15-15: Consumer banking in India vs. in Singapore

Here's a surprise - Singapore banks still have passbook accounts :). Yes, those little resin-bonded logs, which if we ask our fathers, will prove to be as valuable as a Passport!!!

My first few months in Singapore, having seen the passbooks and the banking services here, gave me the belief that Consumer banking in India was leagues ahead.

Although the difference in the levels of penetration of ATMs in the two countries is of the magnitude of the leagues between the Australian and Indian cricket teams ;), I got the feeling that Indian banks were far more fleet-footed in innovating on the gamut of services they provide.

India outpaces Singapore as far as accessibility of credit cards/loans etc. are concerned. And this in spite of the fact that credit risks in India are Goliath sized compared to the Lion city's levels.

But then, my biggest leveler came last week when I discovered the automatic passbook updating machine at Orchard!! Now, whether this is a statement of my utter ignorance of the external world, I ain't sure, but I found that particular piece of technology fascinating. These guys are fast moving to a world of fully automated, teller-less banking. The bank will be reduced to a 2 ft x 6 ft metal frame on a corner of the road!!!

So, till I come across any more differentiators, I'll take the score as 15-15 :).

Oh...just a good-bye note to all ya I-bankers!! Earn & hoard those insane Dollars as quickly as you can. It's not impossible to comprehend that some day some dawdler (relatively speaking) geek sitting somewhere in Redmond or California might just come up with another disruptive innovation obviating the need for the ridiculous human concentration that you guys are donkeyed around for :).

The World & me

I'd much rather be the world to someone
than be someone to the world.

Starbucks - A disappointment for me...

Well, I've had the hallowed opportunity of consuming the ambrosia called Starbucks coffee once I touched the shores of the Lion City.

Turned out to be a big let down for me personally. Tried most major coffees from the Frappe to the Latte to the Cappuccino. Have visited the twin-tailed mermaid about 4/5 times now without any retribution.

I haven't thus far been able to nail the exact reason for this. My lead hypotheses are:

1. The steamed milk they use makes the coffee too bland for my palate. I prefer the classical south-Indian creamed milk coffee boiled on the stove.
2. There's something odd about the sugar at Starbucks. I have to empty half-a-dozen sachets to somehow force my tongue to allow the coffee right-of-way till my epiglottis (that's what the nerds with white overcoats call the throat valve :) ) !!

Starbucks? No, thanx!

I haven't had a coffee experience quite like the Baristas closer to home. The old guitar, the rusty glaze of the tables, the familiar brown of the text, the soft rock melodies humming in the background and an ambience radiating the warmth of many a memorable evening...

It's all about "how" and not "what" you say!

My biggest learning after about a year of working:

Most inter-personal misunderstandings/issues arise out of not what you say, but how you say it.

Obviously, such situations arise in cases of negative feedback or criticizing work/ideas etc. There are very few people have a skill of being able to communicate exactly what they disagree with or what they find bullshit without making it sound a caustic attack on the other person.

It's a good skill to have, me working on it :).

The Sound of Silence

An unusually quiet day. Actually, no longer unusual. Seem to have one of these every couple of weeks.

Total no. of words spoken in the last 24 hours - less than 50!

And it wasn't as if I was a lone warrior in Siberia trakcing down mammoths or something.
During the day, was in a training during our functional meet amidst some 80 odd people. Evening saw the silence brooding along at a friend's place over dinner. Ate, sat, ate more, came back :).

I get that creepy feeling that there's more to this than meets the eye. Which means more mulling over a zillion cause-effect analysis, sorting out the gossamer of a million question threads in my head...
Damn it, stop overworking my already numbed brain!

Where is the steed that was once so lively? Where is the horse that rambled on unfettered by worldly bonds?

I miss the Horsie of yore...

A tale of two city...airports - Manila & Mumbai!!

Returned from the Philippines last evening. The similarities between India and the archipelago are many.

A similar exchange rate to the Dollar, similar population prosperity indices, similar "excellence" of governments, similar consumer behaviours, same unorderliness of life, energy and chaos in the people :). Heck, I was elated to see those junk shops, those roadside foodstalls, the one-window Sari-Sari stores - was so reminiscent of home. Felt nice to be out of the almost mechanized realm of Singapore.

The traffic is much worse though. 1-0 India ;).

Manila airport flew my mind back home to Mumbai airport. And I couldn't help smirking after observing the extent of similarities.
The same long-twining queues, more security staff than travelers, inefficiencies galore, ridiculous rules for personal screening...ah, twas uncanny.

1. I couldn't help being bemused by the super-beefed security. I don't care about being condescending - Philippines is some inconspicuous country in an obscure corner of the world. Nobody would even bat an eyelid if the islands were to disappear. And there's hardly anything there to steal or anyone noteworthy to harm!! So, why all this psychosia for security?
   
   Given that terrorists aren't the next Einsteins around, but I'm sure even they are not as harebrained as to waste their petty lives trying to plot something against the archipelago.
   
   
2. Then came that insanely long queue at immigration. And for no apparent reason other than good-old inefficiency. And, though as pretty as the islands are, there aren't exactly flocks of tourists clamoring in and out of the airport!
   
   
3. It gets better! Next in sequence is the personal security check. Man, I haven't seen a more hypochondriacal race! As you'd normally expect - you are required to empty all pockets, screen all hand baggage. But hereth the clincher - You are to remove shoes, belts, jackets, all sortsa accessories. Basically, just proceed to the X-ray machine in your bare essentials - a shirt and your pants!
   
   It was ridiculous. And they could've most definitely done with some shoe scent there!
   
   I am willing to bet that a few year's down the line, people will be asked to strip to their briefs for screening. (Obviously, you could be hiding two bombs in your underwear ;) ). In the next stage of evolution, we shall all have the immense privilege of feeling like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Manila :).

I was smirking all the way to my aircraft as I was observing these hilarities unfold around me. What a big fuss we humans make of moving across borders! And come to think of it - at the end of the day, it's just a line!

It was a good, fun day :).

Thus spake the Illuminati - The symmetry of our days...

There will be both good days and bad days in life. They are both an integral part of the enigma called "Stayin' alive" ;).

1. The good days give you great memories. Cherish them and smile.
2. The bad days give you experience. Learn from them.

Enjoy life...it was designed precisely for that :).

A Mother is really God on this planet

I have been in the Philippines for most of this week doing consumer research on diapers. It's been a mind opening visit!!

This was the first time I actually visited and saw my consumers. Saw them in flesh and blood and tried to understand what my product really means to them. There's something surreal about a Mom embracing her kid. The smile on the baby's face upon seeing its mother, the smile on the mother's face seeing her baby laugh, speak his baby prattle, do those silly baby things - that's what I'd truly call a Kodak moment :).

My personal learnings are noted here. The business learnings will be compiled in some word document which just won't ever be able to do justice to what a Mom can do for her kid.

1. Only a Mother can make the unconditional sacrifices that she does. I met moms, educated women in their 20s, who had dreams of their own and everything needed to achieve them, who just let them go in a flash to raise their kids.
   
   
2. We, the ones with those fancy looking cars and fat looking figures in the banks, crib about our lives and how difficult it is. It's just surprising how time n again life throws me into these situations where you realise how grateful I should be for what I have.
   I met moms who lived in as abject conditions as you can imagine. Moms who had no guarantee that their husband will earn money the coming week. And yet, she only gave the best to her kid - food, diapers, soap, milk - you name it!!
   For them there was no concept of "I/me" - it was all "You".

I suddenly feel so much respect for my business and brand. In our own small way, we are helping millions of mothers around the world take care of their babies and is something I am really really proud of :).

Even with a million adjectives, I still won't capture that mother-child relationship for what it is. Call it love, belongning, acceptance, safety - whatever...there is nothing quite like a Mother :).

Love ya Mama...And innumerable but insufficient Thank You's.