Month: June 2012

This mornings Economic Times in Mumbai misspells its title on page 18. This is not the only publication that has done it. I regularly see this in a few quality English publications in the country. The reason this is shocking, is having worked in the magazine and newspaper publishing business, I know how important this is to the editor/s. For an editor, the published word is sacrosanct and how it comes through, should be nothing short of perfect.

Even if the data entry operator has made a mistake in typing the correct word, the page proof reader should have picked it up and if not that, the page editor who finally signed off on the page should/could have picked it up, before the page moved for pre-press, pagination and printing. When this chain does not work, there is probably a larger issue at work.

Could it be, that in this fast paced life of ours, we have lost an eye for detail? Or perhaps we no longer care, for such outdated things like “spelling” and “sentence formation”? What with the new twitter, sms and chat cultures, correct spelling and sentence construction has become a lost art.

Perhaps its reflective of the Indian culture and its management practices? In field after field, one can see, we lack the “finishing touch” or the level of “detail orientation” true success requires. We will put up a swashbuckling building, but will not complete the interiors to “global standards”. We will put up a sea link, but not complete the entire design. We will create a new stadium, but leave it unpainted. True success, needs an eye for detail, and the ability to actually complete the job. Its called ‘execution’, all the way till the end.

Because we have all become broadcasters now – we Facebook, Tweet, Blog, give opinions and a lot of us keep jabbering away online – it seems like we talk more about what we do, than actually doing it.

We talk in many subtle ways, about our performances, our glories, our achievements or we become online advisors, giving our solutions, theories and perspectives on things. And while this is satisfying from making our ‘egos feel good’ point of view, often we mix this (both the reader and writer) for actual performance.

I see many writers and consultants in my industry (Communications and Public Relations) and a lot of self-proclaimed opinion makers and opinion gatherers. Most can ramble on, but I only respect the writers and consultants who have some actual performance behind them. Those who have worked deeply and closely with brands, who have delivered on key performance areas while working on these brands and have clients and references that would vouch for their abilities in execution.

Simply talking (online, offline or sideline) is no substitute for the ability to actually execute and deliver results.