Breakthrougher I [Surpass Your Aspirations]

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surpassyour

aspirations

CHETAN WALIA

BREAKTHROUGHER I


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BREAKTHROUGHERVOLUME 1Surpass your Aspirations


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CHETAN WALIA

BREAKTHROUGHERVOLUME 1

Surpass your Aspirations


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Dedicated to you, your dreamsand your inspiration to act on them.


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All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,without the prior permission of the

copyright owner.

ISBN 978-81-906651-9-3

Fifth Quadrant 2009

www.breakthrougher.com

DesignNetra Shyam

[email protected]

Printed at Indraprastha Press, New Delhi


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1 Receiving or refusing what you really want

2 Murphy exists

3 Do you really have a goal?

4 Mahatma Gandhi rides frst classa lesson in negotiation5 How easy is it to do business with you?

6 A mockery of leadership in Parliament

7 Economic slowdownhow to deal with change?

8 Negotiationhidden meanings in conversations

9 Leadershipyou have it or you dont10 Breaking the price barrier

11 Did the Tatas give up too soon? Part I

12 Lose, lose, lose (Did the Tatas give up too soon? Part II)

13 Sales (re)defned

14 Never, never, never give up!15 Nuclear deal and negotiation gambits

16 How can I be a leaderI dont even have people reporting to me?

17 Desire: The essential attitude

18 Biggest mistakes salespeople make

19 Why doesnt success appear?

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Contents1

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12

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22

28

33

41

47

55

61

67

73

78

83

90

96

103

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20 You Must Have Satisfed Customers or You Cant Build a Business

21 Reality is embarrassingly simple

22 Successwhy or why not

23 India Pakistan What Now?

viii

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Breakthrougher is a collection of essays. Tese essays, at the

start, were mostly centred around sales subjects. However,

the topics covered came to extend to leadership, coaching,

breakthroughs, success, achievement and general observations on life.

Each chapter is based on some personal experience and the

realization resulting from it. Each chapter is an account of a personal

discovery. Te topic under discussion may be sales, or leadership, or

even politics. However, the realization goes beyond these subjects

and has a bearing on our everyday lives. Each essay presents an

opportunity for change, for something different, for a breakthrough.

Tis is about me. Tis is about you. Tis is about people. Tis is

about the way we are, the way we perceive of ourselves, and the way

we can be and deserve to be. Whether you are in the profession being

discussed or very far from it, I assure you that you will relate to the

learning experience in these pages. I have endeavoured to write this

in a manner that the reader acquires some insight by the end of each

reading, whether into life, work or human and personal behaviour.

All the chapters here are independent of each other. Do not feel

compelled to read more than one at a time. In my experience, those

who have read or re-read these essays on my website find a new

meaning in them every time. Everyone finds his or her own meaning.

I have often found that we have insights and realize the presence

of opportunities and patterns, but hesitate or forget to act on them

ix

Foreword


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Breakthrougher

and make a change. Hence, the breakthrough does not take place.

Te few who do make the change and as a result, move closer to

living a fuller life, are the ones whom I term breakthroughers. I have

realized that the difference between a breakthrougher and you or me

is simply the element of action, and not realization.

I therefore invite you to not just read the following pages, rather

experience them and act upon the realizations they may lead you to.

In these chapters, I have tried to take the reader to the edge. Teedge is the only deciding point. It is the point from where you see

both sidesthe side where you have been as well as the side that you

could go to. It is from the edge that you need to decide to plunge.

It is the edge from where you make a choice. It is very easy to move

back from the edge because it is safer on the known side. Most of us

come back, unhurt, unharmed. Te few who take the plunge are the

breakthroughers. I hope that you will be one of these.


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1Receiving or refusing what you

really want

A question that sometimes drives me

hazy: am I or are the others crazy?

Albert Einstein

If you want something badly, but are

not getting it, look inside. You are

refusing it. This isnt mad behaviour.

This is consistently mad behaviour.

This is so human.

Chetan Walia


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Is it possible that knowingly or unknowingly, we might be

declining success; that we might actually be saying no to whatwe really want? I am not implying that we simply overlook

opportunities. Tough we do that, too, I think we may actually be

completely shut to receiving.

Before we dwell on how and why we do this, let me share a few

experiences and observations I have made over the last few months

that have led me to believe this.

A couple of years ago, I was engaged in coaching a CEO. After a

few sessions, the conversations became uncomfortable, mostly due

to certain subjects that were being explored. We were very close to

a breakthrough, perhaps just a session away. He knew this. But we

never had the session. He did not want it, this session that would

have led to the breakthrough he desperately wanted.

I was in Jaisalmer earlier this year on a holiday. One day, while

driving to the border with the owner of the hotel in which I was

staying, we stopped at a village. Te village was populated only by

womenabout a hundred of them. Tese women are sex workers

and frequently have children. Whenever a male child is born, the

father invariably appears. Do the women enjoy this life? Obviouslynot. Do they wish for a change? I guess they do every day. Out of

curiosity, my friend and I started chatting with one of the women.

We learnt many things about them, including the fact that they are

unhappy, deprived, and have no access to education and the outside

world. We would soon learn that they refuse probably the only help

that is offered to them for rehabilitation. I could not believe it.

Tere is a friend of mine who has been keen on doing her PhD for


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a long time. She has not been able to do it due to financial problems

and because of a dilemma over giving up her current job, as thiswould mean a break in employment. A few years ago, I offered her

a job in my company. We would sponsor her doctorate and give

her a salary in the interim. In return, she could make some sort of

commitment to us in terms of the number of years she would work

for us after her PhD One would think this was a winner of a deal,

but apparently it was not!

I conducted a sales training programme with a manufacturing

company in May. Te programme went well and we identified a

few elementary roadblocks that were hindering the salespeoples

performance. A few days after the programme, I called the head of

sales and offered (for no fee) to accompany the salespeople on a few

of their visits to customers to help them sort out the error. It is hard

to believe that this never materialized!

Around the same time this year, a business school in Goa called me

for a coaching programme for teachers. Tey had been referred to me

by a client. Working with teachers is something I have always wanted

to do and it has been a long-standing goal of mine. I just realized

while writing this that strangely enough, I never went to meet them.

I have been to Goa thrice since May.

We gift books to colleagues in office on their birthdays. We choose

any book that looks interesting or go by someones recommendation.

For two people, however, I specifically thought of books I felt would

be of great help to them. I went to the bookstore and bought them

myself. Both these people returned the gift. I was not surprised. I am

getting used to this.

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Receiving or refusing what you really want


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Receiving or refusing what you really want

If one of your goals is beginning to exercise, I can almost guarantee

that you refuse every offer from a friend or your spouse to go for a

walk. If you have wanted to write a book, you are probably declining

opportunities to even contribute an article.

If you wish to learn how to swim, drive, play a musical instrument,

sing or dance and have not yet learnt, look back and try to remember

how many places you have been to that had a swimming pool and

where someone offered to teach and you did not take up the offer.

How many times have you come across an advertisement for a music

teacher or a friend who referred you to one? Ever found yourself

ignoring it?

If you want to quit smoking or drinking, have you found yourself

looking the other way when someone is narrating their experience on

how they quit?

Often, the things and people we want to draw into our lives elude

us because we are blocking them out with our defences or barriers

and simply do not acknowledge their presence or availability. Te

more you think about it, the more you will realize the truth of it. Te

reality is that we create barriers to protect ourselves and in doing

so, we become so monominded that we fail to see, and be open to,

opportunities on the periphery of our desires.

If you are looking for something, be it a material or non-material

goal, love or friendship, business or professional success, you need

to look within yourself to see where you are closing down. You must

avoid becoming fixated on where you might find it. It comes to you;

you have found it more often than you think. It is just that you have

also refused more often than you have received.


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2Murphy exists

Rules are mostly made to be broken and are

too often for the lazy to hide behind.

Douglas MacArthur

(American General who commanded the Southwest

Pacific Teatre in World War II)

If you want to be free, then live. If you simply

want a life, then abide.

Chetan Walia


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Murphy exists

We all know Murphys Law. What I mean by saying that

Murphy exists is simply this: if he did not exist, youwould not have a job. We as a society would not experience any

breakthroughs or extraordinary successes.

What is Murphys Law? Let us take the following example. What

is the probability of a slice of bread falling with the buttered side

down? Some say 100%. Well, Murphy says the probability is directly

proportionate to the price of the carpet! In other words, if there is nocarpet, then none!

Let me give you a very recent example of Murphy hitting me. Some

time back, I was to conduct a training programme in Mysore. I

packed my bag in the morning and put it in my car, so that I could

leave for Mysore straight from office. In the evening, as I was getting

out of office to head for the bus station to board a bus to Mysore,my head buzzing with all sorts of things, I started wondering why I

should be carrying a full bag for just two nights. As this was a very

logical thought, I took out a couple of -shirts and necessities from

my bag and put them in my laptop bag. In the process, I took out one

of my laptops (I use two) and put it in my bag. I reached Mysore.

I needed music for this particular workshop, but guess where the

CDs were? I had left them behind. I thought the situation was

manageableI had time on my hands and I went to the market and

bought new CDs. Te problem seemed to be solved. In the morning,

I asked the conference hall for the CD player. But the friend who

runs the centre told me that no one had asked for a CD player in six

years, so he had taken it home the night before. Long live Murphy!

How does Murphy exist in our daily corporate lives? Te answer

is very simplefrom time to time, one of our resources is hit by

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Murphy and his/her/its ability to produce or deliver goes down. At

times, even in the opposite direction. Te resource can be a machine

or a person. It happens all the time. Have you ever had a salesperson

who just cannot get a sale? Have you ever had an accountant who

makes a mess out of things? Have you ever had a human resource

person who just does not understand people? Have you ever had

a marketing person who has spent the entire budget and has not

generated a single significant lead? Have you ever had a transporter

whose vehicle broke down on the way to just your best customer?Have you ever bought shares in a company only to find that all the

growth in the market disappeared just when you bought it?

If Murphy did not exist, everything would be fine. Tere would be

no urgency and no bottlenecks. Everything would go as planned. But

then most of us would have nothing to do.

Murphy also presents the opportunity. Te opportunity will arise

and can bring benefits if, and only if, you realize that Murphy exists

and then diminish him. If you ignore that Murphy (the limitation)

is a part of life, i.e. if you do not recognize it, the opportunity will

ignore you too. Do not rush to agree with this, however, because

once you agree, everything else will seem illogical. Let me clarify the

statement that opportunity will arise only if Murphy exists. It doesnot mean that the opportunity will necessarily be beneficial; it may

or may not be beneficial. As for Murphy going unrecognized, how

does this happen? Let us go back two hundred years.

In those days, it was not feasible for a person to have a full-time

job and cover, say, around ten miles every day. If a person got a job

even more than three miles away, he would probably be relocatingwhenever he did. But if you asked the person if this was a limitation,


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he would probably have said that it was a fact of life. Tus, it was an

unrecognized limitation. However, there came a time when someone

did see Murphy in this and challenged it.

Why did others not question the limitation and try to find a

way out of it? Why did they accept it? Tat is basically because

they developed a mode of operation and a mode of behaviour;

they rationalized the issue and developed rules to help them

accommodate the limitation and to operate. We do much the same

thing today. Te man who would have walked three miles to work

would have probably taken about an hour to reach his place of

work. My office is ten miles from home. After all the advances in

technology, it still takes me an hour! We probably develop similar

rules in our minds to help us operate.

Te question is this: what benefits can the opportunity that actually

overcame the limitation bring, if we still obey the rules? Tese rules

were created to accommodate the limitation. Te rules still exist in

our minds (we still do not mind taking an hour to reach work). So

what benefits can we see? We developed the technology and utilized

it, but have not got the basic benefit out of its implementation. Can

it be that we are so stupid as to be still living according to the rules

of two hundred years ago? Te answer is obvious. Murphy continuesto thrive.

Tis is what really happens in the case of the vast majority of

opportunities that we may identify and act upon. We do not see

benefits because we still obey the rules. And as said earlier, we might

not even identify the opportunity because we obey the rules.

Let me take a very practical example to demonstrate my point.

Te world has fought many wars and battles, and still does, over


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territories and borders. Why do we keep fighting over land? Because

somewhere in our mind, there exists the rule: Tis is my country. It

gets established in our minds very early in our lives and we become

patriotic. History gets transferred to us (accompanied by several

rules), and we are told and we believe that this extra land belongs to

us. So we have a war to settle the issue, which is believed to be settled

if we win. Tere have been and will be many wars. Why do we obey

the rules? More and more sophisticated weapons are being created

with every passing year to kill one anotherwhy? o obey the rules.One marvels at how stupid we have been. Do we ever wonder what

opportunity we have lost in continuing this way? We are so busy

obeying the rules that we cannot even glimpse the other possibility

that may have been.

I read an interview with a physicist . He was talking about the Nobel

Prize and how valuable it is to a physicist. He said there is onlyone criterion for getting the Nobel Prize. It is to write an article, of

no more than three to four pages, and it should be such that any

physicist reading it should say, Oh shit! It struck me that you and I

make many realizations and come across many opportunities in our

lives which make us say,

Oh shit! but we flush them down. We never act. And we neverflush down the rules that actually need to be flushed down. Instead,

we multiply them, teach them and live by them.

So, there are many rules that we live by even today. We say this

is the modern world, with opportunities like never before. Te

opportunities have their benefitsbigger ventures, higher salaries,

bigger cars, bigger houses, better meals, better holidays, bettertechnology, global reach, avenues of education, simplification of


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knowledge, Internet, even a trip to moon, in short, better lifestyles.

But has this meant a better life? Has it made life better than that of

the man who walked three miles to work? Long live the rules!

Murphy strikes every now and then, probably every day, and Murphy

presents an opportunity to act. Most of us do take the opportunity

and get busy. None of us, however, takes the opportunity to change

the rules. So the same Murphy strikes again. We will still have a

salesperson who does not sell, a human resource person who is not

people-oriented, a marketing person who is not market-oriented and

borders that are not world-oriented.

As I said earlier, Murphy will present the opportunity but the

opportunity will be beneficial if, and only if, we diminish the

Murphy, not just the limitation. Unless we change the rules, the

limitation will remain. All we have done is to make matters more

sophisticated, such as moving from a limitation of walking three

miles to a limitation of driving 10, from a limitation of making

people perform to a limitation of performance management, from

a limitation of fighting wars on land to a limitation of fighting wars

in air.

Te fact is that we never dealt with the rules. We never will because

we like being stupid. Oviously we would like to be stupid because

how would it feel to be the only one who is not stupid? Very stupid!


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Breakthrougher

3

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

Napoleon Hill

Failure is an assumption that you

wouldnt succeed.

Chetan Walia

Do you really have a goal?


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A

very good friend of mine called me up last Friday and said,

Chetan, I have another goalI want to climb a mountain.

He is 54 years old. Tis reminded me of his compelling story, which

I must share with you.

Some time back, I was coaching this man. He was the chief financial

officer (CFO) of a well-known mid-sized MNC, and was 51 at the

time. In one of our sessions, we were discussing goals and I was

telling him how everyone falls into a trap of normal progression.

Normal progression, by the way, refers to the pursuit of the most

obvious goals. For example, a manager will want to be a general

manager, a general manager will want to be a vice-president, and so

on and so forth. If we earn x, we want to earn x plus 20 per cent. It is

important to have these goals, but these are not goals; they are just

a part of normal progression. Normal progression is important, but

in my opinion, a person (or an organization) of average intelligence,with an average striving for excellence and an average search for

opportunities, will be able to achieve it fairly comfortably.

Tis gentleman was made the CFO eleven years ago. He is proud

to be the CFO and has reason to be, for he is working for a great

company. However, during this discussion, he told me that he

never really wanted to study chartered accountancy. He said it tookhim seven attempts to clear the exams. It was his most frustrating

experience because he did not even want it. I was curious to know

what had prompted him to go on trying for seven years. After all, he

did not like it, did not want it and was not succeeding either.

He said, I couldnt quit. I couldnt let my father down. He

was a chartered accountant. He was banking on me to take overhis practice.


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Seven years of studying and almost twenty years in this current

job. Tat is twenty-seven years of chasing a goal that is not even

yours. I asked him what he was doing during those seven years. He

said he was interning with his father, of course. He also mentioned

reluctantly that in the evenings, he used to help his brother-in-law

run his restaurant. I loved cooking there.

Tis was the most interesting part of the entire coaching

relationship. I had been coaching the man for six months, we had

had about twelve sessions together (about twenty-four hours), and

this was the first time he had mentioned the word love. Tis was first

time that he had expressed any emotion at all.

Tat day we ended our session with only one conclusionthat

though he had lots of things to do, did them very well, was an expert

at his job, and was respected, competent and almost indispensable to

the company, he did not have a goal.

wo weeks later when we met again, as agreed, he had written down

his goals. Te goal heading the list was that of wanting to own a

restaurant. (Te idea behind all this was not to dissuade him from

carrying on with his current job. It never is.) A year later, he opened

a restaurant in Mumbai. He had not quit his job. His wife, who

writes cookbooks, was running the restaurant. He helped her with

all that he could. Te evenings were dedicated to the restaurant.

He had to now extract more from his time. He had to be faster

with things and learn better time management, which he did. He

had to make sure he effectively delegated more work to his juniors.

He did this with ease. Up till then, there had been no need to

do so, so he had been spending and killing his time doing things

that really should have been done by others. He had to manage


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his relationships at work so that no one would object to his new

interests. He succeeded in this, too. No one was complaining. He

was doing all that they thought he should have. Tey were more

than happy.

He had to do a lot of things that were new to him, but he loved

having his own restaurant. I am told that in its first year itself, the

restaurant made profits three times his annual salary. His motivation

and love for life at the time were at their peak. His desire to perform

for his company was at its highest.

Tree months ago, he resigned, having put a successor in place. He

continues to be a part of the board and assists the organization in

a non-executive role. He called me up last Friday to tell me all this.

Before hanging up, he said, Chetan, I have another goal. I want

to climb a mountain. I am going to the Kanchenchunga camp in

August. I know I wouldnt be able to trek beyond a few hours.

I asked him why he wanted to go in that case. He said, Id rather

know that I have done it for a few hours than know that I havent

done it at all. If I quit before even starting, then I am not even

in the race.

For twenty-seven years, this great friend of mine assumed it was not

possible to do one thing without losing the other. For twenty-seven

years, he had normal progressive goals. But the difference between

this friend and those who have normal progressive goals is that

he wants to be in the race, whereas the others think about it but

disqualify themselves on their own.

Tere is a classic definition of a goal: it is a dream, with a plan

and deadline. Tis holds good for an organization as well as

the individual.


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4Mahatma Gandhi rides frst class

a lesson in negotiation

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

Learn as if you were to live forever.

Mahatma Gandhi

If you were to die tomorrow, will you

live the same way today? If your

answer is yes, then in all probability,

you are either leaving a big presence

behind or nothing. You arent even

living. If your answer is no, then

what are you waiting for death?

Chetan Walia


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I

was recently reading Gandhis autobiography, Te Story of My

Experiments with ruth. Te book mentions an episode involving

a train ride. Tis story also happens to validate a great principle of

negotiation, which I shall dsicuss later on.

Te story dates back to Gandhis days in South Africa. South

African law required Indians (or coolies, as they were called by the

white South Africans) to travel third class on trains. Soon after

arriving in South Africa, Gandhi learned first hand about this rule

when he was thrown off for trying to ride in a first-class car. It was an

insulting episode and made a deep impression on him. What is less

well known is that Gandhi immediately looked for an opportunity

to challenge the rule on a train from Durban to Pretoria. Tis

time, he succeeded. He did so by using an audience to overcome a

negotiating opponent.

Gandhis position in this negotiation was that well-dressed and well-

behaved people can travel first class, regardless of race. Te railway

companys position was that coolies must travel third class. Gandhi

anticipated this and his step-by-step approach is a model of effective

preparation for achieving goals in the most difficult situations.

Gandhis first move was to locate a decision-maker and find a way to

present his request for a first-class ticket personally, in a face-to-face

meeting. He obtained the name of the station master in Durban

and sent him a letter. He wrote that he was a barrister who was

accustomed to travelling first class. He said he would present himself

at the station masters office the following day to obtain his ticket. By

leaving no time for a reply, Gandhi successfully averted the possibility

of getting a negative reply by mail. Te station master would have


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Mahatma Gandhi rides first classa lesson in negotiation

to discuss his request in person, and Gandhi knew he had a better

chance if he could plead his case personally.

Gandhi appeared before the station master the next day in what

he describes as faultless English dress. He wanted to impress the

station master with the basic fact that both of them were from the

same social class, even if they were of different races.

You sent me the note? asked the station master.

Tat is so, said Gandhi. I shall be much obliged if you give me aticket. I must reach Pretoria today.

Now came a bit of good fortune, thanks to Gandhis insistence

on a personal meeting. I am not a ransvaaler, said the station

master. I am a Hollander. I appreciate your feelings, and you have

my sympathy.

Te station master issued Gandhi a ticket, but on the condition

that Gandhi should not involve him if the train conductor later

challenged the ticket. Gandhi agreed, although this eliminated an

authoritative ally who could have proved to be more than useful later.

I wish you a safe journey. I can see you are a gentleman, the station

master concluded.

Now came the hardest part. Gandhi had to find a way of convincing

the conductor, who would not be from the same social class and who

would be a ransvaaler, to let him travel first-class. Here is where

Gandhi made use of something called the audience principle in

negotiations. He needed to find someone who would be sympathetic

to his position that well-dressed and well-behaved people can travel


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first class, and to whom the conductor would feel answerable (in

some manner).

Gandhi walked along the corridor in the first-class car until he found

the audience he was looking for: an Englishman sitting by himself

in a first-class compartment in which no South African whites were

present. He sat down, holding his first-class ticket and waiting for

the conductor to arrive. When the conductor came, he immediately

saw that Gandhi was Indian and angrily demanded that he move to

third class. Gandhi showed him his ticket. Tat doesnt matter, said

the conductor.

Ten Gandhis audience, who was observing this rude behaviour,

spoke up. What do you mean by troubling the gentleman? he asked.

Dont you see he has a first-class ticket? I dont mind in the least his

travelling with me. Te Englishman then turned to Gandhi and said,

You should make yourself comfortable where you are.

If you want to ride with a coolie, what do I care? said the

conductor. Te conductor retreated and Gandhi completed his trip

in first class.

Te Wharton Negotiation Programme says this on the audience

principle: In difficult cases, you will need to search for an allyathird party to whom your bargaining counterpart is answerable

and who is sympathetic to your orms. Once you can locate such

a person, you need to arrange things so you negotiate in the third

partys presence or under their protection. Allies serve as audiences

to guarantee the application of standards that ought, in fairness, to

apply. In essence, you leverage the audiences consistency to bypass

the party that opposes your goals.


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5How easy is it to do business

with you?

For every sale you miss

because youre too

enthusiastic, you will miss a

hundred because youre not

enthusiastic enough.Zig Ziglar

Your sales success depends on

your attitudenot the attitude

of the prospects or buyers.

Chetan Walia


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How easy is it to do business with you?

L

ast week at our office, we were in need of a duplex colour laser

printer for a marketing exercise. It was urgent. We wanted to

buy one immediately, but some of the leading companies just would

not sell one.

Our first stop was the Canon imaging centre. It happens to be right

next door to our office, so it was more or less an obvious destination.

Tere were lots of printers on display. You could use the printers and

then decide which to buy. We did that, and told the store manager

about our choice. He responded, Tis is just a display centre. We

dont sell here. He also told us that we could walk into Reliance

Digital Mart next door. Tey were the authorized sellers.

ake note of the mistakes he made. Why should you ask a potential

customer, who is ready to buy, to take the trouble of searching again?

And why expose a customer to a place which has printers from

other companies?

We walked into Reliance. At the printer section, we told the

salesman that we wanted the A3 Canon printer (of such-and-such

model number). He said, Tis is a high-end printer. We dont stock

it. He also said he did not know where we could buy it. However, he

gave us the phone number of an HP dealer who deals in high-end

printers. I could not believe it. Why should they not have sold it

themselves? It means the loss of a sale of Rs 450,000.

We then explored the HP site, which, by the way, is a very good one.

We zeroed in on the printer and dialled the number we had been

given. Te man was not an HP dealer. He was the regional sales

manager for the region. Surely, he would not lose an opportunity to

make a quick sale. Tis is how the conversation went:

My colleague: We want such-and-such printer.


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Regional sales manager: Tats a high-end printer. It will take at

least four to six weeks to deliver it.

(Why should you kill a sale before even making one?)

My colleague: Okay. Do you have any colour duplex laser printer

that I can have by tomorrow?

Regional sales manager: Yes, I do. Let me send you a quotation.

My colleague: I dont want a quotation. Just tell me the modelnumber. Ill look it up on your site and confirm it with you

right now.

Regional sales manager: I need to look up the stock position. Ill call

you back in ten minutes.

My colleague: Okay.

I was actually wondering by then how these companies make money.

How many sales do they lose like this?

wo hours later, the man called. He said, Te duplex printers

will take at least one week. Ill try to make it come through sooner

and might be able to manage it. I am sending you a mail with the

quotation (again!). Just reply with a confirmation and well

get started.

Te mail arrived after 48 hours. Tere has been no follow-up call

till today.

In the meanwhile, we called Brother, who said they would have the

person concerned call us back. He did call but by the time he did, we

had called Xerox.Our experience with Xerox was a great one and something to learn


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from. We called the Xerox dealer and told him we wanted a duplex

printer. He directed us to the web page on which the printers (and

prices) were listed. It took about five minutes to decide on the model.

Once we told him the model number, he said, It usually takes

two weeks to deliver these machines. However, the company stock

position shows availability in Hyderabad. So we can probably have it

delivered in three days. All I need from you is a mail confirming the

order. Te printer will be delivered to you within three days. Once

the machine is installed and you have a test print in your hand, youcan write our cheque. Is that fair?

No wonder that Xerox is known for exemplary sales processes.

I called fourteen businesses immediately after this incident. All

these are either past or present clients. I can guarantee that none of

them is even aware that it lost business on that day (like you might

not be on other days). Te receptionists of the companies answered

the telephone. I told them that I want to buy XYZ (a product or

service that I had seen on their website). In all cases, the receptionist

did not know what to do. In eleven cases, the call was transferred

to someone else, who did not know what to do either. Mostly, this

person wanted to have someone else to come and meet me. I do not

understand what the matter wasI was placing an order, but theycould not take it. In the other three cases, my call was received by

people who probably were salespeople. All three insisted on sending

me a proposal or a quotation. Tey just did not have the guts to sell

without one. Tey simply did not know how to close a sale.

You must ask yourself the question: how easy is it to do business

with me? It is easy to talk about lousy service and lousy businesspractices when it is someone elses company, but it is much more


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difficult to address it in your own backyard. o make sure you are

not driving your customers away, please implement the following

seven steps, which create customer loyalty and make it easy to do

business with you.

1. Be available when I need to buy:Can I place an order 24/7? Can

I buy on-line, over the phone, or in person? Anything less is not

enough.

2. Have human beings answer the phone:How much do you hateyour call being answered by automated (computer) answering

systems? Do you use automated answering systems?

3. Hire friendly people:How friendly your people are is a point of

extreme importance. How comfortable are they in making friends

with a stranger?

4. Use technology: Use technology to save time and money, and to bemore productive. (An example is that of Xerox.)

5. Identify reasons for customer attrition:Identify the reasons and

address them. If you think customers are leaving you for price, then

start again. Tey are leaving you for your inability to justify the

reasons for them to pay.

6. Identify reasons why customers are buying from you: Upon

identifying these reasons, take action to increase selling

opportunities.

7. Be your own customer:Would you do business with yourself? Call

your company now to find out.

If you are reading this and thinking, Tere is nothing I can doabout it, you are wrong. I have a suggestion. Contact one of your


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trusted customers and ask him or her to try to place a large order five

minutes before the start of your business day. Ten ask the person

to e-mail his or her experience to you. Forward the e-mail to your

CEO, then sit back and watch the sparks fly!

If you would like to see huge numbers being achieved, double your

efforts and focus them on the people who give you the numbers

your present clients.


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6A mockery of leadership

in Parliament

You may fool all the people some of the time,

you can even fool some of the people all of

the time, but you cannot fool all of the people

all the time.

Abraham Lincoln

An insight that can cause a dramatic

change is the first prerequisite of a leader.

Without it there is no leadership. If you know

a leader who doesnt have this, you dont

know a leader.

Chetan Walia


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A mockery of leadership in Parliament

O

n July 21 and 22, 2008, the Government of India faced a vote

of trust over a debate on the nuclear deal. Te government

survived and was to progress with the nuclear deal. Dr Manmohan

Singh now had a new image. New leaders were created, but

leadership became a complete mockery.

Tere was probably never any doubt that the nuclear deal would go

through, irrespective of the fate of the government. Te deal was

just a matter of time, especially after the president in waiting of the

US, Obama, made it clear that he had no intentions of making any

changes in the agreement. I cannot help but wonder what, then, was

the purpose of this special session in Parliament.

Supposedly, there was to be a debate on the nuclear deal, on issues

relating to energy security and on the safeguards needed to protect

India. I would assume that all these issues are of the greatest

importance and relevance to us, considering the fact that they were

enough to motivate some people to want to topple the government

and enough to make some forget their old rivalries and join the

government. Tey were important enough to get people out of

jail to write the laws of the country, and to have a new candidate

nominated for the top job. Yet, during the debate, not one of the 542

parliamentarians actually spoke about the actual issues.

One would have thought that the leader of the Opposition, Mr

Advani, would be very keen on raising these issues. After all, he still

heads the single largest party in Parliament. He is a prime ministerial

candidate for the elections to be held soon, and it was his esteemed

colleague, Mr Vajpayee, who was responsible for mobilizing opinion

for the deal originally Terefore, when the time came, the BJP wasevidently undecided on whether it wanted to share credit with the


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Congress for a victory over pushing the deal through. Te confused

BJP chose rather to have all or nothing. Mr Advani took no clear

stand on the nuclear deal and his speech was interspersed with

personal attacks on the Prime Ministerhardly inspiring coming

from a leader of his calibre. Why would a leader of his repute or, for

that matter, from a party with such an enormous following not take

a stand? Why should the BJP not answer the simple question of

whether it wants the nuclear deal or not?

For me, the drama in Parliament that prevented the Prime Minister

from speaking and the shameless display of bundles of cash bear

testimony to one simple fact: the debate was not about the nuclear

deal. It was a cover for an opportunistic endeavour. It provided

an opportunity to some for making quick cash, and to others for

getting airports named after themselves, for securing ministries, for

bestowing favours in return for corporate loyalties, or for promotingthe ambition of holding the highest office.

Deal or no deal. It didnt even matter. It was never an issue.

Leadership to be proud of?

Naturally then, the issue was never debated. No debate was needed,

since it had already been decided before Parliament opened on July

21. It was decided on the basis of which side had more to offer who

had more to lure people to vote for it or to abstain, and who had

more on the ammunition that it had stocked up for exposing the

opportunistic greed of elected leaders from the other side. Have no

doubt, however, on the fact that there were givers and takers on both

sides. Te post-22nd drama was only a case of sour grapes.

What was perhaps even more appalling than the actual event was the

commentary on it by our politicians. During a television programme


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A mockery of leadership in Parliament

on July 22, leaders of various political parties heaved a unanimous

sigh of reliefAt least there are only 20 out of 540 people who are

corrupt. For the sake of statistics, 20 parliamentarians represent

four crore Indians. Let us then celebrate the fact that only four crore

Indians are corrupt!

Leadership, to my mind, is the ability to inspire and guide people by

putting forth a compelling and articulate vision for a better future.

Not one of the speakers in our Parliament on that day had vision

or inspiration. Tey only had personal agendas. Te sole exception

was Omar Abdullah. Lalu Prasad Yadav was funny, at best. We have

already discussed L.K. Advani. Tough the Prime Minister was

not allowed to make his point, the text of his speech, made available

later, was, at best, tit for tat. Te leaders of the Left parties seemed

to be looking for other issues, probably having realized that they had

lost the current one. Rahul Gandhis speech, I am an Indian..., wasstraight out of Bollywood.

Where were the great speeches of the past, like those of Nehru or

even Vajpayee? Where was the leadership? Where was the vision?

Where was the inspiration? On that day of historical relevance, did

any of us feel inspired to collaborate with any of our leaders over

the future he or she envisages for us? Do we even remotely want toemulate our parliamentarians, who buy and sell issues? People name

three possible leaders for the futureManmohan Singh, Advani and

Mayawati. Do you feel like choosing any of them?

Yes, people are being held accountable. Tey are being expelled from

parties. As a symbol of even greater mockery, even the speaker was

not spared, perhaps for being a speaker and no other reason. Tisis just too absurd. Dont you agree that what really needs to be held


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accountable is the mockery and absurdity that we call leadership in

our democratically elected parliament?

But the fact that there is no leadership is quite evident. Why, then,

are we electing it?


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Economic slowdownhow to deal with change?

7Economic slowdownhow to deal

with change?

If you dont like something change it;

if you cant change it, change the way

you think about it.Mary Engelbreit

History will remember this slowdown as

our inability to focus on abundance. We

were so shortsighted that we killed the

goose in search of eggs.

Chetan Walia


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hings change and will continue to change every day.

Oftentimes, the impact of change initiated by big companies

is felt by the very people who helped them become big or helped

them stay big. Be it a change in the economy, for example, that in the

US economy, a merger, such as the KingfisherDeccan merger, or a

change like the proposed KingfisherJetAirways alliance, the effect

will be felt most by the people involved in the cause. In Deccan, for

example, the effect is felt by the people responsible for the low-cost

model that got them into the big game. Tis is even applicable to theintroduction of a new product or a change in compensation plans.

Let us try to understand the word change.

When change is the effect, meaning that when change is a result of

something (like some of the situations mentioned above), its impact

is usually negative. Such change is usually brought about by losses,

greed, economic forces or economic conditions, or in some cases, to

appease the stock market or investors (to reduce costs and increase

earnings). Tere are few winners and few at fault as well. In such

situations, most of us are likely to feel the dark side of change and

can experience the following feelings.

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is -.

Change is . Change


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and the market is not what it was a year ago. But nor was the market

what it was a year before the growth wave started. Something

happened to get the market there. Tat something was not words

like cutting costs, laying off people, sustaining strategy, cutting

training, cutting travel and economizing. Tat something was, Lets

do it.

People seem to be waiting to see what happens, which I think is a

big mistake. Why should you do that and not move towards what

you want as an end result? It is true you cannot change the whole

economy, but you can and should very well change your own. Tere

were companies who reported growth even in the depression of 1929

and we are nowhere near a situation like that. If you are waiting

to see what happens, you do not need any great insights to make

a prediction; I will tell you right now what will happen. You are

basically waiting to confirm if your fears are true and because you arelooking for it, you will find the evidence that your fears are indeed

true. As the great Peter Drucker said: Te best way to predict the

future is create it.

If the future that you are predicting, rather not even predicting, is

one of waiting to confirm your fears, guess what you will be able to

create for yourself in that futureconfirmation. Your prediction,even though unspoken and whatever it may be, is and will be

the truth.

I know the questions that will crop up in the minds of a few. Tere

is evidence, there are data, there is market reality, the Sensex is down

from 21000 to 9000, foreign investment is pulling out, and so on.

I say you are right. All of this is true and personally, I am not evenquestioning it. Tere are, however, more dataour growth rate is


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at least 7%, our banking systems are still among the most assured

(economists say the service sector will be the worst hit, government

records report an absurd increase in service tax collections), exports

are growing, people are still buying, demand has not fallen. So what

if the financial sector is not growing?

Yes, the Sensex is down, but this might be a bit of an opportunity

rather than a problem. Besides, the interest rates on fixed deposits

are not down; they never were! Remember, I mentioned earlier on

that the negative effects of change are a result of greed, too. Foreign

investment is disappearing. I would again say that this is more an

effect than a cause. What do you need the money for if you really

believe that there will be no growth? If you believe that there is a

slowdown and communicate that, who is going to invest?

Te main point I am making is that if you are preparing for a

slowdown, slowdown will knock at your door. Is there no other way?

Can you think of defying the slowdown and asking how to defy it? Is

it possible that you may have the intelligence to get an answer?

I am not only referring to the way companies are treating themselves.

I am talking about individuals, too. I am quite certain that most of

the people reading this are already prepared for little or no hike.

Some are happy to have a job rather than having been laid off, so

they obviously might not be expecting a promotion.

Let us assume for a minute that the fear is reality. Tere may be no

pay hike, promotion, etc., because for now, it is not in your control.

However, the issue is not this. Te issue is expecting and accepting it.

Since you obviously cannot force anyone to give you something that

he might not have, what do you do? In simple terms, this is what you


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do: think abundance and ask yourself how, rather than thinking that

you have no other way. Henry Ford had said, If you believe you can

or cannot, either ways you are right.

Here are a few alternative ways to look at change:

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Change is .

Without getting into a detailed explanation of this, I would like to

say one more thing. Both the descriptors of change mentioned above

are self-fulfilling. You may chose either one and experience it in the

same manner.

Here is the remedy and a few personal rules to help you react

to change:

K :

Rather than thinking this sucks, make a plan for what can be done.

If you believe nothing can be done, then get out and do something

else. You should have done this long back, anyway. Do not accept it.

Defy it.

K :

Tis is a very important rule. Even in the slowest of economic times,

no decent company will ever fire or lay off their best people. Tis

is guaranteed.

Instead of waiting to see what happens, do what is in your control.


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Do things to be the best. I can assure you that the best people will

still be getting a raise because they cannot be lost.

K :

What would you really like to do? Why are you not doing that?

A friend of mine, whose hobby was photography, lost his job with

an insurance company in Mumbai last month. Without wasting any

time in trying to look for jobs like most of the others were, he set

up a website overnight and put his pictures for sale on it. He pickedup his camera and started shooting more and more, mostly wildlife.

He tells me that whatever he put up for sale has been sold. He is not

making nearly as much money as he used to, but he is on his way and

much better off than those lined up in queues outside the doors of

other insurance companies. He wants to get back to his job but not

now, he says. He will do so on his own terms.

S :

Te odds are that if you are dissatisfied with what is happening, so

are others. Stay away from groaners, whiners, moaners and other

assorted non-solution-oriented people. Mixing with them is a waste

of your time and energy. You will unnecessarily replicate stupid

beliefs. alk abundance. Discuss abundance. Attract abundance.

B:

Your outlook on what can happen will determine how you work.

Faith in yourself and your circumstances will carry the day.

Change will take place every day. Do not get nervous; get excited.

Tere are no easy answers when you are in the heat of the fire. Tere

is one guarantee anywayno matter what happens, the sun willcome up tomorrow. If you are even a little smart, then you will be

coming up too.


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8Negotiationhidden meanings

in conversations

Let every eye negotiate for itself and

trust no agent.

William Shakespeare

Listen longer than the other person.

Speak less than the other person.

Get comfortable with silence. You will

always have an upper hand in any

negotiation.

Chetan Walia


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D

uring negotiations, or for that matter, any conversation, the

things being said are often very different from their meaning.

Specifically in a business conversation, one must look for hidden

meanings in what other people are saying. Very often, what is

left out of a speech or conversation is just as meaningful as what

is said. Further, one must be skillful in not giving away ones own

hidden meanings.

Te following list highlights expressions and words that indicate

hidden meanings in conversations. It is quite interesting!

Expressions meaning the opposite: Sometimes, people say the

opposite of what they really mean. Tis is very popular during sales

(or buying) conversations.

Some often used phrases are: Its not important but I just want to let

you know that.... Bear in mind that if something is not important,then there is no need to assert that it is not important. For example,

we never say, Its not important but the sky is bluewe just

state it. You can be sure that when the phrase is used in a business

conversation, the statement that follows is very, very important. In

fact, the statement might express the foremost concern of the person.

If a buyer makes a statement like this, you can be 100 per cent

certain that he or she is expressing his or her greatest objection.

Sometimes people use the words, Dont worry...., meaning

something similar. Make sure you take what comes after this or what

has been said just before very seriously, and be worried.

Another expression that means the opposite of what it seems to say

is, Just want to tell you You can be very sure that a monumentalpiece of information or a big demand is coming your way. We can


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Negotiationhidden meanings in conversations

work out the details later is also deceptive. It basically means that

the person is not willing to show his cards. Later means there is a

lot more negotiation to do.

:Tese are expressions that, at face value, indicate a

casual reference but, in fact, precede a big announcement. Commonly

used throwaways are by the way, I just remembered, as you are

aware, incidentally and before I forget. Whenever you hear these,

be prepared for a giant announcement or claim.

L:Tese are expressions used to legitimize a statement

that is not completely true.

Te phrase actually the truth is... is a legitimizer. Tink for a

moment about what a person could mean by these words. Does he or

she mean that whatever they have been saying is untrue? Most likely,

yes. Rather, one of the two is definite, that is, either what the personhas been telling you till then was a complete lie or what is going to

follow will be one.

Other legitimizers are frankly, honestly speaking and to tell you

the truth. Whenever you hear these words, you can be sure that

what is to follow will be anything but honest. For example, if you

are conducting a job interview and the candidate says, Honestlyspeaking, I havent thought about the salary, I can guarantee that

he has spent the entire night only thinking about the salary. If a

buyer of your products or service says, Frankly speaking, you are

twice as expensive as the current supplier, you can be sure he is

talking nonsense.

Be on the lookout for legitimizers. Tey can be very powerful inthe negotiation process. Incidentally, if you listen to the prime-time


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news carefully, you will be amazed at the number of politicians using

legitimizers in their interviews!

J:Tese are expressions that lay the foundation for

failure. If you are having a conversation with somebody and he or

she uses a justifier, it indicates that most probably something has

occurred during the conversation to make the person give up on the

process. If you walk out at that stage, it will all be over.

Phrases like Ill try my best andIll see what I can do are justifiers.Tese phrases are endings. You need to deal with the situation there

and then. It might be a good idea to start all over again.

Justifiers are even more dangerous when the person starts talking in

terms of we, i.e. he or she had been saying things like I will see or I

will do and suddenly changes to we will see what needs to be done

or we will look into it. Tis is a sure sign of transferring the powerto a third person and and ending ones own ability or interest.

E: Tis refers to words that erase everything that came

before them in a conversation.

Te two major erasers are the words but and however. Whenever

these words are used, everything that has been said before them is

no longer valid. If you are in a sales conversation and the buyer says,I like your product and I agree this will be of immense value to our

company; however...., the use of the word however negates all that

came before it. You need to start again.

D: Tese are statements immediately preceding an eraser

that mean the opposite of what is stated. Sometimes deceptions are

also used as legitimizers, for example, I am no student of law, but...


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Negotiationhidden meanings in conversations

Tis basically implies the opposite of what it statesthat whether or

not the person is a lawyer, he knows his stuff.

P:Tese are clauses that get you ready for the speakers

request. Tey include phrases like:

I dont mean to be personal

I dont want to intrude...

I need a big favour

Tis is very embarrassing...

Such words are basically used to get concessions out of you. When

a person says that he or she needs a big favour, it makes you think

that he or she is talking about something major. What will follow is

a request for something small, but because you were preparing for a

big request, you are likely to give in.

Te same goes for a statement like I dont mean to be personal.

You will start to wonder what on earth the person is going to ask. It

will actually be a small favour that you might now be compelled to

provide, a favour which you might not have granted if asked directly.

:Tese are expressions which indicate that the

speaker has already made up his or her mind and wants your opinion

on it. Tey include phrases like the following.

I havent given it a lot of thought: Tis actually means that the

person has thought and decided. He or she is testing you.

Te top-of-my-mind thought is...: Tis means the person does not

want to disclose what he or she has thought and concluded. But he

or she has concluded.


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Tinking aloud: Be sure that the matter has been analysed and

thoroughly thought out.

If you come across these statements in a sales conversation, it is

the perfect time to close. Te buyer is basically stating his or her

buying preference.

Listening to and studying conversations can be very intriguing.

Watch out for hidden meanings and the typical phrases mentioned

above. A knowledge of them can be very useful in leading anegotiation conversation. It can help you figure out what to work

with and what to ignore. It takes a bit of practice but is a whole

lot of fun.


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9Leadershipyou have it

or you dont

The task of the leader is to get his

people from where they are to where

they have not been.Henry Kissinger

If you have an insight, youll become

a leader. If you dont have one, then

stop reading about leadership. Go,

look within, Become self-aware.

Chetan Walia


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W

hat is leadership? Can leaders be developed? Can leadership

be taught? Is there any sense in leadership development

programmes? If the qualities arent already there, can leadership

emerge in a person? Is organizational leadership different from social

or political leadership? What makes a good leader? What inspires

people to follow a leader?

Tese are, indeed, some very commonly asked questions. Tey are

very intriguing as well. Our answers to these questions form our

perceptions of the word leadership.

An organization pays much attention and attaches much value to

choosing or promoting people for leadership roles. Everyone who

does not get that job is constantly wondering, What am I missing?

What do I need to do? And believe me, most people who do get

that job are often wondering, Why me? What did I do right?

What is strange, though, is the fact that people promoting or

choosing leaders are also unable to provide articulate and precise

answers to these questions. Most often, I have heard statements like,

Not there yet, or, Doesnt have that leadership skill, or, Something

is missing. Doesnt fit in.

I have spoken with and questioned plenty of leaders on this subject.However, I have come across very few who have been able to actually

answer the question, What is missing? In fact, only one or two. Te

reason for this may be that we fail to understand what leadership is.

So what is leadership? As the dictionaries of the world suggest,

leadership is the action of leading a group of people. Tis sounds

fairly simple, but what the definition misses out on is the aspect ofleading for what?


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Leadershipyou have it or you dont

Also, why should a group of people be willing to be led by you?

Leadership, to my mind, is the ability to inspire and guide peoplethrough a compelling and articulate vision for a better future for

the people. Whether it is in the context of an organization or a

country, there is no other premise required before choosing a leader.

Everything else is secondary.

People (or those who will follow the leader) are inspired by visions,

not by the person. Tey will be inspired by the person, too, but thatis only later. If you have the insight to visualize, you will have the

ability to lead. If you only have the ability to lead, in the absence of

a very compelling vision that automatically inspires others, then you

are a very good manager, at best, and not a leader. History stands

testimony to this statement.

Look back a few years ago. An ordinary man, with no real standingin society, no wealth and no power to begin with transformed

our nation with just one vision that people bought. Reading the

Bhagavad Geeta in South Africa, he realized that the greatest of

conflicts can be resolved through non-violence. What led him to that

conclusion, I do not know. He got the insight, stated the possibility,

lived it himself and people followed. What is remarkable is the

fact that Mahatma Gandhi actually achieved his vision in another

country. He managed to change laws pertaining to Indians in a

country that despised Indians, or coolies, as they were called at

the time.

If you put the spotlight on any leader whom you like or dislike,

you are likely to find that there was a vision backed by the person.

If you do not, I can guarantee that his leadership was very short-


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lived. Let us take the example of Dr Manmohan Singh. Right

from the days of the Narasimha Rao government to today, at least

economically (I personally believe even otherwiseit just does not

get highlighted enough), he has always had a vision, an insight. One

of the constituents of his vision has been a liberal economy. Within

his party, people follow him. o put it in perspective, no other

non-Gandhian leader has survived for as long. No other leader has

survived, be it Sitaram Kesri or Narasimha Rao himself. Tey could

not define the question leading for what?.

ake Mayawati. For her audience, she definitely has a vision for the

Dalit community. We might find her leadership to be short-lived

if the vision does not expand, as has happened in many other cases.

However, she does have a vision. Hence, she is a leader whom

people follow.

Any sustained leadership will have an insightful vision behind it. No

matter what his shortcomings, Narendra Modi has an absolutely

non-corrupt, progressive government in Gujarat. Sheila Dixit has

made Delhi progress. On the other side, there are leaders who never

get re-elected, simply because they are not able to communicate

leading for what?

It is important to remember that visions arise out of insights. You

cannot create a vision just like that. You can, but you yourself will be

unlikely to emotionally and passionately believe in it and, therefore,

neither will anyone else.

So the answer to the question as to whether leaders can be developed

or leadership be taught is a clear no because leading for what

cannot be defined for a person by anyone else.


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If the qualities are not already there, can leadership emerge in a

person? Te answer is yes because it depends on an insight, which

can actually appear at any time, in a flash. Most corporate success

stories are examples of this. Let me tell you one such story. I am

dramatizing it a bit, but the story is absolutely true.

Tere was a man who had been working as a clerk in a doctors clinic

all his life, for almost fifteen years. Obviously this man was no leader.

One day another doctor visited the clinic. While waiting to meet his

doctor friend, he started chatting with the clerk. Te clerk was very

curious about the kettle this doctor was carrying. Te kettle, the

doctor explained, contained some sort of formula for a medicine that

he had come to sell. Te formula excited the clerk and he wanted

to buy it. Te doctor could not understand why the clerk wanted it

and what use he could have for it. However, the clerk offered him

his entire life savings, of $600 (this was in the 1920s). An hour later,after the two doctors had met and the formula had been rejected,

the visiting doctor decided to sell it to the clerk. Te clerk used

the formula to develop the medicinal drink it was meant for and

started selling it. He gradually started selling it all over America,

then all over the world. I drink it. You might be drinking it right

now. Te clerk simply added one ingredient to the formula. Tat

one ingredient is imagination. Te drink is called Coke. Te formula

inspired an insight, which inspired a vision.

Leadership cannot be developed. Te clerk had been a clerk for a

long time. But leadership can emerge suddenly through an insight.

Terefore, what can be done is people can be made more and more

self-aware. Self-awareness will and almost always does lead to

insights. How passionately committed you can be to your learning


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in life or your insights will define your ability to see and state a

possibility. Your belief and boldness in living out that possibility

will define how others may get inspired. Your plan to achieve that

possibility will infect others with your belief. It is almost certain that

the first plan will failthat is the thumb rule for any new initiative.

Your determination, persistence, relentlessness and will to create

another one and inspire people to keep marching on will define your

charisma. Your charisma will draw more people to your vision. Your

ability to transfer your learning and insights to the people will makethem more self-aware and help them discover their own insights.

Tis, in turn, will help you to develop more leaders.

And all this needs to happen without your trying to do it. Trough

a compelling vision for the future.

All this holds good for an organization as well. Have the guts to

give people insights. Do not give them designations. Insight can

be given in many ways. Give youngsters, for example, complete

business responsibility. Ask them to be accountable for profit and

loss. Tey will surely learn some hard truths from it. Get each of

your salespeople to write a weekly column for their clients, every

week without fail. Tey will not be able to do it initially. Teir

credibility and reputation will suffer, and they will gain insights intocommunication through this experience. Get your human resource

team to be directly accountable for business resultsif all the others

do not meet the targets, then human resource team should not

get a raise at all. Tis will give them an insight into what practices,

systems, policies and training are needed to achieve results! Get

your aspiring CEO to address a press conference on the future of

your company ten years hence. Tis reality check might give him

some insights.


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Have the guts to take the risk of unsettling people because once they

have the insight and only when they do, you will have your leader.

Te unsettling experience will separate leaders from managers. Te

managers will occupy themselves with managing the mess resulting

from the unsettling experience. Tey will constantly try to negotiate

a way out of the experience. Te leaders will be stating possibilities

after their experience.

What you can do is endless. It is limited only by your imagination.

Te question is whether you yourself have the insight. Whether you

do or not, the very least you can do is to not confine the definition

of leadership merely to skills. It starts with an insight, a vision. You

either have one or you dont. Everything else follows.


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10Breaking the price barrier

When you sell a man a book,

you dont sell him 12 ounces of

paper and ink and glueyou

sell him a whole new life.

Christopher Morley

At the end of it, it might still seem

high but as long as it doesnt seem

expensive, youre okay.

Sell memories, not pictures.

Chetan Walia


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Breaking the price barrier

W

e all have problems with price. Between myself and my

clients, I have probably been through every single situation

that you have ever dreamt of with regard to price resistance and in

this section, I mention some of the more relevant points that have

occurred to me. I will address the question in two parts: a) three

basic ways to minimize price resistance in the first place, and b) seven

points on handling price objections.

a) Tree basic ways to minimize a price resistance in the first place:

1) Do not start the selling process with a lower-level person in an

organization: Never go to people belonging to the lower levels of an

organization. Te lower you go in an organization, the lower is the

power to take a decision and the lower is the spending allowance.

Another reason for the high price-resistance of people at the lower

levels is that they are not exposed to high numbers, as their seniorsmight be, and hence, are not attuned to value-adding ideas.

Most important of all, people at the lower levels insist on saving

money and it is in these terms that they will present your proposal

internally. Tose at the higher levels, on the other hand, want to

make a profit and will view your price from the point of view of

calculating a justifiable return on investment.Finally, the higher you start, the easier it is to get a real decision-

maker. Te only reason salespeople go to a person at the lower level

is to get an easier level of entry, but this actually complicates matters.

2) Willingness to pay and ability to pay are two different things:

Nobody is ever willing to pay, but whether or not they can is a

totally different matter. Most people can. Tey can find the moneyif they want the product badly enough. Te point is whether they


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then developed a mechanism to prove how its products can do that

for its customers. Te company has seen a 30% increase in closure

rates since then.

A real estate company we were working with guarantees that

any property it sells you will be rented within 120 days of your

purchasing it, or it will pay the fair market rent for up to two years. It

charges a commission that is 2% higher than the market rate.

A television company recognized that its customer is the retailer,and not you and me, so it offers to buy back any sets not sold by its

retailers in the first 180 days at the retail price (not at the factory

price), so that the retailer makes a sale anyway. Now which television

do you think the retailer would prefer to stock? Consequently, which

television do you think would be the most easily available in the

market?

A car dealer we worked with in Bangalore doubled his business by

offering a no-questions-asked, two-week, 100 per cent money-back

guarantee on the purchase of any new or used car. No dealer had

ever offered this. If you were going to buy a car, why in the world

would you buy it from another dealer when you might make a

mistake and regret it a week later? His sales volume shot up. Tere

was a small number of people who did bring the cars back, but

surprisingly, the vast majority did not want their money back. Tey

wanted to trade up to a larger model or a more luxurious one. So the

dealer actually made more profit than he did on the initial sale.

Tese are not extraordinary examples. Tey are just cases of

normal business people shifting the buying criteria. Te possibilities

are endless.


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b) Seven points on handling price objections:

All of these might not apply to your situation. However, you will beable to modify or use at least some of them.

1) Do not mention the price until the customer asks for it. Do not

bring up the price in the beginning. If a person says, Well, that looks

like an interesting product. How much is it? Say, Could I come to

that in just a second? Tats the good part. I just want to go over one

or two more things quickly. And then come to the price, bringingit into the conversation where you want it to come in. In my sales

presentations, there is a specific place where the price appears and at

that point, either the customer says, Oh, by the way, how much is

it? or I say, I think youd like to know the investment. But it does

not come up until that point and if it does, I put it off.

2) Always focus your presentation on the benefit the customersreceive, not on the money you receive. alk about what they are

getting rather than what you are getting. If the price is coming into

the conversation too often, you have already made a basic error.

3) Always justify the price with sound reasons.

4) Never discuss the price without mentioning the values and

benefits at the same time. If a person says, How much is thismachine? never say, Tis machine is for x number of rupees. What

you say is, Tis machine, including this, this and this, plus these

attachments, plus 90 days warranty and a supply of 1000 sheets

of paper, will cost you only x number of rupees per month. It is

very important to use the word only. It removes the perception of

something being expensive.


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In other words, always talk of the price by restating the value that

the person is going to receive as a result of paying that price. Your job

is to increase how much the customer wants, not to argue over the

price. A salesperson is not there to talk about how much the product

costs. A salesperson is there to engage the customer.

5) You can compare the price with more expensive articles. When a

person says, Tat costs too much, a perfect answer is, Compared

with what, Mr. Prospect? Sometimes, they do not understand what

you are talking about. Tey have no idea what things cost. Tey

may not have bought such a product for five years and do not realize

that the price has gone up by 200%. If they answer, Compared with

ABCs product, you can say, Mr Prospect, ABCs product in the

same line is 5000 more expensive than ours is. As a matter of fact,

heres their recent price sheet...

You have to find out what they are comparing you with. If you say,

Tis is a Mercedes automobile, and they say, Tat costs a lot! you

should ask, Compared to what? If they say, Compared to Honda,

you should say, Tats true. But there are very distinct differences

and reasons why it costs so much more. Would you like to know

what they are? So, always compare apples to oranges.

6) A very good strategy is to stretch the price over the life of the

product. If the person says, God, that costs a lot! you should say, It

costs 50,000 times more than the other machine, but Mr. Prospect,

this machine has a five-year life. Tat works out to about 10,000

or more a year, which is about 800 more a month, for all of the

additional qualities, the accessories and facilities that are built into it.

It is basically a question of its working out to approximately 25 morea day. Is having all these features involved worth 25 more a day?


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Te more you stretch the price over the life of the product, the

smaller it appears to be.

7) Never argue over the price. If the prospect says, Tats a lot! you

should say, Yes, Mr. Prospect, its not cheap. However, there are very

good reasons why thousands of people have examined this product

carefully, compared it with our competitors and decided to pay more

and buy it. Would you like to know what they are? Te person will

almost invariably say, Yes, why? Ten you explain the benefits and

values that he or she would get.

Remember at the end of it, it might still seem high but as long as it

doesnt seem too expensive, youre okay.

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11Did the Tatas give up too soon?

Part I

There is good news from Washington

today. Congress is deadlocked and

cant act.

Will Rogers

Deadlock is a direct result of greed and

selfishness. Greed and selfishness

cause blindness. Only open eyes see

abundance. Abundance is everywhere.

Even in the deadlock.

Chetan Walia


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he deadlock over the nano project in Singur has reached such

a pass that there can be no winner now, no matter what the

negotiations centre around.

Tis is how the situation stands.

Investment: Rs 1500 crore

Investment by vendors: Rs 500 crore

Land: 400 acres

Employees: 700

Dispute: Return land to farmers

Result: Deadlock prevails

What do the farmers who are protesting really want? Do they

really want their land back? If they were to get it, would they be

dismantling the factory to grow crops there? Would they return

the compensation paid to them? Would they really give up the

jobs they were offered? Is this land really worth the

Documents

Breakthrougher I [Surpass Your Aspirations]