The Power Of Nudge

The Economist is probably the most reputed magazine in the world. I have always wanted to subscribe it. But never did.

Then I started receiving the these emailers from The Economist. Just Rs. 500 for a quarter! Enticing, isn't it? Upon reading the mail, I came to understand that it was an invitation price and that the subscription rate for the following quarters is a substantially larger figure. The payment is automatically debited on the credit card one authorizes. And of course, if you do not want further subscription, just reach out to the publisher and it is done.

Easy, isn't it?

The Economists' marketing/circulation department have been brilliant in this campaign of theirs. They realized the important of Status Quo Bias which means that people have tendency to stick to their current situation.

I am no different. Now every quarter, my credit card is charged for the quarterly subscription of The Economist which I hardly find time to read. But then it is almost a year and I still haven't stopped the subscription.

If you are in a position where you have to influence the behavior of people, then Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein is just the book for you.

A fantastic read, the book offers tremendous insights on how people behave. So it is not necessary that you must be a professional to leverage the ideas in this book. You could be a parent trying to figure out how to make your kid eat good food. Or you could be a family man wondering how to secure the financial security of the family.

Even if you don't intend to influence or nudge others, you will certainly learn a thing or two about your own behavior.

Must read! Do visit their blog and follow them on Twitter. 

History Books

We are all like Sita in the epic Ramayana. Isn't it strange that when we are asked not to do something, we are more eager to defy. Our curiosity increases urging us to cross the forbidden line. My urge to buy Such A Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry was kindled by media reports that Aditya Thackeray ensured that the book is removed from University of Mumbai's syllabus.

I have been wanting to read A Fine Balance for quite sometime, but the developments led me to purchase Such A Long Journey, first.

And must say Rohinton's book makes such a lovely read. Set in the late 1960s and early 70s, the book is about Gustad Nobel, a middle class Parsi living in Mumbai. It is about his struggle, aspirations for a better life for his family and love for his friends. While there is lot of humor, the book is also replete with other emotions. Especially, ones related to death.

As I said, I bought the book understand to why Thackeray Super Jr. was against the book. Within few chapters, I understood why. The book is set in the times when Shiv Sena was emerging as a force in Maharashtra. Parsis who are also a minority community had to face difficult times as much as South Indians. There are lots of derogatory references concerning Shiv Sena and Marathi Manoos who are cadres, in the book. It is only natural that young Thackeray felt agitated. But then he has no rights to get it removed from the syllabus just because Shiv Sena is shown in bad light. Googling threw this interview of his. And I do agree with him that there is lot of foul language. Further, it also has a lot sexually explicit material. But I doubt if college going students would really be affected by exposure to those material. They are far more exposed by the time they reach college.

I was quite surprised that Congress didn't want to ban the book. More than Shiv Sena, the book is very negative on Congress' rule, Indira Gandhi, Ministers and Sanjay Gandhi. In fact, one of the important sub plots is about Indira cheating the nation by drawing tax payer's money to fund Sanjay's car project and in the process deceiving and ultimately leading to the death of Bili Boy, Gustad's best friend.

I love books of this genre, though I am not sure to which it belongs to. There's history, thrill elements and drama. The Kite Runner was the other book I loved reading. Though the story is more about the current than about the past. A book that really intertwines historical moments/personalities with the life of a common man was Mohammed Hanif's A Case Of Exploding Mangoes. The book is loosely based around the events of that lead to the death of the then-President of Pakistan Zia Ul Haq. A brilliant book.

But it is Midnight Children by Salman Rushdie that is more similar to Such A Long Journey. Both these books are set around the same period and discuss the political scenario. The war of 1971 has significant effect on the characters' lives. Both the books discuss Congress' rule critically. Another incident that finds mention in both the books are the KM Nanavati case. But Salman Rushdie's book is a very complex read, or at least that is how I felt. 

I used to love history at school. And when a story is mixed with the history, they become representation of those times. Of course, History is written by those in power, novels can be true representation of life for the masses in that period. Books certainly are the real time machine. Have you read my other blog about history of Christianity in Chennai? Here you go.

4 Must Read Books In Technology

When I shifted from a generalist PR agency to Twenty Twenty MEDIA, a specialist IT PR firm, I was unsure what to expect. After all, PR is PR. Whether it is IT or Automobile, does it matter I thought. But realized IT DOES MATTER ! :)

The one thing that I loved and dreaded was the need to do book summary as part of the Friday training program. Since 2000, when I finished MBA, I haven't had picked up a book. But now, R Narayanan (Naru), instilled the practice of reading books. It was like going back to school.

In the next few years, I managed to read some really nice books on the technology industry. Here are my recommendations on books that one should certainly read, if in the dynamic tech industry. 

Crossing the Chasm: Though my second recommendation is the one that I read first, this Geoff Moore's brilliant book is what I would call a foundation course. The book makes you understand why some technologies fail whereas other cross the chasm into the main market. The book revolves around Technology Adoption Life-cycle and explains how a technology moves though various markets which comprises of un-reference-able set of customers. It also enlists strategies that technology companies can make use of.

Selling the Wheel: If any book other than Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code that came closer to being racy is this masterpiece. Surprisingly, it is a wonderful fusion of fiction and technology market, though it may not be that obvious, thanks to the novel-type narration. No, it is not a sci-fi. The story is about a couple who invent the WHEEL and are at a loss as to how to take it to the market! I would recommend that one should read this soon after they have savored Crossing the Chasm. This book helps understand changes in consumers' requirements at different stage of technology penetration, how companies need to respond to those challenges and what sort of a sales person is required at each of these stages. I have always hoped someone will adapt it to make a play or movie.

Tipping Point: I was quite amazed when I started re-reading this interesting book by Malcolm Gladwell. I was connecting with the book much more than I did the first time. It has a wonderful model to create a successful communications model. While the Law of Few helps identify carriers, Stickiness Factor helps define the messages and the Power of Context provides insight on factors that influence the success. The book is packed with interesting case studies which is typical of Gladwell. Interestingly, this book mentions Geoff Moore and Crossing the Chasm. Delighted!

Fast Second: This book is meant for large organizations on how to deal with a potentially disruptive technology that can threaten their base. It addresses the question of whether large organization should create or colonize. For me the book is interesting for the model on different types innovation based on the change in consumers' behavior and its affects the established firm's competencies and complementary assets.

Now, I am sure there are many books that can help you cross the knowledge chasm, but these worked pretty good for me. Am sure, they would be helpful to you, too. If you have any technology book recommendations that make a great read, drop a comment.