some of them tricky and would be dificult whose is unfamilar with structured lateral thinking practices. do n’t we need some clues please.. umalme
From India, Delhi
12From India, Delhi
Hi,
Just one clue.... don't think the way you normally do... as mentioned by rajat... look at it from a different perspective...
Come on!! they are easy... just don't be logical... it wont work otherwise. Take your own time. This is not a one minute test :lol:
Anuradha
From India, Pune
Just one clue.... don't think the way you normally do... as mentioned by rajat... look at it from a different perspective...
Come on!! they are easy... just don't be logical... it wont work otherwise. Take your own time. This is not a one minute test :lol:
Anuradha
From India, Pune
Hi Folks,
Just came across a Book A whole New World by Daniel Pink.
According to him the future of work belongs to the right brained!!...all those who are passionate,creative ,avant-garde thinkers and innovators are poised to dominate the world!!..
Excerpts of the book
Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That's what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of "left brain" dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which "right brain" qualities-inventiveness, empathy, meaning-predominate. That's the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times.
In the tradition of Emotional Intelligence and Now, Discover Your Strengths, Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes to excel. A Whole New Mind reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, and includes a series of hands-on exercises culled from experts around the world to help readers sharpen the necessary abilities. This book will change not only how we see the world but how we experience it as well.
The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind – computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.
This book describes a seismic – though as yet undetected – shift now underway in much of the advanced world. We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computer-like capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age. A Whole New Mind is for anyone who wants to survive and thrive in this emerging world – people uneasy in their careers and dissatisfied with their lives, entrepreneurs and business leaders eager to stay ahead of the next wave, parents who want to equip their children for the future, and the legions of emotionally astute and creatively adroit people whose distinctive abilities the Information Age has often overlooked and undervalued.
In this book, you will learn the six essential aptitudes — what I call “the six senses”—on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. These are fundamentally human aptitudes that everyone can master—and helping you do that is my goal.
****
A change of such magnitude is complex. But the argument at the heart of this book is simple. For nearly a century, western society in general, and American society in particular, has been dominated by a form of thinking and an approach to life that is narrowly reductive and deeply analytical. Ours has been the age of the “knowledge worker,” the well-educated manipulator of information and deployer of expertise. But that is changing. Thanks to an array of forces—material abundance that is deepening our nonmaterial yearnings, globalization that is shipping white-collar work overseas, and powerful technologies that are eliminating certain kinds of work altogether—we are entering a new age. It is an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life—one that prizes aptitudes that I call “high concept” and “high touch.” High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.
As it happens, there’s a convenient metaphor that encapsulates the change I’m describing—and it’s right inside your head. Your brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is sequential, textual, and analytical. The right hemisphere is simultaneous, contextual, and synthetic. Of course, we enlist both halves of our brains for even the simplest tasks. And the respective traits of the two hemispheres have often been caricatured well beyond what the science actually reveals. But the legitimate scientific differences between the two hemispheres of the brain do yield a powerful metaphor for interpreting our present and guiding our future. Today, the defining skills of the previous era—the metaphorically “left brain” capabilities that powered the Information Age—are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous—the metaphorically “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning—increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders. For individuals, families, and organizations, professional success and personal fulfillment now require a whole new mind. ”
Reviews
"Thought-provoking moments abound . . . Since Pink's last big idea (Free Agent Nation) has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations, expect just as much buzz around his latest theory."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Long on readable analysis and exercises to build [right brain] skills. For soon-to-be liberal-arts grads, it's an encouraging graduation gift."
-- Newsweek
"An audacious and powerful work."
-- Miami Herald
"Pink . . . has crafted a profound read."
-- Booklist
"Right on the money. . . If Daniel Pink is correct about the 21st-century workforce, then all those college majors that cause parents to grimace (art history? philosophy?) will gain newfound acceptance."
-- US News and World Report
"A breezy, good humored read . . . For those wishing to give their own creative muscles [a] workout, the book is full of exercises and resources."
-- Harvard Business Review
"Well-researched and delightfully well-written . . . laced with humor and profound insights . . . Pink has done a masterful job using both sides of his brain."
-- Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
"Will give you a new way to look at your work, your talent, your future."
-- Worthwhile magazine
"Guides readers with memorable anecdotes, convincing dollops of research and a slew of practical tips."
-- Globe and Mail
"This book is a miracle. On the one hand, it provides a completely original and profound analysis of the most pressing personal and economic issue of the days ahead -- how the gargantuan changes wrought by technology and globalization are going to impact the way we live and work and imagine the world. Then Dan Pink provides an equally profound and original and practical guidebook for survival -- and joy -- in this topsy-turvy environment. I was moved and disturbed and exhiliarated all at once."
-- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and Re-Imagine!
"A very important, convincingly argued, and mind-altering book."
-- Po Bronson, author of What Should I Do With My Life?
"Brilliant! Left brain, right brain, whole brain -- I love Dan Pink's brain. Read this book. Even more important, give this book to your children. They need to learn to think like Pink!"
-- Alan Webber, Founding Editor of Fast Company
"Wow! This is not a self-help book. It's way more important than that. It's one of those rare books that marks a turning point, one of those books you wish you read before everyone else did. Once again, Dan Pink nails it."
-- Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside
Get a copy fast ...
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Just came across a Book A whole New World by Daniel Pink.
According to him the future of work belongs to the right brained!!...all those who are passionate,creative ,avant-garde thinkers and innovators are poised to dominate the world!!..
Excerpts of the book
Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That's what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of "left brain" dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which "right brain" qualities-inventiveness, empathy, meaning-predominate. That's the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times.
In the tradition of Emotional Intelligence and Now, Discover Your Strengths, Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes to excel. A Whole New Mind reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, and includes a series of hands-on exercises culled from experts around the world to help readers sharpen the necessary abilities. This book will change not only how we see the world but how we experience it as well.
The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind – computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.
This book describes a seismic – though as yet undetected – shift now underway in much of the advanced world. We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computer-like capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age. A Whole New Mind is for anyone who wants to survive and thrive in this emerging world – people uneasy in their careers and dissatisfied with their lives, entrepreneurs and business leaders eager to stay ahead of the next wave, parents who want to equip their children for the future, and the legions of emotionally astute and creatively adroit people whose distinctive abilities the Information Age has often overlooked and undervalued.
In this book, you will learn the six essential aptitudes — what I call “the six senses”—on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. These are fundamentally human aptitudes that everyone can master—and helping you do that is my goal.
****
A change of such magnitude is complex. But the argument at the heart of this book is simple. For nearly a century, western society in general, and American society in particular, has been dominated by a form of thinking and an approach to life that is narrowly reductive and deeply analytical. Ours has been the age of the “knowledge worker,” the well-educated manipulator of information and deployer of expertise. But that is changing. Thanks to an array of forces—material abundance that is deepening our nonmaterial yearnings, globalization that is shipping white-collar work overseas, and powerful technologies that are eliminating certain kinds of work altogether—we are entering a new age. It is an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life—one that prizes aptitudes that I call “high concept” and “high touch.” High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.
As it happens, there’s a convenient metaphor that encapsulates the change I’m describing—and it’s right inside your head. Your brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is sequential, textual, and analytical. The right hemisphere is simultaneous, contextual, and synthetic. Of course, we enlist both halves of our brains for even the simplest tasks. And the respective traits of the two hemispheres have often been caricatured well beyond what the science actually reveals. But the legitimate scientific differences between the two hemispheres of the brain do yield a powerful metaphor for interpreting our present and guiding our future. Today, the defining skills of the previous era—the metaphorically “left brain” capabilities that powered the Information Age—are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous—the metaphorically “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning—increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders. For individuals, families, and organizations, professional success and personal fulfillment now require a whole new mind. ”
Reviews
"Thought-provoking moments abound . . . Since Pink's last big idea (Free Agent Nation) has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations, expect just as much buzz around his latest theory."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Long on readable analysis and exercises to build [right brain] skills. For soon-to-be liberal-arts grads, it's an encouraging graduation gift."
-- Newsweek
"An audacious and powerful work."
-- Miami Herald
"Pink . . . has crafted a profound read."
-- Booklist
"Right on the money. . . If Daniel Pink is correct about the 21st-century workforce, then all those college majors that cause parents to grimace (art history? philosophy?) will gain newfound acceptance."
-- US News and World Report
"A breezy, good humored read . . . For those wishing to give their own creative muscles [a] workout, the book is full of exercises and resources."
-- Harvard Business Review
"Well-researched and delightfully well-written . . . laced with humor and profound insights . . . Pink has done a masterful job using both sides of his brain."
-- Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
"Will give you a new way to look at your work, your talent, your future."
-- Worthwhile magazine
"Guides readers with memorable anecdotes, convincing dollops of research and a slew of practical tips."
-- Globe and Mail
"This book is a miracle. On the one hand, it provides a completely original and profound analysis of the most pressing personal and economic issue of the days ahead -- how the gargantuan changes wrought by technology and globalization are going to impact the way we live and work and imagine the world. Then Dan Pink provides an equally profound and original and practical guidebook for survival -- and joy -- in this topsy-turvy environment. I was moved and disturbed and exhiliarated all at once."
-- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and Re-Imagine!
"A very important, convincingly argued, and mind-altering book."
-- Po Bronson, author of What Should I Do With My Life?
"Brilliant! Left brain, right brain, whole brain -- I love Dan Pink's brain. Read this book. Even more important, give this book to your children. They need to learn to think like Pink!"
-- Alan Webber, Founding Editor of Fast Company
"Wow! This is not a self-help book. It's way more important than that. It's one of those rare books that marks a turning point, one of those books you wish you read before everyone else did. Once again, Dan Pink nails it."
-- Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside
Get a copy fast ...
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Hi Friends
This article is really worth reading.
Thanks Rajat.
Please find an attachment on Lateral Thinking Presentation by EDward DE Bono. I came across this ppt on the website, found useful.
Vikrant
This article is really worth reading.
Thanks Rajat.
Please find an attachment on Lateral Thinking Presentation by EDward DE Bono. I came across this ppt on the website, found useful.
Vikrant
Brain researchers explain why old habits die hard
---------------------------------------------------------
Habits help us through the day, eliminating the need to strategize about each tiny step involved in making a frothy latte, driving to work and other complex routines. Bad habits, though, can have a vise grip on both mind and behavior. Notoriously hard to break, they are devilishly easy to resume, as many reformed smokers discover.
A new study in the Oct. 20 issue of Nature, led by Ann Graybiel of MIT's McGovern Institute, now shows why. Important neural activity patterns in a specific region of the brain change when habits are formed, change again when habits are broken, but quickly re-emerge when something rekindles an extinguished habit -- routines that originally took great effort to learn.
"We knew that neurons can change their firing patterns when habits are learned, but it is startling to find that these patterns reverse when the habit is lost, only to recur again as soon as something kicks off the habit again," said Graybiel, who is also the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS).
The patterns in question occur in the basal ganglia, a brain region that is critical to habits, addiction and procedural learning. Malfunctions in the basal ganglia occur in Parkinson's disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and many neuropsychiatric disorders.
In the Graybiel experiments, rats learned that there was a chocolate reward at one end of a T-maze. When the rats were learning, the neurons were active throughout the maze run, as if everything might be important. As the rats learned which cues (audible tones) indicated which arm of the maze led to the chocolate, the neurons in the basal ganglia learned, too.
After the rats had thoroughly learned the cues, the neurons interested in the task fired intensely at the most salient parts of the task -- the beginning and the end. But these neurons became quiet as the rats ran through the familiar maze, as if exploiting their knowledge to focus on efficiently finding the reward. Other "disinterested" neurons became quiet during the maze run, perhaps so as not to bother the critical neural signals.
Then the researchers removed the reward, making the cues meaningless. This change in training made everything in the maze became relevant again, and the neurons reverted to chattering throughout the run. The rats eventually stopped running (gave up the habit), and the new habit pattern of the brain cells disappeared. But as soon as the researchers returned the reward, the learned neural pattern, with the beginning and ending spikes, appeared again.
First author Terra Barnes, a BCS graduate student, and BCS research scientist Dan Hu led the animal training. Dezhe Jin, an MIT affiliate and an assistant professor of physics at Pennsylvania State University, led the data analysis along with Graybiel and Yasuo Kubota, a research scientist in Graybiel's lab.
"We tried to simulate the learning and forgetting of a habit," Kubota said. "If a learned pattern remains in the brain after the behavior is extinguished, maybe that's why it's so difficult to change a habit."
"It is as though somehow, the brain retains a memory of the habit context, and this pattern can be triggered if the right habit cues come back," Graybiel said. "This situation is familiar to anyone who is trying to lose weight or to control a well-engrained habit. Just the sight of a piece of chocolate cake can reset all those good intentions."
Graybiel speculates the beginning and ending spike patterns reflect the nature of a routine behavior: Once we start, we run on autopilot -- until we stop. Certain disorders hint at the potential importance of those spikes. Parkinson's patients, for instance, have difficulty starting to walk, and obsessive-compulsive people have trouble stopping an incessant activity.
"We are hopeful that this may be a key to understanding how to treat bad habits like addiction, and also how to encourage good habits that benefit health and happiness," Graybiel said. "We think that these patterns will also help researchers to understand the fundamental problems in disorders such as Parkinson's disease, OCD and Tourette syndrome."
The National Institutes of Health and the Office of Naval Research supported this research.
Thanks
umalme
From India, Delhi
---------------------------------------------------------
Habits help us through the day, eliminating the need to strategize about each tiny step involved in making a frothy latte, driving to work and other complex routines. Bad habits, though, can have a vise grip on both mind and behavior. Notoriously hard to break, they are devilishly easy to resume, as many reformed smokers discover.
A new study in the Oct. 20 issue of Nature, led by Ann Graybiel of MIT's McGovern Institute, now shows why. Important neural activity patterns in a specific region of the brain change when habits are formed, change again when habits are broken, but quickly re-emerge when something rekindles an extinguished habit -- routines that originally took great effort to learn.
"We knew that neurons can change their firing patterns when habits are learned, but it is startling to find that these patterns reverse when the habit is lost, only to recur again as soon as something kicks off the habit again," said Graybiel, who is also the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS).
The patterns in question occur in the basal ganglia, a brain region that is critical to habits, addiction and procedural learning. Malfunctions in the basal ganglia occur in Parkinson's disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and many neuropsychiatric disorders.
In the Graybiel experiments, rats learned that there was a chocolate reward at one end of a T-maze. When the rats were learning, the neurons were active throughout the maze run, as if everything might be important. As the rats learned which cues (audible tones) indicated which arm of the maze led to the chocolate, the neurons in the basal ganglia learned, too.
After the rats had thoroughly learned the cues, the neurons interested in the task fired intensely at the most salient parts of the task -- the beginning and the end. But these neurons became quiet as the rats ran through the familiar maze, as if exploiting their knowledge to focus on efficiently finding the reward. Other "disinterested" neurons became quiet during the maze run, perhaps so as not to bother the critical neural signals.
Then the researchers removed the reward, making the cues meaningless. This change in training made everything in the maze became relevant again, and the neurons reverted to chattering throughout the run. The rats eventually stopped running (gave up the habit), and the new habit pattern of the brain cells disappeared. But as soon as the researchers returned the reward, the learned neural pattern, with the beginning and ending spikes, appeared again.
First author Terra Barnes, a BCS graduate student, and BCS research scientist Dan Hu led the animal training. Dezhe Jin, an MIT affiliate and an assistant professor of physics at Pennsylvania State University, led the data analysis along with Graybiel and Yasuo Kubota, a research scientist in Graybiel's lab.
"We tried to simulate the learning and forgetting of a habit," Kubota said. "If a learned pattern remains in the brain after the behavior is extinguished, maybe that's why it's so difficult to change a habit."
"It is as though somehow, the brain retains a memory of the habit context, and this pattern can be triggered if the right habit cues come back," Graybiel said. "This situation is familiar to anyone who is trying to lose weight or to control a well-engrained habit. Just the sight of a piece of chocolate cake can reset all those good intentions."
Graybiel speculates the beginning and ending spike patterns reflect the nature of a routine behavior: Once we start, we run on autopilot -- until we stop. Certain disorders hint at the potential importance of those spikes. Parkinson's patients, for instance, have difficulty starting to walk, and obsessive-compulsive people have trouble stopping an incessant activity.
"We are hopeful that this may be a key to understanding how to treat bad habits like addiction, and also how to encourage good habits that benefit health and happiness," Graybiel said. "We think that these patterns will also help researchers to understand the fundamental problems in disorders such as Parkinson's disease, OCD and Tourette syndrome."
The National Institutes of Health and the Office of Naval Research supported this research.
Thanks
umalme
From India, Delhi
Hi Vikrant,
Am glad that you liked the article.
We appreciate your contribution on Edward De Bono's ppt on creativity..
Look forward to more such contributions from all...
Hi Umalme,
Thank you for sharing the article on Brain researchers explain why old habits die hard ...
It's first disheartened me...though am optimistic that habits change notwithstanding the validity of the tests conducted on rats..doesn't this contradict Pavlov's test on dog?...Have seen my friends chain smokers quitting smoking as well..
Furthermore..once individuals realize the importance of certain priniciples..they do imbibe them for their own growth n personal development..
Thanks..
Rajat
The other day i was discussing about innovation with a lawyer..he gave an interesting example of how law places itself in innovation..
Who is an innovator in Law?
According to him the person "Who violates the law and gets the certificate of not guilty is an innovator"
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Am glad that you liked the article.
We appreciate your contribution on Edward De Bono's ppt on creativity..
Look forward to more such contributions from all...
Hi Umalme,
Thank you for sharing the article on Brain researchers explain why old habits die hard ...
It's first disheartened me...though am optimistic that habits change notwithstanding the validity of the tests conducted on rats..doesn't this contradict Pavlov's test on dog?...Have seen my friends chain smokers quitting smoking as well..
Furthermore..once individuals realize the importance of certain priniciples..they do imbibe them for their own growth n personal development..
Thanks..
Rajat
The other day i was discussing about innovation with a lawyer..he gave an interesting example of how law places itself in innovation..
Who is an innovator in Law?
According to him the person "Who violates the law and gets the certificate of not guilty is an innovator"
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Dear Rajat
That was a nice one. :D
Thanks for your encouragement.
Please find the attachment for Six Thinking Hats from Edward De Bono.
Please put your views on each HAT.
I found it worth for Individual and Organizational development.
Regards
Vikrant
93230887631
That was a nice one. :D
Thanks for your encouragement.
Please find the attachment for Six Thinking Hats from Edward De Bono.
Please put your views on each HAT.
I found it worth for Individual and Organizational development.
Regards
Vikrant
93230887631
Hi Vikrant,
Yes, you are right Six Thinking Hats is one of the most powerful tools for thinking!!! Edward De Bono ought to be awarded the nobel prize..
For your information he is considered one of the 200 people who have made substantial contribution to mankind..also he has a planet named after him as well..
It's akin to utilising the brain power of the individuals present in the meeting to arrive at the decisions..
Infact i used this method in my company last week and the Managers were floored with ideas..n MD got so ideas in a short span of time which normally you don't get in normal meetings..
In normal course of meetings ..am sure you all have attended the same ..what was your role or rather your contribution in decision making?....
Normally what happens is that is we tend to take one sided approach towards the problem & stick our beliefs ..also meetings sometimes land up in ego clashes as well..
Before i share the ideas on this..
We invite the members on this forum to share their experiences about attending meetings?...
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Yes, you are right Six Thinking Hats is one of the most powerful tools for thinking!!! Edward De Bono ought to be awarded the nobel prize..
For your information he is considered one of the 200 people who have made substantial contribution to mankind..also he has a planet named after him as well..
It's akin to utilising the brain power of the individuals present in the meeting to arrive at the decisions..
Infact i used this method in my company last week and the Managers were floored with ideas..n MD got so ideas in a short span of time which normally you don't get in normal meetings..
In normal course of meetings ..am sure you all have attended the same ..what was your role or rather your contribution in decision making?....
Normally what happens is that is we tend to take one sided approach towards the problem & stick our beliefs ..also meetings sometimes land up in ego clashes as well..
Before i share the ideas on this..
We invite the members on this forum to share their experiences about attending meetings?...
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Hey Folks,
Got a private message that how it is relevant to Indian context?..is it that am talking keeping in mind the Western concepts?...
Before we get carried away, the key question here isn't one of trying to copy American practices into Indian circumstances. Nor it is a move to suggest that innovative ideas in India, must look like those in the United States.
The question is a much deeper one. Without resorting to large-scale changes that need huge political capital, how can we start institutionalising innovation in India?
What are the small steps that reachable people like Non-Resident Indians, Indian industrialists and some open-minded politicians can take on?
Where can we best focus our attention to get measurable forms of success in the short term, while relentlessly moving us forward towards the long term?
But first, we must understand what India is doing today towards institutionalising innovation.
Rural and Indigenous Innovations
One style of innovation that really works in a country as large and diverse as ours, is grassroots innovation: this includes inventions for a milieu that is quintessentially Indian.
These inventions are probably difficult to migrate from our culture, traditions and environment to that of other countries, but they are critical to how Indian ingenuity can be directly used to transform our circumstances, in ways that elite corporate research laboratories never can.
These rural and indigenous innovations come from two sources: first, farmers, semi-literates, illiterates, slum-dwellers who have managed to change things by marrying their own innate genius to their inherent understanding of ground conditions; and, second, innovations taken from more traditional sources such as universities and independent engineers that are then adapted back to suit Indian traditions and conditions.
Some key examples from the BBC and rediff.com include:
• Balubhai Vasoya, from Ahmedabad in Gujarat has developed a stove that uses both kerosene and electricity. A six-volt electric coil heats the kerosene, converting it into gas which burns with a blue flame. It saves 70 per cent on fuel compared with conventional stoves running on LPG. 'One litre of kerosene lasts for eight hours; and in 20 hours, the stove uses one unit of electrical power. So running it for an hour costs one-and-a-half rupees in total. No smell, no smoke and it burns like LPG.'
• Anna Saheb Udgave, a 70-year-old farmer from the Sadalga village in Karnataka's Belgaum district, developed a low-cost drip irrigation system to fight water crisis in his village. He improved upon his innovation and turned it into a mega sprinkler, and called it Chandraprabhu Rain Gun. Other impressed farmers of the same village slowly started using Anna Saheb's rain gun in their farms. Now, the farmers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are also using it successfully.
• Deepasakhti Pooja Oil, a blend of five different oils in a ratio prescribed in the Indian shastras does not produce any soot but gives a bright flame. It lasts longer and the fumes produced repel disease-causing bacteria. It is now being commercially manufactured by KP Castor Oil Works in Coimbatore.
• A banana stem injector developed by Manoharan, a lathe owner of Batlagundu in Tamil Nadu, is similar to a syringe which can be used to inject pesticides into the psuedo-stem of the banana that is diseased. 'It helps manage indiscriminate pesticide application in banana cultivation, leading to a 20 percent cost saving in farming operations'
• A manual milking device -- J S Milker -- is another innovation that has found acceptance in the rural areas. J S Milker is manufactured and marketed by J Support Industries headed by Joy John of Pothanicad, Kerala. J S Milker is a simple vacuum driven portable machine, which can be used to milk cows effortlessly. J S Milker is so successful in South India that RIN (see below) is planning to market it in Gujarat, where there are several milk co-operatives.
• A solar water harvester conceived by Deepak Rao of Chennai has received a grant of Rs 190,000 from the Techno entrepreneur Promotion Programme of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. It uses solar energy to convert non-potable water into potable water. The product is still going on, and we are yet to commercialize it. From a 1 square metre model, we can have 5 litres of pure water per day. We are looking at it from a domestic point of view, especially in Chennai, where water scarcity is a big problem.
But, who is making sure that these innovations see the light of the day and help these innovators shed their cloak of obscurity?
Two key organisations are doing yeoman work in this direction:
• The National Innovation Foundation, set up initially under Dr Mashelkar, is 'building a national register of grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge; it has set up a micro-venture innovation fund for individuals who have no bank account and who cannot produce any balance sheet and yet have innovations that warrant investment of risk capital.' NIF has set up a national innovation competition, for which the winners have included an eighth standard dropout, who developed a complex robot, the farmer who developed a unique cardamom variety and 'an illiterate individual, who had developed a disease resistant pigeon pea variety.'
• RIN, Rural Innovation Network, is the brainchild of Paul Basil from Moovattupuzha in Kerala. The organisation focuses on promoting rural innovation-based enterprises and is a business incubator that turns grassroots innovations into commercial enterprises. 'RIN uses multiple points like Chennai's engineering colleges, agricultural universities, research institutions, patent offices, local fairs, exhibitions and banks to identify innovations. Once identified, RIN does a market research of the product to find out whether the idea is commercially viable. Then, they refine the products by making the innovations market-friendly, which means a lot of engineering work and overhauling.' In most cases, the innovator passes on the technology to an entrepreneur or a company for a royalty. So what is the role of RIN in this? 'We are just enablers,' says Basil. "We basically provide consulting inputs to, both, innovators and entrepreneurs. Our job is to tie the loose ends. There are several private entrepreneurs out there who want new products. We also help the entrepreneurs develop markets.' RIN now has 11 innovations that it is working on and wants to increase the number to 20 in the next one of two years.
The most successful product marketed by RIN till date is the rain gun, created by Anna Saheb. When RIN found the marketability of the product, they brought in the Chennai-based Servals Automation Pvt Ltd and the company signed a technology transfer agreement with Anna Saheb. Anna Saheb got a fixed royalty for his innovation, and RIN filed for a design registration (and marketing rights) of the rain gun.
Mumbai-based Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund made an investment of Rs 800,000 to pick up a 49 percent stake in Servals Automation. According to RIN, this is the first such micro venture investment of its kind in India, if not the world over. So far, 60 rain guns worth Rs 200,000 have been sold.
Request you all to share your inputs/ideas..please..
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Got a private message that how it is relevant to Indian context?..is it that am talking keeping in mind the Western concepts?...
Before we get carried away, the key question here isn't one of trying to copy American practices into Indian circumstances. Nor it is a move to suggest that innovative ideas in India, must look like those in the United States.
The question is a much deeper one. Without resorting to large-scale changes that need huge political capital, how can we start institutionalising innovation in India?
What are the small steps that reachable people like Non-Resident Indians, Indian industrialists and some open-minded politicians can take on?
Where can we best focus our attention to get measurable forms of success in the short term, while relentlessly moving us forward towards the long term?
But first, we must understand what India is doing today towards institutionalising innovation.
Rural and Indigenous Innovations
One style of innovation that really works in a country as large and diverse as ours, is grassroots innovation: this includes inventions for a milieu that is quintessentially Indian.
These inventions are probably difficult to migrate from our culture, traditions and environment to that of other countries, but they are critical to how Indian ingenuity can be directly used to transform our circumstances, in ways that elite corporate research laboratories never can.
These rural and indigenous innovations come from two sources: first, farmers, semi-literates, illiterates, slum-dwellers who have managed to change things by marrying their own innate genius to their inherent understanding of ground conditions; and, second, innovations taken from more traditional sources such as universities and independent engineers that are then adapted back to suit Indian traditions and conditions.
Some key examples from the BBC and rediff.com include:
• Balubhai Vasoya, from Ahmedabad in Gujarat has developed a stove that uses both kerosene and electricity. A six-volt electric coil heats the kerosene, converting it into gas which burns with a blue flame. It saves 70 per cent on fuel compared with conventional stoves running on LPG. 'One litre of kerosene lasts for eight hours; and in 20 hours, the stove uses one unit of electrical power. So running it for an hour costs one-and-a-half rupees in total. No smell, no smoke and it burns like LPG.'
• Anna Saheb Udgave, a 70-year-old farmer from the Sadalga village in Karnataka's Belgaum district, developed a low-cost drip irrigation system to fight water crisis in his village. He improved upon his innovation and turned it into a mega sprinkler, and called it Chandraprabhu Rain Gun. Other impressed farmers of the same village slowly started using Anna Saheb's rain gun in their farms. Now, the farmers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are also using it successfully.
• Deepasakhti Pooja Oil, a blend of five different oils in a ratio prescribed in the Indian shastras does not produce any soot but gives a bright flame. It lasts longer and the fumes produced repel disease-causing bacteria. It is now being commercially manufactured by KP Castor Oil Works in Coimbatore.
• A banana stem injector developed by Manoharan, a lathe owner of Batlagundu in Tamil Nadu, is similar to a syringe which can be used to inject pesticides into the psuedo-stem of the banana that is diseased. 'It helps manage indiscriminate pesticide application in banana cultivation, leading to a 20 percent cost saving in farming operations'
• A manual milking device -- J S Milker -- is another innovation that has found acceptance in the rural areas. J S Milker is manufactured and marketed by J Support Industries headed by Joy John of Pothanicad, Kerala. J S Milker is a simple vacuum driven portable machine, which can be used to milk cows effortlessly. J S Milker is so successful in South India that RIN (see below) is planning to market it in Gujarat, where there are several milk co-operatives.
• A solar water harvester conceived by Deepak Rao of Chennai has received a grant of Rs 190,000 from the Techno entrepreneur Promotion Programme of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. It uses solar energy to convert non-potable water into potable water. The product is still going on, and we are yet to commercialize it. From a 1 square metre model, we can have 5 litres of pure water per day. We are looking at it from a domestic point of view, especially in Chennai, where water scarcity is a big problem.
But, who is making sure that these innovations see the light of the day and help these innovators shed their cloak of obscurity?
Two key organisations are doing yeoman work in this direction:
• The National Innovation Foundation, set up initially under Dr Mashelkar, is 'building a national register of grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge; it has set up a micro-venture innovation fund for individuals who have no bank account and who cannot produce any balance sheet and yet have innovations that warrant investment of risk capital.' NIF has set up a national innovation competition, for which the winners have included an eighth standard dropout, who developed a complex robot, the farmer who developed a unique cardamom variety and 'an illiterate individual, who had developed a disease resistant pigeon pea variety.'
• RIN, Rural Innovation Network, is the brainchild of Paul Basil from Moovattupuzha in Kerala. The organisation focuses on promoting rural innovation-based enterprises and is a business incubator that turns grassroots innovations into commercial enterprises. 'RIN uses multiple points like Chennai's engineering colleges, agricultural universities, research institutions, patent offices, local fairs, exhibitions and banks to identify innovations. Once identified, RIN does a market research of the product to find out whether the idea is commercially viable. Then, they refine the products by making the innovations market-friendly, which means a lot of engineering work and overhauling.' In most cases, the innovator passes on the technology to an entrepreneur or a company for a royalty. So what is the role of RIN in this? 'We are just enablers,' says Basil. "We basically provide consulting inputs to, both, innovators and entrepreneurs. Our job is to tie the loose ends. There are several private entrepreneurs out there who want new products. We also help the entrepreneurs develop markets.' RIN now has 11 innovations that it is working on and wants to increase the number to 20 in the next one of two years.
The most successful product marketed by RIN till date is the rain gun, created by Anna Saheb. When RIN found the marketability of the product, they brought in the Chennai-based Servals Automation Pvt Ltd and the company signed a technology transfer agreement with Anna Saheb. Anna Saheb got a fixed royalty for his innovation, and RIN filed for a design registration (and marketing rights) of the rain gun.
Mumbai-based Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund made an investment of Rs 800,000 to pick up a 49 percent stake in Servals Automation. According to RIN, this is the first such micro venture investment of its kind in India, if not the world over. So far, 60 rain guns worth Rs 200,000 have been sold.
Request you all to share your inputs/ideas..please..
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
nice post.
when we see these indeginous innovations as they do enlight us.
but all the marketing factors do apply as for any electronic gadget. But still it does make sense and fit in regional cultures.
The ultimate goal for any invention or innovation is to meet need and enjoy of our comfort for the good of community.
Any statistical data may reflect trends for the same and can give us the better path to adopt for or which direction to take. Here comes the life project management skills comes into picture in hetrogeneous environment management.
Like given an option an electro-oil stove make sense where electrification is due and in still in infancy stage. The resource, demand and supply factor is always a major factor and play important role and skilled management of all.
In our country which has a vedic culture still people totally neglect and oppose western culture but an isolation does leads to alienation on same path from both ways and results becomes negative.
Colloboration on humanitarion ground which leads to upliftment of society as whole should be the mutual goals for upcoming civilization in past, future and present.
Hard job to do in a 24h in a day when there is qustion of survival too ?
From India, Delhi
when we see these indeginous innovations as they do enlight us.
but all the marketing factors do apply as for any electronic gadget. But still it does make sense and fit in regional cultures.
The ultimate goal for any invention or innovation is to meet need and enjoy of our comfort for the good of community.
Any statistical data may reflect trends for the same and can give us the better path to adopt for or which direction to take. Here comes the life project management skills comes into picture in hetrogeneous environment management.
Like given an option an electro-oil stove make sense where electrification is due and in still in infancy stage. The resource, demand and supply factor is always a major factor and play important role and skilled management of all.
In our country which has a vedic culture still people totally neglect and oppose western culture but an isolation does leads to alienation on same path from both ways and results becomes negative.
Colloboration on humanitarion ground which leads to upliftment of society as whole should be the mutual goals for upcoming civilization in past, future and present.
Hard job to do in a 24h in a day when there is qustion of survival too ?
From India, Delhi
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