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…
The Mortal Risk of Riding Shotgun in an Autonomous Vehicle We live in strange times. And in interesting and amusing times. A recent article I read, spoke about how most automotive manufacturers are misleading (or are confused themselves), when they claim to offer autonomous driving features in their vehicles. Their mindset seems hugely flawed, if…
Venture Realty Capital Back when I worked in the venture capital space, startups always came seeking a lot of investment. Often far more than they needed. We would sit with ventures we thought had some potential, and during the process, break down the investment needs. Eventually, we would arrive at a number that was close…
Theranos – Drew First Blood A friend recently posted a question on a NODD community group about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. He wondered if the investor community would be more cautious about the healthtech, and if there would be stringent methods of due diligence on healthtech and a cloud of suspicion. While I didn’t answer…
What qualifies as true innovation? The word ‘innovation’ does get passed around a lot nowadays. From large businesses to startups and perhaps even consultants like myself. If you take a moment to think about it, innovation is not as commonplace as we might assume it is. If you had an almost infinite budget, and you…
Anti-crime colour balls Imagine you are a store manager, and a masked thief has you at gun or knife-point, asking you to empty the cash into his or her bag. How would you recognize the thief outside in a crowd of people? Especially if he or she had an accomplice, and the bag exchanged hands?…
Changing User Behaviour I am currently reading the book Hooked, and happened to read something very important. I shared the excerpt with a design thinking group I am administrator of. The snippet read: John Gourville, a professor of marketing at Harvard Business School, stipulates that “many innovations fail because consumers irrationally overvalue the old while…
Buffer Browser Google has become increasingly intrusive over the years. Keep all your location-related settings off, and she still knows where you are. And if that’s enough, she’ll shamelessly ask you to write a review about the place. If privacy means nothing to you, there is no problem. But in case you’re one of those…
CrystalPlanet: SHe
How can we make it easier for them while dismantling the patriarchy?