The Hindu Business Line : Add balance to ad theory

Jaishri Jethwaney and Shruti Jain have written Advertising Management, capturing the core concepts in an eminently readable presentation. The book from Oxford (www.oup.com) delivers great value for money, both to students and professionals. The authors are, respectively, professor in Indian Institute of Mass Communications, and vice president of Dentsu Creative Impact Private Ltd, a combination that may explain the balance between theory and practice evident in their work. "While teaching the subject, we found that a suitable textbook on the advertising scenario in India that includes a perspective on the client, the advertising industry, and best industry practices, was lacking," notes the preface.

A book that fill that gap!

What is thirst?

Translating the Gita into English is not easy, concedes Bibek Debroy in The Bhagavad Gita, from Penguin (www.penguinbooksindia.com). "Words like dharma, sankhya, arya, vikara, brahman, atman, yoga, guna, shruti, samadhi, prakriti,... , Vedas have no ready English equivalents and the meaning sometimes varies from context to context," he writes. The motivation behind the translation is to be as objective as possible, declares Debroy. "The text stands by itself, complete and without interpolation, juxtaposed with the Sanskrit for easy reference; interpretation and explanation are tucked away as notes at the end." For instance, translation of verse 7 in chapter 14 reads, "Know rajas to be based on desire and the origin of thirst and attachment. That binds the atman firmly because of attachment to action." In notes, the author explains: "We have translated trishna as thirst, but it can also be translated as desire or greed. What is the difference between thirst or desire, and attachment? One is attached to what one already possesses. And one is thirsty for, or desirous of, what one does not already possess."

Company for contemplative mood.

Too many tongues

What is the greatest attribute a salesperson can possess? A great personality or a glib tongue? Neither, says Lloyd Allard in The Ultimate Selling Guide, from Magna (www.magnamags.com). The answer is `self-confidence,' he adds. "A glib tongue is the worst speech impediment that a salesperson can have." Customer always appreciate straight talk, points out Allard. "Don't ever try to trick them; inform them. Don't try to manipulate them; build value." The book is a collection of `over 600 suggestions, lessons, quotations, observations, and principles on selling,' arranged in chapters such as selecting a product/service to sell, tools of the trade, sales presentation, dealing with objections, evoking trust, and so on. The final chapter is titled `The man with three tongues,' with an instructive cartoon to go with it. The visual shows a man who says `I can do this!' but his shoes are talking too. The right foot says, "It's hot. We're wasting time. I'm tired. Let's quit. It's not fair." And the left says, "I'm hungry. This is a dumb job. We have to do all the work. Let's do it tomorrow." Talking the talk isn't enough, counsels Allard. "You are supposed to do twice as much walking as talking." How? "Rip the tongues out of your shoes the minute they talk back to you. Your feet should be your servants, not your master! Then, every time you think a negative thought, you could look down at your feet and smile."

Must read to add purpose to your selling.

Tailpiece

"Fuse is open!"

"We believe in empowering people."

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D. Murali