Dossier

5+1 tricks that transformed an impossible idea! | Shrishti Jain | TEDxBESC

The speaker argues that newspapers are an indispensable, yet underestimated, tool for life transformation because they teach complex concepts through jargon, which is necessary for solving real-world problems. He developed "Reading Right" based on this, evolving the concept from teaching literacy to enabling customers to empower others. The central thesis, which survived skepticism, is that the focus must always be on solving the core problem, not merely presenting a solution.

## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Founder/Creator of Reading Right.
- Childhood perception of reading newspapers: Speaker disliked the practice; Dad read 7 to 8 business newspapers daily; Mom read two to three vernacular ones; Brother clocked up about five newspapers a day.
- Current goal: To make people understand the importance of newspapers and leverage this knowledge to transform their lives for the better.
- Core message: *“Solving the problem and not the solution.”*

## Theses & Positions
- Newspapers are "incredibly important" and possess the potential to be a *lifechanger*.
- Education gap in India requires newspapers as the primary vehicle for transformation.
- Problem-solving capability is a universal skill present in "any and every job" (e.g., marketing, HR, Finance).
- Customer Needs are paramount: The guiding principle is *“Customer is King.”*
- Over-reliance on partnerships or perceived benefits can fail if the customer does not trust the underlying premise.

## Concepts & Definitions
- **Newspapers**: Primary medium containing complex terms and jargons spanning business, economics, and politics.
- **Lifechanger**: A concept that newspapers can embody, enabling significant personal transformation.
- **Problem solving**: A fundamental capability required across all professional roles.
- **Filter**: The intellectual act of determining what information is relevant to consume, contrasting with the comprehensive nature of print media versus curated online content.
- **Stakeholder analysis**: A thinking module used to ensure perspectives from various stakeholders are incorporated when analyzing an article.
- **Uced modules**: Educational modules developed by the speaker to help people think using newspapers.

## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Understanding Newspapers (Process 1)**: Requires first grasping complicated terms and jargons across business, economics, and politics before applying the knowledge for life leverage.
- **Thinking Modules (Process 2)**: Includes "Stakeholder analysis" to force diverse viewpoints on articles.
- **Identifying Problem/Solution Alignment (Process 3)**: Focuses on locating the universal problem (e.g., lack of problem-solving skills) and using newspaper details to provide inputs for the solution.
- **Gauging Commitment (Process 4)**: Using metrics like 'marriage' to quantify a person's potential for long-term commitment to an idea.
- **Creating Habit (Process 5)**: The ultimate goal of ensuring newspaper reading becomes a sustained habit in people's homes.
- **Empowering Others (Mechanism 6)**: Encouraging customers to use the skill to transform other lives, which locks in high customer loyalty and "creates magic."

## Timeline & Sequence
- Childhood (Past): Speaker disliked reading newspapers.
- Early Approach (Period): Initial meetings with people who stated newspapers were important but offered no actionable support, often citing "boring or time crunch."
- Failed Launch (Event): Initial public launch of the concept was met with ridicule and skepticism.
- Ministry Condition (Event): The Honorable Secretary of the skill development Ministry conditioned approval on a guarantee of jobs for semi-skilled workers.
- ISB Interview (Event): Speaker predicted the results of a recent State election based on political realms analyzed from various newspapers, leading to a merit full scholarship.
- Partnership Consideration (Event): Print media companies sought partnerships, but the speaker declined because the prospective customers suspected it was a paid partnership.

## Named Entities
- **Reading Right**: The organization established by the speaker to educate people using newspapers.
- **Mantra**: Organization that helped steer the focus toward helping people think using newspapers.
- **Indian School of Business (ISB)**: Location of the interview where the speaker successfully predicted state election results.
- **Honorable Secretary of the skill development Ministry**: Government official who set the condition for project approval.
- **Print media companies**: Entities interested in partnering due to the perceived superiority of newspapers over digital apps.

## Numbers & Data
- Dad's reading habit: **7 to 8** daily business newspapers.
- Mom's reading habit: **Two to three** vernacular newspapers.
- Brother's reading habit: **About five** newspapers daily.
- Interview duration at ISB: **10-minute** interview.
- Portion focusing on state elections: **5 minutes**.

## Examples & Cases
- Family Newspaper Habits: Dad reading **7 to 8** business newspapers daily; Mom reading **two to three** vernacular ones; brother reading **about five** newspapers daily.
- Initial Pitch Reception: People ridiculed the idea, suggesting it was either "boring or time crunch."
- ISB Interview Success: Successfully predicting recent State election results by analyzing political realms from various newspapers.
- Prospect Investor Feedback: Investor stating, *"do one thing in a couple of years get in touch with me if you're still sticking around this idea."*
- Partnership Rejection: Declining a desirable print media partnership because the customers suspected it was a paid arrangement.

## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Newspapers**: The educational medium; valued for containing complex terms, jargon across business, economics, and politics.
- **Uced modules**: Specific modules developed for newspaper-based thinking.
- **Stakeholder analysis**: A specific thinking module taught to analyze different perspectives within articles.

## References Cited
- None.

## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Alternative media: Online content, which tends to be highly filtered, whereas newspapers offer a comprehensive view.
- Partnership choice: Choosing an organization based on content quality rather than taking a partnership offering with inherent distrust from the customer.
- Initial focus vs. Current focus: Shifting from merely *teaching* people to read newspapers to enabling *problem-solving* using newspaper insights.

## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Claim that "boring or time crunch" is not a credible reason to dismiss newspapers' importance.
- It is crucial to maintain focus on the underlying problem rather than getting lost in selling a polished solution.
- The concept of achieving full sustainability ("building a habit") is difficult and ongoing.

## Methodology
- **Problem Focus**: Shifting the project mandate from delivering a specific, tangible solution to identifying and solving the core problem at hand.
- **Learning by Observation**: Gauging commitment levels of investors and partners.
- **Customer-First Design**: Prioritizing customer approval over the perceived perfection of a partner's offer.

## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The overarching goal is enabling people to think at a higher level using newspapers.
- The ultimate recommendation is: *“Empower your customers to empower others.”*
- The highest level of business achievement is *“finding infinite solutions every day of Our Lives.”*

## Implications & Consequences
- Lack of core understanding limits a person's ability to leverage newspapers for life change.
- Failure to solve the core problem renders the best solution ineffective.
- Customer distrust can nullify highly beneficial partnerships, regardless of their merits.

## Open Questions
- How to reliably establish and maintain the habit of reading newspapers over the long term.
- What specific elements can guarantee that a partnership will be perceived by the customer as genuine and non-commercial?

## Verbatim Moments
- *"nobody took to it... saying that it's boring or time crunch is an issue it's not a credible reason right it's such a flimsy reason to justify the importance of something which you're saying can change your life"*
- *"I'm going to get people to understand the importance of newspapers and leverage it so that they can transform their lives for better"*
- *"solving the problem and not the solution"*
- *"Customer is King"*
- *"do one thing in a couple of years get in touch with me if you're still sticking around this idea"*
- *"Ladies and gentlemen is Empower your customers to empower others"*
- *"finding infinite solutions every day of Our Lives"*