Entrepreneurship needs innovation

* Entrepreneurship needs innovation. It is creativity that will fuel this emerging revolution. Over 18% of India’s workforce is into entrepreneurship. Compare this with the 10.2% in USA. India has moved from being a brand that stands for imitation to a name in innovation. * India has filed 4,000 patents in five years. Over 100 top MNCs in India and Indian research labs are fuelling the innovator’s dream. Multinationals have even tried to patent basmati rice and 2000 year old ayurvedic drugs, while we keep dreaming of our glorious tradition. We need to wake up. * India’s youth want the world and they want it now! 54% of India’s population is now under 25. The ‘core competence of India’ is her brilliant young people. Our intellectual capital or MindsPower is our Unique Selling Proposition (USP), provided we put it to productive use. * Labor is a far more important factor of growth than Capital.

The reality test

The ‘reality test’ should now be ruthlessly applied. Once implementation starts, every move costs money. This is the last step in the thinking process and all ideas should be carefully studied. Implementing creative ideas and turning them into innovations is a special challenge. It is a process that requires a clear road map and the organizational will to stick to the path. This is where many organizations fail. An ounce of action is worth tonnes of e-mail, paper and speeches. Implementation is the key to innovation.

Apply Logical Analysis

During the process of analysis, logical, statistical and mathematical solutions have to be carefully discussed and the optimum one chosen. Some prevalent parameters are: a) Time b) Budget c) Convenience d) Human resources e) Goodwill and impact on staff motivation levels f) Aesthetics g) Saving lives h) Political capital During the process of analysis, apply left-brain thinking – logical, statistical and mathematical. Solutions have to be carefully discussed and the optimum one chosen. The solutions are analyzed against the parameters chosen by the problem owner.

Entrepreneurship needs innovation

* Entrepreneurship needs innovation. It is creativity that will fuel this emerging revolution. Over 18% of India’s workforce is into entrepreneurship. Compare this with the 10.2% in USA. India has moved from being a brand that stands for imitation to a name in innovation. * India has filed 4,000 patents in five years. Over 100 top MNCs in India and Indian research labs are fuelling the innovator’s dream. Multinationals have even tried to patent basmati rice and 2000 year old ayurvedic drugs, while we keep dreaming of our glorious tradition. We need to wake up. * India’s youth want the world and they want it now! 54% of India’s population is now under 25. The ‘core competence of India’ is her brilliant young people. Our intellectual capital or MindsPower is our Unique Selling Proposition (USP), provided we put it to productive use. * Labor is a far more important factor of growth than Capital.

Stock Your Ideas

Idea generation is a powerful tool that can be leveraged to drive innovation. In order to be successful, the idea generation program must be clear and consistent, reaching down to all levels of the organization. However, not following through on an idea generation program dooms it to failure, as can be seen in suggestion boxes that are never opened and exit interviews that are not analyzed. Successful idea generation programs are long-term and transparent. Good ideas are immediately and publicly rewarded. These programs have a greater chance of success when creativity tools are taught in advance.

Understand the Problem Indepth

Create problem banks around initial problem statements. The problem bank should be a constantly growing database of emerging problems, developed by stakeholders. The problem banks should reflect the possibility of improvement and innovation, even in processes that seem to be working perfectly well. Anyone in the organization should be able to work on these problems and solve them. In a good, dynamic organization, there should be at least a few problems, which remain unsolved and need outside help. The time to identify problems is when things are going well. The organization then has the resources and energy to find hidden problems.

Out of Box Thinking

Identifying and formulating the problem is the most difficult part of creative problem solving. Very often we state symptoms of the problems and end up wasting scarce resources chasing the illusionary “golden deer of the epics.” Management then becomes so emotionally committed to the wrong path that we can end up moving faster and faster along the wrong road. It is like a man who drills an oil well, in a bad spot. More and more money is spent with no resulting strike. But those involved, refuse to fill up the unproductive well and move on to a new location. They continue throwing good money after bad, because they do not want to admit that a mistake had been made initially. It is important to involve everyone in identifying the real problem. What is a problem for the worker need not seem like a problem for the manager.

Innovation for Success

The first step in developing an environment that nurtures creativity is to separate idea generation from analysis. Most business sessions do not yield too many breakthrough ideas because managers are too busy shooting down each other’s ideas. Such meetings produce boring, safe and often useless suggestions. Today is the age of knowledge. Innovation can take companies forward at the speed of thought. The list below outlines the process: • Identifying and Creating a Problem Bank • Idea Generation • Analysis : the gateway to solutions • Implementation: The Final Stage of the Process