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How Working In These 5 Big Organisations Is An Experience Of A Lifetime

How Working In These 5 Big Organisations Is An Experience Of A Lifetime

Business How To’s, Business Innovations, ,

You wake up reluctantly, feeling groggy; you get ready for work mechanically, and you labor through the workday, just waiting for it to end– sounds familiar? For most of us, every day is mundane, something to be toiled through, and every Monday morning begins the weekend countdown!

Now imagine a workplace where you wouldn’t have to drag your feet to work! Fascinating, right? The world over, organisations are experimenting with innovative ideas to make workplaces interesting. Co-working space is one such example. It is a hub for like-minded professionals to network and build a community, creating a life beyond work while at the workplace.

Here’s a peek into some amazing workplaces where work is fun:

1. Google

An organisation that needs no introduction, it is one of the most coveted places to work at. Other than the benefit of being associated with a brand name like Google, there are a host of attractive perks that make working for the organisation an experience in itself. These range from free fitness classes, gym memberships, on-site massages, free gourmet food services, parental leave policies and exciting vacation packages, etc. What’s more, Google offers its employees the flexibility to invest time in personal projects that they are passionate about, giving them the opportunity to indulge their creative streak.

google

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

2. Salesforce

Salesforce, the reputed cloud-computing technology firm, balances its work stress with irresistible benefits like fitness and massage facilities, free snacks and drinks, standing and treadmill desks and a dog-friendly environment that ensures job satisfaction for its employees. It encourages employee participation in philanthropic work, offering them a leave of 6 days in a year to participate in such activities and planning volunteer trips for their employees.

salesforce

 Image Courtesy: YouTube

3. Facebook

The employee benefits at Facebook do not end at transparent management and scope for innovation. A dynamic workplace shows concern for the health and well-being of its workforce. Besides, its fitness facilities and sumptuous meals and snacks, this tech titan goes out of its way to offer its employees other benefits such as on-site health and dental centres, and even laundry and dry cleaning services. Its benefit of 4-months parental leave for both mothers and fathers was welcomed with great enthusiasm by its employees. And oh, did we mention the active community involvement and competitive salary packages?


facebook

 Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

4. Hubspot

HubSpot makes up for all the stuff that employees usually lose out on owing to their hectic professional lives by making the same available to them. Some of these are making their workplace pet-friendly, offering free beer and (hold your breath) unlimited vacation days!

hubspot


 Image Courtesy: The Sales Lion

5. Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group holds track record of being the only organisation to have consistently made it to Glassdoor’s list of top 100 companiesfor a decade. Its vibrant company culture and the highest base package have ensured that it enjoys a healthy employee retention rate.

Boston Consulting Group

    Image Courtesy: Forbes

What sets these organisations apart from the rest? They do different things, and most importantly, they do things differently. Apart from regular work, their employee-centric policies and incentives help them connect with their workforce, making work interesting and refreshing for them.

 

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?

Work Life Balance,

Are you among the ones who doze until the last possible minute? Or do you give yourself some time to snooze, hoping that some light sleep will make it easier to drag yourself out of bed?

This one’s for all the lovers of the respite that the brief snooze offers – research says, if not overdone, snoozing might actually be of help.

Studies confirm that snooze, need not always mean lose.

Instead of popping right out of bed, those extra 10 minutes can help your brain get moving slowly, in turn, helping you start your day with a gentle and happy note.

Here’s how people who often hit the snooze button are likely to be more intelligent, creative and happier than those who jump out of bed hearing the alarm clock:

  1. Healthy adults need at least 7 hours of sleep

External stimulants adversely affect quantity and quality of sleep and interfere with our natural sleep-wake pattern or ‘circadian rhythm’. According to National Sleep Foundation, sufficient sleep duration requirements vary between individuals. National Sleep Foundation’s research on human sleep patterns, as published in the Sleep Health Journal, observed that sleep requirements vary among individuals.  The 2-years research mentions that the duration of sleep that one needs can be determined through two factors – analysing where one will be on the ‘sleep needs spectrum’ and assessing the lifestyle factors like stress and daily routine that interfere his/her sleep. Young adults and adults usually need seven to nine hours of sleep, while older adults require seven to eight hours of sleep.

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?

  1. Our brains are in high activity zone when we sleep

The brain, like the rest of the human body, is a revelation in itself. The ‘hot zone’ in our brain is responsible for the hyperactive brain activity even when we are asleep. A research by the Center For Research and Investigation in Sleep at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland observed that a particular region at the back of the brain that showed activity when the subjects were asleep is the source of dreams. Why affect your ‘sleep health’ as that Big Idea might just strike you when you are asleep!

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?

  1. Insufficient sleep affects our decision-making capabilities

A research by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has shown that sleep deprivation or lack of sufficient sleep disrupts the emotional wellbeing and physical health. The amount of sleep affects one’s ability to make decisions. Adequate sleep boosts mental agility, enabling you to take decisions quickly. In contrast, lack of it impairs your cognitive skills and ability to integrate emotion during decision-making. Resultantly, it clouds judgements and delays responses.

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?

  1. Inadequate sleep impairs memory

Human memory, in sharp contrast to popular belief, does not record information. In reality, itis gets influenced by representations of knowledge that is already existent in the brain. Lack of sufficient sleep affects the ability to retrieve information from memory the way it had been originally encoded. Besides, sleep deprivation also causes false memories, that is, claiming to remember events that have never occurred.

Why Hitting That Snooze Button In The Morning May Actually Be Good?
 

Now that you have a handful of reasons why you should refrain from depriving yourself of sufficient sleep, go on hit the snooze button and enjoy complete bliss for some more time every morning!

email marketing

5 Best Email Marketing Apps To Help Your Business

Business How To’s, ,

Imagine life without emails! Most of our email inboxes are flooded with a barrage of automated email newsletters that mostly go unread. But just sometimes, there are some newsletters that catch your attention and you read them or recommend them. What is so different about these newsletters? Cleverly written copy, attractive visuals, or just a relevant CTA! An email marketing app streamlines the email marketing campaign while helping you track its progress.

email marketing apps

Did you know that there are 3 times more email accounts than Twitter and Facebook accounts combined? In fact, email marketing’s unmatched ability to drive conversions also helps companies generate a higher return on investment. If the facts were to be believed, email marketing yields an average 3,800% return on investment for establishments and for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $38.

Here are the top 5 email marketing apps that will help you upscale your business:


1. MailChimp: MailChimp is an automated email marketing platform that enables businesses to create, send and analyze email campaigns. This app offers way more than an ordinary email marketing app. It offers features like fast emails, email editor to premium subscriber profiles that come with an ability to track the contacts’ interactions with the sender’s emails and more. What’s more, it also recommends lists from your contacts based on other email newsletters they have subscribed to. Moreover, senders are told the best time to send the email, this leads to higher rate of interaction and also increases the chances of conversion.

2. Growbot: Growbot is a professional email marketing tool that is used by businesses who want to enhance their outbound sales and scale up their communication. Along with personalised emails, mobile-friendly templates, and high-quality contacts, this app is ideal for those who want to create a network in the industry.

email marketing apps

3. PersistIQ: PersistIQ makes sales communication simple and automates workflow through one easy-to-use system. They offer personalised emails that help in upscaling the business and therefore is a preferred choice of email marketing app by small business establishments. With a plethora of templates and personalisation features, this app helps in building conversations. Other features of this email marketing app include open rates, link activity, daily summary and more.

4. Active Campaign: Similar emails can be monotonous and in order to grab the attention of the readers, it is important to convey something interesting through your emails. Active Campaign offers detailed information about your database and also segregates them on the basis of their likes and interests. What’s more, you can not only send automated emails seamlessly, but can also design them as per your need. It also offers some additional premium features that could give insights to marketers about the campaign.

5. FreshMail: If you want to go beyond the standard emails, then FreshMail is the email marketing app you need. As its name suggests, it gives a fresh look to your newsletter emails. So much so that, most emails created through FreshMail look like nice blog posts. Easy interface and the option to create your own design, make it an ideal choice for those who face difficulty advanced editing applications.

email marketing

Email marketing is effective only if you send it to the right target audience, else it will land up in their spam folder. Make sure to send relevant content to the relevant people to drive sales.

Automate Your Way To A Seamless Work Lifestyle

Automate Your Way To A Seamless Work Lifestyle

Work Life Balance, , , , ,

An organisation that does not leverage automation impedes its chances of maximising productivity. The monotony of a few office tasks becomes time-consuming and boring daily. These might be often simple to-do’s but attending to them between piled up work leads to unwanted stress. Getting rid of them – or in the very least making them easier – makes for happier employees. And of course, keeping employees happy naturally translates to ensuring customer satisfaction.

Here are a few instances of how businesses can make the most of automation.

Automate your email marketing efforts

Automation has made the manual process of sending emails a passé. It has done away with the tedious task of sending out emails individually. Automated email marketing programs generate emails and forward them to the relevant people in the business database. A clear strategy and an impeccable execution is all you need to reach to your prospective audience at the click of a button.

Automate Your Way To A Seamless Work LifestyleImage Courtesy: Marketing Land

Keep your inbox clutter-free

No one likes an overwhelming inbox! Sample this scenario. You attend to sorting your mails with all your concentration for, say about half an hour, and successfully complete it within the expected time. After a while, when you return to your inbox to check for new emails, you are welcomed with a blow with the number of new emails. Before you could attend to all of them, you are flooded with several more. Phew!

The one thought that passes your mind during such time is – when can I get done with sorting my inbox, so I can concentrate on my tasks for the day, right? The answer is – automation. Use filters to auto-sort your emails. Not just that, you can customise your own filters to sort out the not-so-important emails, delete unwanted ones instantly and prioritise the ones that need immediate attention. Create templates for responses that you usually repeat several times, so you don’t have to devote time in drafting those emails from scratch. Take some time out between tasks for quick replies or delegation of projects, and return to your tasks in a matter of minutes.

Set your Social Media on autopilot

In the competitive marketplace where every business is jostling to create their space and stay ahead of the curve, Social Media is not simply restricted to publishing content. It includes social media listening, attending to customer feedback and grievances meticulously and offering solutions for seamless customer experience. Platforms like Buffer and Hootsuite automate the scheduling of social media posts. This not only helps in avoiding the hassle of scheduling each post manually but also removes the chances of last-minute errors that are typical during the manual process. These platforms enable accessing several social media accounts possible, making efficient monitoring easier.

Automate Your Way To A Seamless Work LifestyleImage Courtesy: TT Attitude

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A customer-centric approach entails businesses to consistently manage new leads, maintain essential information and track customer activity. Automated CRM tools streamline these processes for businesses, making it easier for them to monitor products that are most in demand, the number of items that each of these products have sold and other essential data. The analysis of this data helps in making conscious business decisions, which helps businesses in delivering exactly what customers want. Automation yet again optimises business processes and that too without compromising on the work lifestyle of the employees.

Your time is precious, and adopting automation can save hours in the long run — not to mention that, with the time you save on menial chores, you can focus on work about which you’re truly passionate.

Unveiled - the secret to achieve the almost mythical Work-Life Balance

Unveiled – The Secret To Achieve The Almost Mythical Work-Life Balance

Work Life Balance, , , ,

It’s Monday morning and you are at your desk with a piping hot cup of coffee with your planner in front of you – trying to figure out the week’s schedule, planning activities in a way that helps you take some time out for yourself. Two days in the week and whatever you had planned has gone out the window and before you know it, you find yourself furiously typing away at your desk into the wee hours of Saturday!

While 80% of us believe that a job that offers work-life balance is an important consideration when we take it up, not many of us are able to achieve this. The elusory ‘work-life balance’, at most times feels like a dream, especially for devoted employees. The do more with less culture has made it onerous for people to manage professional and family life.

When compared to other countries such as the UK, China and even the USA, India has the longest working hours – 52 hours in a week to be precise. This further pushes us to take the onus and manage our time well, so that we can take some time out to follow our hobbies.

Do you know what’s missing here? An integral part that we forget almost all the time – Prioritizing.

Karen Quintos, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Office, Dell says that prioritization has helped her achieve work-life balance more comfortably despite her demanding career.

Let’s take a leaf out from her stance and see how prioritization might help us achieve work-life balance by considering the following.

  • Prioritising can help you space your work

Unplanned work has the uncanny ability to catch us off-guard. To make things worse, it upsets our mood and puts us in a headspace that makes us uncomfortable. While most of us cannot put off these tasks, day-to-day prioritising can help us space our work properly. When you prioritize the tasks for a specific day – you set your own achievable goals.

  • Prioritising can help manage your time more efficiently

Most of us feel that we are working for more than our share and yet not rewarded for the same. This is where prioritisation comes into picture, seniors need to delegate tasks according to the priority.  Also, every individual should aim for time based targets, this will not only bring you in the good books but also enhance your efficiency.

  • Set your own standards between what is too much work and what is not

There are some things we look forward to and others we detest, this judgement may also be the impediment for completing tasks. Prioritizing can help us identify what are the things that we like doing and are good at, therefore will require less efforts, when compared to those that we are not as keen about.

  • Prioritising gives you a sense of accomplishment

How many times have you felt drained out by the end of the day feeling what a waste of a day? Here’s a tip – prioritising enables us to list tasks and allot a time period to them, as and when you complete a task you get that sense of accomplishment motivating you to work better. A small tick for each work done acts as a confidence booster.

Work-life balance is not about how much time you allot to your work and how time you allot to your life. It is about the quality with which you live your life and do your work!

Origin of the word ‘ co-working ’

Origin Of The Word ‘Co-Working’

Business Innovations, , , ,

Oxford defines the word ‘co-working’ as, “The use of an office or other working environments by people who are self-employed or working for different employers, typically so as to share equipment, ideas and knowledge.”

To elaborate, co-working spaces encourage dynamic organisation and freelancers from different fields to work under the same roof, enabling an exchange of exciting ideas. This creates a vibrant workplace that exposes the workforce to new experiences, widens their horizons and offers greater networking opportunities.

History and Origin

How it all started with ‘Hackerspaces’

In 1995, when 17 computer-enthusiasts started a group called ‘C-Base’ in Berlin, it marked the introduction of shared workspaces. The idea behind it was to provide a common meeting ground, called a ‘hackerspace’, that offered technical facilities to people passionate about computers. It gave them the opportunity to build a community of like-minded people. Though it was different from co-working, it laid the foundation stone for collaborative workspaces.

DeKoven’s interpretation of the word

Bernard DeKoven, an American fun theorist and game designer, is credited for having coined the word ‘co-working’ in 1999, though its meaning was different from what it is today. DeKoven interpreted the term as ‘working together as equals.’ He channeled his efforts towards breaking down the rigid hierarchal boundaries at workplaces to introduce a healthy work culture.

In the same year, DeKoven established 42 West 24 – a spacious commercial loft with desks and offices for rent in the New York City, offering an array of flexible memberships for organisations and individuals. However, 42 West 24 missed out on two most identifiable elements of ‘co-working’ i.e.  community events and networking.

The rise of the ‘entrepreneurial centre’

It was when the idea of work from home became too boring for two Australian entrepreneurs that they decided to create a space for like-minded individuals to collaborate and brainstorm ideas. An ineffective factory was converted to a workspace for freelancers, start-ups, PR consultants, architects and the like and named ‘Schraubenfabrik’. Later, it was renamed as ‘entrepreneurial centre’.

 Evolution of the modern concept of the word

Brad Neuberg, officially considered as the father of the co-working movement, launched the ‘9 to 5 group’ in San Francisco in the year 2005 to provide freelancers with the convenience of workplace facilities.

The enthusiasm that this group garnered led to co-working spaces mushrooming not only in San Francisco but spreading rapidly to other continents like Europe and Asia within a short span of time. No wonder, co-working spaces have doubled each year since its inception in 2005.
Current day scenario

Co-working featured as one of the leading search terms on Google, witnessing a six-fold increase in search, as compared to other words and phrases. Being recognised by the search giant in 2007 spoke volumes about its popularity. An official page on Wikipedia confirmed the buzz around the word.

Forbes’ prediction about the number of co-working spaces reaching 1.2 million by 2017 indicates its significance among entrepreneurs and working community.

Conclusion

Witnessing the exponential growth worldwide since the last decade makes it evident that the trend will not slow down anytime soon. The work-life balance that co-working spaces offer seamlessly translates to increased work productivity, making it score over traditional workplaces.

How EQ (Emotional Quotient) Helps Us At Work

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One’s capacity for logic, math, and brain strength defines their intelligence quotient (IQ). On the other hand, emotional quotient (EQ) is one’s ability to interact, relate, and understand emotions of others.

Writer and psychologist, Daniel Goleman, in his book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” has explained how one can achieve success with the help of their IQ and the 5 major skills of EQ. However, EQ alone may not determine success, but it can majorly influence life outcomes. Emotional intelligence is an intangible asset that can enhance a leader’s personal value.

Which are the five skills of emotional quotient?

  • Self-awareness
  • Self-regulation
  • Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Social skills

EQ can predict performance

A research by TalentSmart tested emotional intelligence along with 33 other critical workplace skills and the result revealed that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in jobs. A manager’s EQ will guide them throughout their managerial journey and help them steer sharply through the complexities that might come their way. EQ is a key ingredient of a successful leadership.

Creates a positive work environment

A study reveals that around 85% of the times, a person with higher EQ makes a ‘good leader.’ A leader with high EQ knows how to handle emotions of their team members well and this also helps them motivate the team and create a positive work environment. They also possess the ability to improve the quality of their personal and professional relations as they respond effectively to other’s moods and behaviors.

How EQ (Emotional Quotient) Helps Us At WorkImage Courtesy: Freepik

Helps in gaining clients as well as staff loyalty

A smart professional understands the need for harnessing and managing the emotions of the customers. The attrition rate is lower in an organization being led by a leader with a high EQ. They know the art of winning the trust of employees as well customers. Their sense of optimism, confidence, and altruism makes them a source of inspiration for their workforce. Intelligent professionals are aware of customer preferences, which enable them to strategize on customer retention and client acquisition.

How EQ (Emotional Quotient) Helps Us At WorkImage Courtesy: Wiland

It is rightly said that IQ may get your foot in the door, but it’s the EQ that determines how far you can go. Therefore, to be successful leaders, it is extremely important to improve your EQ level. It is only imperative that one who possesses the right EQ level will sail through the bumpy ride.

Teen Entrepreneurs Who Make You Want To Be Like Them

Teen Entrepreneurs Who Make You Want To Be Like Them

Inspiring Stories, , , ,

Children have idols and dream about walking in their footsteps. They are also taught to inculcate the good habits of elders and eminent personalities that their parents perhaps idolise. However, the young minds never fail to surprise. They sometimes challenge the status quo and inspire adults to want to be like them. Here are some teen entrepreneurs who have done just that.

Akshay Ruparelia

Akshay Ruparelia

Image Courtesy: Business Today

19 year old Akshay Ruparelia made it to the headlines in October 2017 as the youngest millionaire in the UK and the owner of the 18th largest estate agency in the country. He started his online estate agency, Doorsteps.co.uk., with a loan of £ 7,000 from his relatives. His company is now valued at £ 12 million – a commendable feat since he took off just about sixteen months back, juggling between his school tasks and the challenges of setting up a new business.

The young genius had outsourced the responsibility of taking business calls to a call centre during his school hours. The teen entrepreneur already boasts of having cracked property deals worth £ 100 million within sixteen months. He nurtures the ambition to replace traditional estate agents who charge exorbitantly for their services with his smart business model of offering the same services at affordable prices.

Amber Kelley

Amber Kelley

Image Courtesy: Seattle Refined

Winning the cooking competition on the television show ‘Food Network Star Kids’ at the young age of 13, set the stone for the entrepreneurial journey of Amber Kelly as a celebrity chef. The competition brought her to the limelight, earning her the opportunity to feature in a web series on the Food Network. Besides, the 14 year old also has her own YouTube channel, ‘Cook with Amber’, which has around 37,000 subscribers. She has also been the Kid Coach at the 2016 Kid Talks, an initiative by Mashable, as well as an Inspirational Kid on The Today Show. What’s more, she is the proud owner of the title of Culinary Wizard on the show, ‘Live from the Red Carpet’ that was broadcast before the 2015 Academy Awards on E!

Moziah Bridges

Moziah Bridges

Image Courtesy: Inc.

Moziah Bridges, better known as Mo Bridges, took the life-changing decision of turning his creativity into a business idea at the very young age of 9 years. Having mastered the art of sewing, which he’d learnt from his grandmother, he put his skill to create bow ties with colorful fabric that stands out. He soon launched his own company, Mo’s Bows, and started selling them on Etsy.

His bow ties met with astounding success, grabbing the attention of boutique owners across states who became wholesale buyers of his creations. Presently a teen, he carries the responsibilities of his Memphis-based business on his young shoulders as the CEO, albeit with some expert guidance from his family members. The fact that he retails through some of the leading retailers in the country like Bloomingdale and Neiman Marcus speak volumes about his creations.

Bella Tipping

Bella Tipping

Image courtesy: Bella Tipping

Bella Tipping noticed as a teenager what most of us perhaps haven’t yet. She realised that online reviews of restaurants and hotels only receive feedback on their facilities and services from adults. She found out there were no forums that catered to reviews from children.

She started penning down her detailed views of her experiences during vacations and compared them with that of her parents’. It was a discovery for her parents to see how their daughter’s opinions widely differed from theirs. Bella’s reviews also showed a great eye for detail that their reviews lacked. Thus, kidzcationz.com was born and Bella became the 13 year old entrepreneur of the first online travel review site for children.

The little wonders make their presence felt and compel us to look at them with awe and appreciation. They act as an inspiration for us to follow suit. After all, better late than never!

Niche E-Commerce Brands In The Making: Art And Decors & Gizmofashion

Inspiring Stories, , , , ,

#inspiringstories @Awfis is an initiative by the Awfis Editorial Team to showcase the brilliant business ideas and the journey of our start-up member community.

Having worked for 10 long years, Divyan Gupta decided it was time to find inspiration elsewhere. In 2008, he took a conscious call to move from his rewarding career at one of the most prestigious Fortune 500 and FTSE 10 companies. An MBA degree from Boston offered him the opportunity for a much-needed time-off from his professional life, after which he went back to working in the U.S. and a little later, in India.

However, in 2012, Divyan was all set to take off on a different route. He had already comprehended the infinite scope for disruption in literally every industry before taking a sabbatical from his blooming career. Brushing shoulders with people from different walks of life like academia, government, professional and business worlds had further fanned his entrepreneurial streak. Thus, his brainchildren – Art and Decors, and Gizmofashion took off.

While both of them are curated e-commerce brands, Art and Decors specialises in India’s first affordable luxury brand for décor items and lifestyle products that cater to the preferences of global citizens.

The brainwave for dealing in paintings and artifacts struck Divyan when finding quality décor for his new home in Delhi turned out to be a task for him quite unexpectedly. He discovered that there were hardly any places from where he could source quality and affordable home décor that met his personal choices. The options tapered down to either purchasing ‘whatever is available’ from the flea markets or settle for the ones from the private art galleries that showcased elitist and premium artworks that were devoid of sufficient information.

Another challenge for him was that “even for the décor products, the only choice was between imported products from Asian countries with really no legacy or pedigree and quality or products made in local markets but being sold as high-end décor products.” Discovering that this problem was definitely not unique only to him, he knew he had experienced his ‘Eureka moment’.

 

In a separate instance, Divyan faced technical problems with his 3-month old smartphone that he had bought from a popular e-commerce ‘marketplace’. He took it to the service centre only to be told that the warranty had already expired.

He felt cheated, understanding that a refurbished phone had been sold to him repackaged as a “new” unit. Knowing that this cannot be a one-off incident, he decided to address the plight of the Indian masses who are regularly duped by online marketplace sellers. Thus his second venture, Gizmofashion, was born.

What had started as a brand for fashionable accessories like cases and covers for mobile phones, laptop, among other types of gizmos, diversified into manufacturing 100% genuine and manufacturer warranty-backed electronic products as well.

 

Since the last 5 years, Gizmofashion makes gizmos from global tech giants available to people as is, offering their products directly to customers without being a marketplace. Currently, it has collaborated with companies like Apple, Samsung, Canon, Gitzo, National Geographic, Sony and many more.

Their constant efforts in innovation has earned them prestigious honours and recognition of being an ‘Innovative Startup’ by the Government of India under their flagship Startup India program, Top 100 Companies in Asia by Red Herring, among others.

Divyan strongly believes in maintaining a lean team structure and enhancing efficiencies through automation. He owes a large part of the success of his business endeavour to his brother, Katyayan, for managing a part of the business along with his job. A competent team of engineers and designers further contributes to the success story by improving the products and services through innovation. Last but not the least, their customer service bot, Anya, helps them leverage automation through artificial intelligence to delight customers. This makes them the first e-commerce brand to have a bot. Both human efforts and Artificial Intelligence has set the pace for success and are taking him closer to his dream of building “profitable niche e-commerce brands from India that are within the top 3 global brands.”

Divyan strongly feels that discipline is critical to every sphere, more so for entrepreneurs. Distractions while working from home and at coffee shops are a well-known evil, making co-working spaces score over these options. Besides, it saves them from the hassles of undertaking the non-core activities of managing their own workspace. Besides, he concurs Awfis offers him the opportunity to network with other people and gain inspiration from them. While the community feel and professional yet jovial team at Awfis makes it a fun experience for his team to work here, he would have liked it a bit more greenery around his workspace. We will keep that in mind, Divyan!

We, at Awfis, cannot but agree that Divyan’s journey so far has been an inspiring one, and are proud to foster such inspiring stories in our co-work spaces.

What the Concurs de Castells Can Teach You About Teamwork?

What the Concurs de Castells Can Teach You About Teamwork?

Business How To’s, , , , , ,

The French have one of the most poetic and apt definitions for teamwork – esprit de corps – which roughly translates as a feeling of pride, unity, and loyalty shared by members belonging to the same group.  In an organization, fostering a feeling of unity, loyalty, and pride in other words an environment that encourages teamwork is a prerequisite to the organization’s success.

Teamwork leads to creating a synergy that supports a more empowered way of co-working that further gives way to flexibility and support across the organization.

Every alternate year, Spain observes a festival known as the Concurs de Castells – human tower competition. This festival can be traced back to the 18th Century and involves the ultimate exhibition of human teamwork and all its complementing principles. People aged 5 to 95 participate in the contest to build living human structures of some of the most remarkable heights. Unlike human pyramids, these human towers are based on dance, order, method and rituals that date back centuries.

The festival is similar in spirit to that of Janmashtami and DahiHandi celebrations that we observe in India, making it resonate with us further. Like Janmashtami, Concurs de Castells has a lot to teach us about teamwork – here are some principles that truly soar.

  • Principle One – Co-Ordination Is Key

Like in the case with anything that requires more than two parties to execute, the festival is an example of co-ordination. The co-ordination results from effective communication, strength and common sense. Communication because there are so many people involved who need to speak with each other clearly to achieve the task at hand; strength because so many people lead to multiple energies that need to be channelized right; and common sense helps people realize the obvious.

  • Principle Two – There Are Rules That Help

Even though the festival dates back to the early 18th Century, the rules hold true even today. This is primarily because each human being is different and unique, but when working together they need to be tied by a thread of commonality that will help them achieve the goals that they set out to achieve. The rules act as the groundwork and level everyone up.

  • Principle Three – Everyone Has A Role To Play

Dismantling the tower is as important as building it. A strong base is as important as a sleek top – so big and small alike – each person has their own role to play, which amounts to success. The pinya or the base of the human tower is as important as the enxaneta or the child who is at the apex of the tower.  Much like in teamwork, not everyone can bell the cat, but there are a lot of people needed which eventually builds up to the cat being tamed.

  • Principle Four – It All Leads To A Spectacular Result

When so many people work towards a common goal, the result is one to behold. No wonder that the festival receives many visitors from across the globe. In fact, the Concurs de Castells has recently been recognized by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. So, when people work together as a team, achieving the desired results become much more likely.

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” –Phil Jackson