Author name: Shubranshu Singh

Whither / Wither (?) Creativity

Leave a Comment / Point Of Purchase Magazine /

Creativity as an input into winning the hearts and minds of Shoppers has always been important. Now it has become essential. Like fuel for an engine Creativeness viz- imaginativeness, leveraging insights and innovating are critical determinants of success. The reasons are self evident namely competition and the pace of change. The growth of several new retail formats and the soaking in of multiple streams of information have made the shoppers immune to repetition. They get excited when they see truly creative and engaging approaches. Then they take out their wallets. Two factors catalyze the process of creativity i.e. technological advancements and market acceptance. As people become richer and new choices explode along with old established choices becoming within reach, the shopper is no longer easy to pacify. There is an evolution- revolution happening out there and one thing is in demand -Creativity! So, it is easy to conclude that we must understand how creative people work best and what it takes for a steady supply of great ideas to be generated. While the popular imagination of creative genius is one of solitary effort — A DaVinci or Michelangelo are not of much use in the modern corporate world. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] This is not about the painter in his studio; this is about art on the scale of an assembly line. Shoppers don’t move around in an exhibition or a gallery —They are engaged in an active process of selection and purchase. Therefore creativity aimed at Shopper motivation must be fired by trends that are popular and current. There is another aspect of large corporate structures which needs constant creative reassessment and refueling. That is called the burden of the ‘routine processes’. Departmental processes, procurement timelines, meetings and manuals can become fairly inflexible and rigid when creativity most demands flexibility and morphing. There are umpteen number of emerging technologies that reach the Point of Sale late because adoption en masse happens when the results are obvious. But that’s not creativity that is adoption of someone else’s initiative. Now, if we have a conviction that creativity spurs growth then clearly the burden must fall on our educational system. The task of sending our creatively fecund individuals with inquiring and experimental minds is a pre-requisite to all around growth. It is an area where we seem to be failing. Look at the stereotype and it will show you how much cloning there is in the corporate world. From the moment that a mind is recognized to be belonging to the academic elite, there is pressure to repress originality and creativity and conform. There is reward to believe in the collective wisdom of ages gone by. A new mind, with immature and inchoate interpretations and insights falls in line very fast. This sedation eventually snuffs out the creativity. To avoid this, the influence of educationists like Froebel, Montessori and Pestalozzi needs to be felt from kindergarten to post graduation for us to get true change. But in the interim, what do we do within companies to foster creative talent? 1. Invest in groups of creative people with a deep intirest in practical application in the Shopper domain — their creative chaos will produce result, one has only to be patient 2. Foster Dialogue, debate, discussion with reference to the real marketplace – Make it virtuous to operate with creative impulses. Let shared convictions be questioned. 3. Give leaders of the creative groups wide ranging autonomy and adequate budgets — If what they have imagined in visual terms has to be written up as a memo or put into an Excel sheet and passed up to higher authority, it is a prescription for failure. They create, they implement, they get credited —That’s the mantra. 4. Allow for Shopper interactions in numerous micro pilot projects —The risks of failure are smaller when compared to the risk of losing shoppers where it matters. Therefore, incubate projects in the real market, amongst customers and get live feedback from shoppers and trade. 5. Promote talent in situ – Growth should not mean displacement away from Shoppers. Let people continue to grow while enjoying what they do, where they are. Shopper Marketing career paths should be crafted to navigate several levels of the hierarchy and not merely at the interim or early stage levels. 6. Build commercial reward into the DNA — Idea rich people can often be commercially insensible. The notable exception is the Silicon Valley. Take examples from history — The Chinese invented gunpowder but used it for fireworks only. The Byzantines invented coupling clockwork but used it to levitate the emperor to impress visitors. The Tibetans invented turbines but utilized it only to turn prayer wheels. Ideas will live up to their potential when there is reward in its commercial exploitation. Lastly but most crucially, let your creative group live away from office amidst shoppers. Let them spend time in trade. Let people be curious without constraints of pre-written questionnaires. Let the process of osmosis happen. Creativity is not an urge, it’s a compulsion.

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Senior execs head for exit at HUL

Leave a Comment / The Economic Times /

At least eight senior and middle-level executives have quit Hindustan Unilever over the past two months after spending more than a decade with India’s largest fast moving consumer goods company, indicating a festering dissatisfaction with pressures both within and outside the organisation. Among those who have quit are Sandeep Kataria, global brand director, Comfort who is joining as CMO, Yum Restaurants; Rishi Pardaal, GM, South, who is moving to Marico Bangladesh as CEO and Anuradha Agarwal, marketing manager, hair, who has joined Vodafone as VP, brand marketing (See graphic). At one level, senior employees find growth opportunities limiting even as competing brands are giving HUL’s brands a tough time in the marketplace, said a company official who did not wish to be quoted. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] The HUL spokesperson, however, said the attrition rate was significantly below industry level. “What we have is natural attrition, which is essential and healthy for all organisations in terms of both talent management and development,” the spokesperson said. HUL has been facing pressures from competitors like P&G, Godrej and L’Oreal across categories like detergents, toilet soaps and hair care at the top end and from indigenous brands like Ghari, Godrej No. 1, Santoor, Chik and Dabur at the next level. Another reason for the dissatisfaction is the division of the brand manager function into brand building, brand development and customer marketing roles over the past decade. The new roles have restricted a brand manager’s exposure, said the official quoted earlier. Moreover, multiyear plans laid down for brands have been changed, and local brand managers are being asked to report on 30-day schedules, adding to the pressure. “The organisation is a pyramid, and when you reach a certain senior level you want more acceleration in the decisions you can make, but there is a lack of velocity I have to deal with, which is disappointing,” said an executive who did not wish to be quoted. The disquiet has not gone unnoticed at HUL, which has devised the ‘multi-lane progress’ as a sort of antidote. While it will take some time for the process to come into effect, it allows for professionals to choose between brand building, brand development and sales functions in the earlier stage of their career. Once they have identified what suits them, the best performers are given larger responsibilities at regional or national levels in their respective functions. In the world outside, there is something that still works for HUL: it is a sought-after employer on B-school campuses. The company was rated as the dream company to work for by graduating students across the top 20 B-Schools in India as per AC Nielsen’s Campus Track Survey, says the company spokesperson. Today, companies like Nokia, Dabur and Cadbury are shining examples of what HUL “alumni” have achieved outside. Perhaps it’s time the organisation needs to take a long, hard look at itself, says the executive. In the world outside, there is something that still works for HUL: it is a sought-after employer on B-school campuses. The company was rated as the dream company to work for by graduating students across the top 20 B-Schools in India as per AC Nielsen’s Campus Track Survey, says the company spokesperson. Today, companies like Nokia, Dabur and Cadbury are shining examples of what HUL “alumni” have achieved outside. Perhaps it’s time the organisation needs to take a long, hard look at itself, says the executive. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/senior-executives-head-for-exit-at-hindustan-unilever/articleshow/5736988.cms

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