Minouche Shafikâs new book, What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract seems perfectly timed, with the world teetering between the 2008 financial crisis and a global pandemic. The book is not written for the general reader, but I think that they too might like it. They would like it for her astute observations… Continue reading A New Social Contract for a New Kind of Economy
Many years ago, I heard great things about a book called Start-up Nation and so I finally decided to buy it from Amazon India and read it. It is a Council on Foreign Relations book co-authored by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, both of whom are Israeli Jews. Dan Senor is a senior fellow at… Continue reading A Breezy Tour of a Nationâs Chutzpah
As the Covid pandemic wanes, one would expect most economies to recover faster. However, something called base effect prevents us from seeing better rates of growth. And so it is, with our economy in India. After the massive contraction in FY21, the first year of the pandemic, the economy staged an impressive recovery in the… Continue reading Can the Indian Economy Weather the Storms?
Perhaps, not since WWII and then the 1970s, has the world had to deal with the economic effects of a war such as the current one on in Ukraine against Russia. The 8-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s, and later wars in the Islamic world too had their biggest impact on oil… Continue reading Wartime Priorities for Governments the World Over
It is not that unusual or uncommon to find brands using a particular aspect or dimension of a countryâs cultural heritage to build their brand image. Think of Scotch Whiskies or wines and there are many that leverage a nationâs culture to build their brand or an entire product category. I have shared my thoughts… Continue reading How Cultural Heritage Can Build a Brand
In todayâs corporate world, well-diversified companies with interests in several businesses abound. It is part and parcel of most companiesâ growth strategies. Yet, we also find cases of companies shedding non-core assets every decade or so, in order to improve their financial performance, but equally to focus on their core competencies. In fact, both sets… Continue reading What Makes a Well-integrated Corporate Brand
As with everything to do with the pandemic, there is a pre- and a post-. And so it might be, with the advertising and media landscape, though how much of it is enduring, we still canât tell. At the start of the Covid pandemic in, well, âĤ it seems like itâs been with us so… Continue reading Reimagining the Media Landscape After the Pandemic
Recently, I wrote on my blog that I had ordered a copy of Michael E Porterâs book, Competitive Advantage along with Peter Druckerâs Practice of Management. I have written about the first, though not as a book review because it wouldnât have been fair to Drucker. As far as Michael Porterâs book is concerned, I… Continue reading Brands and Competitive Advantage
Emerging out of the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic recovery is proving to be a tricky business, requiring a delicate balancing act by governments and central banks. This is because most of the world has racked up huge amounts of debt, while trying to stimulate their economies, in addition to the debt they already had. Western… Continue reading World Caught Between Soaring Inflation and Debt
It has often struck me as strange that the much-vaunted French luxury industry, a growing and sizeable part of the French economy, doesnât include automobiles, especially passenger vehicles. Given their penchant for design, their understanding of exclusivity and luxury and their engineering prowess especially in aviation and high-speed rail, it is rather strange that they… Continue reading Why Do Cars Get the Cold Shoulder in French Luxury?
