Recommended read. Some choice excerpts:
Called jugaad, India's improvisational style of invention focuses on being fast and cheap—attributes just right for these times.
Or as they say in the Army: "The important things are *always* simple." Speed and Economy for any given level of quality will likely never go out of fashion. And they are India's strength.
A Hindi slang word, jugaad (pronounced "joo-gaardh") translates to an improvisational style of innovation that's driven by scarce resources and attention to a customer's immediate needs, not their lifestyle wants. It captures how Tata Group, Infosys Technologies (INFY), and other Indian corporations have gained international stature. The term seems likely to enter the lexicon of management consultants, mingling with Six Sigma, total quality, lean, and kaizen, the Japanese term for continuous improvement.
Aha. Des finally getting due terminological recognition in the mgmt world, or what?
Like previous management concepts, Indian-style innovation could be a fad. Moreover, because jugaad essentially means inexpensive invention on the fly, it can imply cutting corners, disregarding safety, or providing shoddy service. "Jugaad means 'Somehow, get it done,' even if it involves corruption," cautions M.S. Krishnan, a Ross business school professor. "Companies have to be careful. They have to pursue jugaad with regulations and ethics in mind."
And there lies the problem. Smart regulation IMHO can do away with a lot of 'avoidable' corruption or law-breaking. For example, I recall an incident that happened when I was traveling through Mumbai int'l airport in 2004 (having traveled through there since). The airport (and all public places like Rly stns etc ) were no-smoking zones. And the airport had provided no smoking lounge at all. Essentially they made law-breakers out of otherwise ordinary, decent folk by forcing them to light up in the restrooms making a smoky mess out there.
Likewise, smart regulation and quick grievance redressal can avoid a lot of the corruption that we do see in India. Strictly IMHO, of course.
Anyway, back to the subject:
The rise of jugaad raises another question: Do companies really need to pay someone to tell them something that's as elementary as keep it simple? "Having a consulting industry built around jugaad is almost anathema to the word itself," says Robert C. Wolcott, executive director of Northwestern University's Kellogg Innovation Network. "I'm not sure how this is different from old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity."
Nonetheless, jugaad seems aligned with the times. Recession-slammed corporations no longer have money to burn on research and development. Likewise, U.S. consumers are trading down to good-enough products and services. Meantime, the Indian economy continues to plow ahead despite the global recession—it grew at a 7.9% clip in the third quarter—suggesting its executives have a winning strategy.
Already, companies as varied as Best Buy (BBY), Cisco Systems (CSCO) , and Oracle (ORCL) are employing jugaad as they create products and services that are more economical both for supplier and consumer. "In today's challenging times, American companies are forced to learn to operate with Plan Bs," notes Radjou. "But Indian engineers have long known how to invent with a whole alphabet soup of options that work, are cheap, and can be rolled out instantly. That is jugaad."
Aha. Consulting industry ripe for another makeover or what? Its true that recessions bring out the best and worst in firms. Crises force out entrenched special interests and bring in welcome change that would otherwise not have seen the light of the day. So, let jugaad prevail, I guess, and deliver value to ever more people than before, affordably.
Added later:
Must mention. Here's more mention of ISB and how the consulting suits seem to be already co-opting the next mgmt paradigm.
At the same time, a cottage industry has popped up to offer jugaad instruction. Prasad Kaipa, a former manager at Apple's (AAPL) in-house training university, uses jugaad in the courses he's teaching at Hyderabad's Indian School of Business. The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where high-profile Indian-born professor C.K. Prahalad teaches, has opened a research office near Infosys' headquarters in India so faculty members can observe how Indian software companies come up with ideas. McKinsey consultants have begun talking up jugaad principles with clients, too.
and
Other jugaad proponents such as Kaipa of the Indian School of Business say companies are adopting India-style innovation without even knowing it. The ex-Apple researcher points out that the iPhone maker is a champ at repurposing existing ideas and technologies in simple ways which enables it to reduce R&D outlays and produce high-margin products. "Jugaad is an Indian philosophy, but it's not unique to India," Kaipa says. "Companies in all parts of the world can learn from it and make it work for them, too."
More pearls...
...a good example is an Indian villager who constructs a vehicle to transport goats and cattle by turning an irrigation hand pump into a makeshift diesel engine for a wooden cart.
...
"At Tata Group, we're used to thinking like this," says Ananth Krishnan, chief technology officer of Tata Consultancy Services. "The jugaad mindset is crucial. It's not just jargon."
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Ensoi.
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