Can We Do Better than CSR? In India, Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act (2013) relate to corporate social responsibility (CSR). For a few years now, it requires companies clocking over a certain turnover or profit, to spend 2% of (their three-year annual) net profit on CSR activities each financial year. Allotting…
Will Uber Disrupt Itself? Most of you must have seen this image (or a version of it) in the last few years. I remember a lot of people sharing it or referring to it with almost a sense of pride and relief. It was almost as if the world had found a way to get…
Where Do We Go Now? Google’s AdSense program let’s publishers or website owners have relevant ads show up when users visit those sites. Google earns revenues (via their Google Ads – previously AdWords platform) from businesses wanting those ads showing up to relevant customer groups. In turn, they pass on some of that revenue (based…
Shared Tables This amusing but perhaps effective picture I saw in this tweet last month got some thoughts rolling. We could all use some personal space in public. Especially in countries like India. Where the population, combined with the general lack of regard for other’s personal space can be quite a challenge. Growing up, I…
My 9 Step Version of the Design Thinking Process This post about my 9-step version of the design thinking process has been long overdue. It is already explained in my book, ‘Design the Future’, but I also wanted to share it here for those interested. The five-step Stanford design thinking process is arguably the most…
Is it possible to fall in love with a company? Not the kind where you are loyal to a company or brand or product line and refuse to buy anything else.But truly revere a company because of their values. A few weeks ago, I was at the Indian Hotels company to meet a senior gentleman…
Common problems startups face – A Design thinking outlook I have been directly associated with startups since 2006. That’s when I started my career as a member of a venture capital investment team. All the way to my recent years consulting them and young businesses, I have heard a multitude of problems that startups face….
Choosing Business Opportunity to Avoid Change As an individual, if you have a habit your core doesn’t fully approve of, you’d find a disconnect that you might, either align with, or from time to time try to fix. It could be diet, fitness or even ethic related. And often, between control or restricting something for…
Consider times when you address people. Be it as entrepreneurs pitching to a banker or equity investor. Or as managers, giving top bosses a review. Or teaching students an odd topic. Or even just explaining something to someone, especially an elder. Whose point of view do you consider when preparing? We often tend to look…
Killer Design What comes to mind when you think of possible consequences of bad design? Of a badly designed product or service? You might think the product generates less revenues. Or a rise in the number of product returns, and unhappy, angry or disappointed customers. Right? But what about death? Of animals? Or worse, death…