Frugal Innovation (AMA Today at 3PM)

How to do more with less

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How to do more with less

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The risk some companies run with the idea of "frugal innovation" is creating a culture where employees feel pressure to deliver better results with fewer resources (money, talent, time, etc). This is particularly rampant at larger organizations that are actively cutting costs to improve balance sheet optics/meet investor expectations. How can companies "do more with less" without creating a culture of stressed out employees who are driven more by fear than motivation to innovate more efficiently?

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11yr ago

Frugal Innovation (AMA Today at 3PM)

Maker

@melissajoykong Melissa, excellent question: frugal innovation is neither "low-cost" product strategy nor the "squeeze employees hard to extract most value out of them" HR strategy! Rather, frugal innovation initiatives need to be introduced/presented in a company in the form of an "inspirational challenge" that doesn't force employees to behave a certain way, but rather inspires them to outdo themselves. That's what Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever (who wrote the Foreword for our book) did: in 2010, he set the vision to double the company's revenues while cutting carbon footprint by 50%. He didn't tell his employees exactly how to implement this strategy. Initially overwhelmed, employees across functions and regions started crafting their own strategy to meet this inspiring goal. In the process, employees also found meaning/purpose b/c they feel their frugal efforts are contributing to a larger cause. As a result, Unilever is now ranked as of the most attractive employers in the world (along with Google and Apple).

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11yr ago

Product Hunt

@naviradjou thanks so much for joining us today :) What are some examples of sustainable practices that would actually help cut costs in a business?

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11yr ago

Product Hunt

Hey Navi! Great to have you here. How much of the frugal innovation in your book involves replacing human labor with artificial intelligence and robotic workers?

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11yr ago

Frugal Innovation (AMA Today at 3PM)

Maker

In our book we do talk about AI and Robots that can help companies boost productivity and reduce costs. For instance, manufacturers like Harley Davidson now use AI-based predictive analytics to prevent shop-floor issues days before they occur. The US Department of Energy reckons that this predictive maintenance approach can reduce maintenance costs by up to 30%, machine breakdowns by 75% and downtime by 35–45%, while increasing production by 25%. Having said that, I strongly believe that frugal innovation is all about human ingenuity. As I explained in my TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/navi_r...) when external resources (money, energy) get scarce, you need to go within you to tap into the world's most abundant, and non perishable, resource: human ingenuity -- and use that ingenuity to solve problems frugally. Case in point: Ford Motor Company: one of the hand Ford is investing massively in AI and Robots, but on the other hand Ford has also set up a TechShop in Detroit to enable their employees to "tinker" and experiment with novel ideas and use tools like 3D printers to rapidly prototype them and socialize them with others. By creating a safe/nurturing environment for their workers to unleash/harness their ingenuity, Ford increased number of patentable ideas by over 100% **without** increasing R&D spending: that's frugal innovation per excellence! In summary: I see AI and robots **enhancing** human ingenuity (neeed to devise frugal solutions) rather than replacing it!

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11yr ago

Hi Navi, can frugal Innovation be used as an education tool in schools to combat people's attitudes towards waste (i.e. food waste in the US) from an early age?

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11yr ago

by the way, there is a local artist named Cao Guimarães who made beautiful artistic records of popular solutions for day to day needs using scarce resources. http://www.caoguimaraes.com/foto...

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11yr ago

Frugal Innovation (AMA Today at 3PM)

Maker

@lar_leandro Interesting. good to know. Check out also Bruno Munari, a celebrated Italian artist who used frugal design to create really cool products using waste, discarded materials: Here is info on him: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/3...

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11yr ago

@naviradjou thank you, I didn't know Munari, he's a great designer. And congratulations for such an insightful book ; )

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11yr ago

Backchannel

It is my pleasure to welcome Navi for a Product Hunt Live Chat. Ask questions in advance! Frugal innovation is the art of doing more, and better, with less. This book is a primer on how firms can use limited resources to get high-quality products to market quickly and address needs of cost-conscious and tech-empowered consumers worlwide.

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11yr ago

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