INNOVATION
Jugaad Innovation:
Doing More With Less
By Senorine Wasike
At the beginning of this year, I made
a selection of twelve innovation
books to read in 2020 as part of
my journey to mastery (you can tell that
I have been listening to a lot of Robin
Sharma). I came across a book titled,
‘Jugaad Innovation’ which did not interest
me much.
Last month as I was reading about how
the current Covid pandemic is affecting
innovation initiatives in companies,
Jugaad showed up again in most of my
searches, so I decided to research more
about the concept.
Jugaad is a Hindu term for a clever
solution in the face of adversity. Jugaad
innovators have the attitude to do
anything with almost nothing through
ingenuity and determination. The authors
of the book, Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu,
and Simone Ahuja, illustrate the concept
using different case studies across the
globe, making it easier to understand the
true meaning of Jugaad innovation.
Most companies are currently experiencing
rapid changes and scarcity of resources
as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consequently, firms are finding ways to
complement the traditional methods of
innovating, for example, adopting leaner
pipelines and less investment in R&D.
Prioritization is being given to projects
that address the ongoing challenges.
This article discusses six principles of
Jugaad innovation and how companies
can learn and adopt the approach in these
VUCA times where adversity seems to be
the new normal.
Seek Opportunity in
Adversity
There is a famous Indian porter from
Gujarat called Mansukhbhai Prajapati,
who exemplifies the spirit of Jugaad.
Prajapati is credited for a famous
innovation, the MittiCool clay innovation.
Forbes named him one of the most
powerful rural Indian entrepreneurs after
successfully introducing clay refrigerators
that worked well in the desert because
they were affordable and did not need
electricity.
Prajapati credited his success to an
earthquake that had caused a lot of
devastation in his village. After the
Beyond logical thinking, businesses
must think of how they can empathize
with consumers. Keeping the customers
and consumers close allows companies
to really understand the needs beyond
what formal research or focus groups
could indicate.
earthquake, one of the newspaper articles
had a photo of a pot smashed into pieces
captioned, ‘poor man’s fridge broken.’
This statement was the eureka moment
for Prajapati. Despite the adversity faced,
Prajapati saw an opportunity to find a
solution, one that is now enjoyed by many
people in 9 states and more than 63 cities.
The MittiCool has received 90 awards,
and many companies have adopted the
concept in manufacturing items such as
the nonstick pans.
Do More With Less
With companies mitigating on financial
and operational exposure, how can the
same firms achieve more with less? The
proper jugaad attitude can help companies
accomplish a great deal with very little
money. This can be achieved by optimizing
the use of resources while delivering high
value to customers and consumers.
Think about the boda guy (Motor bike
delivery man) who has made more home
deliveries than the usual delivery vans that
are limited by the size of the shopping
basket. With the lockdown, most
companies have partnered with delivery
firms such as SafeBoda to deliver goods to
consumers safely and efficiently.
Think and Act Flexibly
The current pandemic has challenged
how we think about everything. Many
organizations are now shifting from long
term strategic planning and forecasting
and adopting short term goals. This is not
to say that organizations have entirely
disregarded the long-term objectives;
however, the current business environment
is so fluid that what matters the most is
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