What rhymes with blood?

There once was a doctor fresh out of school,
About to enter a hospital very cruel.
He looked around the ward, totally enthused,
Not knowing he'll soon be thoroughly abused.
The residents knew how this creature would work,
With wide eyes in the shadows they'd lurk;
Hunting, searching, grabbing at the chance
To make him on their fingertips, dance.

Everyday patients would come & go,
But somehow his knowledge would never grow.
Then one day he finally decided,
He'd do no work unless he was properly guided.
He'd prod & pry & request on both knees,
"Sir, won't you teach me what you're doing, please?"
"Alright" was the reply, the resident still undecided,
He looked around & towards a patient he glided.
"Here's this patient, draw his blood", he said
The intern would rather treat the disease instead.
Fresh out of school he still jumped at the chance,
Not knowing this would end up becoming his ritual dance.

For from that morning his life would flood,
With endless, over-powering collections of blood.
Days passed by without any respite,
Still trying to overpower a small vein's might.
He knew that soon something needed to be done,
Looking at his own veins made his head spun.
He told his superiors, "Sir, Why not give it a rest?
Why we need so much blood, I cannot digest
Every morning, I bleed these men & women dry,
And, if it clots, I must give it another try"
They just laughed & handed him another list,
More blood to collect, the intern got pissed!
The patient list crushed within his fist,
And so his protest they easily dismissed.

He walked over to the door & hung up a sign:
'Without blood, urine & stool we can't make you fine.
And if you so choose to decline our request,
I love you for finally giving me some rest.
Here, the needles are not the only pricks,
Cause these doctors can be such dastardly dicks.
Soon I'll bid adieu & be out of your hair
Leaving another intern be the cause of despair'

The Textbook Paradigm

My first post as guest blogger & I'm already breaking into a cold sweat. Not because I don't really have something to write about (I pull off miracles with nonsense everyday), but  because I was told other students/professionals from different streams have been called together to blog for Bucket-Bolt. I don't have  a clue what they're going to writing about (or whether they'll write at all). Maybe some engineering guy can post how to edit html script, cause its ruining my own blog. Wishful thinking on my part?

Coming back to the actual post, it didn't take a mental mad-dash to come up a suitable subject. Seeing what Bucket-bolt's primary business is, books kinda seemed obvious. So, here's my version of The Textbook Paradigm

I'm a nerd & love being that way. There's nothing I love more than my books. Over the course of school, college & now med school, I've amassed a huge library of every damn subject that even vaguely interests me & books that I've ordered especially for me. I proudly display my titles in neat stacks & piles in my room for all to see, like a tribute to my medical degree! I love the smell of new books. Its reminiscent of all the years gone by, every memory like a page describing a fresh year at college.

Every year, I go through the regular routine of making up a list, checking what's available, ordering them from  Bucket-Bolt (I swear I do) & start tagging all the books with my name. From that point on, its all downhill! The books seem a lot less interesting once you have to read every last page. Watching the pages turn from pristine white to beige has to be one of the slowest processes ever. Another particular problem I have is that no one truly appreciates the size of the book you're reading. In my college, everyone turns the book on its side & examines the rows of pages that've turned brown; its a marker for how much you've actually managed to read. Its a royal piss-off, one that should be punishable by the electric chair!

Another particular problem, especially for med students is the "edition mismatch". The moment a fresh edition is published, be sure that whatever you know or believe you know is now of no significance. Medical knowledge changes so rapidly & fresh additions are made at such a rapid pace that you can't afford to rely on an earlier edition. It's times like these when I'm thankful that we have a lot of people around who are more than happy to exchange older books for new. For one, its definitely lighter on my stipend & secondly, who wants outdated stuff lying around? I don't store old newspapers, do I? Though I definitely wish there was a way of transferring all my markings & post-it notes from one book to another. Wishful thinking, again? 

Feel free to comment if you've had something similar happen to you or if you're nerdier than me when it comes to books! Until then, I'll leave you with a hilarious video I found online:

BucketBolt Poem

Need a book on sunday and not a single store you find,

And carrying heavy books home is something you always mind.

Just a week for the exam and the book you need is out of stock,

And all you wish is that you could turn back the time on the clock.

Don't you worry your problems are nearing an end,

Because the online bookstore is soon going to be the latest trend.

So put your hands together because "BUCKETBOLT" is on its way,

And do remember guys for really long its here to stay..!!!!

The Distribution Channel

The Distribution Channel

Ever wondered how it feels to walk in burning heat, run like a child when it rains or sip on to a cutting when it’s freezing. It was fun when papa paid for it but now is the time to enter the professional world. Even the big honchos had to slog it out once but now see where they are. From advertizing to marketing, finance to operations there is one thing which has always been common “SALES”.

In a country like India with more than 1.4 billion people running the race to be the first in population lets think about the enormous distribution channel. Highways, cemented roads, kuccha and pucca rasta, galis nukads it’s all here. We’ve seen the malls and the D-Marts, general stores to the wholesale markets, small shops to department stores and finally the most important kirana walas and pan bidi shops. These all have become a very important part of the channel.

FMCG Companies, Telecom operators, Financial Institutions all follow a strict distribution network. It has employed a huge number of people through distributors, wholesalers, retailers and salesmen. Every company appoints a distributor for every area who is well versed with the particular vicinity. This would help in moving the cycle faster. The distributor maintains good relations so as to keep the company as well as the customer happy. He is just another middleman but very powerful. A distributor needs nothing more than a few salesmen, a couple of computers and a NOTE COUNTING MACHINE. Yes it does sound fancy but the work is extremely difficult. Maintaining stock, keeping accounts, supplying the order and most importantly collection. Here is why a distributor appoints salesmen and wholesalers. Salesmen cover half the area and the other half is done by the wholesaler. The wholesaler helps in a quicker turnover with cash on delivery while a retailer always will seek a week credit. Salesmen are quick in their feet and efficient enough to notice what the competitor is up to. From margins to credit period all is well glared at. The distributor works on commission basis while the salesmen are on the payroll of the distributor. Even the company throws targets on distributors.

The sector is never expected to go down. It will always see a rise. The way the economy is rising, demands are increasing the sector will always see growth. It will always be one of the most important employment generators. Whoever wants to make it big will always have to be a part of this channel.

HUL and P&G go to IIM’s for campus placements. They select students to be salesmen at either dharavi or maybe in a rural area. This is one of the roads to be a brand manager.

Look at the dabbawalas they have the most efficient network. From picking up a small box to delivering it back home. Either school or office it works the best. There is much to learn.

“Distribution Channel”, it does not even sound glamorous so the ones who are ready to slog and take success and learning whenever it comes this is the place to be.

Entrepreneurship

Principle 1
Promises and commitments are meant to be broken:


Yes, this principle is just as true as the fact that our planet revolves around the Sun. Only that it applies to every single person or company you will expect to help you in your venture. No exceptions. But on the other hand if you try following this principle yourself, you are only going to harming yourself further. ‘So please do not try this at work!!’
When you have a fresh incepted idea to start a new business, you are bound to approach and contact the related personnel. They will either accept or idea with a few forced changes to suit them or they will shun you away like an outcast. Please do not mistake yourself to think that the previous scenario is better than the second one; as a matter of fact neither is better than the other.
Whenever a person/company finds that your plan interests them, they will be determined to make certain changes and not accept your idea in its entirety. The changes will definitely suit their purpose and might or might not even solve your purpose at all. Assuming you do find the changes suitable or you reach a middle ground with the concerned parties, it, under no circumstances, means that they will abide by it. You may have spent weeks together planning a course of action and other cumulative ones depending on the changes suggested to you, however, there is and can never be any guarantee that the concerned parties will still accept your proposal.
So beware!! Don’t be too happy if only promises are made to you: They can be misleading. This, however, does not mean you should trust no one. No!! That is not something we are suggesting. On your part show them full faith and commitment (and be ready to fulfil it if need be so). You have to learn to trust them to a certain extent, but exactly how much only your experiences and failures will teach you.
At BucketBolt.com, we too came across similar situations quite a few times. One such incident occurred when a particular publication house had promised a continuous flow of textbooks if we were able to get him the volume he required (which we did so, mind you). But when came the D-day, he backed off at the last moment citing “technical glitches “, which obviously made no sense to us. But as we had mentioned the above principle is not meant for us, we had to make last minute arrangements for the order placed to retain the goodwill amongst our customers.
If you have also gone through a similar phase in your struggle too, we urge you to comment and share with us your experience. You never know your experience might just help an infant entrepreneur in ways beyond your imagination.