Warning – Mind Control Made Easy or How To Become a Cult Leader
December 19, 2007
The following clip shows you how cults and cult like organizations operate. It shows how cults and cult like organizations masquerade as educational, personal development, self-help and quasi-religious groups.
It shows the basic inner workings and strategies of these cults and cults like organizations, how they prey on people’s psychological, physiological, sociological and financial needs and bait them with other benefits before slowly ensnaring even the most intelligent minds into become their stanchest supporters.
How cults and cult like organizations strive to gain devoted followers, who are ultimately willing to leave their families for them, give their money to them, give up their bodies and lives to them, consider them God, and in extreme cases even kill for them.
How cult and cult like organizations structure themselves “like an onion, with the most benign and helpful features on the outside and the most kookie, controlling and evil parts at the secret inner core.”
How cults and cult like organizations “use deception” don’t “tell you who they really are”, “lie” “leave out important information” or “distort information” and “recruit you” under the guise of wanting to “share something meaningful with you”.
How they establish front groups such as, “we are a bible study group”, “we are a management course”, “we are a meditation centre”, “we are a world peace organization”, “we are a personal development centre”, “we are a drug rehab centre” and so on.
How they promise to fulfill your dreams of, “unconditional love”, “secrets to self improvements”, “being special”, “saving the world”, “special powers”, “personal power”, “psychic power”, “past life connection” and even “telekinesis”.
How they lure you and “offer you something free and make you feel obliged to give back something in return”. How you will hear things like, “we gave you that free dinner, the least you can do is come to our weekend intensives”.
How they use time pressure on you. You will hear things like, “this is your only chance to make it, don’t blow it”, “it is important to make this commitment NOW”, and “this is an issue of burning urgency”.
How they will “diminish doubt”, “separate you from others you know”, “surround you with happy true believers”, “start with a prolonged period of love bomb you, surround you with unconditional love and attention”, “act friendly and interested, get information and hone your weak spots” get you to “tell them about yourself”, “take a personality test” and then use this information to “manipulate you”. All this will happen gradually, you will think you are being helped and no matter how intelligent you think you are, you won’t even realizing where it is really going.
Gradually over time, after two or three seminar, some higher curriculum or after progressing up to higher levels, “demand” will be made of you and that it when it all starts to really operate like a cult.
What the clip does not show is how cults and cult like organizations recruit people from the upper echelons of society and get them to give credibility to their cause. How cults and cult like organizations sway key government divisions and get their nod to continue with their activities. How cults and cult like organizations work with leaders of commerce and get entire organizations to undergo their seminars.
Know that for cults and cult like organizations to survive as global entities they would have to hone and refine their approach so that even the most discerning can be indoctrinated. This should alert you as to how much longer they have been playing the game and preying on the unsuspecting. You become wise you might need to appreciate that they have been at it for decades and almost certainly for a period of time much longer than you have been discerning of them.
Watch the clip and learn their activities for yourself.
Also for more information on cults and cult like organizations please go to…
And have an open, discerning mind on what you read.
http://www.rickross.com/
http://www.culthelp.info/
http://www.freedomofmind.com/
Five Questions for Creatively Re-Thinking your Organization and Business by Manoj Sharma
December 18, 2007
Thinking is truly the hardest work in the world. Anybody who believes otherwise obvious hasn’t really done some great, fresh, breakthrough thinking. Another thing that is true is that people rather get the answers than have to think them through.
If you are willing to do the work, here are some questions that, will force you to rethink things through when it comes to your organization and business.
Ask the following questions and see what answers you are able to come up with.
What would you do differently, what would happen if…
1) You start to realize everything your organization does has everything to do with energy of the quantifiable and unquantifiable kind?
2) Your “competitors” started to provide more and more products and services for free?
3) You truly started to formulate your strategies based entirely on your customers demands, even if they seem to be to your determent?
4) A true appreciation of the “principles of abundance creating new scarcities” permeated every facet of your thinking, actions and results?
5) You realized “attention, reputation, conversion, retention and expansion” were the key metrics you need to measure both for your organization and your people?
What are the answers you came up with and what new questions arose as a result of it?
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
Do You Really Know Anything About Money?
December 15, 2007
Watch this clip entitled Money As Debt and see for yourself.
Nonviolence by Gandhi
December 14, 2007
“I wanted to avoid violence. Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed. But I had to make my choice. I had to either submit to a system that I considered had done an irreparable harm to my country, or incur the risk of the mad fury of my people bursting forth when they understood the truth from my lips. I know that my people have sometimes gone mad. I am deeply sorry for it and I am, therefore, here to submit not to a light penalty but to the highest penalty. I do not ask for mercy. I do not plead any extenuating act. I am here therefore to invite, and cheerfully submit to the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is a deliberate crime, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen… I owe it perhaps to the Indian public and the public in England… To the court too I should say why I plead guilty to the charge of promoting disaffection towards the Government established by law in India.
Affection cannot be manufactured or regulated by law. If one has no affection for a person or a system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence. But the section under which mere promotion of disaffection is a crime. I have studied some of the cases tried under it; I know that some of the most loved of India’s patriots have been convicted under it. I consider it a privilege, therefore, to be charged under that section.
In my opinion, noncooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good. But in the past, noncooperation had been deliberately expressed in violence to the evil-doer. I am endeavouring to show to my countrymen that violent noncooperation only multiplies evil, and that as evil can only be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of evil requires complete abstention from violence.” — Gandhi
Redefining The 48 Laws of Power by Manoj Sharma
December 14, 2007
I write this with respect for the work that Robert Green and Joost Elfers have been doing and safe in the knowledge that they are big and open enough to entertain another point of view.
Law 1
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Never outshine your master”
Manoj Sharma says, “Strive to outshine your master”
You should strive to build a win-win relationship with your Master based on mutual respect, trust and and above all contribution to each other such that you have their permission and support to go beyond where they have gone and show total respect towards each other as professionals at the same time. A true master ultimately seeks for nothing more than to have a disciple build upon their work and take it to the next level. Any master who does not strive for this end is not really a master but a power hungry, praise seeking, ego-maniac.
Law 2
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Deepen your relationship with people and build greater enduring friendships”
If you have friends who will be only too happy to betray you quickly due to their envy as suggested by Robert Green, then you only have envious acquaintances, not friends and you might as well cultivate enemies as Robert Green suggests. Consider that you need to deepen your relationships with people and build greater enduring relationships instead. In the long term your goodwill with people is what will see you and them through the ups and downs of life. Human relationships are fragile, so even more important that you learn how to deepen your relationships with people and build deep reservoirs of goodwill.
Law 3
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Conceal your intentions”
Manoj Sharma says, “Be as open as you can as often as you can.
If you have been living Robert Greens 2nd Law you had best conceal your intentions as the knives would long have been sharpened and waiting for you. If on the other hand you have been deepening your relationships with people, you would definitely want to be as open as possible as often as you can. Sure many things are confidential but as one billionaire told me, “I rather my competitors, who have become my great friends know what I am up to before they read about it in the papers.” It is only the petty and small, without unique competitive advantages that fear reprisal and are thus engaged in a constant battle with the world around them.
Law 4
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Always say less than necessary”
Manoj Sharma says, “Always say less than necessary”
This is great advice.
Law 5
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “So much depends on reputation – guard it with your life”
Manoj Sharma says, “Your reputation is your everything, but, don’t worry about guarding it”
Invest in building a reputation that serves you for a life time, remembering that what you build is predominantly what people will relate to. If you build a sound, society serving reputation for example, it does not mean that people will not talk bad about it. As the saying goes, “Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about situations and great minds talk about ideas.” You can never stop small minds from talking and nitpicking and scandalizing and putting others down, so ignore and don’t give it energy. Also don’t attempt to destroy someone else’s reputation, if they are really as bad as you think they are, don’t concern yourself about it, people will eventually pick up on it too. You can’t fool everyone all the time.
Law 6
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Court attention at all cost”
Manoj Sharma says, “Develop an attractive personality and let people court you”
An attention seeker can never gather enough attention and will go to all lengths and all cost to gather just a little bit more, sadly through a variety of increasingly desperate ways. A great human being does not seek to court attention, a great human being seeks to be of value to people and embody the best of humanity. People love being around people who are of value and embody the best of humanity. With that in mind, consider developing an attractive personality instead that allows the best in you to shine. People will enjoy being in your company, will court you instead and you will be comfortable at the same time because you are being congruent. If you are wondering what facets of your personality you need to develop to be attractive to people, ask yourself what makes people genuinely attractive to you beyond the flash and the glamour, and that is what you can start to work on.
Law 7
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Let others do the work for you, but always take the credit”
Manoj Sharma says, “Give credit as often as possible, even when the person does not fully deserve it”
Isn’t it true that there is little more that aggrieves you when someone is takes credit for your good work? How co-operative do you continue to be when this happens to you? How much effort will you put into doing excellent work knowing that someone else is taking going to take the credit?
By all means delegate, encourage others to do the work they must do, but for everyone’s sake share the credit around appropriately. If you are the linchpin around which it is all happening, you do not loose by giving generous credit to all those who have done parts of the work. If you are one of the spokes of the wheel and wholeheartedly give credit where due, you will also only win as people build an affinity for you. Leaders need to know that giving praise and sharing credit sets a new standard, elevates their leadership and that people on their own are more likely to rise to that standard than become complacent. Put this into practice and see the benefits all round for yourself.
Law 8
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Initiate collaboration.”
Robert Green and Joost Elfers suggest that you should “make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains then attack.”
Can we afford to look at this and shift the orientation to a more beneficial cause? You might want to consider inviting other people to collaborate with you such that they gain as much, if not more than what they would have gained on their own. Instead of having people abandon their own plans, why not lays the cards out openly and give them choice instead.
As for “lure him with fabulous gains then attack” how silly and short sighted does one have to be to believe that a baited and then weakened enemy will not harbour a vendetta and seek to rapidly recuperate to attack you back. Pursue this course of action and in no time all the enemies you have cultivated will band together and gang up on you. The saying, “my enemy’s, enemy is my friend” will haunt you in the worst possible way.
Law 9
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Win through actions, never through arguments.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Let you actions speak louder than your words.”
This is great advice. You can attempt to convince someone till you are blue in the face and not get anywhere. You actions on the other hand and especially your concrete results are not debatable.
Law 10
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Keep the company of wealthy people.”
Wealthy people in this case refers to those who are not just financially wealthy, but also those who are non-financially wealthy. Positive people, solution focused people, people who move things forwards, deeply connected people, socially conscious people, contented people, people who serve humanity and so on. And while keeping their company assist the circumstantially less fortunate, “unhappy and unlucky” enjoy wealth too.
Law 11
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Learn to keep people dependent on you.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Learn to enjoy the benefits of interdependence.”
Keeping people dependent on you encourages servitude and legal slavery. The world is full of this today, and many people who do not know better are happy in this situation and in many cases evenly deeply gratefully so.
Everybody desires independence, be it financial or non-financial independence. Know that your independence does not necessitate another’s dependence upon you, although the world of business is rife with rich examples of this. Humanity will evolve onto another more sustainable and scalable platform when people realize that breeding dependence is not the way forward, that having people become independent and ultimately interdependent is.
Wealth creation through dependence is leveraged wealth. Wealth creation through independence is contributed wealth. Wealth creation through interdependence is true wealth for all.
Law 12
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Use selective honestly and generosity to disarm your victims.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Your real intention is best known by you and at the end of the day you still have to live with yourself.”
Robert Green and Joost Elfers write, “Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – A Trojan Horse – will serve the same purpose.”
Sure this will work and work like a charm because people always love gifts, are always open to flattery even when they know it is untrue. Yes, you may get your way, pat yourself on the back for your guile and clever work and even boast to others of how brilliantly your strategy worked. But, at the end of the day you will still be nothing more than a deceiver, manipulator and a person of poor moral and ethics. Those who have developed win-win-win propositions, attractive personalities, great empowering mindsets and fabulous competencies do not need to manipulate, deceive and distract, they can morally and ethically win at the games they choose to engage in.
The truth is, those who invest their time figuring out how to manipulate, deceive and con will not invest enough time in developing moral, legal and ethical strategies to succeed by and thus will sell their magnificence short. While we can fool others with respect to our intentions, we will still have to suffer the guilt and consequences of not being able to fool ourselves. Thinking ahead it is better to clear up your act, get your intentions right and live a great life.
Law 13
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “When asking for help appeal to people’s self-interest. Never to their mercy or gratitude.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Always appeal to the selfishness of little people and the selflessness of big people.”
I tend to agree with Robert Green and Joost Elfers on this. Know which tree you are barking up. The little people tree is a tree of selfishness. When speaking with little people you need to appeal to their self-interest and self-serving ego. The “what is in it for me” factor.
Big people are not moved by self-aggrandizement, they know the game of appeals, have been there, done that and moved on. When speaking with big people appeal to their selflessness, their desire to serve others and their efforts to alleviate the pains of society. The “what is in it for others” factor.
Law 14
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Pose as a friend, work as a spy.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Just be a friend.”
Knowledge is important and there are a million moral, legal and ethical ways to get it without having to resort to spying or clandestine efforts. If you understand human behaviour and the game of business well, it is not too difficult to join the dots, fill in the missing pieces and form a reasonably complete picture, even from a distance. This allows you to be open and just be friend.
What sort of a human being would you be if you follow the advice of “use spies… play the spy yourself…. there is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying”?
Remember that there is no honour amongst thieves. The poser is always wondering if others are posing with her. The robber is always frightened that someone is going to rob him. The betrayer is always paranoid that someone is going the betray her. The conman always fears he is going to get conned. The spy is always worried that someone is spying on her. The pretender is left in doubt if anyone is being straight forward with him. And so it goes on and on.
Law 15
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Crush your enemies totally.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Best to make your peace with your enemies at the soonest.”
Crushing your enemies totally is only an illusion and creates a sense of false comfort. The victory is short-lived and for all intents and purpose hollow. History has proven that people on a worthwhile mission can only be put down for so long, that others take on the cause of those who perish in the process, that a great idea and ideal is only waiting for its time to come.
In war as in life, the victor may writes history, but everybody always gets their just desserts one way or another. Best to make your peace with your enemies as soon as possible for the repercussions of not doing so tend to live on in perpetuity. Say “sorry” at the soonest or learn to live with your sorrows for the longest times.
Law 16
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Use absence to increase respect and honor”
Manoj Sharma says, “Avoid the familiarity that breeds contempt.”
This law does no harm, so by all means go right ahead with it.
Law 17
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Keep things and yourself fresh.”
There is no need to keep others in suspended terror, only tyrants, dictatorships, the personally insecure and professionally inadequate need to do that to maintain their power. Keep things fresh through. Avoid becoming a one trick pony, get some flexibility into you, entertain, explore and work with ideas contrary to you own. Be adventurous, become young again.
Law 18
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Don’t build fortresses to protect yourself -isolation is dangerous.”
Manoj Sharma says, “You create your world.”
“The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere.” We all do not live in the world, we live in our own worlds. Our own worlds that are different from other people’s worlds. The funny thing is that over time we create our worlds.
If you have created a world for yourself in which “the world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere” what else can you expect but a dangerous world in which you enemies are just waiting to rub you out. It is only natural then that you build your fortresses and tend to do your best to fortify your position and then suffer the isolation you created.
Know that you create your world, you have created it the way it is and therefore you can recreate it the way you would live. Recreate you world, a world without fortresses in which you do not have to protect yourself and be isolated in the process.
Law 19
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Know who you are dealing with – do not offend the wrong person.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Don’t pick who you are going to offend, do your best not to offend anyone.”
Choosing to offend based on a profile you have put together of who you can offend and get away with is calculated cowardice and blatant manipulation and you should call yourself on it, if you are guilty.
Having said that it is also important to keep being practical and be aware that some people with take offense to you with no ill intention on your part. As a friend of mine told me more than a decade ago, “If someone does not like you, they will take even take offense to how you hold your chopsticks.”
Law 20
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Do not commit to anyone.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Be the view point, not point of view.”
Know that everybody has a point of view, yourself included. And that everybody if trying to put forth a point of view that works out in their favour. If you can learn to entertain all points of view without limiting yourself to any one particular one; if you can learn to separate yourself from your own point of view and look at things from a distance, you would be seeing things from view point – a vantage point from which decisions for the collective best can be made, communicated and buy in gotten. This is a point that few take but many appreciate and a habit you need to cultivate so you do not have to lower yourself down to the level of “playing people against one another”.
Law 21
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Play a sucker to catch a sucker – seem dumber than your mark.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Give people their time in the spotlight.”
Marianne Williamson said, “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” There is no reason to play dumb or pretend to be a sucker in life, but every reason to be big enough to listen to another person’s point of view and most importantly not suppress them such that they do not have their turn in the spotlight.
Listening to the intelligence of others will assist you to continue to improve upon your intelligence. Being intelligent in the presence of others will allow them to improve their intelligence and you too could benefit from this. Intelligence benefits all, dumbing down is no good to anyone.
Law 22
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Avoid fighting your enemies altogether.”
I am slowly seeing the value of the way Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lived his life. Nothing I can say can shed adequate light on the man, best to read his autobiography entitled “Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth”.
Law 23
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Concentrate your force.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Focus your attention with intention.”
This is a brilliantly written piece by Robert Green and Joost Elfers, I say fundamentally the same thing in a different way. I see tremendous merit in focusing all your attention with one clear intention to have one powerful outcome as opposed to many weak results.
Law 24
Robert Green and Joost Elfers say, “Play the perfect courtier.”
Manoj Sharma says, “Allow the best in you to surface.”
Instead of cultivating the best traits of a courtier such as “power, political dexterity, indirection, flattery, yielding to superiors and asserting power over others.” why not cultivate the best traits of great human beings such as “goodness of heart, service of humanity, achievement of worthy goals, self-discovery of oneself, wisdom of the ages, loyalty towards others, a cheerful disposition, magnanimousness of heart and harmony of mind”.
Please keep a look out for Part II of Redefining The 48 Laws Of Power by Manoj Sharma
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
The Impact of System And Structure on Performance Potential by Jim Clemmer
December 12, 2007
“Structure is a very powerful shaper of behavior. It’s like the strange pumpkin I once saw at a country fair.
It had been grown in a four-cornered Mason jar. The jar had since been broken and removed. The remaining pumpkin was shaped exactly like a small Mason jar. Beside it was a pumpkin from the same batch of seeds that was allowed to grow without constraints. It was five times bigger.
Organization structures and systems have the same effect on the people in them. They either limit or liberate their performance potential.” — Jim Clemmer from Pathway to Performance
Change by Gandhi
December 12, 2007
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi
The Difference Between Human Resources, Human Capital and Human Investment by Manoj Sharma
December 11, 2007
Human resources is a general term used to represent the people element within organizations. In years past while organizations robotically said that their people were their greatest assets, this was mostly just lip service. Today with the human resource function within most professionally run organizations taking on a broader role beyond menial administration, the question of human capital and even human investment has become a topic of huge interest.
Naturally, this interest stems from the realization that human being are an expense that cost financial capital to acquire, maintain and retain. That the right human being in the right place within an organization can prove to be huge competitive advantages in the face of various challenges. And ultimately that if as an organization is investing in human resources, an organization needs to show clear return on investment in an increasingly pay-per-performance world.
At present (and in the foreseeable future) we still live in a world in which, without the human being there is no organization to speak off. The term organization in itself suggests a coming together, and somewhat ordered structuring of human beings. Human beings are at the core of all organizations and that is unlikely to change in a hurry.
While everything you and I can see, hear, smell, taste and touch comes from nature and transits along a value chain evolving into a commodity, then a product or service that finally culminates in an experience we are willing to pay for, the ultimate value creator and sustainer is always a human being. Therefore in the setting of an organization, the ultimate wealth creator, sustainer and scaler is a human being, aka. – a human resource.
The question of our time is how to translate our human resources into human capital and ultimately into human investment with the intention of reaping handsome financial and non-financial returns for the the human being involved and all concerned at the same time?
To answer this question, we need to start by becoming clear and defining what is human resource, what is human capital and what is human investment.
Consider the following as a starting points (and you are welcome to build upon them).
Human Resource is simply human potential. Potential with infinite capabilities and capacity with the possibility of beneficial engagement. Potential however, it must be noted does not have to be productive and that an opportunity has to be seized to translate potential into real value. Human Resource is a question of physicality.
Human Capital is a well employed human resource that is actively engaged in meaningful, worthwhile work and delivering some level of desired productivity. Human Capital is a question of factoring knowledge and application to physicality.
Human Investment is determined by the degree to which the human capital is productive and producing dividends. Human Investment is a question of physicality, knowledge and application channeled towards great returns on investment.
Consider that the challenge we are facing in the work environment today, is not just the lack of qualified people but the efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy with which our human resources are being translated into human capital and our human capital is being transformed into human investment.
The landscape has, a long time ago, in a progressive professional organization gone beyond just the physical presence of a human being; it has long since become about the human knowledge that comes with the presence of the human being and is increasing all about the human competency atop of the human knowledge that is quantified in solid results.
Great leaders and minds have clearly noticed a clear shift in the competitive world of business from a world of mind sets, to a world of skill sets and are now a world of business sets.
The question is, where does your organization stand in relation to this shifting paradigm? Are you focused on human resources, human capital or human investment? Your accurate and truthful answer and seeking of professional assistance when it comes to Human Resource, Human Capital and Human Investment Consultancy will determine your success and failure over the next few years.
Don’t just think about it, like everyone else is, act upon it right now!
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com
Religions by Gandhi
December 11, 2007
“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different road, as long as we reach the same goal?” – Gandhi
Key Elements Of A Great Marketing Plan For A Successful Business by Manoj Sharma
December 10, 2007
Key Elements Of A Great Marketing Plan For A Successful Business by Manoj Sharma – Part I
No matter what business you are in or plan to get into, it is always great (especially towards the end of the year) to create a new marketing plan as part of an on-going effort. I know to many doing a marketing plan for an established business may sound strange but there is tremendous value in zero-basing your business and creating it a fresh year on year. For starters, it will put aside all that has happened and allow you to look at things afresh, not to mention it will also keep you on your toes. Finally it will force you to engage in creative destruction – reevaluating all that is no longer relevant and of value (even if it may have been of great value in the past. This also applies to employees and business partners) and consciously recreate the future that best serves all parties concerned.
a) Executive Summary
A marketing plan is best fronted by an Executive Summary that sums up the key elements of your marketing plan and acts as a quick overview. Although this part of an Executive Summary comes first, it is from personal experience best kept to last after you have done all the various elements of the Marketing Plan.
In your Executive Summary you should give an accurate account of the
i) Current Situation & Future Situation,
ii) Description of Present & Future Products & Services,
iii) Strategic Marketing & Financial Objectives, &
iv) Keys to Overall Success
At the end of the day, to a new reader, your Executive Summary should answer at the least the following questions.
1. What does your company do?
2. Who are its target customers?
3. What are the products, services and ideas you offer?
4. What are the new products, services and ideas you will be offering?
5. Who will you target as new customers?
6. What markets do you presently cater in?
7. What new markets do you plan on catering to?
8. What plans are you planning on implementing?
9. What are the result you expect from these plans?
10. What are your projected sales figures?
11. What are the costs attached to them?
12. What is your expected profitability?
13. What is your overall investment and return on investment?
14. What are the challenges you are likely to face?
15. What are your strategies to over these challenges?
b) Industry Analysis
1) The Market
History & Evolution of Market
Present Revenue Size of Market
Present Geographical Size of Market
Present Unit Size of Market
Present Growth Rate of Market – Geographically, Revenue & Unit
Present Major Players
Future Growth Rate of Market – Geographically, Revenue & Unit
Future Major Players
2) The Trends
Known Industry Trends, Fads, Demand & Supply
Drivers Of Change
Potential Changes In Usage of Products, Services & Ideas
Demographic Changes – Age Groups, Educational Group, Organization Types, Income Ranges, etc
Psychological Changes – Affluence, Habits, Preferences, Values, Desires, Attitudes, Opinions, Orientations, etc
Other Variables – Demand Cycles, Seasonal Events, Global Events, etc
3) The Factors – Legal, Economic, Political, Sociological, Environmental & Technology
Present Legal Regulations That Affect Your Business
Future Legal Regulations That Affect Your Business
Present Orientation of Government Regulations and Policies
Future Orientation of Government Regulations and Policies
Present Corporate Tax Benefits & Breaks
Future Corporate Tax Benefits & Breaks
Effects of Interest Rates, Inflation & Exchange Rates
Effects of Developments in International Trade, Economic Unions & Free Trade Zones
Political Climate, Political Stability & Political Transparency
Lifestyle Changes
Environmental Concerns
Disposable Incomes
Living Conditions
Inter-city, Inter-state, Inter-country Mobility
Breakthrough Technologies
Killer Applications
Technological Adoption
Technological Infrastructure
Technological Innovation
4) Projected Sales Analysis
Projection of Industry Sales
Projection of Company Sales
Projections of Market Share
Projection of Average Selling Price
Projection of variable Costs
Projections of Gross Margin
Projections of Number of Units Sold
Projections of Gross Revenue
Projections of Total Gross Margin
Projections of Marketing Expenses
Projections of Operational Expenses
Projections of Other Expenses
Projections of Net Profit
5) Competitive Terrain
Number of Competitors
Points of Competition
Constant New Entrants & Exits
Key Players
Key Players Strategic Advantages
Key Players Strategic Disadvantages
Your Side By Side Comparison With Key Players
Products, Services & Ideas
Price Points
Size
Strategic Objectives
Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities & Threats
Brand Equity & Goodwill
Marketing Strategies
Unique Value Proposition
Targeting Strategy
Positioning Strategy
Branding Strategy
Advertising Strategy
Promotions Strategy
Public Relations Strategy
Cost Structure, Sustainability & Scalability
Leadership Strength
Financial Strength
Look out for Part II of Key Elements Of A Great Marketing Plan For A Successful Business soon!
As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you’d like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com