Innovate to stay competitive - a speech

Sharing my recent speech on how to use simple thoughts to innovate and stay competitive.

Speech Transcript:

It was the award night ceremony at our company. I was tense and nervous because along with 4 others, I was nominated for the coveted best manager of the year award. Five of us were close colleagues and sat on the same table eagerly waiting for the announcement. Everyone wished good luck to each other wearing their best smiles. Finally, the announcement was made and I was not the winner. The winner lifted the trophy amidst rapturous applause while we, the 4 losers drowned ourselves in copious amount of whisky at a pub. After drinking, all losers suddenly became best friends, we blamed the system and shared with each other how we felt from the bottom of our heart that one of us should have been the winner.

Later, I realized…..on that day we completely missed one point – the winner did things differently, he was an innovator.

Today I will discuss why innovation is no more just a “good to do” thing….but innovation is a must to stay competitive.

Why is innovation so necessary to stay competitive?

Because, more and more people are getting good education, there’s an explosion of free access to information, people are becoming more ambitious resulting in a situation where most of the things are equal among individuals……except the ability to innovate also called divergent thinking.

Now, Let us find out what should we do to innovate…

First let us understand the difference between creativity and innovation. Most of the time we use the words interchangeably but they are different. Creativity is the raw thought or idea that comes without being logical whereas innovation is the implementation of the idea and bringing it to a logical conclusion.

Mankind is designed to think creatively. Researchers believe that an average person gets around 50 to 70000 thoughts per day. I believe there are 3 primary kinds of thoughts – What, Why and How, most of the time we get “what” thoughts – for example…

What are the new concepts?

What is my role?

These thoughts are also triggers for creativity.  

The “why” thoughts are of two types – “bad why” and “good why”. Bad whys are all the negative thoughts…..for example….

“Why my salary is lesser than his?”

“Why should I do so much work?”

“Why my boss is not happy with me?”

But the “good whys” makes you challenge the obvious and helps your mind to explore. For example…

“Why do we always do it manually when this can be automated?”

“Why I am not losing weight even after dieting?”

We also get “How” thoughts – they are rare but these thoughts helps us analyze. We should always try to invoke this thought. For example…

“How can I improve sales?”

“How can I write better?”

“How can I reach my goal?”

You must have noticed that in all the examples I have used the word “I” because thoughts are always your own. For example….If your subordinate is coming late to office, you get a thought “Why is he coming late?” but once you ask the question to your subordinate “why are you late?” then it is no more a thought, it’s an action. We don’t want action during the idea generation stage. Just open the window of your mind and let the ideas come in freely.

Once you have generated enough ideas, you can start testing them to give shape to your innovation.

To sum up - encourage yourself to think, nurture the positive thoughts and stay competitive.

Remember, the sunshine you see was created millions of years ago in the sun’s core, it took millions of years for the sunshine to travel from the core to the surface of the sun and it reaches you in just 8 minutes.

Start preparing yourself and one day you will become the shining star.

World's first 3D Pen

Writing and painting had always been 2 dimensional. But things are about to change with 3Doodler around. This amazing innovation doesnt really look like a pen, but can be used like a pen to create 3D writing or drawing. Instead of ink the this Pen uses plastic strands. This innovation melts the plastic strand when the device is switched on, the melted palstic comes out of the other end of the device allowing users to give a third dimension to their imagination. This device can prove very handy for a lot of creative work for various kinds of designers. I think this should also help school teachers who wants to explain 3 dimensional things innovatively.

World's first animated T-Shirts

Morph Costume has introduced amazing range of animated T-Shirts. Its an innovation that combines smart phone apps with great looking fancy t-shits. The world's first smart phone animated t-shirt is designed by a NASA scientist who quits his job to create these awesome Halloween costumes. Have a look...

Rearrange to generate new ideas

Some restaurants are rearranged to get the customers to pay first and then have food. Editing in movies is done by rearranging shots and footages to make the movie more entertaining. “Rearrange” can be used as an innovation tool to identify possibilities of changing set patterns and realigning it to explore various solutions. Let us take the example of Olympic rings.

Olympic rings were designed by a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1912; he is also the founder of International Olympics committee. The five multicoloured rings stand for five continents, the interlocking signifies unity between the nations. The five colours and the white background of Olympic rings have at least one colour of every nation’s flag in them.

Now, without changing the meaning and spirit of the rings, think of various ring arrangements. Some questions which can help us to change the pattern are as follows:

Why two rings at the bottom? Why there are gaps between the top three rings? Some people could think of as many as 20 different ring arrangements.

Computer keyboard used by us is a good example of problem solving by rearrangement. In 1860s the typewriter keys were in alphabetical order but it had problems with fast typing. Letters used to get tangled and the typist had to manually untangle the type bars. To solve the problem keys were rearranged in QWERTY format (it is the sequence of the keys) to facilitate fast typing. QWERTY is designed for English language after a lot of research. Layout of computer keyboard is rearranged according to the country where it is used. QWERTY layout is the most commonly used. QWERTZ layout is widely used in Germany and much of Central Europe, AZERTY layout is used in France and Belgium.

Ask any hotelier and they will tell you the importance of rearranging buffet tables to suit the occasion. Cricket teams are rearranged according to the playing conditions. Shopping malls rearrange their layout to enhance customer convenience. Can you think of anything else which you can improve by rearranging?  

Innovation through substitution

A brand of shampoo was cleverly advertised in Frankfurt, Germany. They substituted bus handles with artificial hair plait hanging from the bus rods. Commuters held onto the plait (with the product mentioned on it) as they stood inside the bus.

Have you ever experienced eating in a completely dark restaurant? A restaurant in London replaced waiters with normal vision with blind waiters. Turned the restaurant into a dark restaurant where guests are completely dependent on their blind guides as they enjoy the delicious cuisine. That’s adventurous, isn’t it?

Chewing gum was discovered while experimenting to find a substitute for rubber. Thomas Adams Sr. was experimenting on chicle, (a natural gum from Manilkara tree) with which he tried to make toys, masks and rain boots but could not succeed. Sitting in his workshop one day, tired and discouraged, he popped a piece of surplus stock into his mouth. Soon after, in 1870 he opened his factory making chewing gums - Adams New York No.1.William White introduced flavour in chewing gum in 1880. The first flavour he used was peppermint.

According to World Health Organization, 1 billion adults are overweight. Mismatch between calorie intake and exercise leads to obesity which is the root cause of various kinds of diseases. Inventors have found out a substitute for cream which can cut down calorie intake allowing people to live a healthier life.

Candles create a bit of mess with melting wax falling around it. Can we substitute wax with something which can solve this problem? Remember, we are not talking about electrical candles, poor people can’t afford them and they are the ones who use candles the most. Do a research on your own and try to find a solution.

Innovation through modification

How can we modify a product with the help of a new colour, form or shape? New models of car and bike keep hitting the market almost every week. Two wheeler and automobile manufacturers use the modification technique constantly to upgrade their product with a new look or design. Modern homes and offices are dotted with innovative modified furniture marking a new beginning in luxury and lifestyle.

Packaging of products is modified to retain the freshness of the products, to facilitate better usage of the product or to make it look more attractive. The concept of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is used in some countries to increase the shelf life of fresh food products. The modification process uses a gas mix inside the packaging to keep the food fresh.

Innovation through modification has taken giant leaps in the field of genetically modified animals. Scientists are experimenting on creation of animals for producing medicine and organs for transplant which could benefit mankind. Some researchers are trying to develop genetically modified mosquitoes to eradicate malaria. Same has been done for crops; scientists have genetically modified sweet corn so that it produces a poison which kills harmful insects, the farmers does not require insecticides to fight insects.

Kaizen is a concept developed by the Japanese to encourage small improvements on a regular basis. It is implemented in organisations to improve everything related to the organisation; it can range from a business process to a production process. These changes are brought about by making small modifications in daily activities, the cumulative effect of which is quite remarkable when reviewed over a period of time.

The concept of Kaizen can be applied to our daily lives as well. We can try to make small modifications to improve whatever we do. Think of enhancing concentration which would help in studies and job, a little bit of exercise daily can keep us healthy and energetic. The way we study or do our job can also be improved through modifications.

So, try to innovate by modifying.

Innovate by using Magnification as a technique

Anything magnified always catches our attention. We are mesmerised by the architectural brilliance exhibited by the Taj Mahal, the Egyptian pyramids and the Titanic. New benchmarks in innovation are created when people try to achieve such brilliance. Magnification can be used as a useful tool for creative thinking.

Roger Bacon magnified human vision through a magnifying glass, the innovation which paved the way for invention of instruments like telescope and microscope. Audio amplifier is an example of magnifying the volume of sound. Hearing aid is a great innovative device which amplifies sound for people having hearing problem. These great inventors used the concept of magnification to overcome the limitation of humans associated with sight and sound. Do you know about the bladeless fan? It looks like a circular ring mounted on a vertical rod. It’s a great innovation called Dyson fans which use air multiplier technology to draw in air and amplify it, with no blades or grille they are safe and easy to clean.

Have you tried putting thread into a needle? I tried it a few times during my hostel days and got frustrated trying to push the thread through the small, almost invisible hole. An innovative needle with an adjustable hole would be of great help for people like me. Magnify the hole, put the thread in, then close the hole and start sewing.

The concept of malls is amplification of a shop, multiplexes magnified the concept of cinema halls, and cricket matches were never as big as Indian Premium League. The modern concept of entertainment, luxury and lifestyle are innovative magnification of traditional concepts. Location is no more a constraint for getting education. The concept of delivering education has been magnified to reach a wider audience. Education through internet and distant learning programs enables students to acquire knowledge even from foreign universities.

Try to magnify a concept which you like – probably an International College Fest and imagine the way you can make it a reality. Thinking is fun, so just enjoy it.

Innovate by finding new uses of existing products

This aspect of innovation had been a part of our evolution process. Right from the beginning of mankind, human beings have found out multiple uses for stone, trees and animal skin. Innovative minds keep exploring new uses of existing products.

Plants are used for decorating homes and offices. It is used as building material for making thatched roofs and cover walls, some plants are used as broom. The hollow stems of some plants are used as breathing stems to allow people to remain underwater. New window of opportunities open up the more we innovate.

During the Second World War Americans were exploring ways for inventing a substitute for rubber. James Wright, an employee in General Electric, invented a strange gooey mass by adding boric acid to silicon oil. It was considered completely useless since it could not serve any practical purpose. Several companies initiated efforts to find a practical use for the product. Everyone gave up. A toymaker called Peter Hodgson found it interesting and put the product into a new use - making of toys, thus Silly Putty was born. It became the most popular toys of all time. The invention which seemed to be useless in the beginning is also used by astronauts to hold pens and tools in their weightless environment.

During a visit to his family’s village near Pune,India, Mr. Santosh Ostwal saw his grandfather walk a mile every midnight to switch on the pump to ensure proper water supply in the farm. His deep desire to help his grandfather kept him thinking while he was studying engineering. After completing his engineering he worked out ways to find a solution and has to go through a lot of struggle and poverty in his pursuit to innovate. At last he came up with a solution which is saving water and helping farmers avoid several tiring, dangerous long walks a day.

His solution – a mobile phone adaptation that triggers irrigation pumps remotely. Villagers were surprised to know about the new use of mobile phone and so were the audience in Barcelona where Mr. Ostwal showed how he can control an electric pump with a mobile phone. He named the device “Nano Ganesh” which won the award in Nokia’s Mobile Innovation Contest in Barcelona and is now being used in Egypt and Australia.

Use ELIMINATION as an innovation technique

Elimination as an innovation tool is mostly used to control production or operational costs. Without affecting the quality of output, redundant functions and processes are reviewed and eliminated. Innovation comes into play to keep the quality of output in control.

Waste elimination is an important activity for every organisation. Controlling the wastage of small things like paper, electricity and other resources saves costs and adds to the profitability of the organisation. A Japanese company, Sanwa Newtec’s innovative printer use neither ink nor paper, it uses special thermal head and plastic sheets to print and erase document. You don’t have to discard the entire sheet for a small mistake, just put it back in the printer and it erases the ink and the sheet can be reused for printing. The need to eliminate paper and ink would have triggered the thought of such innovation.

Wireless devices has eliminated the use of wire, automation eliminates the use of human labour. The need to eliminate a tedious process or practice has lead to several innovations. Ball point pens eliminated the process of filling up ink from bottle. Some two wheelers start only with a self starter, the process of kicking and starting the vehicle has been totally eliminated. Such innovations open up new markets, like a self starter made it convenient for ladies to use two wheelers. Standing behind fifty people to get your railway reservation could be avoided by using the online reservation system. In mechanical clocks and watches there was a need of winding up the spring at least once in a day to store up potential energy. With the introduction of quartz technology powered by small batteries, the process got automated. Video conferencing eliminates the process of travelling and we don’t need television antennas anymore.

Elimination could be used as a tool to design low cost variants of products and services. All products and services could be purchased at different price levels. The variants with a low price tag would carry less features and benefits. Innovative minds manage to keep the “value for money” perception of the product even at lower price.

“No-frills” in this context means elimination of non-essential items to keep the price low. No-frills airlines might eliminate complementary drinks, snacks, in-flight entertainment system and compensate it with high quality customer service. No- frills supermarkets, found in many countries, do not decorate aisles and shelves, instead they would place pallets of the products along side the aisles. Such markets would think of innovative procurement policies to give high quality product at the lowest rate. Similarly, no-frills automobiles try to cater to the mass by offering especially designed cars.

Use innovation to fight poverty

“All human lives have equal value”, yet the majority of them live like creatures designed to perish by default. This You Tube video is an eye opener and a trigger for infinite thoughts about people and poverty. This video is the reason for writing this post because I believe a lot can improve through innovation at the grass root level. Though there are many aspects of poverty, in this post I have discussed some of the aspects which would directly affect survival.

Electricity: 24% of the world population have no electricity. India has more than 400 million people with no electricity. The people worst affected are in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India. It’s hard to believe that a country which is considered one of major economies in Asia and the world have so many people living in the dark. Some fresh thinkers took the initiative of lighting up the lives of these poor villagers. They have found out a way of generating electricity from rice husks for feeding power into thousands of household spread across several villages. This fast growing electricity company called Husk Power System has shown the world that we don’t need rocket science to alleviate poverty through innovation. Effective application of old ideas and great execution can do the trick.

Safe water supply: 33% of the world population have no access to safe water supply and 6000 people die from water borne diseases every day. A simple flute like instrument can bring about a lot of change. It’s called the Life Straw which completely purifies water when sucked through the straw. It is extremely portable and can be hung around the neck like a pen. Priced at around $3.50 it should be affordable for millions staying in the developing world and waiting for the boon to reach them. In another innovation in Kenya people are using specially designed chlorine dispensers to treat contaminated water after it has been collected from inappropriate sources.

Sanitation: 63% of the world population have inadequate sanitation leading to contamination of water and water borne diseases. Some great initiatives by Bill and Melinda Gates foundation paved the way for innovative sanitation solutions for people living in extremely unhealthy condition in developing countries. They are trying to make a difference to millions living in poverty by driving projects which explores innovations in toilet technology. Challenged by poor sanitation, people in rural Africa started constructing Elephant Toilets, it allows people to defecate in an enormously deep and wide pit. The top of the pit has a concrete slab with a whole. The pit is surrounded with a proper enclosure to maintain complete privacy. That’s clever thinking from poor people who hardly get proper nutrition for their body and mind.

Malnutrition and starvation: 50% of the world population suffers from malnutrition and lot of them dies of starvation. Now let us look at some food wastage statistics.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the amount of food getting lost or wasted every year is a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes which is one third of the food produced in the world. The statistics shows that developed nations waste as much food as the entire food production of Sub-Saharan Africa. To me this is a real eye opener. It shows lack of public awareness about food wastage. The same food would have saved all people dying of starvation and given a better life to people suffering with malnutrition. Awareness campaigns to control food wastage have been initiated in some countries and we can only hope it becomes successful in creating the awareness. Reducing food wastage to fight poverty is not an innovation but “simple common sense”.

Innovation in a competitive environment

Innovation is the most potent weapon to counter any kind of competition. The same is true for individuals as well as organizations. In a competitive environment we find two different sets of people – reactive and proactive. Let us see what kind of results we get when we map them against – High Risk taking ability and Low Risk taking ability. Risk appetite is closely related to innovation. Let me clarify that risk taking ability does not mean financial soundness; it is just the state of mind I am referring to. Now, consider the following in a competitive environment:

Quadrant A:

Individuals or organizations in quadrant A look for opportunities which have a successful track record. These people are not very innovative but pick up successful innovations pretty fast and often race to success due to their higher risk appetite. When the first Bigbazaar (shopping mall) opened in India, people doubted its viability but its huge success prompted a lot of other entrepreneurs to jump into the retail bandwagon. Now Retail is a huge industry in India.

Quadrant B:

People in quadrant B are the most successful in a competitive environment because of their proactive nature and high risk taking ability. Being proactive is one of the essential traits of an innovator; this also includes intuitiveness and vision. Their high risk taking ability allows them to pursue their dream; they take the First Mover Advantage and out-smart competition by far. Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder of Bharti Enterprises, was the first person to introduce the push buttons phones in India. He saw the phones in a trade fair in Taiwan and immediately signed up an agreement which eventually lead to the roll out of Beetel range of phones in India. It is his proactive and intuitive nature which helped him to identify the need for such phones back in his country and his high risk appetite supported his instincts.

Quadrant C:

They are the last person to accept innovation. Fear of defeat prevents them from accepting new challenges. Their low appetite for risk keeps them away from anything which has not been endorsed by millions of people. These people suffer the most in a competitive environment and are generally not open to new ideas.

Quadrant D:

People in this quadrant are extremely receptive to innovation but takes calculated risks. They would generally look for low investment innovative business ideas or explore new challenges as a hobby. Some of these people generally carry entrepreneurial desires seeded deep inside them. This kind of people gets average success in a competitive environment in the beginning but always carries the potential to change the rules of the game.

Relation between Creativity, Execution and Innovation

Mark Twain quoted “The man with a new idea is a crank until the ideas succeeds”. An average idea with great execution succeeds better than a great idea with average execution. Successful execution of the idea is innovation.

VijayGovindrajan, Professor at Tuck School of Business,defines innovation as a function of creativity and execution where innovation is equal to creativity multiplied by execution. If one of them is zero, then innovation is zero. This is the most convincing definition I have come across which clarified my doubt about these two words – innovation and creativity. They are very different yet used interchangeably by most of us.

Execution is the framework which includes planning, implementation, reviewing and action. The person executing the idea could be an inventor or a first time entrepreneur but the process remains the same. Yet there are challenges which will give enough opportunities to get discouraged. Execution also requires great patience. For organizations, execution of new ideas is a bigger challenge primarily because of resistance to change and acceptance of new idea by people in the organization.

ITC’s International Business Division conceived one of greatest ideas impacting and enriching the lives of 3.5 million farmers in India. The e-choupal or village internet kiosks give farmers access to a wide range of information which would help them in growing better quality crops to be sold to ITC at the best possible price. The execution of the creative idea eliminated the need for intermediaries which reduced net cost of procurement and eliminated costs in supply chain. The initiative was inundated with several challenges like infrastructure and training the first time internet users but all challenges were overcome due to some top class execution making the innovation a grand success.

The IPod with 5 GB memory was marketed as “1000 songs in your pocket” – that is the Steve Jobs way of execution. I feel the greatest strength of Steve jobs is his simplicity which reflects in his execution style. The lesson learnt here is making the big plan simple to increase its acceptance which enhances quality of execution.