The last Resort of Indian Democracy!

 

Winston Churchill once said ' Never let  a good crisis go to waste'  I'll add my mean wisdom to it. 'Don't waste a crisis especially if its not yours'. And for five Star resorts, there could'nt be a better crisis than the Political ones . 

Lawmakers from across party lines being lugged in buses to the fancy resorts is becoming quite a frequent sight.  Grinning from ear to ear, splashing victory signs, they represent the enthusiasm of school children leaving for a picnic. And the excitement is well justified. Imagine an indefinite vacation, where one can summon everything on the left of Menu without even a side glance to the right, sans any work pressure. It is the most luxurious all expenses paid holiday that one can ask for.
Given how central the resorts are becoming to the politics, all political parties will have to seriously think about setting up a crack team of resort specialists. They will need to make sure that neither can anyone checkout anytime they like, nor they can leave. 

It’s also a huge business opportunity for the hotel and resort industry. After all, every non-BJP ruled state is a new sale waiting to happen. And elections are like the festive season.
I am listing out a few value-adds that can help a hospitality brand become a preferred choice of all the parties wanting to safeguard their flock from falling prey to the rival gangs of wolves

Live Tracking
Naïve MLAs must be kept safe from the evil eye of opponents.  Hence keeping an eye on them is of utmost importance. Hotel should offer high tech monitoring services to track every move of the sequestered MLAs.

Reconnaissance
It is also important to know your enemy’s moves. Hence, bugging the rival camp’s hotel can be the deal clincher.  Having expert detectives and reconnaissance expertise would also help.

Enhanced immunity
MLAs can also be influenced and brainwashed through families and friends. Hence jammers to block phone calls should be made available, should a political faction demand so.

Financial advisory

Since these lawmakers are being made to avoid the allure of Money from the rivals, training sessions on how to make up for that lost opportunity is critical.  Celebrated Ponzy scheme founders, Drug lords, Bitcoin traders, Nigerian mail racket operators could be invited to provide training.

Private screenings

Some of them might be missing the private screenings from assembly sessions. They could be offered Free Pornhub or any other ‘Mature’ content site subscription as a part of the package.

Career and life counselling
Keeping up with the speed of this age, our lawmakers are also flexible and nimble. Their loyalties and ideologies are always-on-the-move. They need to be conditioned to stick with the herd for personal and professional success. An expert panel of motivational, speakers, Psychologists, spiritual gurus or even hypnotists will go a long way in establishing an edge over rival hotels.

Debate sessions
Some hardworking lawmakers might miss the action of assembly debates. For them, a dummy session can be convened every week.  For close to natural experience, they should be allowed to hurl abuses, chappals, microphones at each other.

Customer Care

Last and the least. if any lawmaker wishes to connect with the Voters, try and arrange for a virtual conference. This is good to have. But not a deal breaker 

Is Work from Home Working?

An idea for the Time being or an Idea whose time has come?

Hardly a conversation these days goes by without referencing the 'new normal’ and some mandatory crystal ball gazing on the ‘post corona world’. Combined, these two terms had more than 3 million mentions on social media over last month of Lockdown.  Thomas Friedman has even given the new time acronyms AC for ‘After corona’ and BC ‘Before Corona’. Indeed, it is an epochal event that is expected to exponentially accelerate the changes that were already underway, and might even bring some more. Among the most talked about subject of change is the future of work. Ever since the offices were shut across the world, employee homes have doubled up as the bastions of the businesses, resolutely holding the fort laid besieged by a tiny organism.  Until now, remote working was always a half measure HR practice, largely followed by  IT & ITeS. Despite occasional affirmative nods from Senior Executives in PR articles, it was never committed to whole-heartedly.  Cut to the lockdown and it suddenly became the only possible way to work for a vast majority of global workforce, turning it into a global experiment of sorts on remote working. And the results so far are quite exciting. Buoyed by its success, organizations like TCS are planning mandatory Work from Home for 75% of workforce by 2024, whilst Twitter is planning to allow its employees to Work remotely forever.
Internet is inundated with WFH memes. It is the new proverbial Poster boy of Pop Culture and darling of tech fraternity.

An early infatuation or a long term alliance?

Yet to go through the test of time,  it would be too early to declare this sudden build –up of Romance with remote working as a sign of strong bond
The early signs are encouraging for codified Jobs, set upon the linear processes, with streamlined individual deliverables. But same may not be true of many other disciplines. For instance, advertising, It has its own distinct pace and process. Creative ideas are at the heart of our work. They feed on the unexpected, the unusual, everyday randomness of life.  Ideas may be discussed in the boardrooms but are more often than not conceived in a different place and time. Borne out of the experiences and emotions of the creative beings, creative ideas have a life that thrives on social experiences, exchanges and interactions. An idea grows through the Countless debates around the Coffee Machines (avoiding the mention of smoke breaks); leisurely Observations of a busy street, hushed conversations overheard on metro ride to office, Story of a cab driver on a ride to a meeting;  random anecdote from a colleague, a Joke; a gossip , a wink, and even an argument. Office is not just a physical workspace but along with the external world it provides a much needed stimulus for creative work. It lays the foundation of imagination

World is a canvas 
The word creative may conjure up the romantic image of  carelessly attired genius with long tresses perched on a quite corner of a dimly lit room with a ciggerrate in one hand a pen on another.  But in reality, the creative mind is constantly travelling outside for inspiration. This journey traverses through the labyrinth of own past experiences  Working from Home can deprive the Creative mind of that stimulus.  It may deprive the creative folks of those unexpected encounters, unusual observations, the extraordinariness of an ordinary day.  It may keep them from the variety and colour of everyday life. It may starve the fertile creative mind off the rich Fodder of ideas.
Work from Home may be the need of the time, but  should not be the new normal for the Future of creative industry. I hope its not an idea whose time has come!