COVER STORY

The innovative spirit is not bound by geography or hierarchy. Companies need to find ways to harness this and power their way forward

The genius on theshopfloor

Having walked for about 5000kilometres during summer,winter and autumn, in differentparts of the country over the last 11years, I am convinced of thepervasiveness of the creative spirit inIndia at all levels, among all sectors andsections of society, particularly amongdisadvantaged people. In Shodhyatras(an annual journey through rural India to discover innovative projects andproducts), conducted by nongovernmental organisation SRISTI(Society for Research and Initiatives forSustainable Technologies andInstitutions) under the aegis of theNational Innovation Foundation, we havebeen surprised over and over by theingenuity of people outside theframework of organised educationalsystems. They are able to developsolutions that are easily replicable and yetunique without any of the amenities thatwe in the urban centres have come totake as given.

This is impressive, no doubt, but I mustclarify that the spirit of enquiry, the faithin the creative potential of commonpeople and the ability to learn fromunprivileged minds need not be

restricted to the informal sector. In fact,if unschooled minds can be so creative,then workers and supervisors in themanufacturing sector can and should beeven more creative. Perhaps many ofthem already are, but companies areunaware of the contribution of theirpeople on the shopfloor. This is thelearning that I have gathered from theShodhyatras and through my dealingswith the corporate world.

Currently Shodhyatras are organisedtwice a year during extreme summersand winters, where people walk anaverage of 20-22 km per day covering120-170 km over a period of 6-8 days.The teams conducting the yatras havecome across innumerable instances ofinnovation. Villagers apply traditionalknowledge, handed down thegenerations, to simplify their lives andthose of others. Not only do they do so inan innovative fashion, their work goes along way towards the conservation of bio-diversity and nature in general.

Over the years, the yatras have helpedunveil these projects and therebyprovided innovators with a platform todemonstrate their work. It will be

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extremely useful if we can carry thisconcept through and replicate thisprocess in the corporate sector. Itwould help companies uncover hiddentalent and facilitate the setting up ofan innovation pipeline.

The Shodhyatra is premised onseveral assumptions. For one, manyinnovators and traditional knowledgeholders do not know that theirknowledge matters. They innovate as amatter of necessity. They do notdocument or publicise the innovation.They willingly share their work and ifignored, carry on without muchthought or rancour. In some instances,the innovators are aware of the impactof their work but do not commerciallyexploit their efforts. They share theirinnovations freely and are alwayswilling to help others.

Tapping into local networksCompetitions conducted under theaegis of the Shodhyatras have helpeduncover local genius across the country.During one such event, one of theparticipants came up with an idea for atelevision as a four-sided cubicalstructure so that people can sit aroundit, look at each other and also theprogrammes. Likewise, a lantern with amusic system designed by GhulamMohammad Mir of Kashmir and a chaffcutter with a pedal-operated clutchbrake by Kamruddin Saifi in UttarPradesh have been the result of suchcompetitions. Thousands ofinnovations, all over the country,convince us that if we have notdiscovered more innovations, the faultlies not in the people as much as in ourway of looking at their work.

The fact is that we may know a greatdeal, but we feel strongly only about afew things and when it comes to doingsomething about those, the list narrowseven further. This keeps us frominnovating as much or as rapidly as thosethat devote their time and energiestowards developing unique solutions.

Innovators rise above all hurdles and itis therefore most fitting that we honoursuch people at their doorstep. Thismotivates them and drives home thevalue of their knowledge to thecommunity at large.

If knowledge matters, creativity counts,innovations transform, then incentivesinspire. But, incentives need not bemonetary or individual. SRISTI, theNGO behind the Shodhyatras, has nevergiven a monetary award except tochildren and yet, it has built a grassrootsinnovation movement.

The key learning here is that innovatorsare not driven by rewards alone. They arenatural problem solvers and aremotivated by recognition from theirpeers and colleagues.

Parallels in the corporate world In almost every company, I draw ablank when I ask whether there is a file or a register or adatabase of local innovations. If innovations really matter,why should cataloguing

them be so difficult? Is it that inmost hierarchical organisations,wisdom is believed to flow from thetop and hence whatever does notflow from top management, doesnot matter?

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COVER STORY

The essence of the future

Bappi Roy lives in a nondescriptresidential enclave known as Basudhacomplex in a village in the Bankuradistrict of West Bengal. He has spentmost of his life in this remote village,far from the rapid pace of modernityand growth that has engulfed urbanIndia. During the last Shodhyatra,Roy stunned everybody by coming up with a concept that has thepower to revolutionise televisionviewing in India.

Roys felt that since Indians like tosit around a fire or meet in circles,they should be able to watchtelevision the same way. His ideawas to create a square televisionmonitor that could beamprogrammes in every direction. Itwon a prize from the Shodhyatrateam and has evoked greatenthusiasm in the corporate world.

In yet another example ofingenuity, Paras Nath, a studentof Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya,Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh worriedabout how to convert noise intoenergy at busy thoroughfares.

Paras Nath came up with anidea of a sensitivemembrane; the concept isbeing taken forward byvarious agencies incoordination with SRISTIand Shodhyatra teammembers. The group isworking together to createa system that canchannelise the noise

energy into areas of daily life.

The Shodhyatras have helpeduncover innumerable new ideas andpaved the way for these to becomeinnovative solutions. They haveshown that innovation can take placeoutside the confines of the formalsector; all it needs is a push at theright time.

The journey began in March 1998when during Shodh Sankal (a meetingof innovative farmers organised bySRISTI), it was felt by the organisingteam that innovators in rural Indiaoften live in oblivion and their work,although significant, rarely ever findsuse in the rest of the country. Soonafter this conference, a workshop ona knowledge network for innovativefarmers was organised inAhmedabad, where discussionsveered around the same topic. Afarmer who was attending theworkshop, Gafarbhai, suggestedstarting a Shodhyatra which wouldhelp bring to light such innovations.He proposed that the walk begin fromTalaal, his village situated on theoutskirts of the Gir lion sanctuary.

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There has been no looking backsince. Shodhyatras are organisedtwice a year, through rural India, insearch of innovative farmers,enterprising women, creativestudents and others.

People walk an average of 20-22 kmper day covering 120-170 km over aperiod of 6-8 days during the yatras.The objective is to reach the remotecorners of the country. TheShodhyatra is based on the beliefthat the hardship and challengesfaced by people in these areasmotivate innovative thinking. Thefocus is also on seeking out peoplewho care about nature, explorecreative ways of solving localproblems, save energy and foster aspirit of sharing by letting othersknow about their innovations andtraditional knowledge.

It is a journey of mutual learning, andsharing of knowledge. During theyatras, the team sharesknowledge andpractices gatheredover the years.This is thenintegrated into theHoney Beedatabase which is alarge and diverse network of innovators.

SRISTI, National InnovationFoundation and Honey Bee Networkvolunteers help organise theShodhyatras, in collaboration withregional partners. A route is identified

many months prior to the event andthen a small group spreads outscouting for innovators, outstandingtraditional knowledge holders andsuch others. The innovations andapplications of traditional knowledgeare documented and the outstandingcases felicitated during the yatra. Theresponse to the programme has beentremendous as people have flocked tothe events and demonstrated theirskills with great enthusiasm.

In most cases, not only are theinnovators oblivious to the impact oftheir innovations, they are also deniedtheir due benefits. For instance,Khobragade, an underprivilegedfarmer from Naghbhid, Chandrapur,who owned just three acres of land,developed several paddy varieties,one of which, HMT, diffused over100,000 acres in five states. There isno other recorded instance of afarmer developed variety diffusing sowidely. Yet Khobragade remains poor.Mansukh Prajapati from Gujarat made

a clay tawa (hot plate) and lined itwith azo noble liquid to make anon- stick pan that sold at Rs40. A worker in BEST,Mumbai, has developed a cyclewith a detachable wheel so

that workers can traveleasily in remote areas.

These examples arelife-changing

innovations. The products are beingdeveloped by the poor, for the poor,and carry a wealth of possibilities forthe entire world.

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Unfortunately, this is the way mostcompanies function. Innovation cannever thrive in such an environment.Several years ago, a large company hadinvited me for a programme onintellectual property but failed toprovide any record of past innovations.When I sought additional information,they sent a retired employee to IIMAhmedabad, who spoke about a seriesof innovative processes that had beendevised by people down the hierarchicalstructure. However he did not recollecthaving rewarded or recorded theachievements of the innovators.

The fact is that if a companyconsistently outperforms itscompetitors, it is doing so due toinnovative practices adopted by itsemployees. Unless they are recognised,employee motivation will dim and nocompany can afford to let that happen.

Also, it is important to know that aninnovation by a worker on the shopfloorwill not show a trained engineer orsupervisor in a bad light. It will,instead, bolster the supervisorsinfluence within the company.

Innovate to succeedIn order to ensure that innovations arenot lost in the hierarchical jumble oforganisations, it is important to create an

environment that nurtures innovation. Itis as importat as the innovation itself.Some time back, a correspondent of theNew Scientist magazine asked whether Ihad any innovations to my credit. Apartfrom a small modification in my chair tomake my lower back rest better and a fewlaboratory innovations, I couldnt think ofany. However, I take pride in the fact thatI have helped build platforms thatencourage innovation.

Companies must do the same. Theyneed to treat ideas with patience andforesight to convert them into innovativepractices and products. They also needto institutionalise a reward andrecognition programme that honoursinnovators within the organisation.

It is also important to set up systems thatwill enable and perpetuate processes thatfacilitate learning from within, frompeers, from common people and fromnature. Ideas flourish when they areallowed to migrate freely between thesefour sources of innovation.

This is the reason I take my students tothe Himalayas as a part of theShodhyatra course. It helps them learnfrom nature. This is also the reasonscores of people walk in search ofcreative and knowledgeable people. Byrecognising them, we are reallyrecognising the spirit of India.Companies can adopt similar tactics onthe lines of the above principle toembrace the true spirit of innovation.

The ice creamcone is nothingbut a rolled upwaffle cone.Way back in

1904, an enterprising icecream vendor

ran out of dishesand asked a waffle seller,

standing besidehim, to help out

with a cone.

?DID YOU KNOW

Anil Gupta

COVER STORY

About the AuthorAnil Gupta teaches at IIM Ahmedabadand is executive vice chairman of theNational Innovation Foundation

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