Saturday, January 16, 2010

Chicken Mohingar and Bajoe

Burma languishes, Burma Town flourishes. Recently discovered this restaurant and introduced it to LIBA folks. Fans of Kailash Kitchen are sure to like Burma Town. Same kind of tasty, crispy and exotic foodie goodies. For the sweet-toothed: Burma is a little too hot for your tongue to handle, so be sure to tell them "no spicy at all" .. And they'll reply "okay medium spicy" .. then you say "not medium spicy, I want no spicy .. very very mild okay" .. thereon you negotiate and bring it down to edible levels of capsaicin.

There arent too many "varieties" per se, but thats okay -- for the average Indian each of those 8 or so varieties is itself extraordinary enough, if not exotic .. and hey you gotta take this seriously, it is the only Burmese restaurant in Chennai. Theres none other. The guy who runs the show tells me there are some Burmese food stalls of the stand-and-eat kind (kai aendhi bhavan) in North Madras - from where he got inspired. Ofcourse, he aint got a single drop of burmese blood in his circulatory system .. but the chaps learnt his trade pretty well.

Clincher: Burma Town is not an upscale eat-out. It competes with Annai mess and other idly/ parotta stalls on Choolaimedu street for business -- so the pricing is as irresistable for your pocket, as the food is irresistable for your pallette.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Making worthwhile presentations..

Some simple things I learnt over the last 2 years, which can make your presentations comprehensible regardless of the type of audience you are addressing -- from kids to corporates. They may sound simple, but they can work like thunderbolts if you care enough to fire them properly.

1. Contrast and Differentiate:
Black appears blacker against white. No further explanation needed. The cheap and best technique!

2. Quote instances and examples:
It simplifies concepts and makes theory less complex & more interesting.

3. Use Personal Anecdotes:
Now your skin is in the game -- Audience perceives/ acknowledges that you feel and really mean what you say. People (always and everywhere!) like to listen to stories and they will remember them way better. In much the same way that everyone is keen to catch up on juicy gossip although they would never admit. [Now you tell me one person who stopped you or whom you stopped during the last week, from exchanging fresh gossip? :)]

4. Say:
Okay, here is something interesting ... atleast once in your presentation, this primarily serves to wake up the half-asleep acrons among the audience. I've heard people say things like I'll let you in on a little secret ... just to increase the curiousity levels and keep the audience perked up, if not engaged.

5. Dramatics helps:
Be loud, make some noise, start with a quote, mimic somebody, change your tone, reel out a joke - very often I've observed that people decide whether or not to listen to a person, merely by judging the presentation style and never the content (unless theres an immediate takeaway from it - like a burning stock tip). Sad, but true :(

6. Props:
Question the audience, Challenge them, throw a kit-kat reward (dont try this in a board-meeting unless you want to get thrown out yourself!), if possible show even a vaguely related 1 minute video and try to relate it to the central point. I know of a person who brought a packet of lays chips to a class presentation in constitutional law -- to explain some aspect on the preamble of the Indian constitution! And yes ofcourse you'd already know that graphs and pie-charts make comprehension easy, since they tap the right brain for support.

7. Last but not the least:
Make it SHORT and make it crispy. Given a choice, 99% of the population prefers to snack-up on a pack of flavoured chips or crispy chocolate than a loaf of bland bread. Period. No problem if your presentation lasts only 3 or 5 minutes. The only purpose is that the message is conveyed effectively.


Ofcourse the fundamental step of researching and preparing well goes without saying. Unless you're particularly keen on BS-ing :)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Whats the writing on the interest rate wall?

Stumbled upon the world interest rate charts today: http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/interest-rates-table/

One of the things to be quickly noticed is the unmistakeable pattern. The interest rates (cheapest available cost of capital or the risk free rate of return - depending on which side of the transation you are in) of all the countries has consistently dropped over the last 12 months - and importantly, it is a steady linear decline, not a puckered crown or crest and trough zig-zag. The peak seems to have occured somewhere around the 3/4th mark of 2008 (roughly one full year after signals of the sub-prime trigger became public information) before which it was stadily rising. Of all the countries, Australia is the sole exception - showing an uptick in interest rates over the last 6 months.


Especially in times of recession, the countries which give the highest rates are also the countries which that have the highest potential for growth (Why? .. think over it). Here are some numbers: Brazil - 8.5%, Egypt - 8.25%, South Africa - 7% (Yes, Africa is catching up folks, you all saw Africa's show of power at the Copenhagen Summit so don't be complacent of their growth story), Turkey - 6.5%, Hungary - 6.25%. China - 5.31% and India - 4.75%. Iceland's also got a high interest rate (10%), but it is perhaps to counter-balance the bankruptcy risk - much the same way junk bonds have a higher coupon rates due to default risk.

What can we infer? The fact is: Interest rates have NOT started rising. The perception that we're out of recession could still be just a perception - much the same way that the perception of a 'recession' was itself caused only due to widespread loss of confidence and the ensuing decrease in demand. The confirmation that we have recovered from the recession will be given only when the interest rates start rising (and that, is cold hard evidence!). Oh wait! But the stock market has risen steadily during the same period, you might rightly argue. I guess the rising market is not due to fundamental strength, but due to the stimulus packages, financial struts and various other gimmicks and stunts which are propping up the scare crow. So you're thinking "Oh really?". Yeah .. Wait and watch.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

At the billing counter..


Awhile ago I went to a restaurant for lunch.. Spotting some polis (a kind of sweet that looks like a chapaathi) among the knick-knacks and savories beside the billing machine, I asked the girl at the cash counter for one poli, she asked back “which kind”? So I asked her what “kinds” she had and she told me: coconut and paruppu (never knew two varieties existed). Since I wanted just one, I asked her which variety tastes better, and she enlightened me on the specialties of each variety (sweetness, freshness, oil content, energy, etc). Whoa! Good. So which one would you recommend I persisted?

She said ‘both’ .. and then, smiled. Okay, I ended up buying both, not because I was hungry or had surplus cash – but merely for the charm of the moment and the quick repartee.

Point #1: I wasn’t given a product description, but a sensible comparative analysis
Point #2: The recommendation was quick and carried a ‘punch factor’
Point #3: Smile

I think that’s wonderful customer service. Not just in car dealerships or computer stores, even at idly shops, it helps if every employee is also a marketer. Probably a heuristic that such folks also gain success quickly. Two months later she wasn't there! Moot point?