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Your Monthly Inspirational Newsletter | January 2013
 

Dear Everyone,

Hi! And how are you all? It was again another 'lazy' month in December. There was a reasonable amount of work, but there was also a lot of ‘play’ and some free time to catch up on all my mail and outstanding work. I am presently working on a revised edition of my first book, ‘Simple Steps to Leadership Excellence’. The objective is to update, improve and to add more current stories and contemporary issues to it. I must admit that it is fun and exciting!! I will most certainly keep you all updated on my progress.

Unless you have been living as a hermit for the past three months, you would have seen or at least heard of the music video Gangnam Style by Psy, a South Korean. In a short time, this Internet phenomenon has captivated the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world and is probably the favorite dance today. The video was released on You Tube in July 2012 and became viral overnight. As at 31 Dec, it has racked up more than a billion views, becoming the most watched video of all time. Thanks to this, album sales and profits are soaring; even the share price of the company owned by the artiste's father has doubled.


What are some things we can learn from this amazing phenomenon?

1. Power of the Internet

Psy did not have the support of any big recording company or a large budget for advertising. He almost single-handedly made and promoted it and yet his video is the most viewed video in You Tube history. Hence if you have a good product, never, ever underestimate the power of the social media and the Internet. Psy put the video on You Tube and then got a few friends to disseminate information on it through Facebook and tweeter. And the rest as they say is history. Through the internet, costs and risks are kept very low and yet the dividends can be very high. The power of the Internet is open to anyone with a message, so do take advantage of this inexpensive method of advertising your business. Even if you don't achieve the popularity of Gangnam Style, there is every possibility that you can make more profits provided you have a reasonable product.

2. Simple but Catchy Product

The Gangnam video reiterates the fact that catchy tunes, a catchy dance and pretty ladies are always a great formula for success. Psy is not a brilliant recording artist and he himself will admit to that. However he has got the right formula here and hence the popularity of Gangnam Style. Time will tell if the Gangnam phenomenon will be sustainable or will join the list of one hit wonders in the music world. But for Psy it will not really matter as he has certainly made his mark in the music world and secondly he would have earned enough from this song for a cosy retirement if he chooses to do so. Lesson learnt is that all you need to make it big in today’s world is one great hit or one good product. Because of the internet, your market is the world!!

3. Intellectual Rights

When it comes to Intellectual rights there is a good side and bad side to the Gangnam Style story. Firstly, because there were no intellectual rights attached to the video, and the dance moves were simple, many people took advantage by making and posting their own imitations such as ‘Sabah Style’, ‘Eaton Style’ ‘Malaysian Style’ on You Tube. These replications created extra interest and made the original even more famous.

On the other hand because he did not register Gangnam Style, Psy is now number nine in line to register it as a trademark at the Korean Intellectual Property Office. And by convention, registration of trademarks goes by the principle of ‘who comes first gets the trademark’. This means that Psy may lose out on a lot of money because he was slow to register it. Imagine the millions he can make by selling Gangnam style t-shirts, schoolbags, key chains etc. Lesson learnt is that intellectual rights is a factor that must be taken seriously by all businesses, especially in the current environment when ideas can travel around the world in seconds. Otherwise others will take advantage of all your creativity and hard work.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Till my next newsletter, Happy New Year to all and I do hope that 2013 will bring all of you more success and happiness. Take care.

ABOUT HEERA
HEERA is one of the leading Leadership and Management Trainers in Malaysia with more than a decade of hands-on experience in some of Malaysia's leading conglomerates.

HEERA excels in motivating, inspiring and coaching participants to achieving their full work potential, leading to excellence.

For more information about Heera and his training services, please visit www.heera.com.my

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Heera Singh
Principal Consultant
HEERA Training and Management Consultancy
HP 0126083708
www.heera.com.my