| Since the last 3 years India has been the most | | | | There are various measures of innovativeness. A |
| happening market for all industries in Europe and USA. | | | | simple way to find is to look at the product, process, |
| Outsourcing all production work to India was the most | | | | system, service, or an environment the organization |
| common solution to reduce production cost. Due to this | | | | developed in one year and ask the following questions: |
| money started to flow in India and international | | | | A) Are there 5 new products that did not exist in the |
| organizations realized the potential. Last 2 years | | | | world before? |
| showed major economic explosion. This affected | | | | B) Do these 5 products fundamentally change?o The |
| Indian organizations in many ways. | | | | way company made businesso The way company |
| Indian organizations got benefited due to economic | | | | manufactured distributed or marketed the productso |
| explosion. People had enough money to buy goods | | | | The way it is used by the end user |
| and services which were of a better quality and | | | | C) Have the products solved the problem that was |
| design. Since many foreign companies were serving | | | | lasting for over a decade ? |
| goods and services of high quality and design, Indian | | | | Some designers think that a good design (example an |
| organization had to match them to survive in the | | | | ergonomically better mouse) is also an innovation. The |
| competition. They were forced to pay attention to | | | | exact difference between a better design and |
| design, quality and service. These companies | | | | innovation can be explained if you look at the following |
| eventually hired a lot of designers. Many new design | | | | briefs given to designerso Design a better mouse. |
| schools opened in India in the last two years to cater | | | | (Would definitely be a mouse)o Design a hand held |
| to this growing need of industries. | | | | input device. (Can be any input device)o Design a way |
| Things changed so fast that there remained a | | | | to give input. (may be device, may be process)o |
| fundamental flaw which is now back firing. | | | | Design an input system to do the task. (May be one or |
| Organizations hired designers but failed to use their | | | | many device)o Design an environment to do the task. |
| creative potential to the fullest. These organizations | | | | (May be one or many device or none) |
| were not ready for the fundamental changes which | | | | Not many organizations give their designers the last |
| enable designers explore and show their creative | | | | two briefs which have high probabilities of getting close |
| talent. Indian organizations are infested with hierarchy, | | | | to an incremental innovation. |
| rigid policy, strict rules, uneven power distribution and | | | | A radical innovation is still much ahead of these briefs. |
| frightful environment which are major contributions to | | | | This may cater to unsolved problems in areas where |
| kill creative ideas and motivation to work. This is | | | | there is no existing product. In those cases the briefs |
| making designers quit jobs frequently. | | | | are made from extensive trend analysis, market |
| 1) Research suggests sustained innovation and | | | | research, socio-psychological and ethnographic studies. |
| creativity demands a specific kind ofo Organization | | | | There are many ways that organization can adopt or |
| policyo Organization structureo Organization | | | | deal with this fussy front-end and develop a strategy |
| processes ando Organizational environment | | | | for innovation. |
| For any Indian organization these changes are radical | | | | What does it take to do these changes? How would it |
| change in the way it governs or makes business. | | | | affect the way organization function? What is ROI? |
| These changes are perceived as threat to the current | | | | 1) It takes major change in the way organization works |
| success, progress and optimized processes for | | | | in terms of the organization structure, process, policy |
| economical production of goods and services. | | | | and the environment. There is a systematic way to |
| Innovation and creative process in organizations is | | | | implement this change. As I told earlier that these |
| governed by managers. These managers are not | | | | changes will always be resisted and avoided in |
| designers nor do they have formal training in innovation | | | | organization, hence for successful implementation of |
| and creativity. They are more concerned about | | | | change effective communication and convincing |
| optimization of the resources, reducing the cost etc. | | | | becomes necessary apart from managing the change. |
| Research says these managers are responsible to kill | | | | 2) Companies try to adapt models of previously |
| creativity and disconnect a good idea to reach the | | | | established companies. These models may have |
| CEO. | | | | compatibility issues. They either may not suit the kind |
| Research also says no organization can survive for a | | | | of work the company does or they may face |
| long time just by reducing cost. | | | | problems related to culture, social and political |
| 2) Some companies who started recently did it right, | | | | conditions in the organization. |
| but they did not succeed in a long run because there | | | | 3) There is no limit to R.O.I of implementing innovation |
| was no system to manage the process of innovation | | | | and creativity but there are ways to work around it |
| and creativity. And why would there be? There is no | | | | and demonstrate it on sample projects. |
| institution which gives training in innovation and | | | | 4) Innovation outsourcing (different from design |
| creativity. This education is fundamentally different | | | | outsourcing) cannot solve the problem as it would get |
| from the design or design management education that | | | | expensive over a period of time and companies would |
| is given in any design schools. | | | | need to have it in-house. |
| India as of today is becoming more unattractive to | | | | 5) Innovation and creativity training would help to some |
| MNCs who are trying to come in because of increase | | | | extend but unless organization make the fundamental |
| in the salary expectations. It clearly shows that market | | | | changes, instutionalize innovation, bring it into process, |
| is going to stabilize in a few months from now leaving | | | | and consistently feed the innovation pipeline they may |
| India with no incoming money. This would continue | | | | not be able to taste the real fruits. |
| unless organizations find a sustained ways to keep the | | | | 3M, Google, give atleast 15% of time to employees to |
| money circulating. Edward De-bono says innovation | | | | work on project that they feel interesting and would |
| and creativity is the only sustained way to survive in | | | | benefit the company. |
| along run and stay ahead in competition. | | | | 3M made post-itTm from such a program and is still |
| It is time for Indian organizations to capitalize on the | | | | making 100 million dollars each year. 3M also has a |
| current economic situation and successfully | | | | policy to make 5 products every year that did not |
| instutionalize innovation and creativity. | | | | exist in market before. |
| When I first started my studies I thought this is the | | | | Google, E-bay, Amazon and Apple changed and are |
| case only with Indian organizations but recently I found | | | | the top 4 growing brands in the world. |
| that this is a typical scenario across globe. | | | | The take-away are:o Start with outsourcing Innovation. |
| Organizations in India and abroad are facing problems | | | | Hire an innovation consultant.o Train people in house in |
| either in implementation of innovation and creativity or | | | | innovation and creativity/hire designers.o Build a |
| managing innovation and creative people. | | | | innovation centre.o Mean while slowly Change. |
| Some CEO'S think that their organization does | | | | (managed) |
| innovations and is very creative at work. They tend to | | | | >Organization structure (hierarchy, power |
| confuse innovation with design. There was an | | | | distributions) |
| interesting survey done which found that the definition | | | | > Policy |
| of innovation these CEO'S made varied from gaining a | | | | > Processes |
| lot of business from the product to changing the color | | | | > Environmento Establish system for sustained |
| of product from black to blue. | | | | Innovation. |