ACTION. 

What differentiates people from being Great and not good, is ACTION. Having dreams, living life sincerely and keeping yourself focused towards your goals need ACTION. Not taking life seriously shouldn't make you complacent and shouldn't make you lack in Action. Action comes to you from your passion. There are thousands of people out there who like to talk about doing something great, but how many take action to achieve it? These days with the competition increasing at such a fast pace, you are going to face one or more of these 4 thunderstorms.

Have you ever thought what's going to differentiate you? 

To SUM it up in a sentence:

"Sincere ACTION is the Umbrella that can help you brave the thunderstroms!"

For many people reading this the obvious question would be - How do you do that?

- Set up your goals.
- Be realistic or upgrade your self.
- Believe in yourself.
- Follow some dicipline.
- Breakdown your goals in small milestones.
- Congratulate yourself on achieving milestones. (get yourself a pair of new shoes, a tie, a watch, a perfume or whatever you think you like)
- Bring your passion to everything that you DO.
- Let your passion Permeate  amongst the people around you.
- Show the world that you are not just about the Talk, but you prove it with your small Actions.
- Small steps go a long way to achieve a goal.
- Influence people in believing your goals.
- Ask for help (don't feel ashamed).
- Give help - It's a 2-way road.
- Follow- Ethics and Integrity.
- LIVE your dream and don't give up. Even at a failure learn and stand up again and give your "passionate best shot".

Enough of talking. Let's DO!