Hello the topic of the session is Innovation
and Entrepreneurship.
we are going to cover briefly, very briefly
mechanism of invention and innovation then
theory of inventive problem solving with acronym
TRIZ, design thinking, design driven innovation,
open innovation, introduction to intellectual
property rights just a brief Introduction
, ok.
Before going into innovationthe backbone of
innovation actually is design, design and
innovation and it may sound a little surprisingthe
the tagline one of the few creative geniuses
to walk on the earth is Mahatma Gandhi, you
might be surprised to how? So, when Gandhiji
came back from South Africa, Congress gave
him the responsibility to spearhead the fight
against the British, the mighty British .
And those daysarms struggle was the main form
of fighting . Then Gandhiji thought, ok let
me understand who were the people who will
fight for me, whom I can bank on. So, he went
to remote rural places and met people, people
who are supposed to fight for him. Surprisingly,
he realized that these people are not interested
in either independence no anything else, but
food they do not have two square meals. So,
the primary requirement for them is two square
meals they do not understand fighting, they
do not have the energy, the power, the the
will to fight.
So, how you can fight the mighty British with
these people? So, understanding the people
or your, your asset your wherewithal is very
important for doing anything. Then what Gandhiji
did he is he tried to them he is inter focus
diverted from independence to do something
for the people, something good for the people.
So, that immediate problem can be solved.
So, he those days there was no internet, there
was no computer, there was no software. So,
the, the resources were limited the like the
the needs also are limited .
So, what he did is he, he explored as to what
can give a bit of employment to these guys
or partial employment to huge number of population
, people consumed food and they consume clothes.
So, these are two items and of course, medicines
and other things light was not so much of
a was a, it was rather than a, rather a fad
and then anything else.
So, he realized that food is one side that
agriculture is one focus and clothing is another
focus . And he found that if something can
be done so, that people can manufacture their
own clothing, perhaps well give enormous employment
to huge number of people in the country. So,
he startedtalking to people who can devise
this charka and then, then it translated into
a revolution either through most of the textile
things is to be imported from Britain whereas,
the cotton is to be manufactured in India
.
So, the whole value chainwas shifted back
to India and rest is history and that is why
means this is all part of design. Design is
to understand the pain that you are going
to solve or, or you are going to solve somebody's
pain. Independence is a pain for everybody
means for all the people of the country. So,
you need to understand what do they want,
what the pain, what is the greatest pain that
they have? And then you understand you look
around and see what are the possible or plausible
solutions then will come. So, eventually he
found a solution .
Now, before we talk about invention innovation
let us make a distinction between or try to
understand these two items which are used
interchangeably. Invention is to create something
new. And meaningful you do anything new that
is non-existent and it is meaningful then
it is an invention. It is a part it may be
part of research and development or you may
just casually sitting here and ruminating
and there is some kind of a if, if any or
something and you get some a new idea new
revelation.
Now, if that is useful, it is kind of an invention
whereas, innovation is putting that invention
or any other invention for that matter to
the to a useful application. Meaning it should
be useful to a group of people group of companies
maybe or one company, two companies whatever
. So, and a good example is the is Thomas
Alva Edison, you know before he invented the
light bulb along with the filament many people,
many researchers actually came out with a
filament technology and they published papers.
And they thought Eureka, we have done means
they have already done, but that is the invention
part of it.
When Edison started thinking about manufacturing
then he realized that the life of this filament
is not even a second, it is fraction of a
second. So, what good that is which does not
survive even a second. So, he started exploring
and he explode with until number of combination
of material.
Eventually tungstenemerged as the as a possible
material still the life of short life was
short. So, eventually he came up with the
idea of a vacuum container glass container,
because this filament at high temperature
was oxidized and then it, it was kind of it
was going off. So,eventually the bulb actually
was born he did not stop it there, because
a bulb what good is a bulb when there is no
electric supplyin the house. So, he put the
entireinfrastructure to manufacture and supply
electricity to home.
And then the light bulb and, and the society
actually started illuminating . And this whole
thing is innovation starting from inventing
the, the filament, putting that packaging
that into a product and then making it available
to the people and giving them a a a kind of
a infrastructure or a context where this remains
as a sustainable tenable solution that does
a lot of good to, to the people whom you are
giving that is what is innovation .
Now, invention means it may sound as if invention
is bad than innovation, but fact is that invention
is the starting point innovation come then.
So, invention is, is important .
Now how to invent is a question that has been
bogging entire society and there is no solution,
there is no answer. Nobody has a fixed answer
that this is how you invent , but still we
have to means there are method or proven methods
to to systematically approach this problem.
And then come up with invention practice that
we are traditionally, we do not engage in
invention.
Inventive activities, we engage in cognitive
activities where we read books and write examinations,
but very few schools very few colleges in
the world will ask students to invent or there
will be a organized structured curriculum
where invention is one of the thing . Whatever
that is let me put my perspective it is kind
of taken from different sources.
So, to invent you need a problem, you cannot
sit in your in the comfort of your room, maybe
drawing room and think what I can invent that
will take you nowhere. You need a problem,
how to get a problem? You get a problem when
you encounter a problem. Where do you encounter
a problem when you try to do something. So,
the first thing is need to do something engage,
engage in anything and everything you cook,
you work in a factory, you go to school, you
drive, you see nature, you see everything
and then you are you will encounter problem,
there is no bed of rose that will be traveling
and it is kind of an utopian society nowhere.
So, problems are everywhere identify one and
then try to see whether this is a doable thing.
So, second part is defined, you define the
problem, you break the problems into elements
there are there are multiple elements may
be 1, 2, 3, 4 are in finite number of elements.
Then you try to understand all the elements
separately and try to see whether you, you
it falls within your knowledge domain and
whether you can do that . Most importantly
you question that why this problem or what
can be the solution, both means how to solve?
You question this after your question comes
a kind of a reply from within, but the reply
will come only when you have a trust you have
a leap of faith.
Meaning that you must believe that a solution
is always possible, you must believe that
nothing is perfect, you must believe that
there is nothing called best, there is always
a possibility to improve. So, take this leap
of faith that, ok this is the problem and
this can be perhaps solved. So, take that
leap of faith and then try to explore around
like say you have broken that into elements.
So, now, see suppose think of this pointer
see there is a nice kind of a grip.
So, from this design itself if I am designing
suppose a kind of a say scissor. So, I can
think of a for cutting grass maybe. So, if
I feel that this grip is nice comfortable
and you know is formed. So, I take this knowledge
there. So, I need to explore what solutions
exist in the horizon and then what I can copy
paste, there this is also invention . So,
putting this everything together perhaps I
come up with a solution. So, I need to look
around and find solution look for solution,
look for ideas, ideas can be combined then
research. Meaning, once you have number of
ideas then you try to prototype or try to
do experiments or even you put that into your
subconscious. And the subconscious will gradually
churn it exercise and then suddenly there
will be an Eureka moment .
What about that leap of faith is absolutely
essential . Most importantly, you will hear
people saying I never heard of things like
that they will never invent. You have to think
that yes, it is possible. You tell somebody
that I can you know drill a hole in the in
the earth and reach to the other end of the
earth. Of course, it is not possible people
will say crazy, but it is, it is really crazy
perhaps, because earth is so hot in the middle
and gravity will never allow you to go to
the other end.
If you really can go inside you will, you
will be hanging there with a simple harmonic
motion for infinite amount of time whatever
, but then you must believe that there is
a solution only then solution will arrive
so that is what a leap of faith .
Now, as i said that you have to really engage
to find a problem . See what Dyson did if
you are not aware about the name James Dyson
is a person, is a British citizen who invented
a new kind ofvacuum cleaner, a bladeless fan,
a fan which does not have blades and he is
a he is a billionaire now. He was almost like
a very simple nonentity, but now he is a famous
man like a Steve Jobs .
He used to use a vacuum cleaner like most
of us use and all of us face one problem that
as you use vacuum cleaner, as you as gathered
as dust gathered inside the bag, the filter
bag the suction actually reduces the, because
the bag becomes kind of means the pores in
the bag gets filled. So, there is less suction
and it loses efficiency . Dyson also had encountered
the same problem, but then he questioned there
why it is to be like this and he had a leap
of faith that there definitely is a solution.
So, he was looking around not necessarily
to find a solution, it is not that you go
around and look for a solution. Of course,
you can do this today in this age of internet.
You can actually google search and find umpteen
number of context where there will be some
kind of solution, but what he did actually?
He suddenly chanced upon a sawdust removal
kind of a cyclone separator where he found
a bag that is clean on the go. You do not
have to really open the cleaner and then remove
dust from the bag and then refit which we
normally do for a vacuum cleaner.
So, he realized that oh this is this, this
can be actually replicated in vacuum cleaner.
So, it was a kind of an Eureka moment for
him and that he started working and eventually
he actually came up with a vacuum cleaner
that works so well with the same technology.
So, it is a combination of existing knowledge,
he did not invent anything, but he invented
this combination of different knowledge. He
filed several patents, he got patents . And
today in 2018 uh it has become a 5.8 billion
dollar company, he himself became a billionaire.
So, look how invention can be done, how innovation
can be done? This whole thing is innovation
problem, then define the problem. Find the
solution, put everything together prototype,
validate, go to market.
So, this is how actually is to innovate little
bit of digression . All of you are aware that
our brain has two compartments, the left brain
is a cognitive part meaning you can recognize
or you can decipher or you can resolve whatever
is available, whatever knowledge is available.
Suppose I tell you a story about a scientific
fact, suppose I tell this story to 100 people,
there will be different level of understanding
comprehension . So, some people will understand
in the first place, some people will take
some time, some will not understand in the
first place they have to be told 2 times 3
times 5 times perhaps. So, this is the level
of difference level, different level of cognitive
skill.
So, left brain is more contains the cognitive
capability meaning the capability to understand,
comprehend existing knowledge that is written
in a book or elsewhere . The right brain is
the creative, creative part meaning, it is
responsible for the talent that helps you
to create something that does not exist this
is a creative part.
So, cognitive and creative and it actually
works in, inin a team like, like your creative
brain takes help of the cognitive brain to,
to go beyond certain level like, you can create
something at some point of time you are going
to be get blocked.
Then you need some knowledge, some theories,
some bookish knowledge that you have learned.
So, that will help you to move forward that
is. And then there are there are various people
with various level ofcognitive skill and various
level of creative skill. Everybody has both
skills, but then has both skills, but then
it varies. Actually the level of skill varies,
some of them are inherited, some of them can
be actually inculcated .
Just like you study in school, you read books
through that you gradually improve your cognitive
skill like you write and your handwriting
becomes better. You do anything repeatedly,
you actually churn your cognitive skill. And
then your gradually become a more intelligent
person from cognitive point of view.
Unluckily, our academics does not promote
so much ofthe creative part of the brain meaning
they do not put lot of challenges before us
to the creative part of our brain. If we start
doing that our creative talent will enhance
that is the belief that many people actually
maintain . There is another, another say virtual
compartment, compart yeah another set of virtual
. Compartment 1 is or maybe 3 compartments.
Actually consciouslevel of conscious state
of your mind then subconscious state of your
mind and unconscious state of your mind .
Normally, we like I am talking, I am talking
from my conscious mind. Of course, I am repeatedly
continuously trying to communicate with my,
with my cognitive or with my reservoir of
knowledge that I have gathered over years.
At the same time that is my cognitive skill
oh sorry, conscious mind which is working
the other part is subconscious mind from the
image.
Actually, I did not get a better image without
licensing means this is, this is, this is
the one best one that I got without really
violating any licensing rule . So, from the
image you should try to understand that 90
percent about 90 percent some people put a
data, but I do not know how people put a data
on this. About 90 percent of our mental activity
happens in the subconscious fear. Only 10
percent happens in the conscious state of
your mind .
Then there is another philosophy. Again there
is no,no proof meaning there is no empirical
evidence. Perhaps there are little bit, but
then i do not have like people say that we
use only 5 percent of our brain. Now imagine
that you exercise your brain both creative
and cognitive and the more you do the better,
you exploit the brain maybe beyond 5 percent.
If 5 percent makes a genius, just think 5.1
person will make a super genius, because incremental
knowledge matters a lot . So, that is another
aspect.
So, perhaps, perhaps I am a strong believer
of this that we can actually exercise our
subconscious mind. What I mean to say this
is we can actually tell our subconscious that
you have to do this, I will give an example
to drive home. This point it is contradicting
or it is kind of controversial . You know
this, but still you perhaps never thought
about it this way you go to bed. Suppose at
1 in the night 1 say 1 0 5 in the night you
go to bed , 5 past 1. And suppose you have
to catch a flight or a train say at 3 o clock.
So, you want to wake up at say 235, I am giving
a slightly odd figure about the time, because
I do not want to make a round figure.
Now, when, when you go to bed at say 5 past
1 and if you have to wake up at 235 the time
of time that you can sleep is very short.
So, it is a difficult situation to really
wake up. So, you put alarm to wake up other
otherwise somebody has to wake you up, but
do this experiment. You go to bed at 5 past
1 or at any time any point of time then not
necessary it has to be this context.
Any context you go to bed at a certain time
, but till the last time last moment you go
to sleep, you should tell yourselves that
wake up at 235 or wake up at any this particular
time. If you can do this effectively or means
most of the people can do this, they will
wake up exactly at the time that they tell
themselves to do who wakes them up. What is
there?
Now, if there is anything to explain that
is the subconscious, we do many things in
the subconscious. This is proven, proven through
empirical evidence not really through mathematics
or physics or chemistry, but this is proven
that we have a subconscious, subconscious
is active subconscious sphere is larger than
conscious. And you can actually instigate
stimulate your subconscious into action and
your subconscious can deliver much better
compared to what it does at, we will revisit
that looking forward .
Now, several resources have eventually come
up with some steps. They have defined some
steps, it is not necessary to define, because
creativity involves umpteen number of phases.
You can divide them into umpteen number of
phases, but then making significant phases
defining significant phases may actually help
us to follow a step by step process like as
I said everything starts with identifying
the problem. So, once the problem is identified,
identified you have defined the scope and
the the domain completely and the elements
on the problem completely then starts your
creative process.
So, first step is idea generation then you
prepare then you incubate the idea illuminate
and verify that is the validation stage I
will move forward instead of wasting time
Idea Generation. Germination meaning taking
root idea take roots. So, the exact mechanism
nobody knows obviously, but then the moment
you have a problem either with or without
your knowledge. You actually start thinking
start thinking start you know your brain moves
from different chapters in different books,
like whatever you learn from your childhood
till now and tries to find some connection
connectivity or some similarity of this problem.
And then it tries to start creating ideas
and then somewhere some time your brain actually
start connect means start putting pieces together
and then it realizes that, ok. So, it is a
doable thing. So, the leap of faith comes
and you think that ok, right. There, there
can be a solution definitely, because this
is done that is done this way. So, I can connect
them and perhaps we can do. So, it might be
a plethora of ideas means many ideas not just
one idea and then suddenly some combination
emerges and you have some kind of a eureka
moment.
Then preparation or rationalization once an
idea is seeded the brain, brain embarks on
conscious search meaning you start you know
gathering information from different- different
technologies, different products, different-
different natural phenomena or events. And
then this is, this is the way you prepare
means you come up with many ideas . So, then
you, you have a reservoir of knowledge in
your mind that has been accumulated over the
year. So, you try to make back up back and
forth communication with your, your reservoir
or maybe whatever you see in the external
world and then you prepare .
Then comes incubation meaning here the subconscious
actually takes over without your knowledge,
you actually have entrusted your subconscious
to think and find a solution. So, your subconscious
now starts churning, it starts connecting
doing research. These process of you know
connecting by the subconscious is called Synaptics,
the joint different pieces of information
together .
And then without your knowledge suppose you
are sleeping in a midnight suddenly, midnight
1 2 3 o clock or somewhere you wake up thinking
that I have got a solution, it is not that
you visit, it came from it is not that it
came from nowhere . Actually, you were wide
awake all through awake in your subconscious
not in your conscious. So, your subconscious
was churning this idea trying to find a solution
connecting.
So, it is almost like fighting a war in your
brain. And then suddenly a solution comes
it immediately relays that solution to your
conscious and your conscious wakes you up
and you are awakened and you got this solution.
It has to happen like this, because consciously
as we can imagine that it is only 10 percent
of the brain subconscious is 90 percent of
the brain do not go by the data, but almost
like that. So, you have to really exploit
your subconscious much more much with much
more depth and width and what not and, and
put yourself under the challenge. Give yourself
the challenge only then that is why people
say necessity is the mother of invention.
Let me take a little bit of digression to
connect this with this . If necessity is the
mother of all invention that definitely means
that only when we need we become capable of
inventing meaning that we are actually capable
of inventing. But, when we are, are kind of
faced with a challenge we are thrust under
a challenge, we tend to be innovative inventive
which means that we have the capacity, but
usually we do not use it we use them when
situation.
So, demands we can actually simulate that
kind of a situation every time, all the time
and then make us innovative; that means, we
can actually we all are inventive . Only thing
is that we do not, we do not try to put ourselves
in a situation where we start inventing .
So, as I said when you wake up in the middle
of the night, you might think that suddenly
I had this epiphany or eureka moment, but
then it is not sudden. It was happening like
Newton, it is not the apple that fell on his
head and he invented or discovered gravitation.
Not that Newton was doing research for decades
to find to explain these phenomena of gravity.
Maybe this falling of apple in front of him
perhaps connected his years of research.
And then suddenly there was this moment of
moment of eureka like Archimedes like Alexander
Graham Bell, Alexander Graham Bell from very
childhood was interested in sound in, in inventing
something that that that can amplify sound
particularly, because his mother waswas deaf.
So, he was he always wanted that I should
do something for my mother .
So, wherever he was finding bits and pieces
of knowledge about sound he was gathering
and collecting. And on a day in his research
lab his assistant was you know tinkering with
something and there was suddenly there was
a tong sound then it attracted his attention
why this sound? Why this happened, because
there is nothing that create this sound, there
was a wire connected with some another metal
and when they came together there was a sound.
So, he , he immediately there was this serendipity
or if any moment when he thought, ok so, this
is the solution.
So, if apple would have fallen in front of
every other people, all other people nobody
even in front of Newton he also would not
have come up with this theory unless he was
churning with that idea for a long- long time.
All this moment actually is a connection between
your internal fight for a solution and this
external event that is what is what actually
is important . It is believed that our left
brain always try to help the right brain to
do this means they connect with all these
kind of event .
So, this is my theory that we can actually
tell our subconscious to be inventive to do
something continuously. We can actually poke
and we can improve ourselves both cognitive
and creative talent. We can actually improve,
if you, if you try to connect all those piecesthat
I am just explaining you will realize that
we can actually, we are actually capable of
doing more, but we do not do unless we are
challenged and that is why the society who
are more active there economically better,
better off.
Fourth stage is the Illumination, when you
realize this is the moment when your conscious
mind actually takes all the knowledge from
subconscious. And there I try to correlate
and try to put things together and then suddenly
a solution emergence and you see wow ah, ah.
So, this is solution I have got a solution
something like that it happened to even Marie
Curie.
Marie Curie put some, some photographic papersin
her drawer wrapped with some material and
after coming, coming back about a month of
holiday or so, she opened it to notice some
spot on the on this photographic plates.
And, then she immediately realized that this
is nothing, but a special ray coming from
the metal that has damaged my photographic
film, had it been with being with somebody
else who are not doing research on X-rays
would never have occurred to them that this
is coming from the metal and this is actually
X-ray. So, she invented X-ray that we discovered,
X-ray that way.
Last is a verification meaning validation
you now you make a prototype. And you show
it to the customers or anybody who are supposed
to be the user among the user community then
get the feedback and get it validated. Do
it repeatedly like the, the lean product development
philosophy and then eventually come up with
something that is validated and then go for
commercial production. So, it becomes Commercially
Relevant Technology .
Innovation and entrepreneurship can best be
explained with the slogan that is written
in Facebook little red book that if you do
not create something that can kill Facebook's.
Somebody else will meaning that it is a competitive
world unless you keep on inventing and remain
ahead of competition competitors will be ahead
of you and you will be nowhere. So, innovation
this statement can never be overemphasized
innovation is the driving force for entrepreneurship,
it is more true today than it was yesterday.
It will be more through tomorrow than it is
today .
From an entrepreneurial perspective, we need
to connect this to and then keep on inventing
the same thing what Peter Drucker said and
on my right actually is the distinction between
invention and innovation see that at leisure.
Thank you for this session .
