LAUGHING BUDDHA CONSULTING- Why??

KONECT INDIA is launching a second brand "LAUGHING BUDDHA CONSULTING" . LBC will purely consult on niche areas like Intellectual property rights, R&D(AR&D,FR&D),niche devices segments like Spine, Pulmonary Valves, Precision Ophthalmology,Oncology and the CRO sector.
LBC(Laughing Buddha Consulting) will usher a new freshness in these segments and will exhibit a never-seen-before consulting practices for the above segments.
Now ..why a second brand...well 2 reasons the first being a clear distinction in the consulting methodology for the segment and secondly..INNOVATION. one needs to constantly innovate. the lesson i learnt from NOKIA. iam a big fan of NOKIA(even now) but from numero uno a few years back to a state of groping-in-the-dark today,if one asks me.. why .. it would be INNOVATION(or lather lack of it). one needs to innovate not only the products but also the brand.a best example MICROMAX mobiles..
KONECT INDIA is purely a mass market brand(we will never dilute it), there were 2 options in front of us 1.we could have gone in to the niche segment with the brand KONECT INDIA 2. Not enter the niche segment at all.
We wanted to enter..no doubt about it.but with KI..not exactly..then we thought another entity-majority felt it would be a mistake(we still dont know if we got it right or we are doing a mistake)but then what is entrepreneurship if you dont take those chances. Then came WHAT NAME..many options were thrown in..KONECT,KONECT PLACEMENTS,KONECTing,etc. I was clear on one thing..NEW SEGMENT..NEW APPROACH,NEW IDENTITY..everything was new..so it will not have anything connected with the old brand(EXCEPT THE OWNER :) ). Hence a radically new name.
so we zeroed in on LAUGHING BUDDHA CONSULTING.

i have been told  : its a funny name for a serious business
My contention     : there is no business such as a serious business or a not-so-serious business.every   business is business..depends on how you do it.

i have been told : do you think it will work ?
My contention    : I don't believe in THINGS WORKING..i believe in MAKING THINGS WORK.

i have been told : Managing 2 brands is going to be difficult
My contention    : Think creatively..it's great fun(that's why we don't have a serious name)

i have been asked : which crazy guy's idea is this
My contention       : I just smile

i have been told  : This crazy idea might just crack it
My contention     :  I just smile

A lot of interactions, lot of thought has gone behind this move.It perfectly suits our long term business plans. I certainly hope ..He has the last Laugh..LAUGHING BUDDHA CONSULTING:).

Watch this space for more.

Cheers
Vivek..

From an IIM-A professor to a sadhvi

Subhashini Kaul, 41, who has authored several books and international papers, has renounced everything to lead a life of a 'sadhak' in a tiny apartment in Pune. Her husband Nitin, who headed human resource management at one of the biggest retail firms in the country, too, has renounced worldly allures and turned a fakir, sleeping at railway stations in different cities. 

In 2008, Kaul, who passed out of IIM-A in 1993, had filed a sexual harassment complaint against a faculty at IIM-A. The gender committee investigated the allegations and in its report in 2009, ruled against the charges levelled by Kaul. 

"It's not because of any incident that I turned a sadhak... but started feeling that all the effort one puts in the materialistic world to get ahead isn't worth it and God directed me to another way of life," said Kaul, who has worked with leading corporates and was on the advisory board of the International Congress on Pervasive Computing and Management. 

After resigning from the job in 2009, Kaul returned to Mumbai and started a consulting company with her husband, whom she married in 1998. The couple ran the company for some time before deciding to sell off their house in Mumbai and live an isolated life. 

"I moved to Pune and we hardly speak. I meditate for more than 10 hours and have forgotten everything of my past," said Kaul, who is now connected to a few friends. 

"That was a monkey world where everyone was in the rat race to get ahead. But I blame no one for the happenings in my life. I have pulled out from all relations. Now, I dance when I want to and sleep when I feel like it. An atheist earlier, now I feel closer to God," said Kaul. 

The faculty member Kaul accused in her complaint had vanished under mysterious circumstances from Devprayag in Uttarakhand last year and is still missing. 

lets KONECT: Nothing Big-JUST DID IT..:)

lets KONECT: Nothing Big-JUST DID IT..:): Thank you all the  MRs ABMs RBMs ZMs NSMs Plant heads/Plant HRs HR Managers and more importantly all the HR managers/HR executi...

Nothing Big-JUST DID IT..:)

Thank you all the

•  MRs
• ABMs
• RBMs
• ZMs
• NSMs
• Plant heads/Plant HRs
• HR Managers
• and more importantly all the HR managers/HR executives who didnt give us a chance to do magic.

we owe it to you...

Thank you from the bottom of our heart.

from the team

Vivek

A lay milkman from Haryana who made millions

(Excerpts from his interview in Economic times)

Dr Anil Jindal, born to a milkman's family, is one of those selected businessmen who are able to turn their vision into reality. From delivering milk door-to-door, the man was able to build an empire worth over Rs 500 crore. 

Jindal's dream - the SRS Group (an acronym for Sab Raho Saath) has an annual turnover of Rs 3,500 crore. His companies have over 3,000 direct employees and create indirect job opportunities for a workforce of around 2,000 people. 

SRS now has presence in various sectors such as, gems and jewellery, realty, entertainment, retail, food and beverages, hardware and healthcare. He still holds the distinction for giving Haryana its first multiplex -SRS Cinemas-which became operational in 2004 in Faridabad. 

EARLY STRUGGLE 

"Initially, I used to help my father by delivering milk to customers whose homes were falling on my way to college," recalls Jindal. 

After completing his post-graduation in commerce, Jindal started his coaching business, which clicked instantly. Soon his coaching centre crossed 100 students. Jindal was earning more by coaching students and wanted to take it up as a full-time job. 

"I had no option but to agree to his decision because at that time he was earning much more from his coaching than my milk busine Being a businessman, I appreciated his decisionand allowed him to go ahead," recalls his father, GS Jindal, who hired someone to replace him in the milk business. Thus began the younger Jindal's entrepreneurial journey. 

"In 1985, I decided to enter the financial solutions business with a seed capital of Rs 10 lakh-my savings," says Jindal. "I started with vehicle finance and later on diversified to all kinds of financial intermediaries. That's how my first company BTL Investment Ltd. came intoexistence," he says. 

THE BEGINING 

Post 1985, Jindal started buying land from his savings, which was a blessing in disguise. "By the beginning of the year 2000, my firm had a land bank of around 40 acres," says Jindal, and adds, "By the end of 2000, there was a rise in finance business as some more competitors came into the fray, this gave birth to unhealthy competition and recovery became difficult." 

Fortunately in the year 2004, there were some realty projects coming up in Faridabad, which escalated property prices. "The realty developmental projects resulted in skyrocketing ofproperty prices in the region and suddenly the land which was priced a few lakhs became worth a crore," reminisce Jindal. 

Around the same time Jindal went abroad and got familiarised with the mall culture. "I studied its effect on the local economy and retail market," recalls Jindal. And soon Jindal decided to enter the retail and realty business and by the end of 2004, he opened SRS Cinemas in Faridabad. 

FURTHER GROWTH 
By 2004, Jindal was convinced that he needed to diversify to sustain his business."I realised that the retail market was the growth engine of the future economy. Hence, we started designing and marketing jewellery," says Jindal. Today, around 60 percent of the turnover of our company is generated from this segment. 

"Out of an annual turnover of around Rs 3,500 crore, about Rs 2,100 crore comes from our jewellery business. Apart from this, we have presence in realty, entertainment, retail, food and beverages, hardware, healthcare and financial services." 

About thirty percent of the annual turnover is generated from SRS' realty business. "We generate around 30 percent of our annual business (near Rs 1,050crore) from our real estate segment while the entire group is generating around 5,000 job opportunities." 

Elaborating about his business potential, Dr Jindal says, "We have 33 screens in place at our multiplexes in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Indore. We have food courts in Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Sonipat." 

Besides all this, SRS Group has a land bank of around 500 acres in Faridabad, Palwal, Rewari, Panchkula, and Karjat (in Mumbai). 

Recalling the listing of his company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and NSE, Jindal says, "Our SRS Ltd IPO got listed in August 2011 at NSE and BSE. It generated around Rs 203 crore which I think was one of the major achievements because the successful listing of the IPO is an indication that people have faith in our firm."