e Panorama 18

Bharuch Golden Bridge @ 2020 A.D.

...Inside...y R&D to Innovation y Blue Ocean employee experiencey Bill Gates at Harvardy letters from readers

e-Panorama August 07. Year2,Vol.18 http://groups.google.com/group/ePanorama

Newsletter of Bharuch District Management Association

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R&D to Innovation

To make India innovation-driven, we need to urgently increase the knowledge flow from ourvast network of publicly funded R&D labs in universities, technological institutes andnational research labs, says Abhijit Bhattacharya. The National Knowledge Commission(NKC) has come up with a innovation system, proposed to be measured by successfulindustrial applications of R&D outputs and a host of other indicators such as R&Dexpenditure, research publications.

Although R&D efforts are a relatively mature measure of input to innovation, transfer of thenew and complex knowledge, generated through these efforts from the lab to the industry is ahighly intricate process and perhaps poses the biggest challenge for reliable measurement ofinnovation. Information on many mission critical nuances of the invention is neverdocumented and is stored in tacit form, necessitating initial participation of the concernedresearcher in the industrial application process. This partly explains why often firms evenafter paying a hefty price for a patent fail to extract any value from its usage. Besides the lackof participation of concerned researchers in the knowledge transfer process, organisationalrigidities, lack of entrepreneurship at the executive level and financial constraints alsofrequently lead to non-commercialisation of breakthrough discoveries of R&D labs, both inthe public and private sectors. However, this normally works as a blessing for hordes oftechnology-savvy entrepreneurs who continuously sniff for knowledge spillover from thelabs and network with relevant experts to bring innovative products to the market withoutmaking much investment in R&D. According to a survey of US manufacturing companies,the positive correlation between R&D investments and innovative products for largecompanies is less than half of such correlation for small firms, indicating the fact that smallentrepreneurial firms are able to access and make good use of the new knowledge tricklingout from the research labs of big organisations.

Considering the fact that the Indian private sector predominantly relies on technologyprocurement for new product offerings, to make India innovation-driven we need tourgently increase the knowledge flow from our vast network of publicly funded R&Dlabs located in universities, technological institutes and national research laboratories.They account for nearly 80% of Indias R&D expenditure. Hence, NKCs effort to promoteinnovation accounting in our higher education system is a well-timed move.

Given that conversion of invention to innovation depends upon the participation of theinvolved scientists in the conversion process, there has to be sufficient motivation for ascientist working in a typical academic institution to participate in the commercialisationprocess. To maximise the chances of industrial application of R&D outputs, the academicinstitutions can consider introducing a flexible system which allows researchers to offer theirspecialised knowledge to the industry and best appropriate the value of their human capital.

OPPORTUNITY to associate full-time or part-time with firms that are keen to commercialisethe inventions of the researchers, or launch own startups without any adverse effect onacademic careers, should be created for the academia. The opportunity available for thefaculty to associate with industry and work on commercial applications of their research



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findings perhaps is the prime reason for high rate of innovation in the US economy. Thecareer development path of a faculty appears quite attractive since there is scope for directoperational involvement with the industry without any adverse impact on academicappointment. Moreover, the natural desire of researchers to realise the economic potential oftheir specialised knowledge creates widespread spillover of knowledge from the research labsto industry, leading to the formation of clusters of academic spin-offs in the vicinity of theR&D labs.

Currently there are a number of technology incubators operating from the campuses of a fewIndian academic institutions with substantial financial support from the department of scienceand technology. These incubators indeed have the potential to become catalysts for theformation of technology clusters. However, there seems to be no conceptual clarity regardingthe ways and means to make these incubators effective. Incubators established in puremanagement institutions without any regular R&D activities are trying to create companiesfocusing on product innovation. Other incubators that are operating from some technologyinstitutions including a few IITs are also failing abysmally to create hi-tech ventures in anysignificant numbers since the system does not provide enough motivation to facultymembers. There are even technology institutions that are spending scarce resources to attractpeople from faraway places for incubation in the campus instead of motivating their ownfaculty and students to create academic spin-offs. To make matter worse, almost none of ouruniversities and technology institutes have any technology transfer office to facilitate theregistration of intellectual property and its transfer to the industry.

(The author is professor of entrepreneurship, Institute of Management, NirmaUniversity)

*************************EXCELLENCE

A gentleman was once visiting a temple under construction. In the temple premises, he saw asculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he saw, just a few meters away, another identicalidol was lying. Surprised he asked the sculptor, do you need two statutes of the same idol.

No said the sculptor. We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage. Thegentleman examined the statue. No apparent damage was visible. Where the damage is askedthe gentleman. There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.

Where are you going to keep the idol? The sculptor replied that it will be installed on a pillar20 feet high. When the idol will be 20 feet away from the eyes of the beholder, who is goingto know that there is scratch on the nose? The gentleman asked.

The sculptor looked at the gentleman, smiled and said, "The God knows it and I know it ".

The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciatesit or not.

Excellence is a drive from Inside not Outside.

(Courtesy: Dr. Mayur J. Kapadia, GNFC Ltd.)



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Blue Ocean employee experience

Employee experience today has come to be defined as a resultant of factors likecompensation and related monetary benefits alone. This state of affairs reminds me ofProfs W Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgnes famous theory of Blue Ocean. In the BlueOcean theory, the ocean refers to the market or industry. Blue oceans are untappedand uncontested markets, which provide little or no competition, since the markets arenot crowded. Companies adopting the blue ocean theory align their activities towardsthe pursuit of differentiation. A red ocean, on the other hand, refers to a saturatedmarket where there is fierce competition, already crowded with companiesproviding the same type of services or producing the same kind of goods.

Dynamic organisations across the world do look for blue oceans in business; whichresults in rich dividends. Our company has also extended the blue ocean theory tocreate what we believe to be a unique employee experience. Moving away from a redocean and creating a blue ocean experience for employees should be the new mantrafor companies an experience that carries in itself the secret of a more sustainable andlasting experience. It is all about addressing the aspirational needs of an employee. Anaspirational need, in stark contrast to the red ocean of existential needs addressalstrategy, starts with the basic assumption that every employee is a professionallyself-seeking individual looking for a larger cause. This is not to underplay theimportance of money but change the focus from a material to a value perspective.

My grandmother used to say that Building Blocks are the best gifts for a baby, betterthan toys any day. And her reasons were simple yet insightful. She said, give a child atoy to play and he will relish it with curiosity for the first few days, explore its potentialfor the next few days and then break it down with frustration eventually. Give him thebuilding blocks, and he will create his own designs, get frustrated with them and buildnew ones; but he will never destroy the blocks. Why? Because he uses those blocks tomake his designs, which appeals to the selfish creativity that is central to every humanbeing.

Todays employee is similar to a baby, in more ways than one. He is perenniallycurious, he is creative and he is a professionally self-seeking soul waiting for a biggercause which he can self-create. This understanding brought us to what has become thekey feature of the unique employee experience that we offer to our people today we unleash his potential through intrapreneurship.

An intrapreneur is a person who focuses on innovation and transforms an idea into avalue-adding venture, operating within the organisational environment. Thats wherethe blueprint of captivating the employees attention and engagement lies. Give himbuilding blocks, not just gizmo toys. Give him that larger cause he is looking forbeyond compensation and perks. The key to holding tomorrows employee lies inletting him/her own tomorrows enterprise. And this him or her would be more broadbased than ever. The glass ceilings of age and experience will have to be destroyed.



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One of the most important pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to retain the star employees willonly be through allowing him to unleash his creativity and potential in creating his ownventures within the organisation.

What elements should a blueprint to empower employees in the blue ocean contain?For one, a platform needs to be created, a standard process put in place, wherein anemployee (irrespective of his level in the organisation) can share his idea with theorganisation and own its implementation too. Indeed, a true blue ocean employeeexperience should facilitate exchange of thoughts and ideas with senior managementand give the creativity of an employee an exposure across the organisation. Anemployee in such an environment should not be fettered by a structured growth path butshould be able to launch a Fast Track career growth plan for himself, which will bebased on his efforts and results.

Organisations have to give their employees ready to-use information, give themapplicable knowledge, hear them, act on their mandate, catalyse their intrapreneurshipand in this entire process help them unleash their potential. A philosophy of EmployeeFirst needs to be nurtured wherein employees are put up on top of the organisationalpyramid.

An empowered employee thinks in a very different way than one who is driven purelyby monetary compensations. He is eager to contribute value, he thinks long-term and heexceeds his own expectations. That is what makes for the foundation of a sustainableand successful enterprise. One that will not die when markets fall or rise!

(The author is President, HCL Technologies)

***********************************************

CORPORATETwo guys were hiking through the jungle when they spotted a tiger that looked both hungryand fast.

One of the guys reached into his pack and pulled out a pair of Nike. His friend looked at him"Do you really think those shoes are going to make you run faster than that tiger?

"I don't have to run faster than that tiger, his friend replied. "I just have to run faster thanyou".

Welcome to the corporate world!!

( courtesy Mr. Mukesh Mehta, Heubach Colour)



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Bill Gates at Harvard - June 07.Ive been waiting more than 30 years to say this: Dad, I always told you Id come back andget my degree. I want to thank Harvard for this timely honour. Ill be changing my job nextyear and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.

I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For mypart, Im just happy that the Crimson has called me Harvards most successfuldropout. I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class I did the best ofeveryone who failed.

But I also want to be recognised as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of businessschool. Im a bad influence. Thats why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I hadspoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me. Academic life was fascinating. I used tosit in on lots of classes I hadnt even signed up for. And dorm life was terrific. I lived up atRadcliffe, in Currier House. There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at nightdiscussing things, because everyone knew I didnt worry about getting up in the morning.Thats how I came to be the leader of the antisocial group. We clung to each other as a wayof validating our rejection of all those social people.

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call fromCurrier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the worlds first personalcomputers. I offered to sell them software. I worried that they would realize I was just astudent in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead they said: Were not quite ready, come see usin a month, which was a good thing, because we hadnt written the software yet. From thatmoment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of mycollege education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.

But taking a serious look back I do have one big regret. I left Harvard with no realawareness of the awful inequities in the world the appalling disparities of health, andwealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair. I learned a lothere at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to theadvances being made in the sciences. But humanitys greatest advances are not in itsdiscoveries but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether throughdemocracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity reducing inequity is the highest human achievement. It took me decades to find out.

You graduates came to Harvard at a different time. You know more about the worldsinequities than the classes that came before. In your years here, I hope youve had a chance tothink about how in this age of accelerating technology we can finally take on theseinequities, and we can solve them.

During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions ofchildren who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long agomade harmless in this country. Measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever. One



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disease I had never even heard of, rota virus, was killing half a million kids each year noneof them in the United States.

We were shocked. We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and theycould be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines tosave them. But it did not. For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save livesthat just werent being delivered. If you believe that every life has equal value, its revoltingto learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves:This cant be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.

So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: How couldthe world let these children die?

The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of thesechildren, and governments did not subsidise it. So the children died because their mothersand their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.

But you and I have both. We can make market forces work better for the poor if we candevelop a more creative capitalism if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that morepeople can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from theworst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer moneyin ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.

If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits forbusiness and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity inthe world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answerthis challenge will change the world.

I am optimistic that we can do this, but I talk to sceptics who claim there is no hope. Theysay: Inequity has been with us since the beginning, and will be with us till the end becausepeople just dont care. I completely disagree.

I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.

All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragediesthat broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing not because we didnt care, butbecause we didnt know what to do. If we had known how to help, we wouldhave acted.

The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. To turn caring intoaction, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocksall three steps.

Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to getpeople to truly see the problems. When an aeroplane crashes, officials immediately call apress conference. They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similarcrashes in the future.



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But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: Of all the people inthe world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent ofthem were on this plane. Were determined to do everything possible to solvethe problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent.

The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable deaths.

We dont read much about these deaths. The media covers whatsnew and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in thebackground, where its easier to ignore. But even when we do see itor read about it, its difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. Itshard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we dontknow how to help. And so we look away.

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cuttingthrough the complexity to find a solution.Cutting through complexity to find a solution runsthrough four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach,discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartestapplication of the technology that you already have whether its something sophisticated,like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

But if you want to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; youhave to convey the human impact of the work so people can feel what saving a life meansto the families affected.

I remember going to Davos some years back and sitting on a global health panel that wasdiscussing ways to save millions of lives. Millions! Think of the thrill of saving just onepersons life then multiply that by millions. Yet this was the most boring panel Iveever been on ever. So boring even I couldnt bear it.

What made that experience especially striking was that I had just come from an event wherewe were introducing version 13 of some piece of software, and we had people jumping andshouting with excitement. I love getting people excited about software but why cant wegenerate even more excitement for saving lives? You cant get people excited unlessyou can help them see and feel the impact. And how you do that is a complex question.

The defining and ongoing innovations of this age biotechnology, the computer, the Internet give us a chance weve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death frompreventable disease.

Sixty years ago, George Marshall came to this commencement and announced a plan toassist the nations of post-war Europe. He said: I think one difficulty is that theproblem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to thepublic by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reacha clear appraisement of the situation. It is virtually impossible at this distance to graspat all the real significance of the situation. Thirty years after Marshall made his



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address, as my class graduated without me, technology was emerging that would makethe world smaller, more open, more visible, less distant.

The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful network that hastransformed opportunities for learning and communicating.

The magical thing about this network is not just that it collapses distance andmakes everyone your neighbour. It also dramatically increases the number ofbrilliant minds we can have working together on the same problem and thatscales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.

At the same time, for every person in the world who has access to thistechnology, five people dont. That means many creative minds are left out ofthis discussion -- smart people with practical intelligence and relevantexperience who dont have the technology to hone their talents or contributetheir ideas to the world.

We need as many people as possible to have access to this technology, because theseadvances are triggering a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They aremaking it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, corporations,smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches, and measure theimpact of their efforts to address the hunger, poverty, and desperation George Marshall spokeof 60 years ago. Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the greatcollections of intellectual talent in the world. What for? As you hire new faculty, awardtenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves:

y Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?

y Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the worlds worst inequities? ShouldHarvard students learn about the depth of global poverty the prevalence of worldhunger the scarcity of clean water the girls kept out of school the children whodie from diseases we can cure?

y Should the worlds most privileged people learn about the lives of the worlds leastprivileged?

These are not rhetorical questions you will answer with your policies.

My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted here never stopped pressingme to do more for others. A few days before my wedding, she hosted a bridal event, at whichshe read aloud a letter about marriage that she had written to Melinda. My mother was veryill with cancer at the time, but she saw one more opportunity to deliver her message, and atthe close of the letter she said: From those to whom much is given, much is expected.

When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given in talent, privilege,and opportunity there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.



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In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on anissue a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it thefocus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you dont have to do that to make animpact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to getinformed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut throughthem.

Dont let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of thegreat experiences of your lives. You graduates are coming of age in an amazing time. As youleave Harvard, you have technology that members of my class never had. You haveawareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you likelyalso have an informed conscience that will torment you if you abandon these people whoselives you could change with very little effort. You have more than we had; you must startsooner, and carry on longer.

Knowing what you know, how could you not? And I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflecton what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judgeyourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on howwell you have addressed the worlds deepest inequities on how well youtreated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but theirhumanity. (Courtesy: Mr. Kamlesh Udani ) *************************************************y Once upon a time quality was craftsman's pride, now it is a departmental mess. y Once upon a time mouse was an untouchable mammal, now it is handheld pest.

y Once upon a time leadership mattered, now dealership rules the world.

y Once upon a time wisdom was cultivated by wise people, now it is flashed on T-shirts.

y Once upon a time teacher taught and students learnt, now teacher trade & studentsconsume.

y Once upon a time population was a problem, now it is a flourishing mass market.

y Once upon a time competition brought out the best, now it brings out the worst in people.

y Once upon a time there was a golden rule, now if you have gold, you rule.

y Once upon a time truth telling was good for your soul, now it is bad for promotion.

y Once upon a time success meant living by ideals, now it is about using above allprinciples.

y Once upon a time beauty was in the eye of the beholder, now it is booming business. ( Courtesy : Mr. Jiten Bhuta, Director - Jay Process, Mumbai.)



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....Letters from Readers... Thank you so much for the issues of ePanorama. I moved from Ankleshwar toSingapore last August and thankfully still receive (and would like to continuereceiving) the e issues!

I find that the pictures in ePanorama are quite nice but they are not alwaysfrom the Bharuch/Ankleshwar region. There is a lot of beauty amidst thesecities and would be a good idea to have that represented in the ePanorama.

Sanjay Chavan. / Sanofi Aventis, Singapore

I am impressed with the amount of wealth of knowledge you have collated. Keepit up! Best wishes Wing Commander. Bhupendra Renjen / Global Nexus / Noida

Good one. i really enjoyed each of the articles especially the HR one. Regards and all the best.

P. Vijayaraghavan / I P C L.

I am delighted to receive Bharuch District Management Association Newsletter.The newsletter is a good reading material and I will be sharing it with mycolleagues. Congratulations to the editorial committee for the great team work.

Kaushal Mehta /Executive Committee Member (Pune Management Association)

No doubt this is very good & informative newsletter. N K KURIEN / MM / GNFC LTD / BHOPAL (MP)

Wonderful !! precious content covered. i feel i could go by only this issue ofePanorama i can be what i want. really it's..... i dont have words to appreciatethis article. i am thankful to you for ePanorama.

Jatin D Madhani / Reliance, Jamnagar



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National Bird at Narmadanagar

Speech uttered without bias is integrity,Provided no unspoken bias hides in the heart.

Kural - verse 119

Those businessmen will prosper whose businessprotects as their own the interests of others.

Kural - verse 120

Whatever people in general do not understand, they are always prepared to dislike;

the incomprehensible is always the obnoxious. Letitia E. Landon

My kind of loyalty is loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders.

Mark Twain



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::Editorial Committee::

ChairmanMr. Jayen Mehta, GNFC Ltd.

MembersMr. Mukesh Mehta, Heubach Colour,

Ms. Sheela Mistry, Insight Associates, Mr. G.M. Patel, GNFC Ltd.

Dr. M.S. Patel, GNFC Ltd.

ePanorama Advisory committee Mr.K A Shah - President Mr.Kamlesh Udani - Past President,

Mr.Ashok Panjwani - Executive Member

Bharuch District Management Association601/602 Vaikunth Township, Opp: Polytechnic College

Bharuch - 392002, Gujarat - India : +91 2642 228190

Fax: +91 2642 226619

To send your feedback, suggestions and articles to [email protected]



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e Panorama 18

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