Ducks in a Row: Tata’s Culture of Innovation
by Miki Saxon
Lot’s of talk about creating a culture of innovation, but often that’s all it is—talk.
The most important factor in a culture of innovation is the ability to fail.
India’s Tata is a leader in creating a culture of innovation and Sunil Sinha, an executive in Tata Quality Management Services, discussed its approach recently at Harvard.
Sinha described a culture of innovation at Tata that includes employee-awards programs for both successful and unsuccessful ideas. What’s important, Sinha said, is that employees feel comfortable in bringing forward ideas, even ones that don’t pan out, and that they feel they work in a place that values fresh thinking.
The innovation culture has produced several notable products, he said. One is a water purification system that costs just $20 and produces enough water to keep a family of four supplied for more than a year.
Not only that, but in 6 short years, from the time its CEO publicly mentioned the idea in 2003, Tata Motors 
produced a $2500 car for sale in developing worlds; it’s a small, two-cylinder car that gets 55 miles per gallon and meets all of India’s vehicle emissions and regulatory requirements.
Done in spite of all the global pundits who said it couldn’t be done.
I speak with managers all the time who talk about their desire to enable a culture of innovation and when it doesn’t happen, whether through laziness, benign neglect, or more active negativity, take no responsibility and place the blame squarely on their people.
A culture of innovation starts not in talk or even actions, but in MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and its willingness to change.
Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/ and Tata Motors
