Skip to main content

East vs West

This was a usual mail that I received nth time on the differences between East and West. I am not a great researcher who claims to have done extensive studies on either or both.

However, this question keeps coming back especially when we are in business discussions that keeps many completely foxed.


I recall an evening with my English boss and South African white senior discussing the frustrations of living/working in India. My boss just could not understand the meaning of completion of work "जल्दी ही " or "soon". He always said that the outcome could be from a few seconds to a few months. So how does one understand the word "soon"? South African senior would give two answers - a white man's answer and a black man's answer. And I, being typical Indian, would agree with all that would frustrate my boss even further.

DEEKAY, how could all contrarian thoughts be agreeable by you?

Therein lies the difference. Indians are used to living in a multi pronged life where everything is true because it is circumstantial and contextual. A spicy starter with bland main course and a deep fried dessert are all great dishes worth enjoying and possibly in the same meal. The problem that an Indian has is when the point of view narrows down to just one "truth" or way of working.

So an Indian working in a western environment would believe in a way of working and be completely at home with a chaotic style. This more of a rule than an exception.

I found a nice talk on a similar subject on TED.

http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Power of observation

Mr Topiwala observed his niece being very interested in dressing up. He engaged in a discussion and came to understand a pain point of large number of Indian women. Something that women are very passionate, possessive about and have a very strong emotional bond, almost unbreakable bond. He created a new product that solved a huge effort and a recurring problem. And this was a self sticking, in varying sizes and design and in colours preferred by women, red and maroon. Since its launch in 1985, the brand is a huge dominant one in the market. Almost synonymous with the category. Companies would envy such a dominance. Over the years many innovations were brought about like iodine enriched, dermatologically tested and many more. 'Shilpa' bindis. An amazing story of a dominant brand that solves a real problem through acute observation. Would love to know of more such stories. #bindingmachine   #observation   #consumerneed   #businessmaze   #indianmaze 204-1-20

The biggest concerns - how we tackle?

These days, there are two topics of discussion. One about the national security and issues related to it and second, economic scenario and its impacts on individuals (own and in the organisations they work in). Jobs are difficult to come by. Packages are not as great as they used to be. How do students in B schools etc tackle it: - toppers are more worried about how much money will they make - others are looking at beyond placement cells - companies that were shooed away till last year are being treated with great honour - some students have resorted to contacting their freinds, long lost uncles, relatives etc to seek a favour On talking to a few CXOs, it was clear that making contacts to seek favours actually works to the detriment of the candidate. They all agreed that people is the key concern for them to run a business. They clarify quickly that it is all about RIGHT PEOPLE. How many students are actually writing to the organisations specifically demonstrating how they can add val...

Mass market opportunities in India

Are there no opportunities in mass market in India? A friend asked me after reading my post on niche opportunities. And the answer is a good news. A large part of consumption in India is still at a commodity and hence, unbranded level. Early enough, brands like Paras in fertilizers (by then HLL) and Parachute in coconut oil (by then Bombay Oil) brought about rhe change by a packaging differentiation/innovation. In hindsight it might appear to be too mundane. Over the years many categories have created brands worth thousands of crores in edible oils, wheat flour (still in early stages), sugar (in infancy) and many others. One such category ripe for disruption is jaggery. Are you ready for it? Both as a consumer and as a business person? #massmarket   #indiabusiness   #indianmaze   #jaggery   #businessmaze   #branding   #hul   #marico 199-1-20