Management lessons from the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

I am penning this piece 12 hours next to the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) Finals. A tournament like IPL displays brilliance in the departments of batting, bowling and fielding from high-ranged international and domestic players from around the globe.

It is an occasion for the Indian Cricket fraternity to exhibit their supremacy in the game. Money flows from different quarters and there is no short of fun be it a cheerleader bootlicious movements or any Bollywood actor act. After watching the tournament from the last 2 years, I chose to arrive with couple of management lessons that I could take from the tournament.

1)If you have a popular brand that has stakes in the market, then you are bowed to use it all quarters. India is a brand now. It’s supremacy is felt in most of the international places. The opportunities of it getting it recognizable with other brands is easy. Everyone wants to be associated with it.

2) If you have an idea, never keep it in your mind. It just gets wasted. Share the brilliant idea with people who can be the horses to drive-in. Of course, be prepared with your questions, which are going to be asked. You'll have to get the ideas floating and have solutions to back-up.

3) Be it Cricket or any other sports, engaging prime-time audiences is very important. So, also in a business catering to customer services, it is essential that the product meets the requirements of the end-users. Once you know who your users are and match your services to the requirements, your product can be an amazing success.

4) Always keep an optional plan backing you while executing your plan. Changes may arose at any point of time; you should be ready to execute the plan in toughest of the situations.

5) Marketing is essential for a product to succeed. What is in it for me- you don't just give them the product, but you give the oomph factor. Tieing up with celebrities is another way of making the product' presence in the market.

6) Always be loyal to your customers; owing to much success of the latest IPL in South Africa, the BCCI has decided to have a mini-IPL in the upcoming years. This is your way of backing up your customers. Remember, you are here in the business because of the customers.

7)Have a nice pool of individuals in the committee; experience talks in most of the situations.

I am sure folks can add-on to the list.