innovation

Why didn’t I think of that?

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Ever wondered “Why didn’t I think of that idea?” If so, look within and ask how satisfied you were with solutions in that space.

Growing up in Mumbai, I didn’t have a strong need for a food delivery app, grocery or taxi apps. The suburbs were developed, things were within walking distance, and transport was cheap/reliable.

My family members are in the textile business. Until recently, most used carbon copy (remember that blue ink paper?) solutions for invoices. While the world was cc’ing millions in emails, these folks were happy with the smudgy, original cc.

Unless a real pain is experienced things will stay in status quo. Necessity does bring out inventions. However, you have to separate that from an artificial necessity, which can probably create interesting solutions that may not be fully adopted by the market. What separates real from artificial necessity? IMO, the answer is a meaningful pain.

It might be prudent to ask what your satisfaction index is in different areas of your life. Extend that thought to organizations, to countries, and you will find products or services that have made a real difference. The state of satisfaction can mask problems and will lead to a prolonged status quo i.e. living with the good enough. Until someone shakes you up…

Ever catch a falling pen? How about a falling soldering iron?

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Sometimes instinct can be harmful. As unnatural as it may be, there are times when its better that you don’t act right away.

During brainstorming, the problem solver’s tendency is to start solving the first idea that caught their eye. It might be better to wait, allow some “bad” ideas and let the game changer emerge.

Using a sports analogy, Innovation is sometimes a game of base hits (baseball) or singles (cricket); incremental advancements that result in a win. Get the process right, keep at it, and the results will follow.

Do you do cool work?

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We are teaching our son adjectives and how they can be used to best describe nouns. The word “cool” when associated with “work” has varied perspectives. It’s amazing how teaching kids can make one think about simple words in a new light.

Many a time, especially during brainstorming discussions, I try getting the team to pause; to deliberately reflect on the impact our solution will have on the world. We, technology enablers, are truly blessed to solve problems faced by many. From the inside it might seem like the usual but from the outside it would be super awesome. Many of my startup friends seem to miss this pause-and-reflect trick once they get caught up in the grind.

Try pausing every now and then, most definitely at home. Your work does have a meaningful impact on the society. That is my definition of cool.