The innovation station.

Mario Andretti - " Desire is the key to motivation, but it is the commitment and determination to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence that will enable you to attain the success you seek"



What is a innovation station?


Innovation is disruptive. It breaks rules, displaces existing products, services and ideas. It hurts the status quo and thus some people hate innovation.


An innovation station is a place - where people meet and define the problem. The power of a well defined problem is that it comes with a well defined constraints. These constraints give us focus as they tell us as to what we can do and what we cant.


Clarity helps innovation as your goal is clear and thus the human brain can then work its magic.


Also a innovation station is a place where people are hungry with the same goal. It helps to create strategic ongoing change to core competency.


So in a utopian world, any organization or a person looking for growth will be a part of innovation station.

Who are innovators?


Innovators are people. They can be anybody but most of the innovators will brand themselves by regularly doing so. Watch out for the signs. Groom these people.


What can it do for us?


It can open out possible outcomes beyond imagination. (in a positive manner). The problem is that innovation takes time and it has a cost. Many people are not willing to pay that cost. But to have a edge - you have to sharp the weapon. Thats why innovation is important. And for innovation to be regular, its best to create an innovation station.


By - Ninad Tatke.

What it is to be a brand. Part 2.

I was asked very recently over a online chat as to what I understand by Brand Equity. I said it is the value of the brand both tangible and largely intangible. A brand can survive changes as the image, attributes, goodwill it has changes over time. Hence we have to invent ourselves as Brands.

What a Brand does now may not be different much from what it did six months ago but it certainly would be different in every 5 years if not a year. The vital part in a brand is brand associations but the problem many brands face is that they are extremely hard to change.

Reinventing the brand is equal to repositioning it. It takes a lot of time and money and all this has to be visible. So one has to first understand change . Then the Brand has to engage the people involved to develop a new skill sets and implement them.

Brand has to change slowly and not have high expectations out of the change. The results will take time.

A older a brand becomes higher would be its intangibles and a new brand will have tangibles which are valued higher than its intangibles.  - A Brand Rule.


A Brand which remains Static while the world changes dies. And this happens even though a brand by nature is immortal.

So when the time for change comes, a Brand has to Grab it.  No change means no growth. Both are synonyms.

By Ninad Tatke.

Things you do on a Sunday vs things you should

1.  Read the Sunday paper completely. you can catch up with a latest/ good novel

2.  Watch a movie worth Rs. 100 normally at Rs. 450. You can but should you.

3. Cut your hair. Actually do that. Its nice.

4. Worry about Monday. - Yes you need to be on your toes about your work but you can let your hair down a bit on a sunday.

5. Lose half of the day in sleep or without realizing that its gone. Plan your Sunday. Yeah sounds bad that you have to plan your Sunday but it would be worth it.

6. Get Bored - Call your friends atleast on the phone.

7.  -Eat like crazy. Yes you need those extra calories.  After all you have to balance all the meals you missed during the week in one day.

 8. Laze around and watch TV the whole day. Yes its been a while since you last had your dose of educational ads.

9. Shop - Yes shopping is therapeutic but why move like cattle in crowded malls. Go for a hike or a play.

10.  Repair your Bike. - Yes your bike is your beloved but on a Sunday!

 By Ninad Tatke

Things you do in a elevator vs things you should

1. You stare deeply in to your cell phone as if you are in love with it. Yes you may love its features and apps but you can also look around.

2. Keep your hands in your pocket. What is it - Oh you dont know what to do with your hands.

3. Keep pressing the button repeatedly. This wont make the elevator move faster.

4. Asking where does this elevator go when you are on ground floor. (in a building with no basement)  I can vouch that it wont probably go sideways.

5. Keeping the fan on while you exit.

6.  Play with a coin/keys/small objects. This I dont understand but go ahead play, after all - all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

7. Press buttons of floors you dont want to go just as you are about to exit. Now this is just Sadist. Stop that.

8. Elevator = Dustbin and litterbox is a wrong assumption.

9. treat it like a rush hour train compartment of a mumbai local . Split the big group into two.

10. Enlight the world with your graffiti inside the elevator.

By Ninad Tatke

Saamna - Anna . The week (link) that was.

I have an opinion on the Anna Hazare strike. I have not read the Lokpal Bill in both its versions. I have not followed every minute detail from both sides and yet I have an opinion.

Let me take you through  a movie review first. Yes movie review. It is critical to this opinion. I feel like Robert Langdon unfolding the grail story ... but back to the review.

Saamna . A Marathi Movie, Directed by Jabbaar Patel  Scripted by Vijay Tendulkar.

A corrupt Politician is running a successful sugar lobby. Everyone benefits to some extend in the region with this lobby but the politician is getting richer, more corrupt and powerful. He even manages to get rid of his only opposition - a ex army man named Maruti Patil who apparently disappears.

Enters in this story now a frustrated Gandhian - a drunk old man. Man who is given refuge by this Sugar King and he learns all about the practices of the Sugar King by being very close to him. Still he is not loyal. He steals, he drinks and still the sugar king pardons him. He asks the sugar king one day. What are the things a person eats? What are forms of human hunger?

The Sugar King replies that although a human being really require food they are also hungry for money, power, land, and various other things.

Then this old Gandian man asks - what are you hungry about?


No answer.

However the Sugar King tolarates this and many more such intense conversatitions. One fine day though, that old man asks about Maruti Patil.

The Sugar King offers 10 lakh rupees to the old man (in 1975 when Gabbar was worth Rs. 50000) to keep mum.

But this man neither accepts money or keeps mum and goes to an adjacent village and starts a fast until death until the Maruti Kamble case is solved.

All hell breaks lose and the Sugar King is under tremendous pressure. Normally the common people were happy with things as they were but not anymore.

Finally with a lot of courage this Sugar King keeps a live press exchange and he wins the debate. He exposes the old man and also points out various things which he (sugar king) did for people over the years - (with self interest of course). He wins as people are not ready for a change

The old man loses and contemplates suicide. The Sugar King stops him and tells him to follow the legal course.

--------------------------

Now right now Anna Hazare must/might be genuine person with good intentions. But are we ready to end corruption. What about a clear line of communication from the Hazare group to rest of the country.

Till the people are ready or at-least communicated the advantages of such a moment well, it is bound to fail. Last I heard a certain politician from sugar lobby is now going to strategize for the government on this issue!

By Ninad Tatke

Freedom at 3.45 - A short story

Neha was a new intern in an Marketing firm. She had to research about prospective clients, prepare excel sheets on targets and presentations for prospects. This was when she had work . Otherwise her day was spent in exploring the treasures of wikipedia, facebook and vigilidiot. She lived in Kurla and her daily travel to Colaba seemed like a adventure. At 19 she was the youngest in her extended joint family and the daily grind of Mumbai local was actually liberating considering the restrictive and orthodox community she lived in.

Neha loved the empty rake of Kurla Cst local as she could sing songs while hanging at the door with cool wind comforting her in the always sweaty Mumbai. The CST to Colaba distance she walked.

Today however was a sunday and she had no reason to be at Colaba. But yet she was there and today unlike other days she was roaming around like a tourist. The Gateway of India with its roman years and message of welcome for King George V always intrigued her. It was interesting fact for her that none of the Kings or Queens of the empire actually visited the empire. She walked pass the Delhi Darbar and soon reached the junction near Jahangir Art Gallery. Today was a special exhibition there. The art of contrast was on display. Blues with Yellows. Greens with Oranges. After having a look around she changed her direction and started walking towards the fountain.

The old buildings of Elphistone, Imperial guard and Oriental looked at her curiously as she looked at them. At around 3.40 she reached fountain.

The area is usually empty at this time on a holiday. It was empty today.

And it was then in that lonely place, that she burst out and was in tears. She had told no one but she had failed in half her subjects in college and she was scared to tell the truth at home. Infact the whole day today was her attempt to escape from reality. As she sobbed she felt much better as if things were turning better. At 3.44 a single book selling hawker tried to sell his ware on a completely off day.

Neha noticing him and a couple of taxis plying by, controlled her outburst and then for some weird reason glanced at a book - Thousand famous quotes.

She opened a random page and it read - " There are times when you will feel helpless in face of a distress. Remember then that truth and good intentions will triumph in a long run over any tyrant and calamity".

Neha knew what was to be done then. She called up home and spoke to her father. She told him the truth.  It was difficult but she was free mentally now.  She had no fear now.

By Ninad Tatke.

Sub plot - abhi baki hai dost.

I heard 3 biggest words on truth about life. Here they are - it goes on.

So what is a sub plot. Assuming of course that there is a plot to life.

Sub Plot is something which is always around but not the main focus in life. You may say that a sub plot is like a second string of hobbies or strengths with in a person. It may be outside the person as well.

If you are a market researcher by day and a salsa dancer in the weekend, then salsa dancing is a subplot.

The trick in life is to recognize the subplots at the correct moment and nurture them. There might be some subplots which do shift and turn out as main plots.

Some times the sub plots are not with in the same person, they are with a relation.

Why do I raise the topic today.

Recognize your subplot - work towards enriching it - your life will be much more meaningful.
 

Not about Rahul Dravid or BCCI. Stick no Bills.

Selectors have brought back Dravid and it is possibly an admission by them that the young players cant play in tough conditions. They had dropped Dravid in 2007 to make way for a young team but picked him for facing tough conditions in South Africa in 2009 and now 2011 in England.

This man - Rahul Dravid is a partnership man of India. In terms of Super powers he is no Sehwag / Sachin  or even Ganguly who taught this team how to fight. But Dravid has kept wickets, opened for India in both formats, played endlessly to save or win a match. He never seems to complain and its always a battle when Dravid battles to survive.

But I felt shortchanged today being a Dravid fan. Its great that the selectors have selected him. But wasn't he shown the door for being OLD. Why do they (BCCI) and the management have to go to him each time - to open, to keep. Groom the new players please. May be Dravid (Wall) now has to say - "stick no bills". May be by announcing his retirement from ODI's and T 20 after his series, he already has.

Sorry I lied. This blog is after all about Rahul Dravid and BCCI. By Ninad Tatke.