Category Archives: Patient Care

MBA @ Mother’s Business Academy ….. Mother’s Day Special !!

Mother's DayLong before ‘In Search of Excellence’ and ‘What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School’ became bestsellers. Much before I even knew about management education. A ‘Trustworthy’ practitioner of so many management concepts, as I was to realize later, was just flowing through her daily routine with grace.

This Mother’s Day, I reflect on 10 (in no particular order) Justplainandsimple™ observations about my mother …..

1. ‘Work Life Balance’, as an issue, was unheard of with her. My mother is a retired teacher. She would travel 20 km one way in public transport and still manage all household activities including cooking, ironing, keeping the house clean ….. and teaching me and my brother.

2. Transcending Self and with Immense Inner Strength, she is a Level 5 Leader, (builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility & professional will ~ Jim Collins) who would put family needs above her own, humbly and quietly.

3. Coaching and People Development come so naturally to her. So while she used to help me and my brother (she was a maths teacher) with our studies, her teachings in personal and professional development have been of immense help in shaping and grooming us. Not only that, her ‘Home Grown People Development’ Style is equally effective while training domestic help.

4. While it may not be the most appropriate usage of the term, she fully understands our needs and emotions as (internal) customers and offers solutions and customer experiences unmatched anywhere in the world.

5. With a soft heart, she can take ‘Tough Decisions’ for the good of the family, with equal ease.

6. There is never any task where she does not demonstrate evidence of ‘Execution Excellence’. Balanced meals for the family, arriving at her school on time, keeping the house spick and span, making sure all our requirements, be it school uniform, books etc. were fully met, ensuring 100% results of her students ….. everything achieved with clockwork precision, without an ‘Outlook calendar’.

7. She demonstrated Continuous Learning and Evolution. During her working life, alongwith her busy schedule, she completed two M.A. and one M.Com degrees. Where else could I gain such learnings !? As for our studies she taught us the importance of Practice, Practice, Practice …..

8. We were continually encouraged to have a Big Vision. Her faith and continuous encouragement always made me think (as, I guess all mothers do and believe) that I was the Best in The World ….. !!

9. With both parents working, we had a comfortable childhood financially. But still, managing finances and living according to family income was a challenge, especially till about two decades ago, which she managed with great elan.

10. Last, but not the least, she practiced and then preached the Values of Integrity, Ethics, Discipline, Humility, Empathy, Respect for All and above all ….. Faith in God !!

Maa Tujhe Salaam !! Salute You Mother !! Happy Mother’s Day …..

6,063 total views, no views today

Profit in Low Income Markets ….. An Oxymoron !?

Low IncomeLet’s ask any entrepreneur the question : Why does your business exist ??

Their answers will get bucketed in only two Justplainandsimple™ reasons and in this order :

1)Creating Value for the customer

2)Creating ROI for the Owner

Only if the customers see value, will more of them buy your products and services (n); more frequently (f) and pay you more (p). The cumulative product of these is Revenue (R) i.e. n X f X p. So, value creation is a necessary condition !!

If the entrepreneur does not make a return on his/her resources (after and inspite of and because of providing Value to the customer), there is no reason for them to be in business. Simply put, there could be other uses they can put their resources to, with better risk weighted returns.

However, one could argue, that there is another case/option of Creating Value without looking for returns. A ‘charity/donation’ framework !? This has different implications, which may not be sustainable too. A lot of ‘not for profit’ organisations get caught in this trap. Let’s use this as an example at one end of the spectrum to demonstrate a point.

The logic works like this. It is a ‘not for profit’ organisation, so profit is not an objective to be sought.

Hence, starting at the top of the P&L, fine tuning and polishing the Value Offering to yield optimal R = n X f X p loses significance. This leads to suboptimal product/service offerings coming from this sector. No wonder so many ‘charity’ organisations have gathered a connotation of sub standard offerings.

Next casualty in line is productivity. Since it is ‘not for profit’, squeezing every expense line for productivity is not key. This takes a very critical role in a ‘for profit’ organization.

Hence what flows down at the base of the P&L, is ‘NO PROFIT’ ….. a self fulfilling prophecy !! From where do resources come for funding the loss or resources for growing the scale or further expansion of scope ?? More donation !! Sustainability is affected.

What is needed to flow out, even in such an example of a ‘not for profit’, is a SURPLUS at the base of the P&L after revenues and expenses have been churned.  Whatever purpose that surplus maybe put to. Not for returns to owners, but for building scale, for reaching more beneficiaries, for further investments ….. !?

So whether we call it ‘profit’ or ‘surplus’ the significance is clear. QED.

Reasonable surplus or how much is enough, is a matter for another debate related to human greed and we keep it out of the scope of this discussion for the time being. Needless to say, Profit or surplus is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Therefore we have new concepts of triple bottom line coming up : profit, people and planet.

If profit is a requirement that has to be met, we get answers in the way we define it. Right in the beginning of this article, I indicated the second reason for the existence of businesses to be ‘creating ROI for the owner’.

The entrepreneur is looking for ROI. So relative ROIs from different opportunities are compared and investments made. Defining profit this way, helps us in understanding and resolving this issue creatively.

Profit cannot be made mathematically by increasing prices and cutting expenses. Pricing the product to the market is the key. More customers (n) are not going to pay more (p) or buy more frequently (f) than the value they attach to the offering.

Also, you cannot cost cut your way to glory. There will be expenses, there will be costs. Understanding ‘what adds most value to the customer’, to empathise, allows the business to focus and allocate expenses in areas that are important for value creation and hence to reap benefits of leverage and productivity ….. this is rewarded by the right customers (n) buying at the right frequency (f) at the right price (p) !!

Fundamentally, business is ‘philosophy’, not mathematics.

The answer to ‘Profits in low income markets’ therefore lies in creativity and innovation. To find ways of increasing productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.

Nature teaches us various ways in which a dynamic balance is maintained in ecosystems. An organism (organization) picks up signals from its environment (market reading) and makes structural changes within to respond intelligently and in turn influences the environment. This enables it to learn, co-exist and evolve continuously. The story of evolution is a story of collaboration of species and co-existing/co-evolving symbiotically.

Who influences whom then ? The environment and organism keep the whole ecosystem in a harmonious dynamic balance, playing a continuous dance !! So also should organisations and low income markets ….. a continuous dance of celebrating harmony in an interdependent partnership ….. with flexibility and respecting and honouring integrity and diversity in action !!

This was first published in the Ennovent Blog: Innovations for Sustainability

3,403 total views, no views today

Healthcare set ups that tripped ….. 1

TrippedThere is so much buzz surrounding healthcare today. And rightly so. Healthcare is on a growth path.

All eyes are focused on the healthcare success stories. For gaining valuable learnings and for valuation gains !!

Lost somewhere in the melee are stories of slips that can give equally significant insights.

Without disclosing the identity, here is one such case …..

A new unit, started slow and steady with one healthcare speciality and progressed well. Led by an enthusiastic entrepreneur, full of passion and ambition, ready to take risks. All the correct ingredients it seems.

The enthusiasm led to related diversification into other healthcare verticals.

Two years into this mode, growth started slowing down and profits started getting eroded.

Good brand equity, doctors, patient satisfaction, advertising spends, infrastructure ….. nothing seemed to be wrong.

Root cause analysis brought up a peculiar core issue, generally very difficult to accept by any business leader  ….. that the leader lacked the ability to handle multiple business operations.

Adaptive Thinking, Empowerment with Accountability, Execution Excellence, Networking and Executive Maturity were the development areas that the leader could have sought help in and built on, to Realise Business, Professional and Personal Potential.

More cases …..

 

 

3,374 total views, no views today

How can an Organization ‘Come Alive’ !? Simple Consulting/Learnings from a Cell can help !!

From ‘The Crucibles’ of Justplainandsimple™ Consulting …..

Simplest form of life is a single cell.

It is also works like an organization !? It has a Mission for its Existence and Structure (nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria …..) with well defined roles, relationships and boundaries

What makes it alive is the way it organises its ‘life’ processes …..

–       Each part works for development,  maintenance and regeneration of other parts and of the cell as a whole ….. collaboration

–       This is a self perpetuating creative activity of the cell ….. continuity

–       It interacts with the environment outside its boundary and ‘adjusts’ internally while maintaining its structure and integrity ….. fluidity and learning

If these are built into the DNA of today’s organizations, it can ‘breathe life’ into so many organisations that can ‘Come Alive’ !!

Justplainandsimple™ Consulting Pvt. Ltd. | Business Consulting and Executive Coaching

Website : www.justplainandsimple.com/

Linked In : http://in.linkedin.com/in/jpsingh55

Facebook : www.facebook.com/justplainandsimple

Twitter : @jpssimple

15,487 total views, no views today