Every conference, every entrepreneur meeting, jam session, or talkathon I have attended in recent years has this buzz - call it hype - around the word "innovation".
As a writer, it feels good when something one has written quite some time ago is affirmed by contemporary events. So it is with my column Touchpoint that had an article titled "Lessons from IPL" I wrote in June of 2008. In that article, I chose to frame the flamboyant new kid on the block - the Indian Premier League - as an example to understand leadership.
Two recent conversations with senior executives at similar, but different retailers, brought up an interesting discovery. These two companies, in the traditional sari retailing business, are both well known and their brands well received in the market, especially in south India. A visit to their several retail outlets in Chennai and other cities present a picture of energy, activity, and growth - at any time of the year. The contrast is with the "modern" apparel retail showrooms selling readymade western garments.
People who know me are often amused at my ability to carp and the intensity with which I let off steam at most products or services I find lacking in common sense. In my defense, I retort that I am a perfectionist and have a short fuse for things that are shoddy or display customer unfriendliness or lack of process.
