For '80' percent Indian firms, innovation a priority
By Sudarshan Kumar   |   Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 02:16 IST   |    3 Comments
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For '80' percent Indian firms, innovation a priority
Bangalore: Does innovation drive growth? It is hard to believe, but the evidence is escalating. Despite the recession, 80 percent of organizations have increased or maintained innovation spend. Ajay Nanavati, Managing Director, 3M India says, "3M spends 6.5 percent of sales in research and development. Even at the time of recession that is in year 2009, we spent same amount." With the global economy slowly coming out of the shadow of recession, it is becoming evident that this crisis will be remembered as having changed our world forever. GBS Bindra, Global Innovation Director, Logica says that the history of innovation is history of recession. Business as before is no longer an option. Now companies have to come out of the traditional wearing and allow its employees to accept innovation thrives and learn from failure. Dr. Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director, eLab says, "Organizations can't afford to be islands, if they want to be ahead of the competition." According to the survey done by Logica, an IT and business services company and INSEAD, a business school, today, the global economy has become more inter-connected. It is no longer possible to craft a solution for one country or region in isolation while neglecting global interconnectedness. Sustainability has also come to the fore. What works as a short term fix will no longer be a good long-term solution. Global challenges such as climate change, energy shortages, food scarcity and health pandemics overshadow and influence our thinking about long-term solutions. Leaders from the public and private sectors are being challenged to rethink the interlinked relationships between business, government and society at large. Bindra says, "Those who build shelters, last for short terms and those who build windmills, last for long term." The need for innovation is clear. However, the nature of the innovation required has changed in line with the current context. Collaborative innovation seems to be key for success in the future. Even the developed world has realised that it requires the cooperation of emerging nations to create innovative solutions for global challenges. Adding to this point, Nanavati says, "At 3M, we don't allow language, geography and culture to come in the way in achieving our goals. We make ourselves obsolete before market obsoletes us. If a company wants to stay for long, they need to keep spending on innovation."

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