Anand Kurian

(Alby) Anand Kurian is a marketing communications theorist and writer; he has been featured among thirty marketers from around the world. He has conceived and developed the twin marketing management concepts of Reality Plus - Neo People and other allied concepts. His recent concept 'Conflict as a Marketing Tool (CAMT)' was published by Knowledge@wharton and by the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management.

His first book, The Peddler of Soaps, a political novel against religious fundamentalism, was on the best-seller list.

For his next book, a work of non-fiction, professionals from all over the world such as Narayana Murthy, Javed Akhtar and IIM professors are interpreting his management concepts, in their own areas of specialisation.

Education

He was educated at Bombay Scottish School, St. Xavier’s College, Elphinstone College and Government Law College, Mumbai.(These institutions were criticized for being elitist.). He was first in his division at the University of Cambridge Indian School Certificate examination, graduated with honours, and was awarded scholarships throughout an unorthodox academic career.^[1][2]

He qualified as a lawyer; he topped Moot Courts in Mumbai University, in Maharashtra State and in India.^[3][4][5][6]

His thesis for his PhD in Management was recommended by two former deans of IIM Ahmedabad, and featured original contributions from the co-authors of Philip Kotler’s classic on marketing.

Advertising career

He trained in advertising in New York and founded Emphasis. The company has conceived and executed advertising work for multinational majors such as Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, PepsiCo and Unilever, and for products such as Lay's, Ariel, Lifebuoy and Coca-Cola, making him an early fortune.^[4][5][7]

The struggle against religious fundamentalism

The rise of religious fundamentalism occurred at this time; Anand Kurian wrote The Peddler of Soaps, a political novel set against this period. The book predicted the Gujarat riots; it was published just before it erupted.^[8][9][10]

The book found support among intellectuals, celebrities, newspaper editors and national award winning actors; among them were Vir Sanghvi, Shabana Azmi, Shobhaa De and Tabu.^[11][12]

Launch of The Peddler of Soaps, New Delhi; with Javed Akhtar and Arnab Goswami

Sanghvi described The Peddler of Soaps as ‘Deceptively simple, a contemporary, modern-day fable’; Azmi called it ‘The right book for these wrong times’.^{[11][13][14][15][16]}

In its review, India Today said, "It explores the tantalisingly complex issue of why multicultural societies lapse into violence and communal rioting."^{[17] [18]} The Hindu described it as "Beguilingly simple..."^[19] Critical reviewers and readers dubbed it as pseudo-secular.^[20]

His use of the small letter ‘i’ for the personal pronoun ‘I’ (in certain chapters of the book), has now been adopted in the editorial page of The Times of India.^[21]

The book was on the India Today best-seller list^[22] and it topped the best-seller charts of The Times of India, The Financial Express and The Indian Express.^[19][23] It was to be made into a film by Mansoor Khan but the project was still-born.^[11]

Key management concepts

His recent concept Conflict as a Marketing Tool (CAMT) was published by Knowledge@wharton and by the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. ^{[24] [25]}

Other key management concepts include:

a) ‘Reality Plus’^[26][27]

b) ‘Neo People’^[28]

c) ‘Simulated Obsolescence’^[29][30]

d)‘The Afghanistan Syndrome’.^[31][32][33]

e) ‘The Universal Integrators model’,^[34][35]

f) ‘The Transference Response’,^[36]

g)‘The Laggard's Lock’,^[37][38] (co-written with Nitin Borwankar)

h) ‘Co-omperation’ ^[39]

i) ‘Triple F Model’^{[40] [41]}

j) The Mirror Maxim'^[42]

k) The Entrepreneurial Readiness Index (co-written with Ms Koon Lai Tan)^[43]

He has lectured on these concepts at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), at the National Institute of Design (NID) ^[26][29][31] at IIM conferences,^[2][44][45] to members of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), ^[46] at CEO conclaves, to industry bodies, to faculty and students of universities all over the world^[47] and at international conferences all over the world.^[48][49][50]

Articles, keynote addresses & lectures

His message against communalism is summarised in the dictum ‘A world without borders... people without labels.’^[5]

"The Indian way", a keynote Convocation Address at the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) is an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian way of life.^[51][52]

In "Racing on the fast track" Anand Kurian takes a critical look at the caste system. His use of his Adi Sankara Brahmin lineage "to fight fire with fire" has been criticized.^[53][54][55]

He has founded India's first campus channel; the Chairman of Cadbury's described it as "an example of the power of an innovative idea." Along with two former Deans of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he has designed a subject ‘The New Culture of Business’, for management students.^[26] He has introduced courses on ‘The Business of Cinema’ to management education in India.^[56][57]

He has addressed Chinese government officials, academicians, businessmen and professionals, in Hangzhou, China on “What’s Next for China”. ^[58]

Today

Currently based in Singapore, he is working on his next book, a work of non-fiction. Professionals from diverse fields, all over the world – such as Narayana Murthy, R. Balki, Sagarika Ghose, Ashis Nandy, Abraham Koshy (of IIM, Ahmedabad), Javed Akhtar and R Gopalakrishnan – are interpreting his concepts, in their areas of specialisation, for the book.^[11]

He is part of an international brand consultancy; he has been cited for multi-media innovations, and has served on juries for professional awards.^[59] He has been profiled in ‘Marketing people’ (Barnes & Noble), a book about thirty marketers from around the world.^[2]

But his feature film has been long delayed; critics have described him as unorthodox and unconventional.^[11][60]

However, a former Dean of IIM, Ahmedabad Dr Parikh says, "He draws from cultural anthropology as well as from McKinsey. He straddles both left and right brain territory to create a new, more dynamic picture."

Says another erstwhile Dean of IIM, Ahmedabad,Dr Shingi, "He is a Renaissance man; he helps us see, beyond narrow specializations, the complete picture."^[5]

References

See also

• India's best advertising man (Afaqs)
• The superhero next door (The Times of India)
• India Calling – The outsourcing story (The Times of India)