All about networking

In the world of consulting, "networking' is always the buzzword. From day one when a batch joins the organisation, they are encouraged to build their network. In the consequent leadership meetings the seniors leaders advice you to network. After interacting with the level 1 analysts and consultants, one feels they are little confused as in how to build the network.

Some questions that come to their minds are:-

1. How would the Director or manager feel, if I directly barge into their office? What if, they brush me aside saying with a smile "Hey, can we talk later. Lil busy now"

2. How do I approach that female colleague. How would she feel about my "reach out gesture" for the sake of networking. Hope she does not get me wrong?

3. I got so many contacts in my Lync account. How do I leverage my network?

And so on. Amidst all this. There's this dilemma - what matters more the size of the network or the depth of the relationships in our network? In other words what matters more - "Who you know or what you know". Or is it what you know about who you know. Do not expect me to answer the questions. I have never been a yes or no person. If you ask me for a suggestion, I would advise you to deal with the scenario as per the situation. The best answer may lie somewhere between black and white.

It has been found through research that if you are looking for a job change, the size of the network is more influential. On the other hand, if you are looking for your dream project within your organisation, it is the depth of the relationships with whom you network matters. And there are many other situations.

It has also been found that females network less than their male counterparts. This is one of the reasons why there are lesser women in cXo roles in the top Fortune 500 companies. Womens think that the additional 'hi/hello' as part of their networking can be perceived by some men as sexual advances. Hence, women tend to maintain that distance.

One suggestion in building your network is to meet the person face to face first and then carry forward the relationship online. In other words, Offline then online will add more credibility to the relationship and give us more returns than online followed by offline. Also, one feels, we need to manitain sustained connection with our network which means we need to be visibile to each other online, offline or otherwise. The visibility or recall is generally driven by some exceptional traits we possess or the memories of that first meeting.

I would share more thoughts on the topic in the later posts. For now, stay tuned and Happy Networking!

The Rise of Xiaomi

The Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is setting itself up to take on the world market after achieving a sizeable market share in South-East Asia. Xiaomi has the second largest market share in China next only to Apple. Xiaomi largest market, outside of China, is India.


The ambitious CEO, Mr. Jun Lei is never short of saying – “Apple and Samsung are gone” – mark his confidence! “Even a pig can fly if it stands at the center of a whirlwind,” he says. After several years in semiretirement, “one day I woke up and thought, ‘I’m already 40 and I’ve achieved nothing,” he says. “I had a dream when I was young to found a global, first-rate company.”

In April 2010, he founded Xiaomi with Bin Lin, a former Google and Microsoft executive. The name means “millet,” a Chinese staple that is nutritious but inexpensive. While consumers in China at the time could buy expensive foreign smartphones or cheap Chinese knockoffs, there was a void between that Mr. Lei decided to target. Xiaomi sells its high end 64 GB Mi Note Pro at $489 in China vis-à-vis Apple which sells iPhone 6 at $950, while Samsung sells Galaxy S6 at around $800. According to users, Xiaomi phone provide value for money.

Xiaomi is one of the most valued startups in the world. Privately held, experts put its valuation at $46 billion. Xiaomi though still a disorganized startup. It does not have the inventory of patents like its rivals – Apple and Samsung. Experts put Xiaomi employee count at 8,000 and that it has a very flat work culture for a start-up. Employees frequently cite Xiaomi’s egalitarian management structure, in which even junior employees meet with vice presidents and each department has high autonomy. “The flat management is one of the great things about Xiaomi,” says one former employee. “Everything operates on trust.”
Xiaomi keeps the marketing cost low by spending largely on cultivating a fan base instead of advertisements. It holds fan parties every few weeks in a different city, where executives meet enthusiasts and give gifts. It has an army of employees to interact with consumers on social media. Xiaomi sells the majority of its phones online, where prices don’t need to include a profit margin for retailers.

Xiaomi’s big test would be now when it’s making a foray into foreign markets – where regulations and consumer preferences are different. For example, in India, still a large section of the customer prefer purchasing their mobile devices from brick and mortar stores where they can touch and feel the device before buying it. Xiaomi has hired former Google executive Hugo Barra as global vice president to assist them with foreign market entry strategy. Let’s see how Xiaomi performs across the world!