Ayesha Dcruz’s Post

Making sustainable cool again! I was excited to stumble upon By Rotation, a peer to peer wardrobe rental platform; basically the airbnb of the fashion world. Key takeaways: 1. I love that they led with the customer's "Why" - The focus on style, ease, and saving vs. "save the world" positioning. 2. As a customer, the biggest problem it solves is collapsing the time it takes to look through the infinite options. Now, one can identify stylists/wardrobe renters who reflect the customer's personal style; and future rentals/purchases are quick. My hypothesis would be this platform has a much higher repeat purchase rate as compared to a ThredUp 2. The company does away with having to stock inventory because of the peer to peer model thus saving costs and tedious logistics. Sustainable needs to be cool for shoppers for them to pivot away from mass fashion. Vojtech Vosecky on linkedin mentioned that we keep throwing "away" stuff. But if we think about it, there is no away, we are dumping everything onto the same planet we live on. This is a UK based company so it will be some time till a US customer sees enough options; but ginormous potential here with founder Eshita Kabra at the helm of it. #sustanaibility #entrepreneurship #sustainablefashion #business #retail

Someone wise once said "Diversity is like inviting someone to the ball and Inclusion is, walking up to them and asking them to dance." . Today's fireside chat with Marty, (an award-winning creative strategist, campaigner, and writer who has significantly impacted the advertising industry as a thought leader and changemaker) was part of dunnhumby's launch of our new Trans, non-binary and gender fluid policy which includes supporting people transitioning at work. What I love most about dunnhumby is that we walk the walk when it comes to embracing the uniqueness of people, cultures & perspectives. We walk the extra mile to Include. It was a really interesting conversation with Marty. For me, the light bulb moment was when Marty said "You already have trans employees, you probably just don't know it,". Imagine what it is for people not to feel freedom to express their core selves. A lot can be done by each of us; and we can begin by becoming aware; and keeping the conversations active in our families, communities and workplaces. #inclusion #lgbtq #transcommunity

Monday Reminder - Leaders, be kind, professionals take their jobs personally. It was exhilarating to watch the Indian cricket team's heroic comeback as they defended the lowest total score ever in the tournament history. Victorious as it felt to beat Pakistan at cricket, I couldn't help but reflect on Naseem Shah, as he exited the field, tears rolling down, inconsolable before 34,000 cricket fans. These are professionals who spend their lives laser focused on being the best at their sport. And yet, it's all about heart. When you care about what you do, whether it's job or parenting, it's ALWAYS PERSONAL. Reflections? #T20Worldcup #teamculture #MondayMotivation #Leadership

Psychological Safety and Growth - The Chain Reaction When my family visited Iceland, we were blown away by how everyone, especially the children, took safety for granted. Children walked to school and back by themselves and played outside unsupervised. It's true, in Iceland, new mothers do park strollers with babies outside cafes, so they can relax with a cup of coffee. This was a stark contrast to the US where we are accustomed to keeping our kids tethered close. We breathed out a sigh of relief, also realizing, we had kept it in for so long. This environment of safety and freedom has a visible spill over effect. Children are freer, more independent, and exercise more agency. When children feel safe, they are empowered to take calculated risks and learn from mistakes without fear of severe consequences. This fosters resilience and a growth mindset. The same carries over to teams. Psychological safety is the fundamental block of teams that thrive. A study by Google (Amy Edmondson's research on Google's Project Aristotle) found, that teams with high psychological safety were 17% more likely to achieve their goals. When team members are able to express their ideas, questions and even skepticism openly, they are more engaged and more creative. They feel empowered to take more risks, try new things; leading to learning and growth. This in turn validates their contribution and helps them feel more valued and secure in their roles. Curious, what are some best practices you've come across that help establish an environment of psychological safety within your team or organization?

When developing a product or solution, divergent thinking is a great starting point, where you start from a white slate and think "Art of Possibility"(versus incremental). That's how Henry Ford built cars versus trying to build solutions for faster horses. However, when selling the idea of your newly developed products and solutions, it's important to build bridges of familiarity with what people already know. In the words of Jason Feifer (Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Magazine), "which means starting with what OTHER PEOPLE are comfortable and familiar with, and connecting it back to your new idea." Fun fact: The excerpt of the newspaper in the picture is from real news articles back in day. The invention of cars was almost looked down upon, thrown stones at, it was even called a "Devil Wagon".

Bonus payout season is over and it's now back to rolling up sleeves for another year of innovation and results. As you set goals for yourself and your teams, here's why you should consider going BEYOND THE BONUS. Autonomy, mastery and Purpose always wins over conditional rewards and incentives. This is something that we already knew within our hearts and Science only confirms it. In Dan Pink's his words: 1. The 20th century rewards motivators (bonuses/carrots & sticks) as we think of natural part of business work, but in a surprisingly small set of conditions 2. If-then Rewards often destroy creativity 3. The secret to high performance isn't rewards and punishments but that unseen intrinsic drive; the drive to do things for their own sake, because they matter. Is this something you already do within your organization today? If so, how? #puzzleofmotivation #tedtalk #goalsetting #organizationculture

As a data science company, we obsess about what's working for the customer (and what's not). Naturally, experimentation is a crucial part of what we do. Our brainstorming sessions can get intense (if you know what I mean). What test to prioritize and how to execute it has infinite possibilities. In situations like this, it always helps to remind ourselves: A great analytics partner will craft a test design that lends to accurate statistical measurement of engagement and sales lift. A great business partner goes two steps further. Here's how Firstly, aligns tests to business objectives (inevitably, top line and bottom line, especially in mature brands and loyalty programs). Secondly, creates a clear line of sight to how learnings can transfer to Business-as-Usual both strategically and operationally. So if you're geeking out on A/B tests on a Friday, here's a reminder that the magic lies in the before and after : )

Brainstorming - The Litmus Test for a "Connected" team. Strategy and Data together create a lot of white spaces with infinite possibilities. Brainstorms play a key role. They define the road we go down, create room for experimentation and if done well, put in place guardrails to ensure that if we fail, we fail fast and cheap. How a team brainstorms, can tell a lot about how connected they are. These are the top five things I observed 1. Asking "Why" - In a team that is thriving, each member feels empowered to ask why the project is a priority. They don't feel pressured to pretend they understand. 2. Coming prepared - When all members of the brainstorm group come prepared and with their own ideas it demonstrates they know that their individual contribution is valued and necessary. 3. Disowning ideas - A connected team understands that once you table an idea, you renounce it's ownership. This means, the idea now belongs to the team and you do not take any criticism of the idea personally. 4. Singular goal of Business Objective - In a connected team, the north star is the business objective and what moves the needle; not the approach, the methodology or whose idea it is. A team where members are able to easily set aside their egos and bias and re-orient to the larger goal, is a connected team. 5. Radical Candor - In a connected team, members are always kind. This might not always equate to being "nice". Nice is counter productive. Nice can mean that you have data points why an idea might fail but you still acknowledge it to be a good idea in the interest of being polite. Kind is when you validate the perspective and logically point out areas of risk, challenging each other to do better. Did any of these resonate with you? 'Would love to hear what your litmus test for a connected team is.

For my women peers: Impostor syndrome beautifully explained by Reshma Saujani. It's just Bike face 2.0, another burden we've taken on in the pursuit of "fixing" ourselves. We don't have to fix ourselves, it's the system that needs fixing.

Personalization - Opportunity for Marketing Genius; but how much is too much? As a marketer, I loved that Duolingo found a way to go beyond the "notification" and used the app icon to emote and engage the user based on their lifecycle journey. It managed to stand out among all the other apps even while it wasn't being used. My kids went "Oh mom, duolingo is sad we haven't interacted with it", just the reaction Duolingo was going for. A marketing win! But again, is it? Our customers live in a world of data deluge; and as marketers, we all want to have a foot in the door to capitalize on every possibility of an impulse purchase. However, for the sake of brand credibility and meaningful valuable interactions, our personalization strategies should abide by some rules of engagement. Below are some I would recommend Focus on Value on cadence. More is not always more. Temper cadence and messaging based on customer engagement Personalize communication and offerings Be careful especially when communicating sensitive categories where you're implying prior purchases or trying to push a first one (baby care, birth control, pet care etc.)