Anonymous recruitment agency

A few days ago the phone in my office rang . Someone from a recruitment agency called.

Caller : Can I speak with 'concerned' person in HR ?
(amused ) Me : Go ahead , tell me the purpose of this call .
Caller : We are a recruitment agency.Do you use recruitment agencies to hire for your company?
(curious) me : No , not yet any way
(Disappointed) caller : oh , ok . Thank you

Apparently this company does not believe in creating new customers. They'd rather jump in a swamp where are pitted against other 'recruitment agencies'.

Recruitment is serious business . If the company approaches prospects this way it certainly does not leave a positive impression about their ability to understand needs and find suitable candidates.

Luckily (for them ) I did not get the name of company :)

Inception

Watched Inception. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a thief who extracts information from the subconscious mind of his victims while they dream. Unable to visit his children, Cobb is offered a chance to regain his old life in exchange for one last job: performing inception, the planting of an idea into the mind of his client's competitor.

Inception pretty much seems to be the modus operandi of many businesses. Only that it is attempted on the physically awake. Plant the idea that a fairness cream will make you beautiful, a cigarette makes you look cool , a Merc lets people know you have arrived in life. Unending list of inceptions..rather cocktail of inceptions.

After watching Inception anyone would agree that dreams are tough work :) Let the dreams be yours alone . And not those planted to serve an agenda - of an individual(s) or corporation(s).

Finding inspiration instead of it finding you

One approach to innovation and brainstorming is to wait for the muse to appear, to hope that it alights on your shoulder, to be ready to write down whatever comes to you.

The other is to seek it out, will it to appear, train it to arrive on time and on command.

The first method plays into our fears. After all, if you're not inspired, it's not your fault if you don't ship, it's not your fault if you don't do anything remarkable--hey, I don't have any good ideas, you can't expect me to speak up if I don't have any good ideas...

The second method challenges the fear and announces that you've abandoned the resistance and instead prepared to ship. Your first idea might not be good, or even your second or your tenth, but once you dedicate yourself to this cycle, yes, in fact, you will ship and make a difference.

Simple example: start a blog and post once a day on how your favorite company can improve its products or its service. Do it every day for a month, one new, actionable idea each and every day. Within a few weeks, you'll notice the change in the way you find, process and ship ideas.

Seth Godin

Brilliant post by Seth.

Paul Smith for Apple

Delightful range of products . Paul Smith and Apple are creative brands . Not surprising perhaps to see a Paul Smith range for Apple.

An interesting example for other industries to collaborate on specific ranges.

I quite like SoulQuest - Apple , SoulQuest- Paul Smith:)

Rewrite bookstores

I love books and bookstores. In most cities I have visited I almost always visit local book-stores. Kinokuniya and Borders in Singapore are particular favorites. New York , London, Paris, Barcelona , Dubai, Chennai, Hongkong, Delhi , Bangalore , Salem , Jaipur , Jakarta...Even located good book stores in Seoul and Tokyo where I found some interesting English books.

Visited Landmark yesterday . For someone who loves books and bookstores I can't relate with the flea market meets warehouse look that Landmark has come to symbolize. Crossword was never a bookstore with depth. Lately , they mostly have paperback copies of popular titles. I suspect it's more a distribution thing rather than a vision related to book readers.

Wondered if Flipkart has me biased towards bookstores . I realized that there are stores I enjoy browsing . There's a small store in a nearby market where books are stacked from floor to ceiling. Yet , there's a charm about the store that makes me want to brave the rain and traffic.

In book retailing - online offers definite advantages like being able to check related titles , reviews, prices , incredibly time efficient. Brick & mortar stores need to offer something more to draw in repeat customers. That more is not adding clutter to the store in the name product range. Relaxing , delightful , friendly ambience with efficient , personalized service. The competition for a brick & mortar bookstore is not another brick & mortar bookstore.