It is official now.

Indian bureaucracy is worst in Asia.

India’s “suffocating bureaucracy” was ranked the least-efficient by the survey, which said working with the country’s civil servants was a “slow and painful” process.

Indian babus have worked hard for last fifty years to achieve this prestigious result. This has not been an easy journey. They have imbibed certain qualities which have become a part of the DNA the of Indian bureaucracy. They have mastered certain skills and qualities which have helped them in achieving this glorious feat.

They are taught not to cooperate with their colleagues and customers. The word ‘trust’ is absent from their dictionary. They are ready to sacrifice work for their daily dose of gossip, household chores and chai-pani. Because of all these qualities their productivity is zero, their engagement with official work is low and they are against any kind of innovation. Lethargy, lack of ownership and speed with which they do their work will put even a snail to shame.

Three cheers for the Indian babus who have achieved this shameful feat for our country. I strongly feel that number of Indians who will be proud of this result should be zero. Sifr. Shunaya.

At least I am not.

Apart from his singing, what moved me is his powerful story. I decided to listen to his music because I was moved by his story. So many times we have seen that stories are building blocks of any successful purpose. Stories provide authenticity to whole mission of person or an organization. Without stories you are one of numerous noodle in a bowl and if someone throws noodles on wall some sticks to the wall and lot of them fall on the floor and forgotten. Those which are on the wall are plain lucky and will fall after sometime.

I read somewhere “Experience stays with people while money goes away”. To build memorable experiences, one requires powerful stories. Stories which can become talk of the town. Oprah Winfrey is famous because of stories she chose to show on her show. Tom shoes are selling shoes with the help of incredible stories around their efforts of helping poor and needy children in Africa. Internet is full of interesting customer experiences shared via stories about Zappos.

It is important to have stories in these tough times. Businesses which some compelling stories to tell will stand out. So is true for individuals.

Take away point – Have a powerful story which you can narrate to your customers.

Ryan Air has decided to levy fat tax to passengers who will not be able to fit into the seat without removing separators and are not able to fit into the seat belt. When you first read it, it sounds funny. But Ryan Air says that it is passengers who want them to levy this tax on overweight passengers as it is uncomfortable for the fellow passengers. Fat passengers spill over to neighbor’s seat!

As it goes with customer feedback, you have to listen more than your ears. All customers are looking a comfortable ride irrespective of their size. Some customers feel uncomfortable if an overweight person is sitting by their side. This is not airlines fault. Adding extra tax may turn away many potential overweight customers. This ‘fat’ tax may turn out to be a ‘hate’ tax which could cause a potential damage to Ryan Air.

Most of the companies provide good service when customers do not have any specific need or want. True service skills are tested under conditions where customer is asking (or worse he could not articulate what he wants) something specific. And when you start addressing a particular need (said or unsaid), you start delighting your customers. You create zealots who will swear by your service and brand.

Ryan Air can make a separate sitting area with larger chairs especially for fat people. I do not know how many fat customers travel with Ryan Air. But I guess one or two rows of such seats should do. And charge extra for that seating area. Customers will readily pay if value is shown to them and might start loving it for taking good care of them. God knows, Ryan Air becomes a favorite airline for fat people.

Take away point: No extra tax will benefit you if you are not understanding the needs of your customer.

According to mobiletracker.net

‘The BlackBerry 7270 supports VoIP telephony that essentially extends desktop phone functionality to a BlackBerry wireless handheld allowing the user to place and receive calls on the go. It utilizes SIP-based call control to deliver standards-based interoperability with IP PBX and traditional corporate telephony equipment.’

BlackBerry has to compete with Nokia and Motorola Inc in this segment. Both Nokia and Motorola Inc launched their WiFi phones last year.

According to dailywireless .org, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie admitted that earlier he thought ‘’WiFi is over hyped because it is believed to replace traditional mobile data services’. Over the period, Jim has realized that WiFi services are complimentary with other services.

All smart phone users are waiting anxiously for another winner from RIM stable.