Parsons' Transdesign blog interviewed Tim Brown at Davos to discuss design and innovation, especially as it relates to India.
Interview - Tim Brown, CEO and president of IDEO - WEF 2011 - Davos, Switzerland from aabhira aditya on Vimeo.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wrap-up Reports
INDIA Future of Change has wrap-up reports on its website for:
"How will India grow faster than China? What can government and business do to make it happen?"
"Design, Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Change Drivers for India's Inclusive Growth"
"How will India grow faster than China? What can government and business do to make it happen?"
"Design, Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Change Drivers for India's Inclusive Growth"
Davos 2011 and India and the Future of Change
For those of us Indians living outside the country, the 'India story' seems to have come of age over the last decade. Helped along by the famous 'BRIC' acronym, it is no longer a question of 'potential'. Across academia, corporate boardrooms and in the corridors of power the thinking has now moved on to execution, policy, profit and innovation. India, it is being said, has arrived.
And so it has. When I was growing up as a child in India during the eighties, in a country starved of heroes, we had to make do with Kapil Dev and his team for the most part. But an open economy has spawned a more dynamic society today with lots of good things to look up to. India's progress, I will say, has mirrored the rise of its very own cricket team - that is today - strong, respected, confident and no longer just dependent on its Kapil Devs to save the day!
While the technology community first realized 'the potential', it is the investments people that are driving the momentum. It is imperative for most global investors and businesses to have an India strategy or at least a view today - Global forums are replete with discussions of the immense opportunities in the country - investments that are also touted as being for greater good as they help raise the living standards of millions of people.
Thus when Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Raghuram Rajan chose instead to speak of the structural challenges facing the Indian economy at Davos, more so at a forum which was intended to discuss India's growth when compared to that of China's, it was a refreshing change in the tone. As an MBA student in London, I had gotten used to all the optimism that more often than not, tends to come from Indians themselves - Indians who pride their ability to 'jugaad' as a one stop approach to all our problems.
Not only was this Martin Wolf-led discussion panel vocal about some of the critical challenges facing the country, it was emphatic that there was not much time to get act our act together. Global investments would not wait while 'democracy' was used as an, again, one-stop excuse to justify the slow pace of important reforms.
The critical discussion continued the next day in the second conference; a Tim Brown-led discussion on design and innovation in India. On the panel, M.P Rajan gave some critical insights into the immense design talent on the ground in India, and lamented that, due to the lack of a coherent innovation ecosystem this talent and design capacity is not channelled optimally into innovation production
The two conferences were organised by the INDIA Future of Change consortium that is spearheading a multi-year campaign to raise awareness of India across the globe, especially in places where it can influence the general thinking of the international community. Interest in both the conferences was immense with Kirchner Museum, the venue, being filled to capacity. And it was not just critical thinking from the panel. The audience was involved too. J.N Godrej, who was in the audience for the innovation conference, was at one point asked to speak about Godrej's new refrigerator being designed for rural India.
On the lines of the upcoming Godrej refrigerator, both panels were emphatic that India's growth would eventually chart its own story much different from other emerging economies. As a nation, we have a unique society that will demand its own systems and products. In fact the panel pointed out that while initial momentum in areas such as design and manufacturing have been through replication of proven western offerings, a new trend of India innovating for its masses and then channelling 'frugal innovation' products to the rest of the world is now underway. And global brand leaders, no less than the likes of GE are already changing their organisations to be a part of this phenomenon.
During the week of the World Economic Forum, Davos is an immense concentration of the people who can influence decision making. It was not uncommon to walk down the main street in the evening and pass by CEO's of multi-billion dollar corporations. On my way to Davos from Zurich airport, I shared a car with a retired professor of urban planning from Beijing University in China. He was seventy years old, and this was the first time he had been invited to the forum. It struck me that while it was a great platform for leaders and academicians to network and share views, you had to bring something to the table yourself to be noticed and heard.
And Indian efforts such as those of the ‘India Future of Change’ and CII realized this. The main street in Davos was filled with advertisements for investing in India – a high profile campaign designed to impress and influence. The impact of course, is hard to measure, but I came away with a quiet sense of satisfaction that we were trying, hard.
****
Nilav Bose is an MBA student of London Business School. An Indian national, he has lived and worked abroad for many years. He is passionate about Indian issues and was a part of the ‘India Future of Change' consortium at Davos. The views expressed here are his own.
And so it has. When I was growing up as a child in India during the eighties, in a country starved of heroes, we had to make do with Kapil Dev and his team for the most part. But an open economy has spawned a more dynamic society today with lots of good things to look up to. India's progress, I will say, has mirrored the rise of its very own cricket team - that is today - strong, respected, confident and no longer just dependent on its Kapil Devs to save the day!
While the technology community first realized 'the potential', it is the investments people that are driving the momentum. It is imperative for most global investors and businesses to have an India strategy or at least a view today - Global forums are replete with discussions of the immense opportunities in the country - investments that are also touted as being for greater good as they help raise the living standards of millions of people.
Thus when Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Raghuram Rajan chose instead to speak of the structural challenges facing the Indian economy at Davos, more so at a forum which was intended to discuss India's growth when compared to that of China's, it was a refreshing change in the tone. As an MBA student in London, I had gotten used to all the optimism that more often than not, tends to come from Indians themselves - Indians who pride their ability to 'jugaad' as a one stop approach to all our problems.
Not only was this Martin Wolf-led discussion panel vocal about some of the critical challenges facing the country, it was emphatic that there was not much time to get act our act together. Global investments would not wait while 'democracy' was used as an, again, one-stop excuse to justify the slow pace of important reforms.
The critical discussion continued the next day in the second conference; a Tim Brown-led discussion on design and innovation in India. On the panel, M.P Rajan gave some critical insights into the immense design talent on the ground in India, and lamented that, due to the lack of a coherent innovation ecosystem this talent and design capacity is not channelled optimally into innovation production
The two conferences were organised by the INDIA Future of Change consortium that is spearheading a multi-year campaign to raise awareness of India across the globe, especially in places where it can influence the general thinking of the international community. Interest in both the conferences was immense with Kirchner Museum, the venue, being filled to capacity. And it was not just critical thinking from the panel. The audience was involved too. J.N Godrej, who was in the audience for the innovation conference, was at one point asked to speak about Godrej's new refrigerator being designed for rural India.
On the lines of the upcoming Godrej refrigerator, both panels were emphatic that India's growth would eventually chart its own story much different from other emerging economies. As a nation, we have a unique society that will demand its own systems and products. In fact the panel pointed out that while initial momentum in areas such as design and manufacturing have been through replication of proven western offerings, a new trend of India innovating for its masses and then channelling 'frugal innovation' products to the rest of the world is now underway. And global brand leaders, no less than the likes of GE are already changing their organisations to be a part of this phenomenon.
During the week of the World Economic Forum, Davos is an immense concentration of the people who can influence decision making. It was not uncommon to walk down the main street in the evening and pass by CEO's of multi-billion dollar corporations. On my way to Davos from Zurich airport, I shared a car with a retired professor of urban planning from Beijing University in China. He was seventy years old, and this was the first time he had been invited to the forum. It struck me that while it was a great platform for leaders and academicians to network and share views, you had to bring something to the table yourself to be noticed and heard.
And Indian efforts such as those of the ‘India Future of Change’ and CII realized this. The main street in Davos was filled with advertisements for investing in India – a high profile campaign designed to impress and influence. The impact of course, is hard to measure, but I came away with a quiet sense of satisfaction that we were trying, hard.
****
Nilav Bose is an MBA student of London Business School. An Indian national, he has lived and worked abroad for many years. He is passionate about Indian issues and was a part of the ‘India Future of Change' consortium at Davos. The views expressed here are his own.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Indian Public Diplomacy at Davos: Credibility as PD
INDIA Future of Change's PD Guru Paul Rockower has a blog on the USC Center on Public Diplomacy's blog on Indian Public Diplomacy at Davos:
As India begins to assert itself within the global power dynamic, India is having a vibrant discussion about public diplomacy and how to engage in channels of public diplomacy as a means to project its emergence. Recently, as the world’s powerful gathered in Davos, INDIA Future of Change held two unique public diplomacy events that focused on corporate diplomacy and nation-branding on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2011.
The overall INDIA Future of Change initiative is an exercise in nation branding and public diplomacy, promoting India through its culture, diversity and democracy, as well as through its innovation and entrepreneurship (Full Disclosure: I am currently working with INDIA Future of Change as their PD Guru). The events were part of the initiative’s work to create awareness amongst audiences worldwide about the emergent reality of India to move past the existing stereotypes of India.
On Thursday, January 27th, INDIA Future of Change hosted an all-star ensemble of business leaders, policy makers and academicians to discuss how India can surpass China in economic growth. Also central to this discussion were how Indian government and business can partner to make this outcome a reality. Joining moderator Martin Wolf of the Financial Times on the panel were a high-level cast of Indian government officials and international business leaders.
While the panel centered on how India can surpass China in economic growth, part in parcel to this discussion was a focus on corporate diplomacy and how the private sector can work with the Indian government to project the business realities of a new India and where it fits into the global marketplace. Elements of corporate diplomacy were also tied in to the discussions. However, this theme was somewhat different than traditional notions of corporate diplomacy as diplomatic corporate social responsibility; rather, the corporate diplomacy taking place was more analogous to Indian corporations engaging in nation-branding of India to project a new Indian business and social reality.
Meanwhile, the following day, INDIA Future of Change convened a second panel featuring experts from the fields of innovation and design, as well as business entrepreneurs. The design, innovation and entrepreneurship panel sought to create a dialogue among the global creative classes about India, and how the field of design can lead both to innovation and entrepreneurship, and how each field can communicate a new Indian brand. While delving into the intersection of design, innovation and entrepreneurship as a catalyst for India’s inclusive growth, this panel focused on how India’s culture, its culture of innovative creation and cultural diplomacy could lend itself to such synergies.
In the realm of public diplomacy, these events served as a platform for discussion about India, and created a multilevel dialogue between Indian government officials, international business leaders and members of the global creative class. The panels were globally telecast on Bloomberg TV; furthermore, for both panels, INDIA Future of Change reached out across social networks, soliciting questions for the panelists via Twitter and Facebook.
During a different conference, the “Public Diplomacy in the Information Age” Conference held in December 2010, Shahi Tharoor made the point that what was time to turn an “Incredible India” into a “Credible India.” Events such as the INDIA Future of Change panels in Davos are just such an endeavor to shape the dialogue about India and introduce a maturing India onto the world’s stage.
The two panel INDIA Future of Change discussions were an exercise in credibility. Akin to the Voice of America credo, “the news may be good or bad but we will bring you the truth” as a means to create credibility, the panels held frank and honest discussion about India’s strengths as well as its shortcomings. Such openness is ultimately a form of public diplomacy, as Indian government and business officials spoke of the deficiencies as well as strengths of an emerging India, and by doing so, created more credibility for the Brand India story.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Brand India at Davos
Bloomberg UTV's program "Logo," on PR and branding, recently did a segment on Brand India. India Future of Change's Project Director Amit Shahi is interviewed in the segment, and IFOC's work is featured. Segment begins at 4:15 in
Perspectives on INDIA Future of Change @ Davos
It was an unforgettable experience to be part of the INDIA Future of Change team during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As the winner of the campus interaction contest in the University of Hamburg, I had the opportunity to attend two panel discussions at the Kirchner Museum Davos. During these events, I had the unique opportunity to connect with high profile business leaders, politicians and academia who all share a common interest: the future of India’s growth.
The first meeting was moderated by Martin Wolf, associate editor of Financial Times, and discussed which steps the Indian government and business should take to grow faster than China. The group of panelists consisted of a well-composed mix of renowned academia, business leaders and politicians from India and the United States. The panelists agreed on the fact that China should not be used as benchmark for economic growth, since the countries face a different phase of growth and deal with different natural constraints. It was remarkable to see that the majority was very positive about the growth possibilities of India, in particular when urban infrastructure and governance will be improved. However, Professor Rajan of the University of Chicago warned for the risks of growing too fast, by pointing on the rising macro economic issues in India such as inflation and an increasing current account deficit.
The second panel discussion was all about design, innovation and entrepreneurship as key drivers for India’s inclusive growth. Moderator Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a leading design and innovation consultancy, managed to create a lively discussion between the multidisciplinary panelists and the audience. Although there exist several entrepreneurial success stories – such as Infosys Technologies that became a multi billion enterprise within a decade – most panelists agreed that Indian entrepreneurs do not get full return out of their capacities. The problem does not lie in the capacity of the entrepreneurs themselves, but in the entire ecosystem for new businesses to thrive. Mr. Shibulal, co-founder and COO of Infosys Technologies, mentioned that India has so far mainly focused on execution, and now is ready for the next step: innovation. Based on the reactions from the audience this process has been started already, as several remarkable innovative Indian consumer goods from the hightech engineering sector were discussed.
Besides these intriguing panel discussions we also had time to walk around Davos and enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. During my stay, Davos turned out to be a happening city with various parallel involvements related to the World Economic Forum. At night, several themed private parties were organized – I was introduced to the Bollywood parties, which was a fantastic experience. In all, I am very grateful to the INDIA Future of Change team that they made it possible for me to experience all the above. The whole Davos experience was an exciting mix of inspiring talks, interesting encounters, lively discussions, and last but not least – a lot of fun!
Ernst Salet is an Erasmus Mundus scholar, currently studying in Bologna, Italy. He won the INDIA Future of Change Quiz Contest held at the University of Hamburg in Germany, the prize for which was attendance at the INDIA Future of Change panels in Davos.
The first meeting was moderated by Martin Wolf, associate editor of Financial Times, and discussed which steps the Indian government and business should take to grow faster than China. The group of panelists consisted of a well-composed mix of renowned academia, business leaders and politicians from India and the United States. The panelists agreed on the fact that China should not be used as benchmark for economic growth, since the countries face a different phase of growth and deal with different natural constraints. It was remarkable to see that the majority was very positive about the growth possibilities of India, in particular when urban infrastructure and governance will be improved. However, Professor Rajan of the University of Chicago warned for the risks of growing too fast, by pointing on the rising macro economic issues in India such as inflation and an increasing current account deficit.
The second panel discussion was all about design, innovation and entrepreneurship as key drivers for India’s inclusive growth. Moderator Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a leading design and innovation consultancy, managed to create a lively discussion between the multidisciplinary panelists and the audience. Although there exist several entrepreneurial success stories – such as Infosys Technologies that became a multi billion enterprise within a decade – most panelists agreed that Indian entrepreneurs do not get full return out of their capacities. The problem does not lie in the capacity of the entrepreneurs themselves, but in the entire ecosystem for new businesses to thrive. Mr. Shibulal, co-founder and COO of Infosys Technologies, mentioned that India has so far mainly focused on execution, and now is ready for the next step: innovation. Based on the reactions from the audience this process has been started already, as several remarkable innovative Indian consumer goods from the hightech engineering sector were discussed.
Besides these intriguing panel discussions we also had time to walk around Davos and enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. During my stay, Davos turned out to be a happening city with various parallel involvements related to the World Economic Forum. At night, several themed private parties were organized – I was introduced to the Bollywood parties, which was a fantastic experience. In all, I am very grateful to the INDIA Future of Change team that they made it possible for me to experience all the above. The whole Davos experience was an exciting mix of inspiring talks, interesting encounters, lively discussions, and last but not least – a lot of fun!
Ernst Salet is an Erasmus Mundus scholar, currently studying in Bologna, Italy. He won the INDIA Future of Change Quiz Contest held at the University of Hamburg in Germany, the prize for which was attendance at the INDIA Future of Change panels in Davos.
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