Navi Radjou (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian born scholar and an innovation and leadership advisor based in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

. He is a Fellow of

Judge Business School Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is considered to be pa ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and has spoken and written widely on the theme of

frugal innovation Frugal innovation or frugal engineering is the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production. Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from a durable good, such as a car or telephone, in order to sell it in d ...

Career

Radjou was born in India with French-American dual citizenship. He earned a diploma in technical studies (DEST) from the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and an MS degree in information systems from Ecole Centrale Paris. He started his career with IBM at its Toronto Software Lab and eventually served nearly ten years as Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, a US-based technology research and consulting firm. At Forrester, he investigated how globalised innovation – with the rise of India and China as both a source and market for innovations – is driving new market structures and organizational models called "Global Innovation Networks". During his tenure at Forrester, he advised senior executives around the world on technology-enabled best practices to drive collaborative innovation, global supply chain integration, and proactive customer service. Till 2011, he served as the Executive Director of the Centre for India & Global Business at

, where Jaideep Prabhu was the director. Radjou is a Fellow at Judge Business School and a

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

(WEF) faculty member. He is a member of WEF's Global Future Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. For several consecutive years, he has served on the international panel of judges for ''The Economist''’s Innovation Awards. Navi also served as a judge for

FastCompany ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan We ...

's 2017 World Changing Ideas Awards.

Writing

At Forrester, Radjou published more than a hundred reports on business topics related to innovation and emerging markets. Based on his extensive field research in India he published in 2008 a ten-part report series titled "India: The Innovation Giant (Re)Awakens", which explores the innovative business models pioneered by large corporations and grassroots entrepreneurs in India. Radjou is co-author of ''Frugal Innovation'' published worldwide by

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

in 2015. The book explains the principles, perspectives and techniques behind frugal innovation. He is also co-author of the international best-seller ''Jugaad Innovation'' (Jossey-Bass, 2012). described by ''

'' as "the most comprehensive book yet to appear on the subject" of frugal innovation. He is co-author of ''From Smart To Wise'', a book on next generation leadership. He is also a regular columnist on ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Ma ...

'', ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'', and maintains a blog on HarvardBusinessReview.org. Navi's next book, Conscious Society: Reinventing How We Consume, Work, and Live (due in 2018), shows how we can all expand our awareness and tap into our abundant inner-resources—love, ingenuity, wisdom—to co-create inclusive and sustainable communities. In doing so, we can consciously steer human evolution to a better future.

Speaking

Radjou frequently acts as a

keynote speaker A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework f ...

and is widely quoted in international media. In 2014, Navi delivered a talk at

TED Global TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

on frugal innovation, which has received over 1,5 million video views. He is a frequent speaker to senior executive groups and has spoken on the topics of innovation and globalisation at leading conferences organised by the

, Council on Foreign Relations, The Conference Board, TiE (Indus Entrepreneurs),

Milken Institute The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California with offices in Washington, DC, New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-based p ...

, Asia Society,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Awards and recognition

Radjou has had wide exposure in national and international media, including ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Economist'', ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', ''Financial Times'', ''Le Monde'', and ''Nikkei Shimbun''. He is ranked as one of the 50 most influential persons shaping innovation in France. In 2013, he received the ''Thinkers50 Innovation Award'' — given to a management thinker who is re-shaping the way we think about and practice innovation. In addition, his book Jugaad Innovation was shortlisted for the ''2013 Thinkers50 CK Prahalad Breakthrough Idea Award''. Named by ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' as an "expert in corporate innovation," he was also honoured by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', which called his co-authored work on National Innovation Networks – the first-ever ranking of countries by their collaborative aptitude to integrate innovation capabilities across multiple regions – as "ambitious" and "sophisticated". His latest research on "polycentric innovation" – a new approach that multinationals can use to integrate globally distributed R&D and innovation capabilities – has been featured in ''

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''Global Intelligence for the CIO'', and ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

''. Similarly, his concept of " indovation" — the unique process by which innovations are developed in India to serve a large number of people sustainably — has been featured in ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' and in several conferences organised by Asia Society.

Criticism

Radjou and his co-authors’ work on

jugaad ''Jugaaḍ'' (or "Jugaaṛ") is a colloquial Indo-Aryan word, which refers to a non-conventional, frugal innovation, often termed a "hack". It could also refer to an innovative fix or a simple work-around, a solution that bends the rules, or a ...

(innovation) has been criticized by Indian academics and scientists such as Rishikesha Krishnan,

Vijay Govindarajan Vijay Govindarajan (born 18 November 1949), popularly known as VG, is the Coxe Distinguished Professor (a Dartmouth-wide chair) at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business and Marvin Bower Fellow, 2015–16 at Harvard Business School. He ...

, Anil Gupta, and RA Mashelkar who believe the practice of jugaad can lead only to makeshift solutions that are unsafe, unscalable, and unsustainable. Radjou addressed this criticism in an article in ''Thinkers'' magazine arguing that jugaad isn’t intrinsically good or bad. Jugaad is a creative mindset: it is the ''intention'' (good or bad) of the person using this ingenious mindset that determines the quality of the outcome (positive or negative).

Notes

* Made in India for the 21st Century, Navi Radjou, 28 January 2010, Asia Society New York * Transforming R & D To Win in Global Innovation Networks, Navi Radjou, 1 March 2007, PARC Forum, * Turbocharging the Franco-Indian Partnership, Navi Radjou, 15 July 2009, Bloomberg Businessweek, * Polycentric Innovation: A New mandate for Multinationas, Navi Radjou, 2 November 2009, The Wall Street Journal, * INDOvations, moderated by Navi Radjou, 28 January 2010, Asia Society, New York, * Managing the New Trajectory of Global Innovation, Navi Radjou, 14 October 2009, Council on Foreign Relations. * India's Decade of Innovation, Navi Radjou, 16 February 2010,

Cambridge Judge Business School Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is considered to be par ...

. * Polycentric Innovation Video Interview, IBM, 27 May 2010, Cambridge Judge Business School, * Creating the Next "Indovations", Navi Radjou, 27 November 2009, India Economic Summit 2009, World Economic Forum, * Made in India, for the world, N Madhavan,12 May 2010, Business Today. * Do Multinationals Really Understand Globalization?, Navi Radjou, Prasad kaipa, 6 August 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek. * Talking about Indovations, Nisha Kumar, Kulkarni, 2.12.10, Beyond Profit.

References

External links

* *
Navi Radjou
at

Penguin India Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radjou, Navi 1970 births Living people Businesspeople from Puducherry IBM employees Indian business theorists Academics of the University of Cambridge