Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple Inc and one of the greatest innovator from the tech world, believed that innovation was the only way to win, and by no means did he just see innovation in making things more complex. An advocate of simplicity, he also reiterated, “Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” That’s why we, at GHV...
In this polytheistic world of entrepreneurs, who is the Startup Initiative for? There are many types of entrepreneurs. There is the self-employed vegetable-vendor type, the Thelawala. Then there is the small businessman in Okhla or Peenya who has grown to be in GST net. And how can one ignore the technology entrepreneur who graces the pages of ET every day . Even these tech startups come in many...
There are increasing signs of breakthroughs that could provide disproportionate returns to Tata companies. One question that I am asked frequently by companies that have launched innovation programmes is: “How do we sustain interest and commitment from employees across the company?” In other words, how do we keep up the momentum? After attending the final presentations and awards...
Every decade or so, a technology shift occurs that has an impact far beyond its original design. These groundbreaking technologies can affect industries and applications that were never conceived of by their founders. The mobile phone is an example, which morphed into the smartphone and created a massive mobile development and application industry. IoT represents such a sea change, not only in...
Trends in the US could portend the challenges India will face. Like many people, I dislike long flights, particularly since my body does not deal well with jet lag. I therefore try to avoid visiting the United States more than once a year. But every time I visit that country, I remind myself how important it is to keep in touch with what is still the powerhouse of the global economy, for that...
We live in a modern world – modern in thinking and modern in capabilities. Our scientists and engineers and technologists empower us with the future, in the present. The technologies they develop solve problems we didn’t even know existed. As individuals we aspire to stay apace with these ever advancing innovations. With its ubiquity in our everyday lives technology comprehensively occupies and...
In a highly competitive market, and one where market dynamics are changing faster than ever, innovation is the key to long-term sustainability and success. History has proven that companies that have a culture that encourages innovation stand a far better chance at sustaining their leadership position or emerging as market leaders. Harvey Firestone, an American businessman, and the founder of...
Innovation is a result of an unaddressed problem. Contrary to general perception, design process strives to find the correct problems. Solution to these form the second half of the process and which has complete dependency on the earlier, yet is more celebrated. A designer observes a given brief, studies it in the context and then identifies the problem(s). He finally calls upon his knowledge and...
The author extrapolates learnings from the last ten years of the Indian Automotive industry and makes the point that all things remaining equal, success in emerging markets depends largely on how premium a design feels in the hands and eyes of consumers. He suggests that Microsoft adopt a bold and fresh approach in the redesign of Windows 10. I have been using Microsoft Windows since 1990, i.e...
2014 has been a year of great momentum for software products in India and its going north in 2015. As the momentum picks up, thought of sharing some thoughts on a thumb rule that we can apply for products that we plan to build Picking the medical analogy, the one way of classifying where your product fits in would be when you answer if your product is a vitamin, pain killer or vaccine – and how...
