Victory Pole: A Metaphor for Business Challenges

Once there was a king. He was kind to his subjects and used to do whatever possible to make their life comfortable.

One thing he was always upset about of the constant wars at his state’s borders.

Once he decides that he will fight with all the kingdoms and will make the earth war free.

He then went on killing all the kings, ruining everything, what he felt will crop up as any war or violence.

After a decade or so, he gets through with his mission.

He comes back to his kingdom and feels great thinking there is peace everywhere.

He then decides to erect a pole in the centre of his capital to mark his ‘victory over raging wars and violence and henceforth only peace will prevail’.

He names that pole as ‘Victory Pole’. At his orders, his men start digging at the centre of the city to erect the pole. The kind himself along with his subjects present there.

To their surprise, after digging a bit, they found a similar pole. To their astonishment, it has the same message.

We studied this in school in 10^th standard as a chapter in Marathi language – VIJAY STAMBH [Victory Pole].

At that time, I studied it just to secure marks in the exam and haven’t given a good thought to it.

But since I started working and within this 17-18 years of working in different organisations, I literally lived this chapter.

Its same, literally same across organisations, different departments in the organisations and the various teams working in there.

This is mostly true in case of C-suites and also at senior level management. This also holds true at every hierarchy, but not of that level of impact.

So, when someone joins in marketing, it starts with the same – consumer interactions, gain insights, work on the communication, revise the earlier, same old wine in new bottle. Just to find out, everything has already been done and available in the archive.

Yes, it makes few things move, but seldom a bigger impact.

Looking at the market requirement, we try to come up with multiple SKUs, considering that those will grow bigger. But it won’t and then those SKUs will be there to cater to very small population or TG.

Then someone comes and rationalise all such SKUs, saying it will add value to overall business. Yes it helps. Then that guy leaves.

Some new one will come, again the cycle of market research, insights, RTBs, communication, loopholes in product mix, launch the SKUs, variants targeting to specific TG.

It adds to existing sales, but in long term, it drags in overall sales and again someone start digging to erect another pole, he finds the same.

Same applicable for other departments, industries as well

I am not saying, that doing something is futile, ultimately lot many factors, variables responsible for success or failure of products, projects.

But many a times, there is already a pole buried, wherein we try to erect another.