Mastering time elasticity

In the much commented Art of War, Sun Tzu said: “The general who is skilled in defense hides under the ninth earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the ninth height of heaven.” Biding his time in some circumstances, acting in the shortest time with all his might in other circumstances.

As I walked along the cliff this morning, between sea and land, the smell of fennel suddenly hit my nostrils. Literally two seconds later, it was gone. Only then did I realise how fast I was walking, deluding myself that I was observing the landscape waking up in the early morning. Sure enough, I could see, hear, smell, but that was not observing. 

Chinovation: mastering execution

I’ve been wondering recently about the soul of Chinovation. Last night, I just connected three dots:

• At his conference on innovation a week ago, Marc Giget reminded us that half of inventions of European Renaissance originated from China. At the time – and until the 18th century – China represented roughly a quarter of the world economy, before crashing down in the 19th century as industrial revolution took off in Europe. Never allowing China to fall behind the rest of the world on technology has been a major driver for the current resurgence of China as an economic and political giant.

Indovation on a mission; Chinovation still soul-searching

I like to do some basic research before going to a conference as a participant – even as a speaker 🙂

Prior to attending Marc Giget’s conference in Paris on the emerging Chinese and Indian models of innovation, I started my basic research by googling the words ‘indovation’ and ‘chinovation’ that I had front of mind. While both searches return the usual 10+ pages of links, I was struck by a big difference.

Let’s learn from China innovative environmental action

Whether it is about environment protection or minority rights, China-bashing is a popular sport in the West, only tempered by greed at the prospects that the Chinese market offers for Western exports and fear about how the Chinese central bank might use its gigantic foreign currency reserves. Yet, it strikes me that when we make a mess of our own Nations or States of, say, 50 million inhabitants – virtually no progress on eradicating poverty, isolation and radicalisation of cultural minorities, failure to reform the financial system, mounting debt, etc – and by contrast contemplate the achievements of a government that leads a population 20 times larger, it is not greed that should temper the bashing, but a sense of humility.

Is China perfect? Of course, not. But I am impressed by its ability to observe, learn, and take innovative action. Here is an example about environmental sustainability.

The rise of simplicity: the reason behind the success of reverse innovation

Thanks to a number of spectacular successes obtained by blue-chip companies in recent years, Reverse Innovation is becoming a popular trend. Examples include GE’s portable ultra-sound equipment designed in China and sold worldwide, LG’s low cost air conditioner designed in India and sold worldwide, Renault’s Logan low-cost model designed for Eastern European markets and now selling on Western Europe, etc.

In an enlightening article, Vijay Govindarajan outlines a historical perspective from globalisation to reverse innovation, and highlights the key driver behind this evolution: the revenue gap between developed and emerging markets.  But there are other drivers that may be less visible but no less powerful.