Shreyas Bakshi

Artificial Intelligence (AI), in this article, refers to the intelligence demonstrated by machines, and Natural Intelligence (NI) to that possessed by all varieties of species in nature, including human beings. We are living in a day and age where AI is coming close to, and is expected to even transcend NI, in the near future. Watches, phones, facial recognition technology, voice search…. every aspect of our lives has an AI component to it. This gives us the impression that machines already know or will soon know more about us than we know about ourselves! Many posts on social media about Google and Facebook vividly bring out some of these aspects. When it comes to NI, it is traditionally believed that this is an in-born trait and nothing much can be done about it. And it is often said that we are born intelligent, but education and experience made us ‘dumb’ . All these thoughts make me wonder … “Is this really so?”, “How do we deal with NI in the era of AI?”, and so on. Here...

 Copyright Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd

  Copyright Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.

  Abstract After having dealt with silos amongst people, we have found ways of creating silos amongst innovation methods. Each method claims to be ‘the master’ method for innovation and each new one claims to be superior to the previous ones. Many organisations that leverage multiple methods tend to do so by applying each one in specific stages of a project. While working with multiple methods in different roles of innovation, the author realises that many methods say the same thing in different words and have something unique to offer across different stages of an innovation project. With this realisation, the author has led a team of innovation managers to evolve a harmonised method which can be contextualised in diverse set of contexts. The attempt of this paper / article is to share an overview of the harmonised method, some of its key outcomes and ways in which the method became a pivot for institutionalising innovation culture across an already innovative Group of companies...

Despite having substantial knowledge and expertise at their disposal, quite a few leaders who want to institutionalise innovation are unable to do so. The situation that they find themselves in, is what I call a 'mirage'. In this book, I share my learnings on how leaders can deal with this mirage. I have also shared two case stories where I have been directly involved in institutionalising innovation. The intent of this book is to trigger new thoughts in the minds of the leaders who are passionate about innovation and intend to institutionalise it across their organisation. The book attempts to address the following questions ·         What is innovation? ·         What is institutionalising? ·         Is innovation about ideation only? ·         Can innovation be done methodically? ·         We have es...

  Most leaders that I have engaged with have expressed the desire to become this. The questions that remain largely unanswered for them are related to the ‘how-tos’. Here is my attempt to answer these. In the interest of mutual learning, I welcome your thoughts on this topic. The increasing pace of change and uncertainty over the past few decades has alerted business leaders, across the world, towards an urgent need to build an agile and adaptable organisation. This sentiment has only grown with the onset and spread of the global pandemic, one that has served as a major inflection point for organisations, who have either had to embrace change or risk becoming obsolete. The story of Choluteca Bridge, in Honduras, recently went viral on social media. It has personified this uncertainty rather well, shedding light on a very important management lesson i.e., build a ‘self-adaptable’ organisation.     While dynamic leaders aspire to make their organisations gro...

Last week, when some of my clients wished me on #gurupurnima, I started reflecting on whether I have taught them or learnt from them. Sharing my thoughts as they emerged based on my tenets of learning.  Do share some of your own learnings from learning as well. Together, let us build a library of learnings. I look forward to an enriching discussion. We  all learn many things in our lives. We also share some these for the benefit of others. So, this is me, sharing my learnings on learning itself... [L]earning is a provisional licence to earn. Learning enables us to earn. Both, learning and earning, can take on many different shapes and forms. For instance, learning can be academic or experiential in nature. Earning, on the other hand, can be financial, social or emotional. Similarly, both can be planned and/or unplanned. Planned refers to the learnings that we go after in a systematic way, whereas unplanned implies the ones that we gain ‘accidentally’. Although, the...