The 7 less know secrets of the rise of CSK.

The dominance of CSK in the Indian Premier League throws up some stunning lessons.  Here are  7   of them

1. The owner of the franchise is a backroom boy.  The captain takes the limelight
2. The captain is from a small town. He is earthy. 
3. The selection of CSK team is also based on the human side of the individual. To make sure a team is built. 
4. The coach is incisive, focused and yet off the limelight. 
5. CSK never displays any desperation to win, Captain cool is cool indeed and they enjoy their game.
6. No off field controversies and animations
7. CSK is perhaps the only team that has a promotional strategy which is mass based.  Whistle Podu is a basic Tamil phrase that connects with the masses.  Please note there is criticism that IPL keeps away the majority of the population and its leaning is towards the software engineers and fund managers. You must read Guha writing on this (if you are interested in reading it let me know will send the link)

Overall you would notice that CSK is built on a sound philosophy. While all the other teams try to build on the strength of their players, CSK is built on a belief system.  You will notice that the team does not experiment much after getting their combo right. Not that they dont give their best in the lead up games but they make sure they peak at the right time. They dont mindlessly go for a win its all about playing, so they make sure they are always leading on the fair play award too. Their eyes are on the run rate, how the others perform and their peaking ability. They sure like to life life on the edge and its this edge dwelling that results in the bundling of the collective nervous energy of the followers that makes the players tick at the right time. 

They seem to have a strangle hold of the IPL format. Now if they want to give up their title only they have to decide on doing so. 

I love to recall this little story, a real one, on how a team called ICF used to be so successful way back in the 70’s. I found ICF as a team just went about processing their target (which is to play) by rejecting all the dis tractors (the lifestyle built around it) 

As a school boy I used to follow the ICF cricket team because I knew one player quite well.  He was much senior to me and his name was Manohar. N.  I want relate an incident that is etched in my mind so deeply and it continues to resonate even today. 

It was a Saturday at Marina grounds. One by one the ICF players arrived, the obviously used public transport (bus) and came in ordinary clothes, carrying their packet of lunch and a bag.  They immediately rushed to a small room changed over and appeared in what was supposed to be whites.  Their cricket outfits were crumpled and jaded.  They went about whispering and occasionally burst out in laughter. Who are the going to play against? i wondered.. the other team has not arrived yet the time to start was fast approaching.  Then suddenly 4 cars arrived, 3 ambassadors and one was a car of foreign make ( I don’t remember) the opposing team arrived in sparkling whites, screeching wheels and with much fanfare.  

I remember the the look on the faces of the ICF team – pale to match their cricket garb.  

The match began, ICF has to bowl first. I dont recall the scores or the format the opposing team had 3 hrs of play.  It was lunch time. While the ICF players opened their food packets (lime rice or tomato rice) the other players were feeding on a spread from Taj Coromandal. The foreign car had a ice box with beer cans and few of the were seen swigging off. 

It was ICF turn to bat, battle scarred bats were pulled out of cloth bags (these bags were recycled bed sheets or sarees) I will never forget the day when my hero – N Manohar – batted non nonchalantly and won the game for ICF. 

Surprisingly there was no celebration in ICF camp..  it seemed as though the match was fixed.  When I asked Manohar he smiled and said nothing.  For the team that lost it really did not matter, they had already planned a saturday night party and had to rush to the venue.

Well as long as CSK is grounded, humble, play for the joy of it  … it would take truck loads of luck for any team in the IPL format to dominate it.   

If there is a correlation between simplicity and high performance there must surely be a correlation between playing fair and success. CSK stands tall out there

Shred it for it belongs to you

I just commented in my friends blog on living a life and going about life with eyes of faith. I realized that what we see with our eyes seduces us and leads up the proverbial ‘garden path’. There was a time in my life I used to go my instincts, the packaging and communications (advertising) used to thrill me to bits. Suddenly the turn around happened ( long story ) and I started seeing the amazing stuff all around in nature. The simple things were not simple anymore they came out rich. The Cave was a book by Jose Saramago that impacted me. I allowed the book to get in and turn my life around.

So here is something I saw this morning on how the top 10 ruthless companies dominate what I consume, well they also decide on how I must look and behave.  I have been trying to get some views of what people thing about this fancy term these days called PERSONAL BRANDING.  Believe me almost everybody strive to be like a BRAND.  They are fucking mad I know, not because of embracing retardation but they dont seem to know their own potential.

Here I read this fantastic stuff in a blog ‘BANKSY ON ADVERTISING”  you must read it
People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.

Related articles

• Banksy on Advertising (daneverest.com)