Why do you need a strategic advisor?

By nature, we always tend to think in many directions with no focus on a single goal. We want everything in life and that too immediate. Almost everyone wishes to achieve/ possess what their dear / near ones have. Having too many wishes often leads to a dilemma wherein people deviate themselves by adopting too many strategies at a time.

It has been my experience that too many strategies work only if you have optimized resource team which is focused and is able to execute each strategy successfully. If you are an individual, it is better to adopt only those strategies which will have the maximum impact in the long run. But how to select and prioritize strategies? You should always be careful when conceptualizing, translating, formulating, adopting or executing strategies. The reason is, one wrong strategy can kill your whole game plan. In this highly competitive world, it is always better to consult a strategic advisor. There are many reasons for why you need a strategic advisor.

• A strategic advisor acts as a neutral person
• A strategic advisor thinks from a central angle and as a third person he / she can understand which strategy/ strategies should be implemented
• A strategic advisor is like a doctor who gives you the right pill whenever you / your organization is ill
• A strategic advisor is extensive experienced and special expert in sectors / functions that affect a business
• A strategic advisor meeting together over years, can focus on urgent business decisions over the course of several months for the best impact
• and there are many more reasons for want of a strategic advisor.

Whenever you are excited about something or are confident about a new business model or new product development, or product launch, my experience shows that, getting a third person's or a strategic advisor's view always helped me to optimize expectations. It made me think harder, and evaluate my each decision logically.

The only hitch to get a strategic advisor's service is the cost involved. Getting strategic advisor on board is becoming more and more expensive. There are millions of people who are in need of strategic advice in all areas of life. That is where I realized that I should start my services as a strategic advisor for individuals, small entrepreneurs, professionals, corporates and all those who are in need of a simple, realistic, effective, executable and measurable strategies.

At any given time, if any one needs my help, please do comment on this article. I will get back to you at the earliest possible.

Why do you need Business Intelligence?

While framing any business strategy, one of the most critical element is Business Intelligence (BI). This is because Business Intelligence is of utmost importance for any organization to understand, analyze , capitalize on each opportunity and predict the company's future growth plans.

Business intelligence is basically collecting and analysing all such facts / data that would help or affect the business. It basically involves collecting data or information from all possible sources or to put it conversely collecting information with a 360 degree view. While collecting / using the data, the most important thing is the time factor. It is very important that all facts should be collected at the right time and should be analysed properly. This will yield in better-informed decisions.

In the current business scenario, I feel most businesses are having Business Intelligence units in an unorganized way. For example, especially in India, most businessmen have information about competitor's products and the prices not only in an unorganized way but confined only to limited area or locality. If he has organized knowledge about the product and his competitor, it will be very useful for him to capitalize on each and every opportunity that comes on his way or his competitor's way.

The above is a very basic example. There are many more ways where setting up a simple business intelligence unit in your organization can help you achieve much better results. So if you are planning to take any strategic decision, see that you have proper Business intelligence on your business. If you need any help on Business Intelligence do write to me. I will provide you with a proper strategy to set up the same :)

Take a critical look at your time

Time is the most important & un-renewable resource in life. Time has got its own value. Most people don't measure it. But the true importance for success in life is based on how effectively you utilize your time. In my work experience I realized how each minute i spend is important and accountable. Today people feel happy that the mobile / telephone call rates are going down. But people hardly realize that the value of each minute they waste doing unnecessary / unimportant things is quite high.

To be more specific, measure your time along with your income. Say if your salary for a month is approximately 25000/- and you work for about 160 hours a month considering you work 40 hours a week. Then your income per minute is Rs 2.60, more than your STD call rates! Imagine you waste 1 hour every day; you lose about Rs 156 monthly and yearly about Rs 1872. This is just an example. Consider yourself with the number of hours you spent un-utilized. To further highlight this issue consider the IPM (Income Per Minute) of Sachin Tendulkar, it is Rs 1,163 per minute, Shah Rukh Khan's IPM is Rs 247, Mukesh Ambani's IPM is Rs 413. Imagine people like our PM whose IPM is Rs 0.57 (taken 30 working days & excluding his perks) and that of Mr APJ Abdul Kalam is Rs 1.14 per minute.

This is just to awaken you. We think many times before opting for a mobile or telephone plan considering its tariff but don't think about our cost per minute. Hence think about your cost per minute or to put it conversely, you loss in income per minute before you spend a single minute. Effectively managing and valuing your time is the only mantra for increasing your IPM.