Innovation - An inevitable tool for survival
Author : - C.P.Hariharan
Email id.: cphari_04@yahoo.co.in
Innovation is a consequence of continuous thinking. We often talk about think tanks. The IT giants like Tata Infosys, TCS, Cognizance, HCL, HP to mention a few keep on innovate. Introspection enables them to assess on a continuous and consistent basis where they are standing in relation to the competitors, where are they heading? How can they improve upon the prevailing systems and procedures?
. They entertain feedback from clients and field staff, suppliers and distributors to assess the market requirements and are very keen on observing the changes in the markets and in incorporating the changes in their product planning.
Product life cycles have been shortened like anything. It takes hardly a year for sprouting of innovative products in IT sector. There is a proliferation of products .Fruition lag is minimum.
Everybody was cherishing eating apple but nobody thought that why did it fall and did not go up when it fell from the tree. But, a new idea struck to Newton and he invented the principle of gravity of earth. Apple fell on Newton’ s head. Had the apple not fallen on his head, perhaps he would not have invented the theory of gravity .He got an external motivation to think. Instead of thinking like him, we would have grudged the falling of apple on our head and nagged like anything and accursed the apple that it got only our own head to fall upon and would have carried on with our usual business of eating.
There is a saying “Necessity is the mother of invention”.
Giraffes are said to have long necks due to the trials of reaching out to high hanging leaves. Thus, every innovation is need based.
Edison invented bulb after so much of trials and tribulations just as Alexander Fleming almost gave up all the hopes before finally zeroing in on the invention of penicillin.
JC Bose established that plants also have life cycle just like us even though much longer than human beings.
When we think, so many ideas strike to our mind. But, ideas germinate only to those who give time for thinking. We need to filter those ideas that suit the best to the situations obtaining.
Those who think earmark much of their time for thinking. They sit in seclusion for long hours and keep silence and meditate to allow the mind to relax. Only a relaxed mind can work wonders.
We need to have basic things of life like food, cloth and shelter. If we reel under insecurity, much of our time will go astray in striving and struggling like anything to bring us back to the equilibrium of equanimity. Civilization never sprouts on a sunken belly. That’s why govt. ensures mid day meal to pupil belonging to economically weaker sections in schools.
Those working in public sector have plethora of resources and time at their disposal as their basic necessities are secured. They are financially secured and they do not feel insecurity. Still, they do not contribute anything material or substantial to the world and are just whiling away their time. They get their emoluments whether they work or not as the same is not based on performance.
Those who have a knack and interest in innovation do not have time as they are trapped in earning their bare livelihood.
For innovations to materialize we need to read a lot. While Russians read a lot, many of the Indians do not have reading habit. They do not invest in books.
We need to study in depth what has already happened, only then we can think of improving upon and leap forward.
Education plays a crucial and critical role in innovation. That’s why, we see advanced countries develop like anything.
Reservations in govt. jobs act as a deterrent for making any progress. They get job just because they happen to fall in a specific category irrespective of their qualifications leaving the otherwise highly qualified deserving candidates to the oblivion. Reservations have deleterious effect on the progress of any nation as innovations happen only by sincere efforts for acquiring more knowledge and only if people are curious to learn more.
But, there is a spectacular change in the patterns of caste based voting which promotes reservation. Now that, people have become more conscious and alert and do not get carried away by the false claims and are more concerned about fast growth and development and their welfare and enhanced standards of living.
Fast developments in IT like internet have enabled the people to come closure to the world. World has become a single village.
Innovation does not happen overnight. It requires lot of efforts, research, patience and perseverance. We need to have listening power, iron will power. The more we listen, the more we acquire knowledge.
Motivation for innovation should come from within. External motivation will not have a telling effect or else will cut much ice.
We have to be different to make a difference. If we move in a routine circle, we will reach nowhere. We do not have to do different things rather we have to do things differently. That’s why Blue Dart stands out in the crowd despite there are a proliferation of courier services. There are always better ways of doing things. There are so many management techniques like MBO, Management by exception, Six sigma approach, leadership styles like managerial grid. Just learning the theories by itself by rote will not suffice. We need to know the knack of striking the hammer of applying the knowledge at the right time and place and in the right manner. Thus, application of what we have learned is more important than mere academic learning. This has been made crystal clear and reiterated in the film three idiots. Learning by rote leaves us nowhere.
A truck was stuck up under a bridge. They were trying hard to push forward the truck like anything. They just turned away a boy of age five who was standing nearby. But, he was adamant and not so deterred by their behavior. He was keenly observing them as regards what they were doing. He came out with the suggestion of releasing the air out of the wheels so that the truck could be pushed forward so easily. The great idea of the child worked wonders. Hence, how big we think matters much more than how big are we in terms of physique.
When everybody was fuming and fretting over severe traffic jams in Delhi, Dr. E Shreedharan came up with the idea of elevated metro in Delhi. Nobody had ever even dreamed of it.
Continuous innovation is mandatory for the very survival in the backdrop of shortening life cycle of products, proliferation of products and severe competition. Consumers prefer to have a lot of variety to choose from as variety is the spice of life.
The process of Innovation involves many steps like generation of ideas, screening of ideas, Concept development and testing, Development of marketing strategy, Business analysis, Product development, Test marketing, and finally commercialization. Thus, innovation is a cumbersome, labyrinthine process and is not an easy joke. It calls for a lot of investments in research and development. A cost benefit analysis needs to be done in order to decide whether to innovate or else to imitate or improve upon or rivals’ products. A judicious decision has to be arrived at after weighing the pros and cons of all the available alternatives in hand.
Innovation is not a singleton exercise. rather it is a continuous process. It hovers around how consumers behave, their behavioral patterns of preferences and prejudices for a specific product over the others, what are their expectations from a specific product, shelf life of a product, competitors’ actions etc. Those who innovate continuously will survive and others will perish definitely. Those who innovate get the fair share of the cake of market share.
Author : C.P.Hariharan
email id : cphari_04@yahoo.co.in
