Leaving Mumbai

I am going to be leaving Mumbai (Bombay) soon. I just wanted to say thanks to all those who made my stay pleasant and enjoyable. I enjoyed meeting all of you and the conversations we engaged in. I look forward to my trip back to India.

Upcoming Travel Schedule

A colleague emailed me asking me about my open times to meet with him…After checking my calendar, I realized that I have a fairly hectic travel schedule coming up…Here are a few destinations coming up… After April 12, I will be in Seattle for a bit…before heading out again…

Jan 11-30	Mumbai, India	Family, Friends, Meetings with Executives and Professors, and talk at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
Feb 13-15	Monterey, California, USA	Workshop at the Naval Postgraduate School
Feb 16-April 5	London, England (will be living in London but traveling as needed to destinations that are noted below)	Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Feb 19-20	Wales, United Kingdom	Talk at Aberystwyth University
Feb 27-March 2	Los Angeles, California, USA	iConference
March 15-24	Manchester, England (and several other places…around England)	Friends and Rugby
March 25-28	San Francisco, California, USA	ISA Conference
April 3-5	Monterey, Mexico	Technology, Design and Management:Creating New Models of Possibility for All
April 5-12	Chicago and Minneapolis, USA	Friends and Wedding

Crafting Sustainable Innovation Programs - Aberystwyth University – February 20, 2007

I will be giving a talk on building sustainable innovation programs at Aberystwyth University (http://www.aber.ac.uk) on February 20th. My talk will take place at the School of Management & Business (see http://www.aber.ac.uk/smba/en/) and my host is Dr. Sajjad M. Jasimuddin.

Center for International Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science

I am getting ready for the next destination: London, England (actually, after India, will be back in Seattle for a bit, then will head down to Monterey, California for a meeting at the Naval Postgraduate School…then will fly off to London). While in London, I will be staying close to the South Bank of the Thames near to the Globe Theatre and behind the Tate Modern. I will be living in England from mid-Feb through mid-April. During this time, I will make several trips back and forth to the US for work-related meetings and conferences.

I look forward to meeting my new colleagues at the Center for International Studies (see http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CIS/)

Five Quick Thoughts....

I am continuing to enjoy my stay in Mumbai, India. So far, I have had a chance to meet with several executives, professors, and even students. Here are five quick thoughts:
(1) the innovative forces in India are being mobilized at an ever-increasing speed…
(2) India, may be its own worst enemy, if it does not come up with plans to deal with the influx of population, the large disparities in income, and also improvements to the public infrastructure…
(3) the Universities and Colleges here are second to none…what is even more interesting, is the fact that most students want to stay and work in India (rather than the historic trend of going abroad…see…LINK)
(4) there is increasing hope that the relationship between New Delhi (India) and Beijing (China) will improve…leading to greater economic cooperation between the two fastest growing economies…
(5) the food is excellent, the people are nice, and weather during the month of January is excellent…

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research - New Date

The date for my talk at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research has been re-scheduled for January 25. The talk will take place from 4 PM – 5.30 PM.

My trip to Churchgate...

Today, I went to Churchgate with my cousins. The train ride was a bit hectic…We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in all of Mumbai, Mandarin (near Gateway of India). We then roamed around the Colaba Causeway…and then landed up at Mocha’s near Eros… (to have some coffee and enjoy a few rounds of hookah [also known as shisha]…) Then, we took the train back…and I enjoyed a nice hot shave and a massage…Here are a few pics…

A train ride....or two...

Today, I will head into the town...Going to Churchgate, Colaba, Marine Lines, etc...To get there, I will enjoy a few nice train rides...For those that have never enjoyed a train ride in Mumbai, it is quite an experience…

Greetings from Mumbai…

Day 3 in Mumbai: So far, my trip has been excellent. I have had time to catch up with 7 cousins, 2 uncles, 3 aunts…In addition, yesterday I did head out and roam around Bandra and also managed to catch a movie…Today, I am at my cousin’s place resting and relaxing…

Mumbai has certainly gotten a lot more congested and crowded…Traffic is a real pain...While there have been large-scale revitalization efforts all around the city, many of the inside roads and small shops are still around…I was able to find my way to my grandparents house, without a map or directions, even though I have not been here for 14 years…was even able to find my way to my aunt’s place in Kalina on my own…

Pictures from Mumbai

Here are some pictures from Mumbai…mainly from areas such as Churchgate, Nariman Point, Colaba, Marine Lines, etc…

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

I will be giving a talk at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (www.igidr.ac.in) on January 24th.

I will speak on the challenges faced by firms when trying to build sustainable innovation programs. These findings have been deduced from an examination of innovation programs in over 30 organizations based in the North America, Europe, and Asia. 70% of the firms studied were listed in the Fortune 100. The remaining firms were smaller and newer, and operated in the high-technology area and working on emerging products (e.g. bioengineering) and services (e.g. information technology). I examined a wide assortment of organizations ranging from information technology firms, to manufacturing centers, and government research and development laboratories. Preliminary findings were presented in several executive briefing sessions and input from these sessions was used to refine our conclusions. Extrapolating from my examination of organizations, I will comment on how economies, especially those that are emerging (like India, Brazil, China, etc), must learn from the lessons and challenges of incumbents. Failure to learn and be mindful about innovation, at the organizational, or national, level can become a costly mistake.

I am looking forward to meeting the faculty, students, and honored guest of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research....

Next Stop: Mumbai, India…

After taking a week of rest to recoup from my 2007 travels, I am now getting ready to head off to Mumbai (Bombay) India…This will be my first trip back to my birthplace since 1995 (or 1994, I am a bit fuzzy on the year of my last visit). For those interested in learning more about Mumbai, please see - [LINK]. Besides catching with family and friends, I will be meeting executives from several high-technology firms and am planning several university visits.

Big Think Strategy - Bernd Schmitt

I am making my way through this book…I will post a review shortly…Thanks to my colleagues at Harvard Business School Press for sending me a complimentary copy for review and commentary…The review will be posted on Ideas4Innovation - http://ideas4innovation.blogspot.com

Pictures from California...So long 2007...

I closed out 2007 driving through California. During the trip, I spent time at San Francisco, Berkley (at the University of California), Palo Alto (at Stanford University), Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Jose…Here are some pictures…(The first two pictures were taken from myhotel room…I stayed at the Hilton on Kearny Street…26th floor view…)

Pictures from Oregon…

Here are some pictures taken at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR...