MY SPEECH ABOUT YUNIS ON INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR......16/7/2014 -----------------------------------------PULAK KANTI BARUA,TOKYO,JAPAN (MAIN PART - 1 ) -----------------------------------@----------------------------------------------- Creating a World Without Poverty “GOD IS IN THE DETAILS,” Dr. Yunus believes Those words were his advice to readers in Creating a World Without Poverty, and highly applicable, he shares, when it came to building Grameen Danone. In an effort to help others trying to create a social business — actually any business at all — he offers details about the five lessons he has learned. 1. Be flexible, yet never lose sight of your central goal. Dr. Yunus says it was necessary to make changes in the business design with Grameen Danone, despite the fact that analysts spent months planning before ground was broken on the factory or a single cup was produced. “Life is just too complicated for anyone, no matter how farsighted, to predict every contingency,” he believes. His advice: “Don’t be afraid to adjust your business plan when circumstances make it necessary. But to avoid becoming purely reactive, flitting from one program to the next, always remember the central goal for which you established the social business in the first place.” 2. Immerse yourself in the culture of the people you intend to serve. “As every businessperson knows, understanding your customer is one of the indispensable keys to success,” Dr. Yunus explains. “And this means, among other things, understanding and empathizing with the culture of the people you serve: their values, dreams, desires, fears, aversions, likes, and dislikes.” This is even more important when you build a social business, he adds, for the “do-gooders” drawn to this concept are impatient with weaknesses and flaws of the people they are trying to serve. “When you ask, ‘what’s the matter with these people — why don’t they appreciate the things I’m doing for them?’” he says, “it’s a sign you are wandering down the wrong path. Stop and rethink your plan.” 3. Use help from allies wherever you may find them. “As I have always said, human beings have a natural desire to help one another,” Dr. Yunus explains. “It’s a motivating force that is just as powerful as the desire for profit. Social business taps and satisfies this desire to do good.” “Therefore,” he adds, “those who are building social businesses should not be surprised when they encounter people in unlikely places who want to help — nor should they be shy about accepting the support when it is offered.” 4. Take advantage of differing opportunities in different markets. It’s important for a social business to be financially sustaining, Dr. Yunus emphasizes. While Grameen Danone is on its way to achieving that goal, “this might not be the case if it had insisted on seeing all its potential customers through the same lens.” So while Grameen Bank’s experience has been in dealing with rural poor women, and since the worst problems with poverty exist in rural areas among the poor, Grameen Danone found its best approach was to tackle that market — as well as the needy in cities. But they market the product differently to each group. “In the city, it can sell yogurt at a price that is slightly higher, but still affordable to the urban poor, building sales and production volume while generating profits to subsidize the less-affluent rural market,” he says. “Though very different, the two markets support one another and work together to make Grameen Danone a stronger, more sustainable business.” 5. Question your own assumptions. Dr. Yunus explains that initially, Grameen Danone’s nutritionists thought that a serving of 80 grams of yogurt was needed to deliver the high dose of micronutrients or children would reject its taste. But a milk crisis caused them to reconsider, and as a result they found a smaller serving could be equally nutritious and delicious. “If you are trying to build a social business, you should periodically look back at the assumptions you’ve made and consider whether they are still valid,” Why yunise is great leader……???? ___________________________________ “[Yunus’] ideas have already had a great impact on the Third World, and … hearing his appeal for a ‘poverty-free world’ from the source itself can be as stirring as that all-American myth of bootstrap success.” — The Washington Post “Muhammad Yunus is a practical visionary who has improved the lives of millions of people in his native Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world.” — Los Angeles Times “The [Grameen Bank] has become a mecca for development economists and is being copied around the world.” — The Economist..........(.TO BE CONTINUED AT PART TWO) “It’s not just Yunus’ theories [Peter] Drucker would have admired; above all, it’s his effectiveness … See for yourself. Check out Yunus’ [books]. Not only are they inspirational,
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:31:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015