Idea for a disruptive biz-model innovation for banks

There is a lot of discussions and activities around the revival of the good old ATM. Some are trying to make these machines more Customer-centric like Wells Fargo. Some are trying to improve the overall user experience of the ATM like Diebold. However, the true question should be the following: “Do we even need an ATM? Is there a better, easier, faster way to manage cash than via an ATM?” The first bank to figure out the answer to this question has the potential to truly disrupt the banking industry from a cash management perspective. One way that I think could be […]

Solving the healthcare crisis

A couple of weeks back, I was attending my cousin’s marriage ceremony in Chennai and my father got fever. He was also complaining of cough and difficulty in breathing. We took him to a clinic where a doctor gave some medication. We came back to our hometown (Bangalore) the next day and took him to a hospital to do continue the treatment as the breathlessness did  not go away. The doctor who attended my father immediately asked him to get admitted in the hospital to enable better care. He was kept in the Intensive care unit for some time under observation and […]

The changing role of a sales executive

In today’s environment, sales executives serve one purpose – to sell your products and services to your prospects and customers. In a B2B environment, we are slowly realizing that the nature of how we sell has and is changing rapidly. We started with selling products and services based on features and benefits. Then we moved towards solutions selling. Slowly, but steadily, we are now moving towards consultative selling or even challenger selling models. All of these models are still geared towards the “Push” model of selling. We have built a product or service, it will will help you solve a […]

Lessons in innovation from a retailer

Now let me ask you a very important question. Please think well and through before you answer this: What happens if you are forced to put an expiry date on every product or service that you create? What if you have to take the product or service off your price list at the end of the expiry date, irrespective of how well the product or service did business for you.. Now, if your business is like any other business that I know of, this is a scary thought.. Scary enough to start thinking about bankruptcy.. However, this is exactly what […]

When someone says “why reinvent the wheel?”

When someone says “Why reinvent the wheel?” , I am tempted to think that the person is trying to maintain the status quo and avoid change, change that is inevitable, change that is better embraced than resisted. I do agree that there could be times and situations where you really do not need to reinvent the wheel.  However, I believe that if you put your thoughts on a topic, you can always find ways to improve upon your previous attempts. It is even more important if you are talking about any of the important functions in your organizations like sales, […]