Skip to main content

Unintended learning

It was a noble effort by my banker to invite youngsters for financial awareness programme for the wards of their clients. A renowned financial expert was the star attraction.

In an interaction after the programme, I was talking to a participant and asked about the efficacy of the programme and compared to the objectives set by the bank.

- need for saving - no additional learning
- types of investment - marginal gain in knowledge
- how each type of investment grows in future - went over my head
- "X" bank takes care of investments - OK, what's the big deal

The table turned, when I asked that what were the biggest learnings from a day's programme and the response was stunning:

- we need to plan
- we need to draw our future
- have high interdependence amongst experts
- all my peers are struggling with same problems but not sound them off
- its easier than I thought!

A skill enhancement programme worked as a behavioral transformation programme.

Consumer percieves the benefits that may be very different from the marketer. Need to listen.

Thank you bank. Thank you trainer.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

How reality loses to momentum?

Truth prevails is an old adage that seems to be losing its relevance in the current sentiments. Still I am confident that "Truth shall prevail". Hopefully, sooner than later. The case in point is the investor confidence in the stock market. Indian markets are aping the performance of the stock markets of developed world. In fact, the possible loss in indices is reasonably predictable in the last few weeks based on what happened on the previous day in Europe and US. Are the situations similar? Are Indian businesses facing the same situation as companies in western world? Are Indian corporate giants going bust like crackers in Diwali? Have companies of great repute and history in India have filed for bankruptcy? Has any company in India reported loss of sales (top line) in double digits and evaporation of profits? Slowdown yes. How bad is India? Is it comparable to West? It has baffled me as to how convenient has it been to be infected with "western sentiments" virus ...

What will I do in these difficult economic times?

I was in discussion with a group of youngsters who had gathered for a training programme. As expected discussion moved towards the difficult economic scenario in India and how to cope up with all this. The steps (as suggested by various members of the group) that they will take are: - will not go to cinemas - no parties - no flying (on holiday and otherwise) - only window shopping - less eating out and then they could not go further. This is the reality of today's youth who are likley to be facing difficulty for the first time. This, in my opinion, is true for urban middle/upper middle class offsprings. Back to dinner last night where in more mature (in age if not otherwise) people were talking of cost cutting steps initiated: - cut communication cost, use internet as a replacement - replace travel with video conferencing - if must, travel by train - no entertainment - no more "strategic" investments (that do not generate cash immediately) - minimise cash burn - stop...