Leopard 2 Tanks and the Irony

I can’t seem to get over the irony of how once upon a time, Russian tanks helped turn the fate of a world war against invading Germany..; to current times where multiple European countries are now sending German-made (Leopard 2) tanks to Ukraine to help save it from the invading Russians.   Somewhere between these…

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On Seeking Advice

Image: source When seeking advice, especially from someone you believe can offer great perspective, stick to gaining clarity on the big questions you need help figuring out. The advice you receive is obviously for you to consider, not to blindly implement. And especially not for you to defend when receiving it. Clarify if you think…

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Helmets from Scallop Shells

A lot of you probably love scallops?! [controls drool]. Now, imagine scallop shells that are thrown away after we’ve had the good stuff. Then, imagine 40000 tons of scallop shells thrown away! That is the quantity of discarded scallop shells the island of Hokkaido in Japan sees each year! Just left there, the shells would…

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Rest in Peace, Mr. R. K. Krishna Kumar

Padma Shri R. K. Krishna Kumar, Former Tata Sons Director, passed away yesterday. A key pillar of the Tata Group, and close confidante of Mr. Ratan Tata. I once had the privilege of meeting Mr. Krishna Kumar at the Tata Sons office a few years ago; on a special request through someone. I had some…

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Video Shorts – Discontinued Products Section

A cool feature I came across on a website, that is highly recommended especially for product companies that have a large and evolving portfolio. #servicedesign #userexperience #b2c #b2b #shorts

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Earth vs Jeff’s Trillion

When the population of animals or insects in a region grows substantially and causes damage, we call it an infestation. Yet we humans have never looked at it the same way when it comes to ourselves, on how we grow and expand to displace and occupy forests, oceans, plant and animal territory. And that concern…

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Product Design should factor Human Forgetfulness

Product design should factor for human forgetfulness where possible. This is a picture of the detergent tray from a leading brand, top-loading washing machine. The hole in the tray is where detergent, mixed with water, drips into the drum during a wash cycle. However, when the tray is opened to fill detergent, you notice it…

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An Indian Survivorship Bias Example

Many of you must have seen that drawing of a World War II plane with red dots on it. It explains Survivorship bias, a bias that statistician Abraham Wald figured out. Pic: source Simply put, survivor bias is our tendency to view a situation or pattern as a comprehensive representative sample, often without considering what…

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Product Design Inputs for a Standing Desk

Invisible Bed has been an interesting product company. As a recent owner of a wall mounted sit/ stand desk, I recently shared some product design inputs with the CEO. They were well received. The Product: The Challenge: 1.Pre-attached table-top – makes installation a challenge even for a 2-person team, as the table-top weight causes the…

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Everything as a Service

Over the past decade, the business world has had a real attraction to making everything a service. And rightly so. Would you rather struggle to repeatedly sell your product to the same customer? Or would it be better to offer it on a subscription model where you can keep improving it over time, and charge users a regular fee for using it?

However, if you compare the buying good ol’ products whenever you would need them, to subscription based services, a paradox seems to emerge.