Conversing isn't Engaging

Every once a while India Inc. come up with a dose of corporate varnish that sure looks slick, but dig deeper and you see its all a gooey mess inside. Take the latest one on how CEOs are engaging and sniffing out talent from within their flock. And the techniques they are using include going up the flock at a canteen table and striking conversations so they can a get a picture of their flock's office lives, or sitting through and participating in a selection process that decides who amongst their flock will be sponsored for a study program abroad.

I gotta ask, is this for real? Do the CEOs really think this is the way to engage? Do they realise conversing isn't engaging? Do they know conversations only result in perceptions? Do they realise to get to reality, they have to go beyond mere conversations? Plus I guess the bigger question is, do they really wanna engage to gauge what's real? Or is this mere lip-service?

Its the same classic mistake marketers make. Marketers think engaging with consumers is drowning them with advertising yakety-yak. Its no surprise they sink their money on mindless Ads that aren't even noticed by consumers. And then they go on to treat their frontline staff with disdain and pay them peanuts as compensation. The result?

Unhappy frontline employees.

Skeptical consumers who know they matter till they pay the price.