Shreyas Bakshi

Innovation is often visible in taglines, narratives, and presentations (PPTs), but does not always translate into outcomes reflected in Profit Before Tax (PBT). For many organisations, the innovation journey often begins with articulation e.g. innovation-led taglines vision and mission statements strategic narratives transformation messaging Some organisations go further and take measures such as: set up innovation labs launch dedicated initiatives include innovation in capability-building programmes establish new operating structures In fact, some organisations even position testing or experimentation facilities as innovation centres. The intent is visible. The aspiration is genuine. Yet in many organisations, the outcomes do not always move at the pace or scale initially envisioned. One possible reason may be that organisations often focus first on visible innovation measures before addressing deeper organisational alignment. These may not alw...

Working with client teams on cross-domain innovation, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern: the search for a ready-made solution. The tendency is to copy what worked elsewhere, import it, implement it. It feels efficient. It rarely is. Because innovation is rarely about direct adoption. It is about intelligent adaptation . The Best Practices Trap There's a deeper force at work — institutionalised and well-intentioned: the management paradigm of adopting best practices . To be clear, best practices have their place. Benchmarking, standardising, and importing proven methods can drive improvements in efficiency, quality, and consistency. That value is real. But the impact is incremental. True innovation generates disproportionate value — outcomes that are non-linear, whether it is for customer-facing aspects or internal to the operations. And disproportionate value almost never comes from doing what everyone else is already doing, only slightly better. When...