Sudhir Ahluwalia's Blog, page 22

How do companies that make a product for a lifetime stay in business?

Let me try and explain some basic business concepts that will answer your question in simple language.

At the heart of any business lies its business strategy. Strategy is not static; unchanging that is created once. Strategy is the engine that drives a company using the power of the business model. Strategies are updated and modified, and new strategies are developed as the business ecosystem changes. The business model is implemented with the help of an organization. People run the organization.The market has people who are consumers of products. People earn and acquire wealth. Wealth is used to buy goods and services.Consumers access goods and services in marketplaces. The marketplace can be electronic and traditional. Consumer access is facilitated with the help of advertising.Advertising helps bring the product and service to newer markets and consumers. New consumers are added as the reach and access increase with effective customer outreach.There are close to 8 billion consumers in the world. The catchment is still huge. You can theoretically stay in business until all the 8 billion people have acquired goods or services that will last them for a lifetime. At that stage, business growth will theoretically occur at the pace at which the global population is growing.

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What is the best form of managing diabetes naturally?

Diabetes manifests itself when insulin produced in the body cannot adequately metabolize the sugar in the blood, causing blood sugar levels to spike.

We need the energy to live, grow, exercise, and survive. When we eat, in the digestive process, sugar is produced. Sugar finds its way from the digestive system into the blood, where insulin released from the pancreas helps break it down to release energy. This energy becomes available to the body for its survival and other functions.

Excess sugar not required by us is converted into fats and stored in the liver. This stored fat is broken down into energy and made available when demand exceeds supply.

Insulin plays a blood sugar regulatory role. It prevents blood sugar levels from either rising too high. When blood sugar levels get too high, such a condition is called hyperglycemia. Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, is a low blood sugar condition.

Blood sugar levels, when these stay high, cause harm. But why do these levels rise at all? The inability of available insulin to fully break available blood sugar into energy leads to a rise in blood sugar levels.

Another reason is that the conversion process itself has become retarded. The cells of the body have become resistant to the available insulin. As a consequence, blood sugar levels rise. The medical name for such a condition is insulin resistance.

Diabetes is a lifestyle disease. A healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and dietary goals that bring down calorie intake can help improve diabetes risk.

Some vital recommendations for older adults with diabetes are moderate leisure-time activity and walking. Others include a higher intake of dietary fiber and consumption of low- a fat diet, especially trans fats, easily digestible carbohydrates, cutting down on smoking, and reducing central obesity. (Mozaffarian et al., 2009).

Conventional treatment of diabetes, broadly speaking, is composed of:

1. Diet modification

2. Exercise

3. Medication

Herbal formulations perform an adjunct role. Modern medicine is the primary medication.

Exercise forms for diabetes can include walking, yoga, tai chi, or any other form of exercise compatible with the individual’s physical condition.

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Is organic food sustainable and is it healthier?

The conventional view is that organic food is healthier. Further, organic agriculture is environmentally and socially sustainable. Organic enthusiasts swear by these statements and will list dozens of reasons in support of their arguments.
Let us look at this question dispassionately for a moment.
Organic food is equally popular in the US and Europe. The world’s organic food consumption can be roughly split in half between the US and Europe. As the economies of China and India progress, anecdotally, one can safely say that organic food will increasingly gain focus in these countries too. However, despite the rising popularity of organic food in these countries, aggregate demand is still small.
According to the World Bank, the food and agriculture industry is around 10% of the global GDP of $78 trillion. The world’s natural and organic food and retail industry is estimated in 2015 to stand at $92 billion (deduced from Statista projection figures). The US is the major market for organic products, with $55 billion. Other market intelligence agencies have estimated the global organic food market to be over $100 billion. Whatever we look at this, the organic food industry still constitutes a small percentage of the worldwide food industry.
Sustainability:
Organic farms can probably feed the 10 billion people in 2050, provided people were to turn vegan. Dairy and meat both require greener matter per unit of food energy compared to crops, fruits, and vegetables.
Such a lifestyle change is unlikely to happen. It brings us back to the question: Can the world afford lower productivity in organic farms than in conventional farming.
As more and more people prefer organic food products over conventional farms, farmers will move towards organic farming. This shift will result in increased supply. Once the production goes beyond demand, a depression in prices will be inevitable. It will be a major disincentive to organic farming.
The world, therefore, must look to other farming solutions that are healthy and at the same time have higher levels of productivity. Such solutions are currently available. Hydroponics, vertical farms, and poly house cultivation are some options that can help us grow crops in organic conditions. However, these solutions are energy-intensive and may not be environmentally friendly from the overall energy standpoint.
Is Organic food more nutritious?
The answer has already become quite expansive. I will summarize it in a single statement. Scientific facts do not support the premise that organic food is more nutritious.

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What would be your top 5 questions to the board to work out a digital transformation strategy?

A digital transformation strategy requires to be aligned to the business strategy and plan of an entity. It is important to recognize that digital tools deployed to power a strategy are only tools. The tools have to be imaginatively deployed to further a business goal.
The organization should also look at its business model. The decision-makers should define and plan the digital strategy to support and further the objectives of the business model.
A digital tools-supported strategy will work when the organization is prepared for implementation. Often, boards of traditional organizations and public sector companies where the workforce is unprepared to go digital commit the mistake of launching into digital transformation too early. Undertake a skill gap analysis of the workforce. Digital tools are introduced at a pace as the workforce is ready to use these. The objective of digital transformation is to improve productivity and operational efficiency.
Lastly and probably most importantly, remember digital transformation strategy alone cannot move your organization to a position of sustainable competitive advantage. That is done by strategy and business models.

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Is a vegan diet good for people with diabetes?

According to the American Diabetes Association, nutrient-dense foods are the best for individuals who have diabetes. These foods are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals but low in added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats.
These nutrients are available in non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, etc. These should be consumed as far as a possible whole and minimally processed.
Other food recommendations are Apple, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, and oatmeal.
A diabetic diet can include starchy vegetables like corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, plantain, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and green lentils.
Avoid refined, highly processed carbohydrate foods, foods with added sugar, sugary drinks like soda, sweet tea or coffee, juice, white bread, white rice, sugary cereal, sweets, and snack foods like cake, cookies, candy, and chips. Nuts like peanuts, walnuts, and almonds have a lot of fiber and healthy fat. Keep the portion size small as these contain a lot of calories.
Dr. Neal Barnard, associate professor of medicine at George Washington School of Medicine, recommends a vegan diet for people with diabetes. According to him, a vegan diet can even reverse diabetes. (Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes, published his book in 2007)
The diet recommendations of Dr. Neal Barnard are more in consonance with the current day thinking, which claims that the link between the gut, diet, and lifestyle diseases like diabetes is intimate. Effective restoration of gut microbiota Reversal and repair of gut microbiota to good health is possible through dietary changes.

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Will plant based meat take over?

It is estimated that about 2 billion people live primarily on a meat-based diet worldwide, while 4 billion focus on a plant-based diet. The US food production system is a dominant meat-based market.

A study done by Innova Market Insights 2014 saw a 14.7% growth in demand for plant-based protein, while the need for animal protein grew only by 7.5%. Such trends are being driven by people’s concerns about obesity and the associated lifestyle diseases it brings. Food safety issues related to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) also contribute to this shift in consumption.

While there is increasing scientific support for moving towards a plant-based diet, the shift has certain downsides. For non-vegetarians, reducing intake of meat while increasing intake of legumes, whole grains, and the like tend to result in a deficiency of iron and zinc.

A plant-based diet is a healthier alternative to one laden with meat; It reduces the chances of artery blockage and artery hardening, which are common causes of heart attacks (Tuso et al., 2015; Hu.,2003). It’s been observed that subjects who follow a plant-based diet (especially legumes) have high levels of genistein in their urine. Genistein is also said to help prevent chronic degenerative diseases like cancer tumors (Fotsis et al., 1993).

A plant-based diet is deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin B12. Vegans will require to take supplements to prevent nutritional deficiency of these essential compounds.

Individual preferences and cultural trends are some important factors that influence our diet. The global preference is shifting towards plant-based foods. I doubt that human society will change to becoming purely plant-based.

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Efficiency improvement tools and strategy – concept overview

Performance management is a tool. Strategy is the overarching umbrella. Efficiency improvement tools are deployed to achieve a strategic goal.
Consultants often advise companies to deploy performance improvement tools like six sigma, business process re-engineering, ERP, marketing, digital transformation, etc. HR consultants focus on performance management.
Technology consulting firms emphasize automation. They often use words like strategy, efficiency, and transformation in the same breath. Each of these words is a component of a strategy. In the end, these providers end up convincing companies to buy an automation solution.
The strategy should help a company achieve a sustained competitive advantage. Tools are deployed to further a defined strategy.
Tools improve efficiency and move the company forward. If competitors deploy the same tools or combine these efficiency improvement tools, they achieve strategic convergence. It is a state in which competitors operate at the same efficiency as others.
Customers now do not show a higher willingness to pay for the goods and services of a particular company. Services and products of competing companies are bought interchangeably. There is no preference for a particular brand. Market share in such conditions is divided amongst competitors.
Companies are often confused when faced with competing claims of various providers. Each provider claims that deploying their tools will help transform the company. Thus, digital marketers, HR consultants, IT service providers, business process re-engineering experts, and others claim to bring about business transformation.
Strategy planning helps the company break through this logjam and forge ahead of competitors. Next time a sales executive of these service providers approaches you, you know what question you should pose. Will you be able to help me achieve a sustained competitive advantage over others? If you are offering the same tool to multiple companies, how will that happen? The responses will help you determine who understands strategy and who is selling a tool.

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Why is it hard to be vegan in a non-vegan world?

It is estimated that about 2 billion people live primarily on a meat-based diet worldwide, while 4 billion focus on a plant-based diet. With a population of 300 million, the US food production system is a dominant meat-based market.

Culture, the people around us, and our habits determine what we eat. Moving away from one form of diet is often difficult. You could look at the following facts.

According to Mintel, today, the meat substitutes market is led by tofu and tofu ingredients-based products, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, soy, wheat, and mycoprotein. The tofu and tofu ingredients segment accounted for the largest share of the meat substitutes market in 2017.

Tofu and tempeh are derived from soy and are popular meat alternatives for vegans and vegetarians. Now, one can have soy burgers, soy turkey, soy bacon, soy chicken, and soy hot dog food products if they want an alternative to meat.

The meat substitutes market, estimated at $4.68 billion in 2018, is expected to reach $6.43 billion by 2023 — growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. This market also has low-fat, fortified snacks along with meat-substitute products. Now companies like Quorn (UK), Meatless (Netherlands), ADM (US), Du Pont (US), and several others specific to individual countries and regions are focusing on such foods.

Change of diet is a change issue. Making a gradual shift helps.

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Does Ayurveda has a cure for hyperacidity or GERD?

Let us try and understand the causes of hyperacidity and GERD.
Food travels down the esophagus into the stomach. There is a valve between these two organs. It prevents the regurgitation of food from the stomach upwards into the esophagus. With age, the valve elasticity reduces, and it is not very effective in stopping the regurgitation from the stomach upwards.
HCL is naturally released to initiate the digestive process in the stomach. When it regurgitates upwards, you feel the heartburn.
There are multiple medications available to suppress acid production in the stomach. Suppression leads to low production of acids or total suppression of acid in the stomach. The gut and intestinal microbiota are essential for digestion composition changes due to suppression by these drugs.
There are multiple therapies available in science to normalize the process described above. You should consult a gastroenterologist for advice.
Herbs, too, contain chemicals that act in various ways to alter the acid production process. Don’t forget that most modern drugs in use originated in plants. It is only subsequently that manufacturers moved from plant-based ingredients to chemicals.
Ayurveda prescribes several herbs to do what modern medicine drugs. The names are exotic, and they are peddled as safe medications with no side effects. It cannot be further from the truth. Ayurveda is an observation-based ancient science. Its concepts, herbs, and formulations require to be tested and proven to be effective and safe. Until that is achieved, patients should abjure these formulations.
I have studied herbs for several years. Most herbal medication being peddled in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine has not been validated in scientific trials. Consume these at your risk.

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What are some ways to overcome food dependency on other countries?

Japan imports a lot of its food. It is one of the richest countries in the world. America is probably the biggest importer of goods and services, but the size of its economy is bigger than any other country. Most oil-producing nations are net importers of food. At the same time, these countries have very high per capita incomes.
We live in an interdependent world. We produce some things and sell surpluses to others. We import products and services from other nations that make them cheaper or generate surpluses.
We agree that food is a critical commodity. It is essential to our survival. It won’t be easy to survive without energy in today’s world. Nations make a trade-off. They focus on where they are most competitive. It is the role of leaders and policymakers to make choices in their people’s best interest.
Decades ago, America decided to move away from manufacturing in the last century and focus on services. Manufacturing lines moved to China, which was eager to welcome them. The policy decision was momentous and led to the transformation of China from a developing country to a middle-income country and the second biggest economy in the world. Today, it is undertaking another policy shift similar to that made by America in the last century. It is shedding manufacturing and is focusing on technology and services.
A nation overcomes its dependencies on any product by making policy choices. Once that choice has been made, it deploys its energies towards overcoming that dependency. Food is just one such dependency. There is enough technology available to convert food dependency into a surplus.Similar Posts:

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