Bet on value-addition, innovation, India Inc
Industry heads share their views on staying competitive
What they say
The only way to extract a price premium is through value addition and innovation.
Increasing compensation to tackle attrition will lead to a vicious cycle.
Companies should build on the platform of good practice and governance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chennai , April 8
Industry's competitiveness is resting too much on labour cost advantage than on innovation, according to Mr R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland Ltd and Vice-President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Addressing a session on emerging challenges in sustaining growth at the CII's annual regional meeting here on Saturday, he said that the only durable way companies can extract a price premium is through value-addition and innovation.
Cost vs value
Intellectual capital needs to be a significant part of wealth of companies. "Not low-cost labour or arbitrage in labour cost - that is transient," he said.
The cost of inputs, and of commodities is bound to increase and can impede growth. Industries globally have addressed this through efficiency increase. Internal efficiency and continuous improvement has become a "part of today's DNA of Indian industries" in dealing with input costs and defending margins. But this cannot go on forever, Mr Seshasayee said.
"Why would people pay more?" he asked.
The differentiation by which companies can command a price premium is in delivering value. Value-addition by an order of magnitude, changing the rules of the game to develop novel packages - that has been the success of the industry leaders. Continuous innovation is the challenge for Indian industries, he said.
Areas of concern
Mr Ashok Soota, Chairman and Managing Director, MindTree Consulting Pvt Ltd, who spoke on employee attrition and increasing costs, felt that wage increase was a manifestation of success. But there has been a swing from one extreme - pathetic low wages a decade ago - to another and short-term cost increases could lead to loss of competitiveness.
Increasing compensation to tackle attrition would only lead to a vicious cycle. One solution would be for companies to move into new geographical areas to tap new human resources.
Another concern is the `Dutch Disease' - one sector growing at the cost of another - with the boom in information technology driving wages to levels that other sectors cannot afford.
On the supply side, the issues of quality and quantity of workforce need to be addressed. Educational institutions churn out graduates who are `unemployable.' But there is also talk of expanding reservation. That would be a wrong decision, as this would only take away quality. Industries need to focus on training to improve the quality of the workforce, Mr Soota said.
India has demographics on its side. It has the human resource capacity to meet the global demand for knowledge workers by 2020. It is the time to act now - but unfortunately when things are going well, action is difficult, he said.
`Conform to global standards'
Mr Ravi Uppal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, ABB Ltd and Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Region, said conforming to international standards despite the costs is a necessity for companies that are looking at a presence in the global market.
Whether a Sarbanes-Oxley accounting disclosure or the home-brewed Clause 49 of SEBI, companies need to have systems to instil confidence in the stakeholders. The Indian stock market cannot afford another scandal.
India scores higher than China on credibility and transparency. Companies should build on the platform of good practice and governance. "It is a must - Not an option," Mr Uppal said.
Stress on CSR
Mr Y.C. Deveshwar, Chairman of ITC Ltd and CII President, called for a system that provided an incentive or placed a value on a company's initiative in corporate social responsibility and environment conservation. The media too has a role in sensitising the civil society to good practices.
India has 17 per cent of the world's population but 2 per cent of the land mass and 4 per cent of water. So conserving natural resources and enabling a skilled workforce is the concern for all. The entire society should place a value on conservation.
From India, Pune
100Industry heads share their views on staying competitive
What they say
The only way to extract a price premium is through value addition and innovation.
Increasing compensation to tackle attrition will lead to a vicious cycle.
Companies should build on the platform of good practice and governance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chennai , April 8
Industry's competitiveness is resting too much on labour cost advantage than on innovation, according to Mr R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland Ltd and Vice-President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Addressing a session on emerging challenges in sustaining growth at the CII's annual regional meeting here on Saturday, he said that the only durable way companies can extract a price premium is through value-addition and innovation.
Cost vs value
Intellectual capital needs to be a significant part of wealth of companies. "Not low-cost labour or arbitrage in labour cost - that is transient," he said.
The cost of inputs, and of commodities is bound to increase and can impede growth. Industries globally have addressed this through efficiency increase. Internal efficiency and continuous improvement has become a "part of today's DNA of Indian industries" in dealing with input costs and defending margins. But this cannot go on forever, Mr Seshasayee said.
"Why would people pay more?" he asked.
The differentiation by which companies can command a price premium is in delivering value. Value-addition by an order of magnitude, changing the rules of the game to develop novel packages - that has been the success of the industry leaders. Continuous innovation is the challenge for Indian industries, he said.
Areas of concern
Mr Ashok Soota, Chairman and Managing Director, MindTree Consulting Pvt Ltd, who spoke on employee attrition and increasing costs, felt that wage increase was a manifestation of success. But there has been a swing from one extreme - pathetic low wages a decade ago - to another and short-term cost increases could lead to loss of competitiveness.
Increasing compensation to tackle attrition would only lead to a vicious cycle. One solution would be for companies to move into new geographical areas to tap new human resources.
Another concern is the `Dutch Disease' - one sector growing at the cost of another - with the boom in information technology driving wages to levels that other sectors cannot afford.
On the supply side, the issues of quality and quantity of workforce need to be addressed. Educational institutions churn out graduates who are `unemployable.' But there is also talk of expanding reservation. That would be a wrong decision, as this would only take away quality. Industries need to focus on training to improve the quality of the workforce, Mr Soota said.
India has demographics on its side. It has the human resource capacity to meet the global demand for knowledge workers by 2020. It is the time to act now - but unfortunately when things are going well, action is difficult, he said.
`Conform to global standards'
Mr Ravi Uppal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, ABB Ltd and Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Region, said conforming to international standards despite the costs is a necessity for companies that are looking at a presence in the global market.
Whether a Sarbanes-Oxley accounting disclosure or the home-brewed Clause 49 of SEBI, companies need to have systems to instil confidence in the stakeholders. The Indian stock market cannot afford another scandal.
India scores higher than China on credibility and transparency. Companies should build on the platform of good practice and governance. "It is a must - Not an option," Mr Uppal said.
Stress on CSR
Mr Y.C. Deveshwar, Chairman of ITC Ltd and CII President, called for a system that provided an incentive or placed a value on a company's initiative in corporate social responsibility and environment conservation. The media too has a role in sensitising the civil society to good practices.
India has 17 per cent of the world's population but 2 per cent of the land mass and 4 per cent of water. So conserving natural resources and enabling a skilled workforce is the concern for all. The entire society should place a value on conservation.
From India, Pune
Dear all,
Techniques for Creative Thinking
Collectively, there are several hundred techniques published in books by Michael Michalko, Andy Van Gundy, James Higgins, Dilip Mukerjea and others. Techniques are like tools in a workshop, with different tools for different parts of the creative process. For example, there are techniques for defining a problem, exploring attributes of a problem, generating alternatives, visual explorations, metaphors, analogies, and evaluating and implementing ideas.
Today we would start with this tool.."Questions"
Poem by Rudyard Kipling
following the story "Elephant's Child" in "Just So Stories"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.
I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!
She sends em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes
One million Hows, Two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!
________________________________________________
Ask "Why" Five Times
From "What a Great Idea" by Chic Thompson.
Ask "Why" a problem is occuring and then ask "Why" four more times.
For example...
1. Why has the machine stopped?
A fuse blew because of an overload
2. Why was there an overload
There wasn't enough lubrication for the bearings
3. Why wasn't there enough lubrication?
The pump wasn't pumping enough
4. Why wasn't lubricant being pumped?
The pump shaft was vibrating as a result of abrasion
5. Why was there abrasion?
There was no filter, allowing chips of material into the pump
Installation of a filter solves the problem.
The Six Universal Questions
Idea Generators should be aware of a simple universal truth. There are only six questions that one human can ask another:
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Why?
Who?
Have a great day!!
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Techniques for Creative Thinking
Collectively, there are several hundred techniques published in books by Michael Michalko, Andy Van Gundy, James Higgins, Dilip Mukerjea and others. Techniques are like tools in a workshop, with different tools for different parts of the creative process. For example, there are techniques for defining a problem, exploring attributes of a problem, generating alternatives, visual explorations, metaphors, analogies, and evaluating and implementing ideas.
Today we would start with this tool.."Questions"
Poem by Rudyard Kipling
following the story "Elephant's Child" in "Just So Stories"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.
I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!
She sends em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes
One million Hows, Two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!
________________________________________________
Ask "Why" Five Times
From "What a Great Idea" by Chic Thompson.
Ask "Why" a problem is occuring and then ask "Why" four more times.
For example...
1. Why has the machine stopped?
A fuse blew because of an overload
2. Why was there an overload
There wasn't enough lubrication for the bearings
3. Why wasn't there enough lubrication?
The pump wasn't pumping enough
4. Why wasn't lubricant being pumped?
The pump shaft was vibrating as a result of abrasion
5. Why was there abrasion?
There was no filter, allowing chips of material into the pump
Installation of a filter solves the problem.
The Six Universal Questions
Idea Generators should be aware of a simple universal truth. There are only six questions that one human can ask another:
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Why?
Who?
Have a great day!!
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Hi Umalme,
Am glad you have found these articles on Lateral thinking informative & useful...
Hmm..you have asked a good question ..as how one applies all these to "LIFE"..implentation in the practical sense..whether they are just good as a theory with zero meaning for day to day life..
Well my friend it's got everything with life ..as it spells for one success & happiness..and achieving one's goals..
We all including me are able to hold on to our present jobs depending on how we successfully solve the problems for our superior officers..sometimes these solutions requires us to think out of box..
Hmm...not convinced yet..please allow me share this article below on Dhirubhai Ambani..one of the greatest entreprenuer of our times..
RELIANCE: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Dhirubhai Ambani evokes strong reactions from people but nobody can be indifferent to his achievements. To the many happy shareholders of Reliance, he is good enough to deserve the Bharat Ratna and at the other extreme he is vehemently reviled for his business methods. On being criticized on his modus operandi of openly using political influence for corporate gain, Dhirubhai has repeatedly asserted: ''That is only a minor element of our work. Why not focus on the major portion related to implementation, where so many organizations goof up?'' He adds: ''I give least importance to number one. I was nothing but a small merchant but I reached this level here. I consider myself fortunate to be in this position, but I have no pride. I am as I was.''
Reliance is globally admired for its rapid and time-bound implementation methods and those are where lateral thinking is employed to the maximum.
Reliance executives are constantly encouraged to think out-of-the-box, rather than traditionally or sequentially. The top bosses themselves have this tremendous ability to think laterally and look at business as a series of processes as illustrated by their quotes: ''The leadership of Reliance Industries has always shunned incremental thinking,'' says Anil Ambani, MD of the Reliance group. Older brother Mukesh Ambani says: ''We work in concentric circles, rather than in straight ranks, but there's always a center of accountability. We don't believe in core competence. We believe in building competence around processes and people to create value.''
Dhirubhai adds: ''The world is a series of orbits hierarchically stacked up with peons and clerks at the bottom and leading industrialists and politicians at the top. To be successful, you must break out of your orbit and enter the one above. After a spin in that orbit, you must break into the next one and so on till you reach the top.''
To keep moving in an upward spiral, Dhirubhai has liberally used lateral thinking, far more than any other industrialist, as revealed in Gita Piramal's book, Business Maharajas, among other sources.
RELIANCE FIRSTS
Dhirubhai was the first Indian industrialist to cater to the needs of the small investor. This was more by default rather than design because of his inability to fund his operations initially, yet it was a major deviation from the established practice of raising money from financial institutions. He introduced the equity cult in small towns in India. He is also recognized as having single-handedly revitalized the Indian capital market, by focusing on capital appreciation instead of dividend, which was the norm.
Apart from his macro strategy, his tactics also reveal lateral disposition. When the bear syndicate connived to hammer down his share prices, Reliance bought all of its own shares and demanded delivery by creating a 'friends of Reliance' association to buy those shares that the management technically could not. The consequent furor and shutdown of the stock market brought him in the national limelight. He also pioneered the conversion of convertible debenture into shares. This was so successful that it was oversubscribed six times once and prompted him to use the idea to convert non-convertible debentures.
Dhirubhai was the first industrialist in India to build factories comparable to the best in the world. Then, in a prime example of turning the situation on its head, he created capacity ahead of actual demand. Working on the premise that supply creates its own demand, he would sometimes plan a plant with a capacity of almost five times the actual or projected demand running into thousands of tons. Reliance is known to have accepted tenders that were 250 per cent higher than the lowest bid because the contractor delivered on time or flew somebody abroad to buy a critical component.
Against conventional wisdom, Reliance started manufacturing synthetic fabrics on a huge scale, realizing that the poor got more value for money as polyesters implied an image boost. Facing opposition from traditional cloth merchants whose loyalty lay with the older mills, he ignored the established wholesale trade, created his own exclusive showrooms, explored markets and selected agents from non-textile backgrounds. Finally, Reliance achieved the impossible by building a cryogenic terminal to transport ethylene in deep seas when conventional methods failed, the first time this was tried in India.
INNOVATIONS GALORE
At a time when India's equity market was in the bear phase, Reliance was the first group to tap the overseas debt market with long-term debt, including the 100-year Yankee bond.
It was also the first Indian corporation to make a GDR issue and the first to get Moody's and S&P ratings. Reliance was a zero tax company for several years because its continuous tax credits helped it to offset its profits. When the finance minister imposed a compulsory corporate tax of 30 per cent, Reliance capitalized their total debt for the entire contracted term of debt. They argued that interest accrues from the date of availing a loan until its repayment, and that all loans would be repaid on their due dates. This enabled them to retain their zero tax status.
The Reliance website is replete with examples of lateral thinking even in micro management. The company uses unconventional methods to get a job done especially when customer satisfaction is involved. Employees have disguised themselves to directly deliver an important consignment to a customer. Reliance has reached out to their client's customers to create broader loyalty bases. Anil and Mukesh Ambani directly approach their lower level staff without going through the departmental heads. They have tied up with a management institute to teach trainees in six months what they learn in MBA courses in two years. The Ambanis look at initiative and individual potential rather than paper qualifications.
A SKILL THAT CAN BE LEARNT
There is a misleading belief that creativity belongs to the world of art and is a matter of talent and chance and nothing can be consciously done about it.
Lateral thinking is specifically concerned with changing preconceived notions to bring out new ideas and can be acquired and practiced as a skill. It is a special information handling process like mathematics, logical analysis or computer simulation. Thinking techniques, once mastered, can be used both individually and in a group, dispensing with brainstorming. In all the examples of lateral thinking given in this article,
unconventionality clearly comes to the fore. According to de Bono, one should be free of constraints, tradition and history in order to be creative. But that freedom is more effectively obtained by using certain deliberate techniques rather than by hoping to be free. There is a prevailing belief that structures are restrictive for creative thinking but this is not entirely true. A cup does not limit one's choice of drink, so one can consciously avoid being limited by structures and apply them to one's field.
On the lighter vein..
Lateral thinking can save your life, as illustrated in this story. Two men were on a jungle safari in Africa. Suddenly, they came across a tiger that started roaring. Both men were frightened and one of them started wearing his shoes. The other one said: "How is this going to help? We can't outrun the tiger." The first man replied: "I don't have to outrun the tiger, I only have to outrun you." :D :D
Hope this has answered some of your issues..
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Am glad you have found these articles on Lateral thinking informative & useful...
Hmm..you have asked a good question ..as how one applies all these to "LIFE"..implentation in the practical sense..whether they are just good as a theory with zero meaning for day to day life..
Well my friend it's got everything with life ..as it spells for one success & happiness..and achieving one's goals..
We all including me are able to hold on to our present jobs depending on how we successfully solve the problems for our superior officers..sometimes these solutions requires us to think out of box..
Hmm...not convinced yet..please allow me share this article below on Dhirubhai Ambani..one of the greatest entreprenuer of our times..
RELIANCE: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Dhirubhai Ambani evokes strong reactions from people but nobody can be indifferent to his achievements. To the many happy shareholders of Reliance, he is good enough to deserve the Bharat Ratna and at the other extreme he is vehemently reviled for his business methods. On being criticized on his modus operandi of openly using political influence for corporate gain, Dhirubhai has repeatedly asserted: ''That is only a minor element of our work. Why not focus on the major portion related to implementation, where so many organizations goof up?'' He adds: ''I give least importance to number one. I was nothing but a small merchant but I reached this level here. I consider myself fortunate to be in this position, but I have no pride. I am as I was.''
Reliance is globally admired for its rapid and time-bound implementation methods and those are where lateral thinking is employed to the maximum.
Reliance executives are constantly encouraged to think out-of-the-box, rather than traditionally or sequentially. The top bosses themselves have this tremendous ability to think laterally and look at business as a series of processes as illustrated by their quotes: ''The leadership of Reliance Industries has always shunned incremental thinking,'' says Anil Ambani, MD of the Reliance group. Older brother Mukesh Ambani says: ''We work in concentric circles, rather than in straight ranks, but there's always a center of accountability. We don't believe in core competence. We believe in building competence around processes and people to create value.''
Dhirubhai adds: ''The world is a series of orbits hierarchically stacked up with peons and clerks at the bottom and leading industrialists and politicians at the top. To be successful, you must break out of your orbit and enter the one above. After a spin in that orbit, you must break into the next one and so on till you reach the top.''
To keep moving in an upward spiral, Dhirubhai has liberally used lateral thinking, far more than any other industrialist, as revealed in Gita Piramal's book, Business Maharajas, among other sources.
RELIANCE FIRSTS
Dhirubhai was the first Indian industrialist to cater to the needs of the small investor. This was more by default rather than design because of his inability to fund his operations initially, yet it was a major deviation from the established practice of raising money from financial institutions. He introduced the equity cult in small towns in India. He is also recognized as having single-handedly revitalized the Indian capital market, by focusing on capital appreciation instead of dividend, which was the norm.
Apart from his macro strategy, his tactics also reveal lateral disposition. When the bear syndicate connived to hammer down his share prices, Reliance bought all of its own shares and demanded delivery by creating a 'friends of Reliance' association to buy those shares that the management technically could not. The consequent furor and shutdown of the stock market brought him in the national limelight. He also pioneered the conversion of convertible debenture into shares. This was so successful that it was oversubscribed six times once and prompted him to use the idea to convert non-convertible debentures.
Dhirubhai was the first industrialist in India to build factories comparable to the best in the world. Then, in a prime example of turning the situation on its head, he created capacity ahead of actual demand. Working on the premise that supply creates its own demand, he would sometimes plan a plant with a capacity of almost five times the actual or projected demand running into thousands of tons. Reliance is known to have accepted tenders that were 250 per cent higher than the lowest bid because the contractor delivered on time or flew somebody abroad to buy a critical component.
Against conventional wisdom, Reliance started manufacturing synthetic fabrics on a huge scale, realizing that the poor got more value for money as polyesters implied an image boost. Facing opposition from traditional cloth merchants whose loyalty lay with the older mills, he ignored the established wholesale trade, created his own exclusive showrooms, explored markets and selected agents from non-textile backgrounds. Finally, Reliance achieved the impossible by building a cryogenic terminal to transport ethylene in deep seas when conventional methods failed, the first time this was tried in India.
INNOVATIONS GALORE
At a time when India's equity market was in the bear phase, Reliance was the first group to tap the overseas debt market with long-term debt, including the 100-year Yankee bond.
It was also the first Indian corporation to make a GDR issue and the first to get Moody's and S&P ratings. Reliance was a zero tax company for several years because its continuous tax credits helped it to offset its profits. When the finance minister imposed a compulsory corporate tax of 30 per cent, Reliance capitalized their total debt for the entire contracted term of debt. They argued that interest accrues from the date of availing a loan until its repayment, and that all loans would be repaid on their due dates. This enabled them to retain their zero tax status.
The Reliance website is replete with examples of lateral thinking even in micro management. The company uses unconventional methods to get a job done especially when customer satisfaction is involved. Employees have disguised themselves to directly deliver an important consignment to a customer. Reliance has reached out to their client's customers to create broader loyalty bases. Anil and Mukesh Ambani directly approach their lower level staff without going through the departmental heads. They have tied up with a management institute to teach trainees in six months what they learn in MBA courses in two years. The Ambanis look at initiative and individual potential rather than paper qualifications.
A SKILL THAT CAN BE LEARNT
There is a misleading belief that creativity belongs to the world of art and is a matter of talent and chance and nothing can be consciously done about it.
Lateral thinking is specifically concerned with changing preconceived notions to bring out new ideas and can be acquired and practiced as a skill. It is a special information handling process like mathematics, logical analysis or computer simulation. Thinking techniques, once mastered, can be used both individually and in a group, dispensing with brainstorming. In all the examples of lateral thinking given in this article,
unconventionality clearly comes to the fore. According to de Bono, one should be free of constraints, tradition and history in order to be creative. But that freedom is more effectively obtained by using certain deliberate techniques rather than by hoping to be free. There is a prevailing belief that structures are restrictive for creative thinking but this is not entirely true. A cup does not limit one's choice of drink, so one can consciously avoid being limited by structures and apply them to one's field.
On the lighter vein..
Lateral thinking can save your life, as illustrated in this story. Two men were on a jungle safari in Africa. Suddenly, they came across a tiger that started roaring. Both men were frightened and one of them started wearing his shoes. The other one said: "How is this going to help? We can't outrun the tiger." The first man replied: "I don't have to outrun the tiger, I only have to outrun you." :D :D
Hope this has answered some of your issues..
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Again thanks for sharing such a informative article, Lateral Thnking only open grounds for unusual practice. That is one aspect of Life as a corporate career but life has more meaning to it by it's virtue. Dhirubhai had exceptional unusal abilities to carry out the operations to defeat time and emerge as pioneer leaderof corporate.
Art may be learning method of creativity but today it's finding application in our day to day use of life and giving us new method for recognizing and breaking odd norm.
From India, Delhi
Art may be learning method of creativity but today it's finding application in our day to day use of life and giving us new method for recognizing and breaking odd norm.
From India, Delhi
Dear all,
One of the students raised this point...
Innovation by nature is the opposite of organization.
Organization thrives when everything happens in a predictable way - thus managability to the process. Innovation on the other hand is a disruptive, disjoint and unpredictable.
Thus the sprit of innovation runs against the principles of organization.
Hmm..any comments/views please?...
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
One of the students raised this point...
Innovation by nature is the opposite of organization.
Organization thrives when everything happens in a predictable way - thus managability to the process. Innovation on the other hand is a disruptive, disjoint and unpredictable.
Thus the sprit of innovation runs against the principles of organization.
Hmm..any comments/views please?...
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Good question, But Innovation is the mean to survive in today
Innovation in organization thrives true business. managing Process and procedure creates infrastructure and innovation thrives upon them.
i give you an example of international insurance company who brings in new incentive and small schemes to their Insurance Agent every fort nightly to sell insurance policies to it's customer. It looks amazing for an Insurance company to innovate in the main area of it's business and become one of leader in the market that seems to be a stale business by it's nature.
Advertising is the another area where it has it's 100 percent.
even parable's like draw a bigger line but do n't remove it ha presence of innovation.
innovation is an adjective to organization.
From India, Delhi
Innovation in organization thrives true business. managing Process and procedure creates infrastructure and innovation thrives upon them.
i give you an example of international insurance company who brings in new incentive and small schemes to their Insurance Agent every fort nightly to sell insurance policies to it's customer. It looks amazing for an Insurance company to innovate in the main area of it's business and become one of leader in the market that seems to be a stale business by it's nature.
Advertising is the another area where it has it's 100 percent.
even parable's like draw a bigger line but do n't remove it ha presence of innovation.
innovation is an adjective to organization.
From India, Delhi
Dear all,
Would like to share information on NLP as it is important source of creativity..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLP Techniques
Practitioners of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a.k.a. the "science of subjective experience", have produced a number of techniques that can be used to describe the strategies used by highly effective people.
Essentially, experts are carefully studied and analyzed (or modeled in NLP parlance) as a way to make conscious and unpack the mental strategies they used to get expert results. Once the strategies are decoded, they are the available for others to enhance their own expertise. Milton Erickson, the well known hypnotherapist, and Virginia Satir, one of the world's best known family therapist were among those who were modeled by NLP practitioners.
Interestingly, it appears that people can be modeled even after they have died! A case in point: Robert Dilts (one of the creators of NLP) recently modeled Walt Disney. He studied his writings, observed films of him doing his work and interviewed people that worked with him. From this he extracted the Disney Creativity Model, which will be briefly described below.
The basis strategy for modeling people is to either observe them while performing or to have them mentally go back to a time when they were performing extremely well, and to have them describe (while reliving a particular moment of great human performance) the thought patterns, physiology and context that supported the performance
The modeler might also choose to elicit a strategy that lead to poor performance or a failure to get the same results as a "counter model." This is done to provide a contrast that clearly points out the distinctions between the two states of "success" and "failure". NLP provides a set of linguistic and observational tools that ensure useful descriptions and models.
Walt Disney
Dilts concluded that Walt Disney moved through three distinct states when he produce his work. Dilt's called them Dreamer, Realist and Critic. Each of these three stages have a distinct physiology and thought patterns and can be consciously employed by individuals who want to improve their creative performance.
It is beyond the scope and mandate of this FAQ to elaborate any further on Dilt's work. If you want more information, consult his books: "Tools for Dreamers" and "Skills for the Future". Details are in FAQ Part 1.
Anchoring
NLP techniques are also useful to help you remember, at an instant, what psychological state you must be in to be creative. NLP practitioners can "anchor" a particular state in which you are most creative. In fact, you anchor these state yourself. Many people have to be in a certain room, or standing or walking, or in some particular context in order to be creative. The context is the anchor that reminds you mind/body to be creative.
A Demo on using NLP As An Aid to Creativity
The next time you find yourself creative, e.g. you are noticing it easy to generate a lot of ideas or you finding it easy to elaborate on an idea, notice the position of your body and observe the context in which you are operating Record as much as you can about how you "made yourself" creative. You can then use that information (the more details the better) to set the state for being creative in the future, i.e. put yourself in a matching body posture and in a similar particular context as before.
Another technique is to make a tape recording of everything that is going on in your mind and body when you are being creative. If you're with someone else, have them tell you everything they noticed you doing. (Tell them to focus on behaviors, not interpretations of the behavior, e.g. the observation "you were smiling" is not as useful as "the corners of you mouth were turning upwards"). Then, listen carefully to their report and use that information to recreate the context the next time you want to be creative.
A Caution And An Invitation
Keep in mind, the suggested activities outlined in the last two paragraphs do not, in any way, do justice to the sophistication of NLP techniques. If you're interested in NLP as a way to enhance your creative potential, read, talk with those who know a lot about NLP, and find a good trainer.
Other NLP Resources
<link outdated-removed> Web site.
NLP FAQ and Resources The home of the alt.psychology.nlp newsgroup.
. NLP and DHE Neuro-linguistic programming and design human engineering.
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Would like to share information on NLP as it is important source of creativity..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLP Techniques
Practitioners of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a.k.a. the "science of subjective experience", have produced a number of techniques that can be used to describe the strategies used by highly effective people.
Essentially, experts are carefully studied and analyzed (or modeled in NLP parlance) as a way to make conscious and unpack the mental strategies they used to get expert results. Once the strategies are decoded, they are the available for others to enhance their own expertise. Milton Erickson, the well known hypnotherapist, and Virginia Satir, one of the world's best known family therapist were among those who were modeled by NLP practitioners.
Interestingly, it appears that people can be modeled even after they have died! A case in point: Robert Dilts (one of the creators of NLP) recently modeled Walt Disney. He studied his writings, observed films of him doing his work and interviewed people that worked with him. From this he extracted the Disney Creativity Model, which will be briefly described below.
The basis strategy for modeling people is to either observe them while performing or to have them mentally go back to a time when they were performing extremely well, and to have them describe (while reliving a particular moment of great human performance) the thought patterns, physiology and context that supported the performance
The modeler might also choose to elicit a strategy that lead to poor performance or a failure to get the same results as a "counter model." This is done to provide a contrast that clearly points out the distinctions between the two states of "success" and "failure". NLP provides a set of linguistic and observational tools that ensure useful descriptions and models.
Walt Disney
Dilts concluded that Walt Disney moved through three distinct states when he produce his work. Dilt's called them Dreamer, Realist and Critic. Each of these three stages have a distinct physiology and thought patterns and can be consciously employed by individuals who want to improve their creative performance.
It is beyond the scope and mandate of this FAQ to elaborate any further on Dilt's work. If you want more information, consult his books: "Tools for Dreamers" and "Skills for the Future". Details are in FAQ Part 1.
Anchoring
NLP techniques are also useful to help you remember, at an instant, what psychological state you must be in to be creative. NLP practitioners can "anchor" a particular state in which you are most creative. In fact, you anchor these state yourself. Many people have to be in a certain room, or standing or walking, or in some particular context in order to be creative. The context is the anchor that reminds you mind/body to be creative.
A Demo on using NLP As An Aid to Creativity
The next time you find yourself creative, e.g. you are noticing it easy to generate a lot of ideas or you finding it easy to elaborate on an idea, notice the position of your body and observe the context in which you are operating Record as much as you can about how you "made yourself" creative. You can then use that information (the more details the better) to set the state for being creative in the future, i.e. put yourself in a matching body posture and in a similar particular context as before.
Another technique is to make a tape recording of everything that is going on in your mind and body when you are being creative. If you're with someone else, have them tell you everything they noticed you doing. (Tell them to focus on behaviors, not interpretations of the behavior, e.g. the observation "you were smiling" is not as useful as "the corners of you mouth were turning upwards"). Then, listen carefully to their report and use that information to recreate the context the next time you want to be creative.
A Caution And An Invitation
Keep in mind, the suggested activities outlined in the last two paragraphs do not, in any way, do justice to the sophistication of NLP techniques. If you're interested in NLP as a way to enhance your creative potential, read, talk with those who know a lot about NLP, and find a good trainer.
Other NLP Resources
<link outdated-removed> Web site.
NLP FAQ and Resources The home of the alt.psychology.nlp newsgroup.
. NLP and DHE Neuro-linguistic programming and design human engineering.
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Dear all,
Try to solve below puzzle and let me know your answers..
4 criminals are caught and are to be punished. The Judge allows them to be freed if they can solve a puzzle. If they do not, they will be hung. They agreed.
The 4 criminals are lined up on some steps (shown in picture). They are all facing in the same direction. A wall seperates the fourth man from the other three.
So to summarise :-
Man 1 can see men 2 and 3.
Man 2 can see man 3.
Man 3 can see none of the others.
Man 4 can see none of the others.
The criminals are wearing hats. They are told that there are two white hats and two black hats. The men initally don't know what colour hat they are wearing. They are told to shout out the colour of the hat that they are wearing as soon as they know for certain what colour it is.
They are not allowed to turn round or move.
They are not allowed to talk to each other.
They are not allowed to take their hats off.
Who is the first person to shout out and why?
PS: There is no trick to the question, just logical deduction
From India, Pune
Try to solve below puzzle and let me know your answers..
4 criminals are caught and are to be punished. The Judge allows them to be freed if they can solve a puzzle. If they do not, they will be hung. They agreed.
The 4 criminals are lined up on some steps (shown in picture). They are all facing in the same direction. A wall seperates the fourth man from the other three.
So to summarise :-
Man 1 can see men 2 and 3.
Man 2 can see man 3.
Man 3 can see none of the others.
Man 4 can see none of the others.
The criminals are wearing hats. They are told that there are two white hats and two black hats. The men initally don't know what colour hat they are wearing. They are told to shout out the colour of the hat that they are wearing as soon as they know for certain what colour it is.
They are not allowed to turn round or move.
They are not allowed to talk to each other.
They are not allowed to take their hats off.
Who is the first person to shout out and why?
PS: There is no trick to the question, just logical deduction
From India, Pune
The amazing success story of K B Chandrasekhar
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/26mspec.htm
July 26, 2006
The story of K B Chandrasekhar, founder-CEO, Jamcracker Inc, is highly inspirational. Especially, for all the enterprising young Indian men who desire to be successful entrepreneurs.
Chandra's journey started at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu where he was born, moving on to Trichy where he spent his early years, and then to Chennai where he did his school and college education, and finally to Silicon Valley in the United States.
It was at Silicon Valley that he struck gold. That too in a big way. It is the classic, modern-day story of a middle class young man-turned-multi-millionaire.
Chandra describes himself as "a serial entrepreneur and risk-taker who empowers others to accomplish their dream."
This is his story.
The Early Years
I come from a classic middle-class family: my grandfather, grandmother, father, mother... all living together in a joint family. Family values were strongly embedded into me as a result of this.
I was born in Kumbakonam, but was in Trichy till 1968. I did my schooling at Ramakrishna School in Chennai and then joined the Vivekananda College to do my BSc in physics because I couldn't get into engineering. In 1980, I got admission to the Madras Institute of Technology at Anna University.
I was not exposed to business of any sort, but my father, in those days, dabbled in shares. He encouraged me to have freewheeling discussions on various aspects of business. Those were the seventies, but I was given enough freedom to think freely. My parents were there all the time supporting me and encouraging me.
I didn't realise the value of it all then, but later on I understood the kind of impact those discussions had upon my thinking. More importantly, they encouraged me to take risks. In the eighties, when working in a public sector was considered safe, I was encouraged to go into a field that was uncharted, like computers.
I entered the world of computers very early, way back in 1983 when I joined Wipro. Wipro is an entrepreneurial company that gave me the opportunity to try out various things.
To the USA
In 1990, I moved to the US on a job assignment. Would I have the courage to start something on my own had I been in India? I think I would have done the same thing even if I was in India. Actually, I had packed my things to come back to India in 1992 because my wife and I decided we were going to do something on our own in Bangalore. It just happened that we got an opportunity to get started in the US itself.
What I mean is, the willingness to do something on my own has always been there. In 1983, I wrote a small business plan to create 'Casio calculator-based ticket punching machines' for bus conductors, and sent it to Casio. We even dabbled in starting companies by importing game kits from Korea and Taiwan for $1 a kit.
Somehow, those things did not click because of our middle-class background, not having the money, and also because of our inexperience.
I would have done business in India too, but probably not on the same scale. Indian companies had the benefit of time. If you look at some of the successful companies in India, you will see that it took them almost 20 years to reach the first $100 million. But when you are in the US, you don't have that luxury; you have to grow fast. The willingness to take risks was more there, and that I got because I was in the US.
I would not have had that courage if I was in India because I would have been more concerned about safety.
First venture: Fouress
When we had packed and were ready to come back to India, one of my friends at Sun Microsystems told me that he had a project. However, he wanted me to stay back and do it in the US. That was where my real entrepreneurial spirit came into play.
At that time, BFL and Mastech had just started. B V Jagadeesh, who had started BFL, was my colleague at Wipro. Jagadeesh and Sundar -- one of the founders of Mastech -- told me: 'Chandra, you do it. We will back you.'
I jumped at it with just $4,500 in my hand, and no capital. I leveraged on Jagadeesh and Sundar. We started Fouress, a software design company. I could do it because we had a great understanding, because we believed in each other and trusted each other.
We took the company from nothing to over a million dollars a year in the first two years.
I attribute my success mostly to my wife for her moral and physical support for standing by me and sacrificing everything. For several months, we used to live on basic food because we couldn't afford anything else. I need not have done it because I had an $80,000 job in my hand at that time. That means it was a self-inflicted pain, and that you cannot go through unless you are in it together.
Secondly, we were leading a nomadic life; we didn't have a car or a house. So, we were not stuck. I feel if I had gone to the US to study, I would not have done all this that quickly.
Starts Exodus Communications
By 1993-end, Jagadeesh joined me as a co-founder. We then started dreaming of building a bigger company, something that would be revolutionary. Internet had not started at that time but we started the Internet business in 1993 itself.
That means we were ahead of the times. Probably, we did not even realise the risk we were taking. By sheer chance, after we started, the Internet bloomed and we were in the right place at the right time.
Destiny and Kanwal Rekhi
I believe in destiny. Jagadeesh and I faced bankruptcy many a time; we borrowed money with no assets but we survived.
It was destiny which brought people like Kanwal Rekhi to us. He is one of the pioneer entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. He started his first company in 1982 which went public in 1987.
By chance, I happened to go to a TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs) meeting and saw Kanwal Rekhi there. There were very few people there, so after the meeting I told him, 'I want to send you a business plan.' He wrote his fax number and gave it to me. I still remember it was in May 1995.
The very next day, I sent him a five-page executive summary of my business plan. There was no news from him for three months. One day, we get a voice mail from him saying that he wanted to come and see us. That was the biggest day of our life; somebody was willing to listen to us.
He came to our office and on the first day, he ripped us apart. Yes, our naivety showed in our business plan. But he saw that we were passionate, hungry, and willing to take all kinds of risks to make our idea successful.
Over the next two months, I used to talk to him at his house till late at night about my dreams; we were like Krishna and Arjuna. I still remember how I told him on a rainy day why he needed to support me. And he did. He gave us a cheque of $250,000.
Exodus Communications went public in 1998 and became one of the most successful IPOs (initial public offerings) of that year.
Jamcracker Inc
Jamcracker Inc is a continuation of Exodus Communications. Exodus created a utility for the infrastructure, while Jamcracker's role was very simple; IT as a utility. With that simple dream, we (Chandra, along with two MBA graduates from Stanford, Herald Chen and Mark Terbeek) started Jamcracker Inc in 1999.
We struggled initially, but today Jamcracker has become a leader in on-demand IT as a utility.
For rural India
I started doing something for rural India with n-Logue because I saw a big divide between urban and rural India. The question was 'how do we ensure that the masses are able to get the benefits of IT?' I was not doing it as charity because I don't believe in charity for charity's sake.
Our 1-year-old company Akshaya -- which is doubling every quarter -- was created as a combination of communication and people on the ground. The biggest satisfaction to me is that I have been able to establish some innovative methods in how we settle payments between transactions in rural set-ups, the way we are able to aggregate smaller volumes into larger volumes, how we do branding and create a larger distribution system. We are slowly telling the farmers, 'why don't you do it this way? We can do a lot more in productivity.' My role in this is that of a fulfiller.
Indians, crabs?
Indians were referred to as 'crabs' because we were not known for helping each other. People always said two Indians would never help each other. But today whatever I am, is because of an Indian. I have been helped globally also. My first $200,000 loan was given by a Pakistani.
I always tell budding entrepreneurs; 'Don't think if you don't have money, you cannot do anything. All you need is a big dream! And the willingness to give up everything in the pursuit of that dream. Others will take a risk with you only if you are totally committed to your dream.'
Indians, cautious?
In our upbringing, we are always told, 'be careful, be careful.' Rather than, 'go, try and let there be failure.' We are a savings-oriented economy, not a spending-oriented economy. We are always worried about tomorrow. That maybe because opportunities were limited for us.
Indians, innovators?
Absolutely. Innovations were pulled back because of the system that prevented us from taking the risk. That is why when Indians go to other places they are willing to take risks. It has nothing to do with our nature; it is the environment. But it is changing quite a bit now, especially in the past five years.
I set up the Anna University-K B Chandrasekhar Research Centre and also an incubator -- at the Chrompet-based Anna University campus which is not at all flashy -- just to prove that the best brains are available here, and we are capable of producing world-beaters. The name of the incubator translating technology to commercial products is svapas (www.svapas.com).
I want to prove that Indian innovation can be marketed globally. We have a great future. My motto is, 'you be the thinker of what the world needs and not do what others tell you to do.'
Why a research centre at Anna University?
I believe that India will become the knowledge capital of the world. If that has to happen, we need world-class research. India had research but it was done within the four walls of various institutes.
Another reason why I started the centre is because of my love for my alma mater. I want to set an example that your alma mater matters and educational institutions have a larger role beyond churning out students into becoming centres of excellence for future.
And I was willing to show that with my cheque book, my time, commitment and willingness to plough through it during tough times.
We are launching the first two start-ups in the next few weeks.
Marketing
I believe this country needs strong roots in marketing for it to become a global leader. That is why I have started -- along with Dr Bala V Balachandran -- the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai.
I am establishing a chair for marketing at the Institute and as the first step, we have Dr Philip Kotler, the guru of marketing, on a one week visit to India (See: India is on a roll: An exclusive chat with Philip Kotler).
So, I am looking at everything as an ecosystem. Doing one thing and not having the follow-up will only destroy what you have done before. Everything -- education, research, marketing -- is interlinked.
Asia, a giant in IT
I believe Asia will soon be the giant in the field of IT, but at the same time we can't be complacent because you have got regions like Eastern Europe from where great innovations like Skype are coming. You will see that in the future, innovations will come not from the US alone but outside of the US also.
And, India will become a very important place for innovation.
China and India
Together, India and China will become major global players. China and India also will become competitive and also increasingly collaborative.
You will see three ecosystems developing in the future: the Asian Ecosystem, the European Ecosystem and the American Ecosystem (not North America alone, but South America too). These three ecosystems will compete and collaborate.
From India, Pune
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/26mspec.htm
July 26, 2006
The story of K B Chandrasekhar, founder-CEO, Jamcracker Inc, is highly inspirational. Especially, for all the enterprising young Indian men who desire to be successful entrepreneurs.
Chandra's journey started at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu where he was born, moving on to Trichy where he spent his early years, and then to Chennai where he did his school and college education, and finally to Silicon Valley in the United States.
It was at Silicon Valley that he struck gold. That too in a big way. It is the classic, modern-day story of a middle class young man-turned-multi-millionaire.
Chandra describes himself as "a serial entrepreneur and risk-taker who empowers others to accomplish their dream."
This is his story.
The Early Years
I come from a classic middle-class family: my grandfather, grandmother, father, mother... all living together in a joint family. Family values were strongly embedded into me as a result of this.
I was born in Kumbakonam, but was in Trichy till 1968. I did my schooling at Ramakrishna School in Chennai and then joined the Vivekananda College to do my BSc in physics because I couldn't get into engineering. In 1980, I got admission to the Madras Institute of Technology at Anna University.
I was not exposed to business of any sort, but my father, in those days, dabbled in shares. He encouraged me to have freewheeling discussions on various aspects of business. Those were the seventies, but I was given enough freedom to think freely. My parents were there all the time supporting me and encouraging me.
I didn't realise the value of it all then, but later on I understood the kind of impact those discussions had upon my thinking. More importantly, they encouraged me to take risks. In the eighties, when working in a public sector was considered safe, I was encouraged to go into a field that was uncharted, like computers.
I entered the world of computers very early, way back in 1983 when I joined Wipro. Wipro is an entrepreneurial company that gave me the opportunity to try out various things.
To the USA
In 1990, I moved to the US on a job assignment. Would I have the courage to start something on my own had I been in India? I think I would have done the same thing even if I was in India. Actually, I had packed my things to come back to India in 1992 because my wife and I decided we were going to do something on our own in Bangalore. It just happened that we got an opportunity to get started in the US itself.
What I mean is, the willingness to do something on my own has always been there. In 1983, I wrote a small business plan to create 'Casio calculator-based ticket punching machines' for bus conductors, and sent it to Casio. We even dabbled in starting companies by importing game kits from Korea and Taiwan for $1 a kit.
Somehow, those things did not click because of our middle-class background, not having the money, and also because of our inexperience.
I would have done business in India too, but probably not on the same scale. Indian companies had the benefit of time. If you look at some of the successful companies in India, you will see that it took them almost 20 years to reach the first $100 million. But when you are in the US, you don't have that luxury; you have to grow fast. The willingness to take risks was more there, and that I got because I was in the US.
I would not have had that courage if I was in India because I would have been more concerned about safety.
First venture: Fouress
When we had packed and were ready to come back to India, one of my friends at Sun Microsystems told me that he had a project. However, he wanted me to stay back and do it in the US. That was where my real entrepreneurial spirit came into play.
At that time, BFL and Mastech had just started. B V Jagadeesh, who had started BFL, was my colleague at Wipro. Jagadeesh and Sundar -- one of the founders of Mastech -- told me: 'Chandra, you do it. We will back you.'
I jumped at it with just $4,500 in my hand, and no capital. I leveraged on Jagadeesh and Sundar. We started Fouress, a software design company. I could do it because we had a great understanding, because we believed in each other and trusted each other.
We took the company from nothing to over a million dollars a year in the first two years.
I attribute my success mostly to my wife for her moral and physical support for standing by me and sacrificing everything. For several months, we used to live on basic food because we couldn't afford anything else. I need not have done it because I had an $80,000 job in my hand at that time. That means it was a self-inflicted pain, and that you cannot go through unless you are in it together.
Secondly, we were leading a nomadic life; we didn't have a car or a house. So, we were not stuck. I feel if I had gone to the US to study, I would not have done all this that quickly.
Starts Exodus Communications
By 1993-end, Jagadeesh joined me as a co-founder. We then started dreaming of building a bigger company, something that would be revolutionary. Internet had not started at that time but we started the Internet business in 1993 itself.
That means we were ahead of the times. Probably, we did not even realise the risk we were taking. By sheer chance, after we started, the Internet bloomed and we were in the right place at the right time.
Destiny and Kanwal Rekhi
I believe in destiny. Jagadeesh and I faced bankruptcy many a time; we borrowed money with no assets but we survived.
It was destiny which brought people like Kanwal Rekhi to us. He is one of the pioneer entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. He started his first company in 1982 which went public in 1987.
By chance, I happened to go to a TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs) meeting and saw Kanwal Rekhi there. There were very few people there, so after the meeting I told him, 'I want to send you a business plan.' He wrote his fax number and gave it to me. I still remember it was in May 1995.
The very next day, I sent him a five-page executive summary of my business plan. There was no news from him for three months. One day, we get a voice mail from him saying that he wanted to come and see us. That was the biggest day of our life; somebody was willing to listen to us.
He came to our office and on the first day, he ripped us apart. Yes, our naivety showed in our business plan. But he saw that we were passionate, hungry, and willing to take all kinds of risks to make our idea successful.
Over the next two months, I used to talk to him at his house till late at night about my dreams; we were like Krishna and Arjuna. I still remember how I told him on a rainy day why he needed to support me. And he did. He gave us a cheque of $250,000.
Exodus Communications went public in 1998 and became one of the most successful IPOs (initial public offerings) of that year.
Jamcracker Inc
Jamcracker Inc is a continuation of Exodus Communications. Exodus created a utility for the infrastructure, while Jamcracker's role was very simple; IT as a utility. With that simple dream, we (Chandra, along with two MBA graduates from Stanford, Herald Chen and Mark Terbeek) started Jamcracker Inc in 1999.
We struggled initially, but today Jamcracker has become a leader in on-demand IT as a utility.
For rural India
I started doing something for rural India with n-Logue because I saw a big divide between urban and rural India. The question was 'how do we ensure that the masses are able to get the benefits of IT?' I was not doing it as charity because I don't believe in charity for charity's sake.
Our 1-year-old company Akshaya -- which is doubling every quarter -- was created as a combination of communication and people on the ground. The biggest satisfaction to me is that I have been able to establish some innovative methods in how we settle payments between transactions in rural set-ups, the way we are able to aggregate smaller volumes into larger volumes, how we do branding and create a larger distribution system. We are slowly telling the farmers, 'why don't you do it this way? We can do a lot more in productivity.' My role in this is that of a fulfiller.
Indians, crabs?
Indians were referred to as 'crabs' because we were not known for helping each other. People always said two Indians would never help each other. But today whatever I am, is because of an Indian. I have been helped globally also. My first $200,000 loan was given by a Pakistani.
I always tell budding entrepreneurs; 'Don't think if you don't have money, you cannot do anything. All you need is a big dream! And the willingness to give up everything in the pursuit of that dream. Others will take a risk with you only if you are totally committed to your dream.'
Indians, cautious?
In our upbringing, we are always told, 'be careful, be careful.' Rather than, 'go, try and let there be failure.' We are a savings-oriented economy, not a spending-oriented economy. We are always worried about tomorrow. That maybe because opportunities were limited for us.
Indians, innovators?
Absolutely. Innovations were pulled back because of the system that prevented us from taking the risk. That is why when Indians go to other places they are willing to take risks. It has nothing to do with our nature; it is the environment. But it is changing quite a bit now, especially in the past five years.
I set up the Anna University-K B Chandrasekhar Research Centre and also an incubator -- at the Chrompet-based Anna University campus which is not at all flashy -- just to prove that the best brains are available here, and we are capable of producing world-beaters. The name of the incubator translating technology to commercial products is svapas (www.svapas.com).
I want to prove that Indian innovation can be marketed globally. We have a great future. My motto is, 'you be the thinker of what the world needs and not do what others tell you to do.'
Why a research centre at Anna University?
I believe that India will become the knowledge capital of the world. If that has to happen, we need world-class research. India had research but it was done within the four walls of various institutes.
Another reason why I started the centre is because of my love for my alma mater. I want to set an example that your alma mater matters and educational institutions have a larger role beyond churning out students into becoming centres of excellence for future.
And I was willing to show that with my cheque book, my time, commitment and willingness to plough through it during tough times.
We are launching the first two start-ups in the next few weeks.
Marketing
I believe this country needs strong roots in marketing for it to become a global leader. That is why I have started -- along with Dr Bala V Balachandran -- the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai.
I am establishing a chair for marketing at the Institute and as the first step, we have Dr Philip Kotler, the guru of marketing, on a one week visit to India (See: India is on a roll: An exclusive chat with Philip Kotler).
So, I am looking at everything as an ecosystem. Doing one thing and not having the follow-up will only destroy what you have done before. Everything -- education, research, marketing -- is interlinked.
Asia, a giant in IT
I believe Asia will soon be the giant in the field of IT, but at the same time we can't be complacent because you have got regions like Eastern Europe from where great innovations like Skype are coming. You will see that in the future, innovations will come not from the US alone but outside of the US also.
And, India will become a very important place for innovation.
China and India
Together, India and China will become major global players. China and India also will become competitive and also increasingly collaborative.
You will see three ecosystems developing in the future: the Asian Ecosystem, the European Ecosystem and the American Ecosystem (not North America alone, but South America too). These three ecosystems will compete and collaborate.
From India, Pune
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