Innovation = Opportunity Recognition

My first ever visit to USA was to work for Microsoft Technology Center @ Boston, MA and I landed on a day with 6" of snow. The sight of snow for a person form a beach city of Chennai in India was dramatic and unforgettable.

I lived there for 2 years and now, make it a point to visit US only during winter to experience the snow, the cold and the wind chills. Its also a perfect period to catch up with friends and talk to them for hours over a cup of coffee and dinner. Here is a picture of my Friend Ravi's home in the suburbs of Boston.

This summer vacation, my kids were insisting that we take them to a new show on the town "Snow Ball", an artificial snow world. So we went there and paid about Rs 150 per person (approx US $ 4)

The snow was splashing out of a hole 15 feet above and people were standing below this to let the snow shower on them, catching the snow in their hands and playing...

Knowing how snow is formed, my inquisitive mind was wondering how organizers could create snow in this hot summer and what kind equipment they would be using.

In the meantime, my kids were enjoying the snow on the slippery ice floor, the "snow starved" population thronging the place to see the glimpse of snow.

I was imagining some complex and expensive systems replicating nature behind the scenes and stepped out to find it out.

What I saw was crazy... "An industrial crusher and a fan"

They had this truk that brought large ice bars from factories outside the city and fed those large ice bars to the crusher that would spit out small ice crystals while the fan would blow them out through a hole into the arena!!!

Wow, they were cashing in on an opportunity from a population that never saw snow in their lifetime!!!

Personal Innovation

I have been researching the topic "Innovation" for sometime and use many references, techniques & tools at my work.

From these experiences for the past 20+ years of working for many managers and observing many leaders from close quarters, realized that these techniques could be applied to an individual's aspirations to redefine, to think differently, try new things to "Re-innovate", to move up in the corporate ladder.

In the coming days, I intend to blog about these findings under "Personal Innovation".

First, let us look at capabilities we need to excel in work:

• Academic Capabilities
• Professional Capabilities
• Cognitive Capabilities
• Emotional Capabilities

These skills come handy as you grow in roles and ranks in your career.

While the graph may not be accurate, as you move up managerial positions, cognitive and emotional skills become necessary to be successful, while academic and professional capabilities are taken for granted.

PS: If you do not agree to the "spiritual" aspect, you could replace it with "self realization"

God's Car - Muscle power Vs Machine Power

Last week, I had the opportunity to witness Brahmotsavam Festival held at the Varadaraja Temple at Kancheepuram (Kanchi).

This 10-day festival is held in honour of Lord Varadaraja and his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi. Attended by thousands of people from across, the 7th day marks the Car Festival, when the deities are taken in a grand procession around the city travelling just the 4 grand streets (South, West, North and East) of the city back to its original position.

We got a vantage position on top of a 2nd floor building to see the car procession.

In early days, this would take 2 to 3 days for the car to be pulled by hundreds of people to complete its 4 street procession.

Now with the heavy machinery pulling and guiding it, the car leaves its position at 6.00 AM in the morning and comes back to its original place by 11.00 AM, just 5 hours.

My entire family was spellbound by the grandiose of the car and the excitement of such a huge vehicle being pulled by thousands of people.

Imagine, how the citizens of this Chola dynasty would have felt during 14th century...