Author: Bhavik Sarkhedi

With change in the markets being a constant, companies have to be on their toes in order to gain a foothold over their rivals. Take Facebook for that matter, the social networking giant has been mostly unrivalled, and their sustained dominance can be relayed to timely enhancement of existing features and adding new features. Entrepreneurs can learn valuable lessons from such cases. What is most important is that your company has a clear vision. All the employees must be well versed with the aim so that they are in sync with the workings of the company. This is necessary to deal with the competitive market all around. Identify the type of company you are, so that you can use the data to boost your sales and popularity. For instance, Google is a company dealing primarily in Data. Hence, it makes strategies and features based on what it deals in.

It would be very naïve, and uninformed if one points out that their company has no competition in the market. Everyone knows that there is cut-throat competition in the market. You will try to expand and build on your customer base as well try to attract investors only because you are afraid some other company might get ahead of you. Analyse your revenue status and be prepared for the reality beyond the investing bubble. Be mentally prepared to face the strain of revenue and act in such a way that your company does not face any undue losses.

You may find a number of rival companies which are under the umbrella of some big organisation which is already very famous and established. Make efforts to know the specialty of their products and services. Try them out yourself and conduct surveys if necessary. Knowing your competitors strengths and weaknesses can come in very handy. Moreover, you can make necessary alterations in your products and services so as to have an edge over your potential competitors. Also, try to identify those areas which may help bring in future investments and a larger customer base.

Be in touch with the latest tech-talks around town, and read all the magazines and blogs related even remotely to the essence of your company. It is helpful to know the market scenarios – for instance if any of your rival companies just got funding recently, you can try to know why their products appealed more to the investors and strategize to enhance your own products accordingly. Read the app and product reviews of your potential competitors. Do not fret if your company is being targeted by any other company specifically. Learn the tricks of the trade. Learn about their products and services to have an edge. Then analyse if your presence is truly a thorn in their way to success. If not, then you do not have much to worry about. Focus on your performance and enhancements in order to reach out to more and more customers. A motivated team is necessary to take a company to new heights. Make sure you hire only those people who would have a passion to work for your company. Working just for the sake of money is never enough.

In the end, all that matters is how composed you can be in the face of imminent danger. Try to approach problems in a mature manner so that panic never reaches your doorstep.

How would the interview panel choose between any two candidates with almost equal calibre, when they have applied for the same job? One must understand the importance of Oral Communication Skills in today’s world. According to a survey of Human Resource and Recruiting professionals done by iCIMS – a talent acquisition software company, more than 60 per cent of the recruiters are more likely to give the job to the ones with better oral communication skills.

The communication skills of any job applicant in today’s world, has been observed to play a crucial role while getting a job. If a person has good communication skills, it adds to the credentials mentioned on the candidate’s bio-data or resume. It automatically boosts one’s image in front of the recruiting panel. This skill is powerful enough to have an edge in any job interview, irrespective of the type of company or field of work. Business enterprises across the globe are appealed by people with good oral communication skills. In our nation, we have seen that nowadays, the entrance examinations conducted by the Central and State Governments have a personal interview round. Here each candidate is screened based on their oral communication skills. This shows the importance of such skills in today’s world.

There a number of factors those have led to the demand of fluency of oral communication skills in jobs nowadays. But the foremost reason for this is globalisation. Communication skills come I handy while handling relations between the partners; or maintaining ties with other companies essential for the growth of the parent company. Moreover, communication skills must be forte of any team leader in the world of business enterprises. The team members must also have good communication skills so as to enhance productivity while communicating, sharing of ideas and working together towards a common goal.

Oral communication skills consist of a number of nuances put together. These branches together contribute to extraordinary oral communication skills of a person. One must be a good listener as well as a good observer to enhance productivity. One must also be prepared to clear any obstacles in the path to success, which brings in enthusiasm in a person. Nowadays, one’s fashion sense, body language as well as presentation skills play key roles in determining the oral communication skills of a person. Politeness and humility are ornaments for any job seeker.

Usually, candidates when nervous tend to avoid eye contact while answering questions put up by the interview panel. This gives a negative feedback to the interview panel. And never forget to thank the interviewers at the end. The candidate’s phone must not disturb the process of interview; else it will show that a candidate is not serious about work.

So speak up to get a job. And maintain good oral communication skills so as to appeal to the interview panel. Along with problem-solving skills, time-management and problem-solving expertise, good oral communication skills are a must nowadays.

It is an age old debate as to which one is superior – Passion or Reason?

Plato would definitely have vouched for the superiority of Reason, as is evident from his ideal “city state.” But do you think Reason was enough alone for Mother Teresa to help hundreds of less privileged? Or was Reason enough for Mandela to lead the fight against Racism? Well, it is indeed a certain grey area between both which can answer such questions. Certainly, Jeff Bezos combined both Passion and Reason to get where he is, and so did Mark Zuckerberg.

Passion tends to overcome the balance of mind often. Let’s say you are the founder or co-founder of some start-up with an innovative pitch. You have put your heart and soul into the success path of the platform. And one fine day, during your initial days with the company, you have this sudden adrenaline pump. You wake up to an idea which seems mellifluous to you in the middle of the night. What would you do? Would you pursue the idea till its completion into reality? Or ponder upon it for some more days?

Well, one must realise that ideas may seem great, but the pros and cons must be weighed thoroughly before implementing it. Moreover, one must understand what the customers want. Surveys are very helpful in such cases. These are scenarios where the need of Reason and Numbers arise. Surveys call for qualitative as well as quantitative analyses which cannot be done without the play of numbers. The number of pros of an idea must outweigh the number of cons as well. Another instance when Reason must prevail is the problem of adrenaline rush in the middle of the night. Every activity has a definite time in the course of the day. One must try to relax during sleeping hours. Such rush of hormones due to overdoses of Passion is the main cause of Insomnia for young entrepreneurs. The sane instincts are overlooked by the heart and mind. Hence, decisions must be taken when both body and mind is well rested, and not in the middle of the night usually.

Yet passion and reason cannot do without each other. A person is truly successful when there is a proper balance between the two. It is Passion which makes us start something worthwhile in life; while it is Reason alongside of Passion which makes us take the right steps. Think of a situation when you have been given a free chocolate cake at the restaurant you visited for dinner. The first instinct would be to devour the whole cake. But your mind would take control in sometime and tell you that you must consume only the part you can, and get the rest parcelled. Making an idea work takes a lot of hard work in reality. That is why reason must balance out the wild waves of passion. Every successful entrepreneur out there would tell any young entrepreneur that it is necessary to balance passion and reason on the journey of a start-up. Moreover, one must understand the market scenario and the needs of the customers before putting the accelerator switch on any idea borne out of passion alone. It is very easy to be influenced by something nowadays, but tough to make the idea persist.

Dear young Millennials and Entrepreneurs, take care to maintain the balance between passion and reason. The balanced combination of both is definitely a package meant to harbour in success.

Usually a manager has to delegate many tasks to different team members, but there are a few tasks which cannot be delegated. Some tasks are integral to the manager’s trademark; those few must be done exclusively by the manager. Let us have a look at what can be delegated and what cannot be or should not be:

Explaining the Vision

The job of explaining the larger picture concerning a project is the managers’ task. It is of essence that the vision and aim of the task is fully understood by the team members. This is possible only when a senior official briefs them about it. As a team leader, one is aware of all the strong points as well as weak points of the team. In this light, it is apt for the leader to communicate strategically with the team members and explain the planned working strategies. The leader must help them in studying the market scenario and take necessary steps accordingly. Organisational skills are indispensible to the workings of a successful company. And that is why not all work must be delegated by the senior officials.

Core responsibilities

The core competencies and related tasks must never be delegated. You were hired because of your speciality in tasks like those. So it makes no sense to delegate it further. These are the tasks which add the most value to the company and your personal work profile. As a leader of a business enterprise as well, it is only sensible to ascertain your leadership roles at a serious note and not outsource the core tasks and strategic planning tasks.

Managing Crisis

The presence of a leader is of essence whenever a crisis breaks out in the workplace. Your seniors must realise that you are capable enough to handle the crisis at the micro level itself. Monitoring such situations is the responsibility of the team leader, and such work must not be delegated to others. If it is delegated, it shows signs of incompetency. It is the duty of a wise leader to handle crisis situations effectively.

A leader must also be able to take tough decisions when the need arises. Do not be afraid that taking tough decisions will decrease your credibility in the eyes of the employees. They would rather start respecting your wishes. They will see you as a talented leader and follow your orders respectfully.

Moreover, as an employee of any company, you must never delegate the work given specifically to you. It would only go on to prove your incompetency and lack of confidence if you pass on the work to others. It would depict that you are not capable of working under stress, and not fit to deliver tasks as and when required.

Hence, it simply means that delegation of work is acceptable up to a certain level, but not at all instances. One must take responsibility and do the job required at the earliest.