In the Indian culture, there is a traditional hymn that highlights the impact a parent has on their child’s life. It’s titled “mata pitane bhulso nahi” which means “never forget your parents”.
This hymn is typically sung during the prayer meeting after someone has passed away, often reminding everyone else to recollect what their parents have done for them, and if they are still alive, to look after them, the way they looked after you.
Mother’s Day is approaching – please take a moment to watch the video and read the words below, and do what is required right now to reconnect with those who have given you shelter.
Forget Everything Else, But Do Not Forget Your Parents
Bhulo Bhale Beeju Badhu Maa Baap ne Bhulosho Nahin
You can forget everything else, but do not forget your parentsAganeet Che Upkaar Enaa, Eha Visarsho Nahin.
Their favors are countless, never forget that.Patthar Pujya Pruthvi Tanaa,tyare Dithu Tama Mukhdu,
They prayed to many gods on earth, to see your facePunit Jana Naa Kaadjaa, Patthar bani chundsho nahin.
Do not become rocks and crush the hearts of those saintly people.Kaadhi Mukhethi Kodiaa, Monmaa dai motaa karyaa,
They fed morsels from their own mouth to raise youAmrut tanaa denaar saame, Zher ugadsho nahin.
Do not spit poison on the ones who gave you nectarLaakho ladaavya laad tamane, Kodh sau poora karyaa,
Those who loved you immensely and fulfilled all your desiresE Kodh naa purnaar naa, kodh purvaa bhulsho nahin.
Do not forget to fulfill the desires of those who fulfilled your desiresLaakho kamaataa ho bhale, maa baap jethi naa tharyaa,
You could earn millions, but if your parents are not happy at heart,laakh nahin pan raakh che, E maanvu bhulsho nahin.
Always remember, those millions are ashes.Santaan thi seva chaaho, santaan cho seva karo,
Expect service from your children, and serve being a child yourself,Jevu karo tevu bharo, E bhavnaa bhulsho nahin.
Remember the teaching, as you sow so shall you reap.Bhine sui potee ane, sooke suvdaavya aapne,
They slept in wet areas but made sure you were on dry land,E amimay aankhne, bhuline bhinjavsho nahin.
Do not let tears come to those loving eyes.Pushpo bichaavyaa prem thi, jene tamaaraa raah par,
They spread flowers in your path with loveE rahbar naa raah par, kantak kadi bansho nahin.
Do not spread thorns in the path of those path makers.Dhan kharachtaa madshe badhu, Mata Pitaa madshe nahin,
You will get everything by spending money, but not Mother and father.Pal Pal paavan E charan ni, chaahnaa bhulsho nahin.
Do not forget every loving moment of those auspicious feet.(source: Never Forget Your Parents)
- Share this on del.icio.us
- Digg this!
- Buzz up!
- Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon
- Share this on Technorati
- Post this to MySpace
- Share this on Facebook
-
tr.im is currently unavailable ... +(via+@surajshah)" rel="nofollow" class="external" title="Tweet This!">Tweet This!
Oops ... Sorry!
tr.im is currently overloaded.
tr.im is currently unavailable because of exccessive load, or a spike in simultaneous requests that our servers were unable to handle in an orderly fashion.
We are committed to tr.im's reliability, and are always monitoring our network's capacity and always taking steps to help ensure you never see our "fail banana".
Please try your request again now, or in a few minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience.
- Subscribe to the comments for this post?
- Share this on Linkedin
- Add this to Google Bookmarks
- Share this on FriendFeed
At the tail end of December 2009, Heena and I spent 5 days and 4 nights in Marrakech (Morocco) celebrating our 1 year anniversary.
It was much needed time in the sunshine. The days were sunny and warm, but the nights were very cold, although not as freezing as London.
Here’s what we did: we spent time absorbing the sights sounds and scents (+ sometimes yucky smells) of the Souks, which are the markets and small shops throughout the alleyways of the Medina.
We also did the touristy things such as visiting some ancient buildings but didn’t fully understand what they are as my French needs brushing up and we don’t understand Arabic. I’m hoping Heena will write a post about it with researched detail soon on her blog so I can link to it.
[update: Heena has written a wonderful post with more details about our time in Marrakech - published on Valentines Day 2010]
We took an excursion into the Atlas mountains where we climbed up to check out the Ourika waterfalls.
The magic of the trip was the quality time we spent playing cards, board games, and some singing and dancing 
Some tips and resources if you are considering a short vacation to Marrakech:
- We stayed at the Dellarosa Hotel, about a 15-20 minute walk to the Medina
- Our vegan meal at Earth Cafe was delicious – possibly the only vegetarian restaurant in Marrakech
- We needed to get a taxi from the airport to the hotel. The first taxi driver we met tried to screw us over for price. Lucky I had called up the hotel the night before – they said it would cost 150 Dhirams. The first taxi driver tried to take us for 300! Lesson: always check with the hotel how much the taxi should cost.
- The climb up the mountain to the waterfall could have been fatal if it wasn’t for my shoes which had some grip – I almost slipped a few times right off the slippery mountain rocks! Pack sensible walking shoes with good grip!
- Devise a strategy when walking through the narrow alleyways of the Souks – all the shopkeepers will attempt to lure you in to buy something. We had a strategy – I would hold Heena’s hand and charge straight ahead with rhino-like focus while Heena would smile at them with a look of “I’m sorry but he won’t let me stop” – kept it polite whilst successfully getting from point A to point B in the shortest possible time.
- We drank loads of mint tea, loaded with plenty of sugar – BEWARE: I’ve now become addicted to sugar in less than 5 days and have to start weaning myself off it in my hot drinks.
No trip’s complete without some holiday snaps:
When I went to Mumbai in 2004, I had tea with a gentleman named Rajubhai. His nephew Dhaval, who is studying a BA in Business Studies at the University of Hertfordshire, recently approached me, gave me an insight into his life so far, and stated that he’s looking for a part time job so that he can financially support his stay in the UK while he completes his degree.
Dhaval is switched on with an entrepreneurial mind (he’s been supporting his father in the family business in Kerala for several years – they are the distributors of Yash Raj Films in Kerala, India) – so if you are in / around London and think you may have a part-time job for this chap, do give him a call on 07552 351541. Ideally something office based (however junior the position) so that he can build his business experience. He’s applied for a National Insurance (NI) number which should come through soon, so it’s all legit.
We met up for a coffee today where I asked him to do a quick video so that you get a chance to see who he is:
Oh… and he’s looking for a place to stay – he’ll be happy as a paying guest in a warm family home, near the Queensbury / Harrow area. (Wireless internet a bonus!)
I’ve been considering home-baked bread for a while now.
Seeing as I’ve chanced upon a VERY SIMPLE no-knead bread making recipe video, I thought I’d share it here.
Perhaps one Sunday this autumn, visitors to my home will be welcomed in with the scent of freshly baked bread.
Dear family and friends,
The month of May has so far been one of celebration, bereavement, remembrance, family closeness, career progress and preparing for this summer’s events.
In the early May bank holiday weekend, Heena and I spent 3 days in Brighton to celebrate her birthday, where we feasted at several of Brighton’s many vegetarian / vegan restaurants. If you’re going to Brighton, I highly recommended the vegetarian restaurant Terre à Terre.
We held bhakti (devotional prayers) on Saturday 16th May in memory of Heena’s father who passed away 9 years ago and in memory of Heena’s kaka (father’s brother) who passed away 6 years ago, and a sadadi /prathna sabha (prayer meeting) on Saturday 23rd May for our dear nanima (my mum’s mum) who passed away in Nairobi earlier this month.
On Monday 25th May, a few of the family got together to write kankotris / invitations for my brother Sawan’s wedding which is taking place in August. It was a productive day, and with the recent bereavements in the family, it was wonderful to have the warmth of the family come together.
Preparation is coming along well for the session titled “Revealing the Gremlins” which I’ll be presenting at the Young Jains International Convention this July. It’s about recognising the barriers we face when working towards our goals, and explores what karma is really about. If you want to know more about this, you can read an introduction to the session ‘Revealing the Gremlins’ .
The convention is taking place on the weekend of 17th to 19th July in London, and is open to all ages (aimed mostly at age 16 to 35 and beyond, although there’s a special kids convention taking place alongside it). Do register to attend if it sounds interesting – the cost is heavily subsidised, and registration includes delicious Jain vegan meals! Let me know if you’d like to know more, or see www.youngjains.org.uk/convention for details.
Public speaking is also becoming an important element in my career, where last week I was invited to a conference to speak about digital marketing strategies to a room full of university marketing and communications professionals. This is really important for me because my role at Chameleon Net focuses on building relationships with existing clients and attracting more clients from the higher education sector. I received some very constructive feedback from the session I presented, which will help to make me a better public speaker over time.
Next month, Heena and I will be celebrating six months being married (and incidentally a year since I proposed to her). It’ll consist of more preparation towards the Young Jains Convention in July and Sawan’s wedding in August. Of course, June is also the month in which I’ll be growing a year older / wiser!
As you can see, the next few months will be quite action-packed, so thanks to all who have been patient with me about arranging to spend some quality one-on-one time together – this will happen September 2009 onwards…
With love,
Suraj
Visually engaging slideshow about the book Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina.
Contains useful tips for presenters on preparing for presentations.
It’s also an excellent method of promoting a book and worth learning from.
Simon Cohen, Managing Director of ‘global tolerance’ shares how faith communities / faith-based organisations can get better exposure in the media, and continue to serve more people.
global tolerance is a positively different London-based communications agency who use their principled approach to PR and communications to spark inspirational media coverage for Gandhis grandson, HH Dalai Lama, The Green Party, Wallace & Gromits Childrens Foundation, TED and other socially-driven organisations of all shapes and sizes.
More on global tolerance at www.globaltolerance.com
My friends and I regularly visit the vegan-friendly cafe ‘Beatroot’ on Berwick Street, Soho, London UK before our weekly Jain study group session. I think the food there is excellent, especially the vege-sausage rolls and the dairy-free flapjack.
Edward, one of the owners, gives us a guided tour and the ethos behind Beatroot.
One of the customers of Beatroot shares his experience of dining there:
Edward, co-owner of Beatroot, wraps up with a final video shoot:
Beatroot Cafe
92 Berwick Street, Soho, London W1F OQD United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7437 8591
Monday – Friday 9am – 9pm
Saturday 11am – 9pm
Bank Holidays 11am – 9pm
Wishing my brother Sawan a very happy 26th birthday today.
With love,
Suraj
Sawan Birthday Message – 27Feb2009 from Suraj Shah on Vimeo.
How to take extreme responsibility in your marriage and soften it with abundant love and compassionate communication.
Disclaimer: I declare that what I write about in this article is not something that I have mastered yet. My intention is to fulfil my duty as a husband and a family man, but I also know I have a long distance to travel. Perhaps if I’m walking down the right path and I’m willing to keep walking, then eventually I’ll make progress…
When in a marriage or intimate relationship of any sort, you experience good days and you experience not so good days. There are some days you are both all loved up, and others where you can’t stand to be even in the same room as your partner.
Situations in your marriage can be those which are pleasant to experience, such as a fresh pot of coffee waiting for you first thing in the morning when you wake up every day, or being whisked away to exotic destinations throughout the year. Situations can also arise which are frustrating or painful to experience like your spouse hogging the duvet or something much more serious such as verbal or physical abuse.
So what happens in these situations that makes marriage such a roller coaster of a ride? Is it time to pay a visit to the ER (Emergency Room) or are you prepared to explore the position of ‘Extreme Responsibility’?
Let me give you the lowdown on part of the karmic process so that you get a glimpse of why certain situations arise in your life the way they do:
You, the Soul, are bound at this point in time by a number of karmic clusters which each have their own pre-determined “time-bomb”. These karmic particles are roughly categorised as bad karma (paap) and better karma (punya).
When the karma comes to fruition, you experience in your life a specific situation. The situation could be that you come home from a long day at work to a loving wife who has caringly prepared a meal for you. The moment you take your first mouthful, the subtleties of a situation present themselves based on the types of karma that come to fruition.
If the karma coming to fruition was initially bound as a form of ‘punya’, then you may find the first mouthful very pleasing to taste and would continue to enjoy the delicious meal which your wife has so lovingly prepared. On the other hand, if the karma coming to fruition was initially bound as a form of ‘paap’, then the first morsel of food you consume may contain a very hot chilli, and you may get angry about the experience and throw the plate across the table!
Both of these situations started from a place of warmth and love on the side of your wife, but the first spoonful you are presented with is a result of your own karma coming to fruition, whether paap or punya.
In essence, the Soul is bound by a cluster of karmic particles that result in the fruition of karma at a later moment in time. This we witness as “life’s situations”.
In The Self Realization (a translation of Atma-Siddhi by Srimad Rajchandra) the interpretation of stanza 82 states that “The Soul’s deluded imagination originates sentient actions such as impulses, desires etc. They induce the Soul’s energy to work in attracting to it the superfine material elements (Karma-vargana) and the latter intertwine with the Soul resulting in its bondage. This is how the Soul is said to be bound by material actions.”
So when you, the Soul, delude yourself into thinking that you are the body, desires to do with the body start to surface, and these desires result in the attraction of karmic matter to the Soul.
You may say, “Why should it matter to me? I’m not to blame for this karma. It’s my wife’s fault anyway. Shouldn’t she have thought through the meal she’s preparing? It’s a wife’s responsibility to keep her husband well fed and looked after, isn’t it!?”
You see, this is where the problem lies – you’re putting the full responsibility of the experience on something or someone outside of yourself (your wife in this instance). It was down to your own bodily impulses and instant reactions which led to karma being bound to the Soul in the first place, which in turn led to the same karma manifesting as a situation in your life.
Now here’s where it gets dangerous…
In relationships and pretty much anything in life, we tend to instantly react to the situation we’re experiencing. We rarely take the time to observe ourselves and nip this process in the bud.
The enjoyment (raag) of a delicious meal could result in the expectation of every single meal being of this standard, and the dislike (dwesh) of a meal which is too spicy could result in “Why did you have to make it so spicy!? Don’t you care about me? Now I’ll have to go to bed hungry!”
This continuous experience of raag and dwesh, attraction and aversion, likes and dislikes, bring rise to the kashaya (passions) such as anger, greed, ego and deceit. The way you express yourself through these kashaya (via thought, speech and action) attracts further karma towards the Soul.
This one negative reaction to something you dislike has a vicious knock-on effect which leads to more and more conflict and many wasted days of arguments and tears.
Perhaps it’s time you took Extreme Responsibility for the situations you’re experiencing rather than heading straight to the Emergency Room to place blame and create more pain.
Note to self:
I am responsible for everything that I am experiencing. It is due to the karmic clusters which I had previously bound to my soul which are now coming to fruition.
My words and deeds, amplified by the quality of my thoughts at the time, determined the level of vibration my Soul sent out, which attracted and bound those clusters of karmic particles that bound to my soul, which in turn I am now enjoying or suffering for.
In my relationship, whether the situation is one of joy or despair, it is down to me to realise that I am the one who attracted it. I am the one who is responsible for it, the one who has to remain with equanimity, and the one who has to bear it.
To emphasise this point, in the book The Self Realization, the interpretation of stanza 84 states that “The results of good and bad actions are unmistakably experienced, enjoyed or suffered by living beings in this world.”
Why do we so frequently put the blame on our partner, the people or the objects outside ourselves, when there’s friction in the relationship? How about taking full responsibility for the karma we’re binding and therefore the situations we eventually experience.
Anything you experience in your various relationships is a direct outcome of karma coming to fruition – the same cluster of karmic particles that were bound to your soul during a previous interaction you have had with the world during this or a previous life, has now arisen as a situation you are experiencing.
Therefore you are directly responsible for every single thing you are experiencing.
In Twelve Facets of Reality, Pujyashri Chitrabhanu talks about marriage: ”That inner level will also bring deep meaning to relationships. When husband and wife inspire each other, they become beautiful company for one another. Their communication turns into an eternal communion. The idea in marriage is to work out karmas and be a complement to each other. When we live on that inner level, we communicate and find out what is our mission. And when one feels low, the other is a lifting spirit. “This will pass,” he tells his partner. “We have to be patient and wait for the sunrise.” When one person is moody, there is no need for the other to add to the misery. There is no permanent pain nor is there any permanent bubbling happiness. What is permanent? Inner bliss, tranquillity; all else comes and goes.”
Start from this position of extreme responsibility, rise above the circumstances, apply abundant love and compassionate communication, and there’s your recipe for a healthy marriage.
This article was originally commissioned by Young Jains UK for their February 2009 issue of the Young Jains newsletter which focused on the theme of Love. You can find out more about Young Jains at www.youngjains.org.uk, and follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/YoungJains
Anytime you do something in your life that’s different, even if it is to empower yourself or improve your health, if those closest to you feel it’s different enough for them not to fit in, then whatever their relationship is with you will get amplified.
This is the core message shared in the following video by Dhrumil Purohit, who highlights the difference in the way his relationship with his (then) girlfriend changed compared to the relationship he has with his father when Dhrumil embarked on a vegan diet at the age of 18.
Food, Relationships and Acceptance from Dhrumil Purohit on Vimeo.
Dhrumil has over the years transformed his eating habits into a primarily raw diet, and has created a supportive community called We Like It Raw. Dhrumil also shares pearls of wisdom through audio podcasts at SpiritualPlayer.com
Just like Dhrumil, both Heena and I decided to embark on a vegan diet following a PETA video presentation about the maltreatment of cows in India that we both saw at a Jain event. For us, it was at the Mahavir Janma Kalyanak event which we attended in London in April 2008. The event celebrated the birth of Mahavir Bhagwan, and was a time for us to take inspiration from his life and absorb some of the core qualities he lived by.
In the 10 months since this change in diet, Heena and I have found it relatively simple to prepare and enjoy vegan meals, and have been fortunate to have the support of each other and those who are closest to us. There have of course been incidents when even people closest to us have indicated that trying to cater for us has been really difficult, but on the whole we have received love and support from the people who matter.
It appears therefore, that when you make a firm decision to transform any element of your life, if your decision is resolute and unshakable, and if you do not hesitate with the next step you are taking, then the path clears for you to do what it is that you need to do. The relationships where you will receive the most support will, through amplification, reveal themselves.
I have just returned from an indulgent vegan-friendly, jazzy-vibe, alcohol-free, stripper-free stag do. My brothers set up a semi-surprise priceless night out.
Just 48 hours earlier, Kavit asked me if I’d like to have a stag do on Friday night. I said no thanks. The wedding’s minimalist and low-key, and I didn’t really feel like having a stag do which involved getting drunk and ogling nude women. Turns out he convinced me to have one, with a twist. Kavit and Sawan took care of everything.
Vegan-friendly
I’ve been following a vegan diet since April (over 8 months now), so they made arrangements to have dinner at one of the best vegan-friendly restaurants in Britain. The customer service was excellent, and everyone was really impressed with the food. The next time you’re in London, make a special effort to visit Mildreds in Soho. Although they have a no booking policy (other than for the private dining room), and they’re always busy, it’s well worth arriving early and waiting to be seated.
Alcohol-free
Following an intention to be more alert and aware of my surroundings and take considered action, I have been keeping away from consuming alcohol for the last couple of months. I decided to drink no beer, wine or spirits all evening, which everyone around me kindly supported (following a little stubborn-ness from from my side).
Stripper-free… but I’m up for some jazz
There’s a certain level of respect I have for women and see no reason to spend part of my pre-marriage time pleasing my visual senses and igniting my passions at the sight of luscious curves on a stranger’s body.
Instead I diverted my sensual pleasures to that of vibrant jazz music. The boys had made reservations at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, one of the UK’s foremost jazz venues. Not only that, but they had unknowingly booked seats at the venue for the multi-award-winning trombonist Dennis Rollins – someone who bassist Darren Taylor of Jazzreloaded has highly recommended over the last few years.
The perfect stag night
So it turns out that I had manifested the perfect stag-night: vegan-friendly, alcohol-free (for me at least), immersed in jazz music which I love, and not a single stripper or hooker in sight (even though we were in the heart of Soho)!
At the drop of a hat, my dear brothers and friends who could make it decided that they will be there. Sawan, Kavit, Sagar, Deep, Amit & Ash – blessings to each of you for making the night so special.
The British High Commission in New Delhi, India, have produced a rap music video to encourage students in India to consider the UK as a destination to study. It explains the right way to apply for a student visa.
Indian students represent the second largest number of international students in higher education in Britain, and the number of student visas issued in India have been increasing year on year.
The video was launched by the UK Visa Services in association with the British Council to capitalise on this growing demand, and has been placed on YouTube so that it may be shared with it’s target market.
There are mixed-views of the video, but overall it’s receiving the thumbs up from students in India. Responses to the rap video include “this video is great stuff for us Indian students. it’s simple and encoraging. shows that UK welcomes students from India. good stuff”, and “I’m a creative arts student and this is brilliant! the way by which such a complicated message has been convayed seamlessly is quite refreshing.”
Take a look at the Indian Student Visa video for yourself and leave a comment below indicating where you are based (UK/India/other part of the world), whether you are a student or not, and what your views are on the video.
During the bus journey home this evening, it occured to me how serious I have recently become.
Do I really need to get overwhelmed and stressed by the number of emails in by inbox? Pathetic, really.
For many people, their businesses are suffering in this current economic climate.
While the business suffers, am I suffering? While this body suffers, am I suffering?
The answer is of course “No”, so why do I consume so much energy stressing over the situations outside of myself? I must be a fool! :)
Let me define and focus on my key responsibilities. That is all.
A 17 year old from New York shares with me his sources of inspiration and guidance, and benefits of following a raw food diet already for over 5 months:
Suraj (15:19:07): so anyway, you were saying about Raw…
Ankit (15:19:43): yeah — i’d say it was mainly dhru’s welikeitraw.com site in addition to the raw community website, giveittomeraw.com (kind of like a facebook for raw foodies/people that want to be raw)
Ankit (15:20:19): also, rawmodel.com is a blog run by this model, anthony anderson, who blogs rather frequently about raw foods, fitness and sustainable living
Ankit (15:20:31): i kind of went through almost the entire archives
Ankit (15:20:37): and founds TONS of great pointers
Suraj (15:21:51): what’s been YOUR motivation for being 100% raw? What benefit have you seen already? Perhaps there’s a blog post you’ve written about this already?
Ankit (15:22:14): i’ve thrown in bits and pieces throughout my blogs
Ankit (15:22:40): you could probably ctrl+F “raw” in my blog posts from march onwards if you want to check that out
Ankit (15:22:50): but really — it’s just a feeling of purity
Ankit (15:22:58): you feel good, all the time
Ankit (15:23:03): your mind is clear
Ankit (15:23:08): you don’t find yourself thinking about food
Ankit (15:23:12): you detach yourself from it
Ankit (15:24:00): on top of that, on a more superficial note, it clears acne (mostly from the loss of dairy, but even more so from eating unprocessed, uncooked in oil foods)
Ankit (15:25:03): and it sheds any undesired fat. i wasn’t actually heavyset prior to going raw, but i had a negligible bit of fat on my stomach. after going raw, however, that just burned right off and the sixpack abs i never thought would come reveal themselves
Ankit (15:25:40): in addition to that, however, you just open yourself up to a world of good, delicious, healthy foods
Ankit (15:25:51): it’s wild what you can do with naturally occurring foods
Suraj (15:26:23): this sounds great – I’m really inspired to explore the raw route – thank so much for your guidance Ankit
Ankit (15:27:02): not a problem. i’m always down to help a friend out
According to his blog, Ankit Shah is a “kid that cares for little more than open minds, strong opinions, passion, genuinity, a good laugh and conscious living for the people and the world around me. Into raw living, mother nature, awareness, fitness, honesty and international music.”
Check out Ankit Shah’s blog at ankittt.blogspot.com
This morning I received a beautiful message from a friend about the relation betwen the celebration of India’s independence and our own inner journey to freedom…
Jai Jinendra
Jai Satgurudev Vandan
Today India, the Mother country, celebrates independence, the end of an era of foreign rule which arguably began more than a eight hundred years ago for North India.
As the country modernises and westernises, there is a great challenge to the innate spirituality, the soul, if you will, in her culture.
But then the king within is also dominated by foreign matter – both gross external objects and subtle karmic matter.
At the heart of the Satyagraha of Gandhiji lies the idea that we are letting ourselves be suppressed and we can rise against this, resist it, not co-operate with it, for without our help, the oppressor can do oppress us, as we are providing the means.
Just as this insight freed 470mm from foreign domination, by a handful of rulers, so this great majestic soul can throw of the shakles of its own bondage by becoming awake and arising.
With the blessings, guidance, example and living presence of a True Guru all this is easy.
Happy Independence Day
Happy journey to Independence!
When you offer a service or sell a product, either people are talking about you, or no-one is. If they’re talking about your brand, it may be positive or it may be negative. If no-one’s talking about you, perhaps they should be.
There are many examples where a brand’s reputation has been massively damaged, simply because a negative mention of a brand snowballed and was not spotted in time.
One such example is when a blogger from America bought a computer from the large computer manufacturer Dell in 2005 and paid for a four year home service support plan. Soon after, when the machine needed seeing to, Dell told him to return the computer, which left him without the machine for 10 days. When he wrote a short blog post about the poor service, it generated over 200 comments within a few days. This then resulted in 10 follow up posts and over 2500 comments that sparked so much opinion that it led to the phrase “Dell Hell” becoming a household term. Imagine is this post had been spotted in time – perhaps the massive damage that the brand received could have been limited.
Following an internal training session on Brand Identity Tracking run by our Head of Online Marketing, Drew Davies, I thought I’d write and share a few notes about how to discover what people are saying about a particular brand, how that can be tracked over time, and how the information can be used to improve brand identity.
Why Do Companies Choose To Track Their Brands?
Companies generally want their brand tracked for predominantly one of four reasons:
- New product / service: The company is launching a new product in the marketplace and wants to see the attention the brand will be getting online over time.
- Bad reviews: A brand has been getting bad reviews on the web, and the company would like to see the extent of that damage done to the brand.
- Good reviews: The brand is already receiving positive reviews on the web, and the company would like to see what is being said and use it to create more products and engage with the happy consumers.
- No reviews: The brand has been around for a while, but the company feels that nobody’s talking about it, and so that company wants to see where their competitors are being talked about and work out how to enter those forums.
How To Benchmark Your Online Reputation
We use a three step process here at Chameleon Net to benchmark the online reputation of our clients’ brands:
Step #1: GATHER – scouting the web for mentions of specific keywords relating to the brand in question, and recording how positive or negative the conversations are about the brand. Keywords here would include variations of the brand name, categories, and competitor brand names where appropriate.
Step #2: ANALYSE – working out what the comments mean according to pre-defined metrics, and benchmarking this information over time and against competitors.
Step #3: ENGAGE – making amends where there are grievances about the brand, and reinforcing positive comments about the brand on behalf of the client.
Tracking Your Online Brand Identity – For Free!
There are already a number of free tools that companies can use to find out what people are saying about their brand online. Tools offered by Google include:
- Google Search: visit http://www.google.co.uk, type in the name of the brand into the search box, and see a list of the websites that mention your brand.
- Google Blog Search: visit http://blogsearch.google.com, type in the name of the brand in the search box, and see a list of the blogs that mention your brand, along with the date of when it was mentioned.
- Google Alerts: visit http://www.google.com/alerts and sign up for alerts that will notify you by email about the latest web and news pages that mention your brand.
Limitations of using these free tools for tracking your online brand identity
If you have a good internal team who have plenty of time on their hands, information on conversations about the brand can be gathered fairly simply using the free tools listed above.
However, although the tools are good for finding the raw data, that’s where it stops. The next step is to analyse the gathered data with metrics to make sense of it, which requires a natural human touch.
Recently we tracked the brand identity of one of our clients in the not-for-profit sector who wanted to see how they are perceived online. We benchmarked our findings over time, and against similar charities in the sector.
Engaging: handling negative comments
So what happens if you discover negatives comments about your brand? What can you do to recover from an online reputation crisis?
The article at http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/01/five-steps-for-recovering-from-an-online-reputation-crisis.html suggests the following steps:
- Respond from the top
- Admit your mistakes and apologise
- Host the conversation
- Seek resolution
- Turn detractors into evangelists
To recover from even the severest of mistakes, base your crisis communication on sincerity, transparency, and consistency.
Engaging: encouraging more positive comments
Suppose you find positive mentions of your brand at the websites and blogs that you find, how do you leverage that?
Simply go to those websites and say “thank you” in the comments section. Then suggest other innovative ways that your product or service can be used.
Engaging: starting a conversation
Sometimes, you’ll look around the web and find that no-one’s talking about your brand. What can you do there to create positive exposure?
Well first highlight where you want to be mentioned, and then build an innovative ePR campaign to get more people talking about your brand.
Chameleon Net ran an ePR campaign to launch ‘The Survival Kit’ – a cookware kit developed in a collaboration between Jamie Oliver and Tefal. Get in touch with us to request our ePR case studies.
Is ‘Online Reputation Management’ ethical?
Some may refer to this process as controlling their message, while others may look upon it as ‘gaming the system’. What do you think? Is online reputation management ethical?
—
Source: Chameleon Net blog article: How to Manage Your Online Reputation by Suraj Shah
Ever since going down the vegan path in April, I stopped having coffee at the office as the coffee there is instant, and the milk always curdled whenever I made it the coffee with soya milk.
Now I’ve discovered a way to enjoy instant coffee with soya milk that doesn’t curdle.
How To Stop Soya Milk Curdling In Instant Coffee In 3 Easy Steps:
- Step #1: Boil the kettle, put the instant coffee granules in the mug, (add sugar as required).
- Step #2: Pour the boiled water into the mug, and let it sit there for 5 minutes.
- Step #3: Add Alpro soya milk and enjoy your coffee!
The trick here is hidden in step #2 – waiting for the coffee to cool down a little before adding milk will stop it from curdling.
So, when shall we get together for that authentic conversation over a decent (instant) coffee?
The enemy is not outside me.
It is right here within me.
Why must I punish those who care for me?
The challenges I face, I brought them to me.
May I stop fighting with the enemy outside me,
So that I may conquer the enemy that’s within me.
On the day of my birthday earlier this month, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Peter Thornton who previously worked in his family business (Thorntons Plc) for 30 years, eventually retiring at the age of 54 as Chairman. Prior to meeting him, I sent him an email saying…
My grandfather ran a utensils retail business with his brothers when in Mombasa (Kenya), and my father ran a menswear retail business with his brothers in London (UK), and I would love to launch a business several years down the road with my own brother. There’s something very magical about family businesses, and naturally I’m sure they have their own challenges and a unique dynamic (!)
When you have a moment, it would be wonderful to hear what your top three tips for running a family business would be.
Peter then sent me a very thoughtful response to my request.
I thought what he shared would be valuable for my friends who are reading this blog, so asked if he would be happy for me to publish it and if he would give a little more information about himself, his background and his services, in case any of my friends would get value from having a longer conversation with him or engaging his services. You’ll find some gems very much applicable to marriage too I’m sure…
—
Here’s what Peter wrote…
My Top Three Tips for Running a Family Business – before ever starting!
Relationships & Roles
Your suggestion is that this is with your brother only. Naturally this is far more simple than if there are more relatives involved. However there is a need for various roles to be covered in the initial team, for more on that see below.
The most successful operations are run by emotionally mature people working in equal partnership. By ‘equal partnership’ I do not mean that every decision however small or large has to be always taken by all partners mutually but there will be specific areas where each individual has primary responsibility and within which, to understood limits, they can make their own decisions without reference to the other partners.
This paragraph has certain built-in requirements which need to be understood in advance:
‘Emotionally mature people’ – this is of paramount importance, whether in business or in marriage! The totally emotionally mature person hardly exists most people are immature in some way. Going into business with your brother has advantages and disadvantages; on the positive side you know him extremely well already, on the negative side you automatically and permanently have an emotional relationship with him.
You need to understand each other’s state of maturity, do you both feel yourselves to be totally independent, adult individuals? have you progressed beyond the childish relationship? Do you behave like two adults to each other? does either of you have a serious emotional problem, such as the need to be always dominant, or the need to always be right? Do you entirely trust each other in terms of honesty, intentions and communication in individual, team and family relationships?
A major contributor towards ‘progressing beyond the childish relationship’ will have been to work completely independently of each other in separate organisations doing separate things for a period of time prior working together. This will establish the individual’s independence, abilities, self-confidence and usable experience to bring to the business relationship.
‘Specific areas where each individual has primary responsibility’ – to run any organisation it is necessary to have specialists in several different roles. Mike Southern in his Beermat set of books defines them extremely well as: Sales Cornerstone, Technical Cornerstone and Finance Cornerstone. One or more of these will be the Entrepreneur, most likely the Technical Cornerstone. The Entrepreneur is essential of course. The operation can manage without the Finance Cornerstone at least initially because this can be delegated to somebody else part-time. You therefore need to be certain about each other’s strengths, one needs to be fully capable of being the Sales Cornerstone and the other capable of being the Technical Cornerstone.
The individual running each of these areas will of course have primary responsibility and decision-making powers in those areas. The overall corporate governance will probably be shared equally between the two of you initially that it will eventually become necessary to decide that one individual will make the final decision in corporate matters having fully sounded out the other’s opinion. In other words this person will become the CEO. Whatever happens this role must not be decided on the family hierarchy basis but only on the basis of ability as must every other role.
Future Family Governance Systems.
You need to be fully in agreement in advance of starting the business what your objectives are. Do you intend always to run this between the two of you and eventually to sell it without involving any more family members or do you intend it to become a family institution for the long-term?
If it is the former it is essential that you do not ever bring in, at a later stage, any other family members because if you do so you will immediately turn it into the latter.
If it is to be the latter then you need to agree with your brother in advance the principle of and some outline rules for the following:
-
The Governance Structure for Business and Family.
-
CEO Succession
-
Agreeing Vision and Strategy
-
Rules for Entry of new family members
-
Future Share Ownership
-
etc.
—
As requested, a few paragraphs about Peter himself…
I started work in the family firm of Thorntons Plc (manufacturing retail confectionery business) at the age of 10 working during the holidays until I was old enough to start full-time. I became a director of the company when I was 29 and retired when I was 54 in 1989 as Chairman.
This gave me much valuable experience as a director of a family company where at one time there were six members of the family all working together. Since that time I have studied the theory and practice of family business thoroughly preparing myself for working with family businesses.
Conflict can become very serious and destructive within a family business and it needs an outsider to relieve it. I offer my services for this purpose and also for prescribing the stages that follow resolution of the conflict so that systems and procedures can be set up to avoid these problems occurring again in the future.
Please contact me at: peter@thornton-asc.co.uk or by telephone: 01395-548199 or Mobile 07836-212713. www.thornton-asc.co.uk
—
Hope you found the above words by Peter useful. Are you running your own family business at the moment? What are the highs and lows? What tips would you offer? Would these tips translate well into the world of marriage too?
If you are using a version of Microsoft Outlook which is older than Outlook 2007, then you can download a file which updates all public holiday information in your calendar, giving you details of public holidays through till 2012.
Visit the information page at http://www.outlook-tips.net/howto/missinghol.htm and download and install the file which resides at http://www.outlook-tips.net/files/OUTLOOK2012.HOL if you are running Outlook 2002/2003.
I now have an up-to-date Outlook file which gives me the heads up on all public holidays right through to 2012.
Today a squirrel helped teach me about compassion.
Driving near home this morning, my friend Heena and I witnessed a squirrel running into the road, and being crushed under the wheel of the car in the opposite lane. It lay there on the road, motionless.
I was shocked, and didn’t know what to do. Heena’s deep well of compassion led her to turn the car round, drive up and stop at the middle of the road where the squirrel lay with blood on the ground, put her hazard lights on, and she stepped out of the car.
She then got a couple of carrier bags from out of the boot, walked over to the squirrel who was most certainly dead from the blow it would have received, and picked it up with the carrier bag. We certainly couldn’t have left it to continue getting crushed in the road.
I took the bag off her to find a place to dispose of this squirrel’s body, then got into the car and we went on our way.
You should have seen this poor squirrel, it’s body still warm, wrapped up in the carrier bag in my right hand, blood seeping out of it’s head. This is one squirrel who won’t make it home tonight. This is one squirrel who may have been out collecting food for it’s dependants. This is the last Easter that the squirrel would have spent with it’s family.
My biggest lesson learnt was from Heena, and her solid determination to do the right thing at the right time. It would have been easy to drive off and let someone else handle it (as if anyone really would have), or let the squirrel continue to be crushed in the road. But no, she decided to stop, and it appeared to me that if she witnessed it, then she’s responsible for it. She did what was most important in that moment.
So do you believe that? Do you believe that if you witness something, that suddenly it’s your responsibility? Do you believe that you are creating the world that’s around you, and that if you see a problem, you must accept ownership of it? What are the problems and difficulties you’re witnessing in the world around you, and truly ask yourself – how many of those are you creating? Or is it just easier to put the blame on someone else, and let them fix it? Is it just easier to have let that other careless driver take responsibility and come back and move the carcass from the middle of the road?
An old lady gets pulled over for speeding…
Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?
Officer: Ma’am, you were speeding.
Woman: Oh, I see.
Officer: Can I see your license please?
Woman: I’d give it to you but I don’t have one.
Officer: Don’t have one?
Woman: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving.
Officer: I see…Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.
Woman: I can’t do that.
Officer: Why not?
Woman: I stole this car.
Officer: Stole it?
Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.
Officer: You what?
Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see.
The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car.
A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.
Officer 2: Ma’am, could you step out of your vehicle please!
The woman steps out of her vehicle.
Woman: Is there a problem sir?
Officer 2: One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.
Woman: Murdered the owner?
Officer 2: Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please.
The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: Is this your car, ma’am?
Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers.
The officer is quite stunned.
Officer 2: One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving licence.
The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer.
The officer examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: Thank you ma’am, one of my officers told me you didn’t have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner.
Woman: Bet the liar told you I was speeding, too.
Point of the story…Don’t Mess With Old Ladies
—
Many thanks to Jilna Haria for sending this through!
