Learnings from Children

While going through my PC, I got this Japanese ad which talks about nurturing child's creativity. On the eve of Children's day, I’d like to put some thoughts on things that we can learn from children and at the same time should encourage them to imagine infinite possibilities.

 

Two main things that we can learn from children:

1. Imagine- Sound simple but I think as we grow up we stop imagining of the various possibilities that can be. Instead of thinking of possibilities we think of constraints. Children imagine, be it like drawing a picture of an alien & human together, to next generation car that can fly, etc. Imagination is the core of innovation. Unless we will learn how to Imagine from a child, I guess we will only care about resource usage and not resource creation.

 

2. I am not afraid of being called Stupid: Children love to show their ideas, dress, full face with makeup on, etc. They are not afraid of being called a stupid. But if we look at adults as we grow older the resistance to share our ideas, do crazy things & invent something minimizes. So I guess we need to learn their ability to share without bothering about what others say.

 

I think both these things serve as foundation of Design thinking & Innovation. Unless we start Imagining we will not be able to come out with idea/concept/product which may help us to get ahead of competition or may open up new possibilities. The other is to share ideas with each other without being afraid of being told that you have a stupid idea. Nearly all great products that we see today were stupid ideas, cause only stupid ideas become game changing ideas which break status quo.(For eg: Carrying 1000 songs in your pocket!!!- IPOD). I guess what we need is learn how to sell/convince others & help them notice the value that we are trying to show that’s in our Ideas (to learn that read Free prize inside by Seth Godin).

So imagine & share ideas cause you are Unique and as Children rightly think You have the power to change the world.

 

Happy Children's Day

Have fun & play to Innovate

Neeraj

Source: Google & You Tube

Build your Tribe

Hi 

Here is a link to Seth Godin's presentation which he made to a 

sold out audience in New York where he talked about his new book Tribes. 

Taken from Garr reynolds website, its a must watch.

Check out to learn some tricks for marketers of tommorrow.

http://blog.mixergy.com/seth-godin-tribe/

Neeraj 

Build a Beard

Build a Beard  

Step 1: Select a beard of your choice 

from http://buildabeard.helloatto.com/

Step 2: Print & Stick or use photoshop onto your face

Step 3: Take a photo & email it to them

Step 4: The site owners will put 1$ into a Kiva account on your behalf.

Innovative way to raise support for a cause. 

The site is created by Atto who apply design thinking & doing to real life goals.    

About KIVA: Kiva Microfunds is an organization that allows 

people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions

in developing countries which in turn lend the money to small businesses & entreprenuers.

Read more at http://buildabeard.helloatto.com/

& http://blog.helloatto.com/

http://www.kiva.org/

Send your pics too & be a part of cause.

Neeraj

Branded Paan!!!

Hi all

Creativity & innovation often involves selling the same old product but adding value to it inorder to differentiate it from the rest.

Heard about this Paan [a South and South East Asian tradition which consists of chewing Betel leaf (Piper betle) combined with the areca nut] shop in Pune which serves 32 different types of Paan (including Chocolate Paan!!)

Now if we look at Paan in India, it has turned into a commodity with many small shops selling it in every nook & corner of India.Normally they have  paan costing around Rs 7-8.

a normal Paan shop in India

So whats so special about this store that consumers are paying around Rs.12 for a paan!!

First lets have a look what normal paan shops look like in India.

Lack of proper Ambience: To sum it up its not something people along with their wives & children love to visit.

Lack of Variety: One can have only particular types of Paans.

Main Target group: The main visitor to normal Paan store are Men, so normally Paan have Tobacco, etc not suitable for kids/other members of families

  

So what’s different with this store & what they have done to convert a commodity into a brand

 

Ambience: This was a proper store, customers were given menu which included different varieties of Paan & the atmosphere of the place was friendly, properly lit  & open, something which consumers (along with family members) may not shy away from coming.

Variety: The store offered 32 varieties of Paan which were listed on a menu catering to each member of family (Chocolate paan for kids, one with tobacco for men, etc)

Target Group: Apart from men, shop focused on having offerings for ladies & kids (often neglected by normal shops).

In addition to this the store packed the Paan in proper packing with their name which ultimately acted as source of branding & help in spreading word about them.

In the end the store has converted a normal commodity into a brand and has moved into blue ocean away from its competitors.

Neeraj 

ImagesSource :Google & Self taken

Design Research Methods

Hi everyone 

A one day seminar focussing on various methods for design research is going to take place on this Saturday 8th Nov at IIT-IDC powai, Mumbai, India

for more checkout this site

http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/~seminar/index.html

Neeraj 

 

Back of the Seat

Hi guys

Back from holidays

So have i spotted anything...Well yes

New seats & Advertising in B.E.S.T buses of Mumbai.

Behind the back of every new seat an ad is placed which is(for a change) not pasted but inserted in the frame.

So What’s the value to B.E.S.T and travelers.

Value to B.E.S.T- revenue generation which can be used to further subsidize the ticket

Value to travelers-  Seats now are more comfortable.

As you have noticed, B.E.S.T department has taken several new initiatives in recent times ,Be it installing small LCD screens with USB playing ads or the current new seats with ads inserted.

Any problem noticed....

Well yes -- as i mentioned the ads are inserted inside a frame and not pasted...what is happening is that unauthorized people are pasting their ads on top of it. So there is a problem that the paid ad goes unnoticed at the same time in longer term many paid advertisers may shy away from resorting to this type of advertising.

So what to do???

I am inviting you to send some ideas on how we can stop unauthorized ads being pasted over the paid ones and can there be any incentives given to paid advertisers on using such medium.

Thanks

Neeraj    

Asking Why?

Hi guys    

Now one of the attributes noticed in Innovators seems be their ability to challenge the current mindsets to bring about a change. Their ability to question Why something exist or not exist helps them provide answers with new & better solutions.

I got this 4 page brochure of Lenovo ThinkPad describing the evolution of  Think pad over the years with one thing in common, the makers ability to ask WHY constantly inorder to come up with new solutions.

So the company asked:

1.    1.   Why Design a computer like a computer(bulky & boxy)? So engineers gave the solution in terms of a laptop being able to fit in office drawers.

2.    2.   Why Put a computer to sleep when the lights go off? And the solution that came was Thinklight--an LED on top of screen.

3.    3.  Why should the mouse stay away from the keyboard?? And the solution was the red button allowing users to move the cursor without removing fingers from keyboard.

4.    4.   Why should the keyboard shrink with the Monitor? And the solution was a butterfly keyboard split into two blocks that expanded into a comfortable full sized keyboard when laptop was opened.

5.   5.  Why should a notebook shed its features when it sheds its weight? The result is a thin laptop having all the necessary features.

So what’s the moral of story

Ask questions to create & change

Neeraj 

Solving Problems Visually

Hi Everybody 

Recently we mentioned about the book THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN (article below) which is based on the concept of using pictures to solve any type of problem.

If you look,it is easy to interpret & understand visuals as compared to reading. Think of it like this way, if you are able to present problems Visually, not only it helps in bringing clarity & deriving at possible solutions, but it also makes your audience understand & participate better. 

Now I got this video of the author of the book explaining how to solve problems using pictures while he was at Google. Have a look. The video is followed by another video showcasing reasons behind sub prime crisis using pictures. 

First video is about 55 mins and video after that is around  6 mins.

Have a look.

Neeraj  

Money Kumar & the Monetary Policy

Hi Everybody 

It has been noted that studying subjects like Maths, Economics, etc is difficult. 

Sometimes it tends to becomes boring for students & difficult for teachers to teach such subjects.

Now how to make subjects like these interesting. 

Rajas, gave me this comics explaining concept of Monetary policy in a fun & simple way. 

The comics was published by RBI (in Nov 07) and educates the reader about interest rates, inflation, etc.

In one of the articles I wrote about 'ONCE UPON A SCHOOL' concept which  focused on user(student) needs and made school a fun & learning experience. 

Check out how RBI has explained concept of monetary policy in fun & simple way.

Link 

http://www.rbi.org.in/financialeducation/Basic.aspx

Thanks to Rajas

Neeraj 

Source: www.rbi.org.in/financialeducation/Basic.aspx

Where the Hell is Matt?

SAT: 18 OCT

Hi Everybody

A friend of mine told me about the concept of WHERE THE HELL IS MATT.

Now what it is. 

Matt is a 32 year old guy from Connecticut who goes around the world dancing in his particular style with people joining him.

It goes like this Matt travels, dances badly, people joins, video is uploaded on You tube.The videos have become Internet Phenomenan with millions of Hits(over 30 million!!). Talk about brining people together, presenting in unique way, having fun at the same time travelling all around the globe. 

The main thing I noticed is that people no matter of which country wants to come along and be a part of something in which they feel togetherness and happiness. Big learning for brands/companies is that if they can  provide these basic traits to their customers, they can be most loved company. Any company able to do that. Eg: VIRGIN

Below are two videos 

1.The dancing Video

2.Matt explaining the concept(watch his presentation with lots of drawings

similar concept i disscussed recently of The back of Napkin book)

Site:

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com

Check it out & dance

Neeraj

Source: WherethehellisMatt.com, youtube.com

Green Businesses

Hi Everybody

Last Week i wrote about Shai Aggassi's effort to solve oil & energy problems through his electric car initiatives. Last issue of Time magazine came out with an article titled Heroes of Environment. The article focused on people(like Arnold Schwarzenegger44) who are making efforts to protect the environment by introducing new concepts, legislations, products, services, etc. 

Presently if we look at saving the environment is regarded as a social responsibility by many organizations and are included as part of their CSR(corporate Social responsibility) activity.

 Now it is an issue of debate whether organizations currently are genuinely interested in environment protection or  are forced to do so due to image building exercise for their enterprise.

The current IBM Global CEO study (check article on IBM report in this blog below) mentions that the enterprises of future will genuinely be interested in CSR projects rather being forced to do so.

But what about present scenario. Can Caring for environment make business sense to and provide good returns to environment, society, people and companies involved.

 

Well In this article I thought of compiling concepts which are trying to focus on preserving the environment while producing Green products/services at the same time are able to make business sense too.

So lets start of our engines!! (running on bio fuel)

 

1.       Ecover(Eco friendly washing powder) : Belgian Company Ecover is manufacturing environment friendly washing powder made of natural plant & minerals ingredients. The product also comes in a recyclable bags. Last year the company generated $15 mn in pre tax profit.

      

 

2.       Electric Sports Car!!!- Tesla Roadster, 2008 Tesla Motors electric sports car is already sold out (having price tag of $98000) & currently reservations are on 2009 model.

3. Bahrain World Trade Center : It is the world's first commercial building to incorporate large scale Wind Turbines. The Turbines generate approximately 11-15% of its energy needs.

4. Can companies be asked to pay for preservation of rainforest : Bharrat Jagdeo, president of Guyana is offering an innovative option to public & private organizations by offering countries entire rain forest as a commodity to be preserved against a fee. The organizations inturn would benefit from carbon credits obtained, ecotourism & pharmaceuticals discoveries which will provide them return on Investment. An Innovative Solution indeed.  

5. Velib : The widely reported Paris' famous bicycle renting scheme is one unique business model started by Jean francois & Jean-Charles Decaux. Launched in July 2007, today the bicycles have become a mainstream & green form of public transportation in Paris. More than 2,00,000 Parisians have taken one year subscription ($40) and in a poll in May, 94% of Velib users said they were satisfied with the service.

 

The examples listed above shows that being environmentally responsible can also makes business sense. I noted that concept of Design Thinking is playing its role here as consciously or unconsciously these companies are using its philosophy of being User focused and solving his/her problem while generating environment friendly concepts & thus trying make business sense also.

Like we have seen Companies doing their bit for the environment. On a personal level, can we do something. Manish send me this handout which talks about what each individual can do for the environment. Check it out.

 

 

 Go Green

 

Neeraj  

Source: Time magazine, Trendwatching, Corbis

Hate Something, Change Something

Hi guys

I got this Video of Honda.

Talks about One to Hate something inorder to change something. Now I was thinking, the same philosophy could be used for innovating.

I think hate inspires one to bring a change and thus Innovate. As given in the video the noise and pollution made by diesel engine was hated and this gave inspiration to bring a change. Similarly the noise of gensets was hated and may be that’s why we have today Zero noise making diesel gensets.

  

Take a look

Hate Something, Change Something.

 

Enjoy

Neeraj

Communicating Using Visuals

Hi guys

It has been generally noticed that Communicating using visuals helps in easy and quick understanding. Visuals are quickly noticed and comprehended.

A friend of mine recommended this site which provides information regarding  which cocktail to drink depending upon one's preference. It lists out various drinks as well as type of glasses to be used alongwith recepies Visually. 

Check it out

http://www.bolscocktails.com/home.asp

enjoy

Neeraj

   

What is Creativity??

Hi guys 

now What is Creativity???

got this video from you tube. Have a look Inorder to find out

Neeraj 

  

Secrets of Success

Hi Everybody,

I got this video from TED which talks about  8 secrets to success.

Have a look at it & keep beleiving.

 

Neeraj