Footballs: Proudly Made in Pakistan

Every other person wants to grab and spread mischievous news when it comes to Pakistan. Amongst, all the crap the media feeds, the optimists have to take initiatives to explore the positives existing in the state and portray it to the outside world that we do not fight, and curse Uncle Sam all day. Instead the country has relatively better to offer the world and this time its Albert, football for London 2012.

Ready to kick-off

We all know that when it comes to football, it has to be Adidas. But, a few know about the sweat of hard-working men and women of Sialkot, Pakistan. This city has the highest income per capita after Karachi and is home to some of the progressive and ever-growing industries of Pakistan, sports taking the lead.

Till 2000, Pakistan was producing 75% of the footballs for the football lovers of the world. However, the market share has reduced to 40%. This is due to intense competition coming from China, Thailand and India who have high production capacities. But, is this decline in market share really a concern to the manufacturers in Sialkot? Have they revisited their strategies or production capabilities to regain their market share? Well, the answer to this is NO! Irrespective of China, India and Thailand producing at a greater pace than their Pakistani peers, the Pakistanis do not compromise on what they promised to offer, i.e. unmatched hand-stitched quality-rich football. 


Adidas did learn a lesson in FIFA World Cup 2010, when the Jabulani (Made in China) attracted heavy criticism from the world-class players and fans from all over the world. It was high time, when the giant decided to switch back to the soccer bearing the 'Made in Pakistan' tag.

Let's all hope that we produce good quality leaders, just like our soccer balls which are resistant to unnecessary kicks.


To know more, please visit: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcxqx9_soccer-is-big-business-in-pakistan_news 

The funda-mentals of ban-king

Its been long time since I have blogged. A lot of events have taken place these days. Economists believe that it will take decades for Euro Zone to pop out of recession. The new leaders of the member states of Euro are not very much interested in saving their fellow members' sinking economies. Olympics 2012 is more about security display than athletics (here goes the defense budget!) and last but not the least the tremors and shocks the banking industry has witnessed recently.

So moving ahead, the following are the lessons which have been taught to us by this so-called banking industry:

1 - Success is down to my genius; failure is caused by someone else. When banks perform well, and achieve higher profits, the executives and bosses (the fat cats) own the credit (the bonuses!!!) for their strategic lenses and inspiring leadership. When scandals break, no executives are found personally culpable, but the organization as a whole, and mainly the tactical and operational level staff suffer as the blame trickles down the very hierarchical and bureaucratic organizational structure of banks.

2 - The laws of supply and demand are not applicable to the banking industry. In a job market, an excessive supply of labor puts a downward pressure on wages, but this is not the case in the banking industry. The wages of the executives are excessively high, even when there are numerous applicants for limited positions.

3 - 'R' for Retirement and not Resignation.When bankers 'quit' in critical times, they get paid like hell. The banks want to avoid lawsuits and bad press as it further spoils its standing in a highly competitive and 'Ir-regulated' industry. The more trouble the bank is in, the less media coverage it will want and the better the negotiation position of the 'greedy' executive.