"We live in an era of uncertainty. With the rapid change in policies by the Government - from regulation to deregulation, liberalization and then on to globalization, competition is mouse click away."
Disruptive technologies have invaded our lives, of which, the mobile phone is a gadget which we cannot do without in today’s world. Millions of dollars are exchanged between corporate houses to settle patent law suits like the classic case of Kodak vs Polaroid where Kodak was forced to not only pay huge sums as damage but also had to shut down a manufacturing plant and lay off about 700 workers apart from having to spend huge amounts in buying back 16 million cameras it had sold. In our own neighborhood, the case of TVS incurring huge losses due to a temporary injunction on sale of its new bike ‘Flame’ is still fresh in our minds. As per the latest news, Nokia has lost its share to Apple in the premium handsets segment.
Competition today is, therefore, not only from the same category of products but also across categories. In this scenario, innovation is the only route to success. Innovation in simple terms is the process of creating ideas and implementing them to generate value. Innovation can be on products, processes or strategies. We need to have comprehensive innovation management structure as a process to promote the culture of innovation. We need to learn to use creative tools through training and avoid myths like “I am not creative”, “that’s a stupid idea” etc., which are detrimental to creativity. Everyone needs to contribute to the business through new ideas. Instead of waiting for creative ideas to strike, we should be able to create ideas through a systematic approach.
Enterprises have also started capitalizing on ‘Open innovation’ to get ideas quickly through social networking. Cross pollination helps share knowledge among various divisions and to speed up the process of innovation.
Participating in the idea generation process through company level initiatives like the Innovation Bazaar and at group level through TATA Innoverse and TATA Innovista aids the process of Innovation. Let us work together as a team to create a culture of innovation and become “Innovation Champions” along this journey.