When N R Naryanamurthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys, made a public statement, a couple of years back, that India had not done any ground breaking innovation in the past 60 years and that only Infosys had innovated, I shook with rage at the man's insolence. I had not heard of this book at the time, but I thought that in a country as diverse as ours, innovation must be taking place somewhere or the other. I thought that Mr. Murthy was seeing the whole of innovation scenario through a western lense. Indeed, this book is a fitting reply to that statement about innovation.
As a child, I have seen my father "fix" broken things quite innovatively. Even now, he has a toolkit handy and keeps meddling with broken stuff and most of the times finds a fix. As a professional I have worked with a firm named Associated Business Enterprises, which was into electronic surveillance and we used to call our founder "Jugaad Master" for his uncanny ability to find solutions to most critical problems in the field of electronic surveillance. He has probably pioneered the "plug and play" mechanism of installation of CCTV network in highly volatile and temporary business settings like exhibitions, parties, etc. Also, as the book suggested, he did not 'patent' the idea but 'monetized' it first. When I first enquired "What will you do, if your competitors copied your plug-n-play idea?" he would respond "We will see when they do? God is our guide!" with a smile.
So, this book comes to me both as a revelation and as a validation of many experiences that I have had in my life. I am sure it will be for many Indian professionals. The authors successfully elevate the concept of "Jugaad" which is often used as a reference to "cheap innovation" or at best to "street smartness" to a system of innovation that can actually make a difference to the world around. After reading the tome, I began feeling that Mahatma Gandhi, father of our nation, has used Jugaad in our freedom struggle. Though this is a claim today, if one finds the time and patience to look into it, one may find adequate proof of this.
By validating and systematizing Jugaad, the authors have successfully changed the way I look at innovation. They reverses the innovation framework used in the west and make innovation a "bottom up", "participative" process. Further, they showcase Jugaad as a fundamental building block for social, corporate as well as national innovation pipeline. Thus, from being a simplistic tool in the hands of a village sociopreneur Jugaad transforms into a powerful instrument which can be used by a government to transform a country and propel it into economic and social prosperity.
Lucidly written, replete with examples, rich in ideas, this book is a must read for all those who love India and have felt humiliated seeing the country from a western lense. This book not only offers solace, but also instills confidence that our methods were indeed correct and perhaps the same methods might lead us into the economic superpowerdom that we so aspire to hold. The only complaint that I have about this book is that it repeats itself quite frequently, is now drowned in the positive vibes it has managed to generate in me.