5+1 tricks that transformed an impossible idea! | Shrishti Jain | TEDxBESC
## Speaker Context
- The speaker is presenting a talk (implied TED Talk setting).
- The speaker frames their experience by recounting early dislike for reading newspapers (his Dad read 7 to 8 daily business newspapers, Mom read two to three vernacular ones, and his brother clocked up about five newspapers a day).
- The speaker frames their current endeavor as getting people to understand the importance of newspapers and leverage it to transform their lives.
## People
- The speaker (Self) + Founder/Creator of the organization, Reading Right.
- Friend + Discussed the speaker's service, questioning the need for it ("can't they do this on their own").
- Honorable Secretary of the skill development Ministry + Had conditions for awarding a project.
- Prospect investor + Told the speaker they were not very convinced about their levels of commitment.
- Intern + Suggested the idea of putting customers in the role of empowering others.
## Organizations
- Reading Right + An organization started by the speaker to educate people using newspapers.
- Mantra + The organization the speaker's idea was presented to; stated they are here to help people think using newspapers.
- Print media companies + Interested in partnering with the speaker's organization due to the belief that newspapers are a better medium than digital apps or online.
## Places
- India + A country where world-class education is not just a privilege but that which is available to a prized few.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- Newspapers + The primary medium used for education and knowledge transfer; noted for containing complex terms, jargons across topics like business, economics, and politics.
- uced modules + Modules introduced by the speaker to help people think using newspapers.
- Stakeholder analysis + A thinking module introduced by the speaker to ensure people think from different perspectives on an article.
## Concepts & Definitions
- Newspapers + Described as incredibly important; potential tool to change a life/transform lives.
- Lifechanger + A thing that newspapers can be.
- Problem solving + A capability that is common across any and every job (e.g., marketing, HR, Finance).
- Customer is King + A guiding principle for defining end goals.
- Marriage (metric) + A metric used by the investor to gauge long-term commitment because it flags availability for a long-term commitment.
- Filter + The act of determining what information to read, contrasting the comprehensive nature of newspapers with the curated nature of online content.
## Numbers & Data
- 7 to 8 + Number of daily business newspapers read by the speaker's Dad.
- Two to three + Number of vernacular newspapers read by the speaker's Mom.
- About five + Number of newspapers clocked up by the speaker's brother daily.
- 10-minute interview + Duration of the interview at the Indian School of Business.
- 5 minutes + Portion of the interview time that revolved around predicting recent State elections.
## Claims & Theses
- Almost every single person I approached with the idea of newspapers all they had to tell me was newspapers are incredibly important and they have to be read.
- Nobody took to it (regarding the concept of newspapers' importance).
- Newspapers can change your life and stir your lives to transform into something way way better than what they had even comprehended.
- People need to first understand and appreciate the complicated terms and jargons in newspapers before they can use it to leverage their life.
- Newspapers can do the magic to bridge the gap of education.
- Solving the problem is more important than selling the solution.
- The primary focus for any project meeting with the government must be a definite deliverable, such as guaranteed jobs.
- Problem solving is common across all jobs.
- The most important thing was topping the interview and getting a merit full scholarship (when predicting state election results).
- It is very important to align what your customer wants in your end goal and Define it crisply and clearly.
- Filter not every concern needs to be tackled, especially if it's not coming from your customer.
- Our customer our customers thought this is some sort of a paid partnership.
- Empower your customers to empower others (this leads to high customer loyalty and 'creating magic').
## Mechanisms & Processes
- Understanding Newspapers (Process 1): Requires understanding complicated terms, jargons, spread across business, economics, politics, etc., before leveraging it for life change.
- Thinking Modules (Process 2): Including "Stakeholder analysis" to ensure people think from different perspectives on every article.
- Identifying Problem/Solution Alignment (Process 3): Finding what is common across all jobs (problem solving) and using newspapers to provide details to incorporate into solving those problems.
- Gauging Commitment (Process 4): Using metrics like 'marriage' to quantify a person's long-term commitment to an idea.
- Creating Habit (Process 5): Striving to make the adoption of newspaper reading a lasting habit that people take back to their homes.
- Empowering Others (Mechanism 6): Having customers use the skill/product to transform other lives around them.
## Timeline & Events
- Childhood (Past): Speaker disliked reading newspapers.
- Early Days (Period): Speaker approached people about the newspaper concept, facing resistance.
- Launch Day (Event): The speaker launched the concept, initially receiving negative reactions (people thinking it was non-necessary).
- Meeting with Ministry Secretary (Event): The Ministry required a guarantee of jobs for semi-skilled workers to approve the project.
- Interview at Indian School of Business (Event): Speaker predicted state election results, leading to a merit full scholarship.
- Partnership Consideration (Event): Print media companies sought to partner with the speaker's organization.
## Examples & Cases
- Family Newspaper Habits (Example 1): Dad reading 7 to 8 business newspapers daily, Mom reading two to three vernacular ones, brother reading about five newspapers daily.
- Initial Concept Reception (Example 2): People initially told the speaker newspapers are important but struggled with implementation, suggesting "boring" or "time crunch."
- Initial Pitch Reception (Example 3): People hated the idea, some ridiculed it (left, right, and Center).
- Friend's Doubt (Example 4): Friend questioned the need for the service, saying the speaker could read newspapers on their own.
- Ministry Condition (Example 5): The Ministry required a guarantee that jobs would be bagged using the program for semi-skilled workers.
- ISB Interview (Example 6): Speaker predicting the results of a recent State election based on political realms from various newspapers.
- Investor Feedback (Example 7): Investor questioned commitment level, suggesting the speaker get in touch in a couple of years.
- Partnership Rejection (Example 8): The speaker declined a partnership with a print media company because the customer was skeptical it was a paid partnership.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Alternative to reading newspapers (Implicit): Spending time on online content, where distractions are many and people filter out information.
- Partnership Option vs. Customer Trust: Partnership with print media (benefits: subsidized rates, support system) was rejected because the customer suspected it was a paid partnership.
- Initial Approach vs. Current Focus: Initially focusing on *teaching* people how to read newspapers vs. shifting focus to *problem solving* using newspapers.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- It's not a credible reason [to dismiss the importance of newspapers] if the reason is "boring or time crunch."
- It is very important to solve the problem and keep a track of why we initially started on this journey (don't get lost in selling the solution).
- Finding infinite solutions is an *ongoing Journey* (not a final state).
- The speaker acknowledges that his five learnings might be different years later from what he presents now.
## Methodology
- Developing an Organization: Started by deciding to educate people using newspapers due to their inherent importance.
- Stakeholder Analysis: Introduced to ensure thinking from different perspectives across articles.
- Problem Focus: Shifting the goal from presenting a solution to solving the underlying problem.
- Observation/Learning: Learning by observing investor skepticism regarding commitment.
## References Cited
- None.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The goal is to make people think like never before using newspapers.
- We must prioritize the customer over everyone else, even if the partnership seems 100% ideal.
- The recommendation is to "Empower your customers to empower others."
- The ultimate goal is finding infinite solutions every day of our lives.
- Speaker asserts his five plus one tricks are "100% 100% customer authentic approved."
## Implications & Consequences
- If people cannot read newspapers, it hinders their ability to leverage newspapers to transform their lives.
- Not guaranteeing jobs results in not receiving government projects.
- If the customer distrusts the arrangement, the partnership fails, regardless of its inherent benefits.
- If the core problem isn't identified, selling a solution fails.
## Open Questions
- What is the mechanism to reliably ensure people adopt and sustain the habit of newspaper reading over time?
- What are the factors that determine if a partnership will be viewed by the customer as genuine rather than paid?
## 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"