Supporters
Carlos Ghosn
CEO, Renault-Nissan
“Jugaad Innovation goes farther than conventional business books that chart consumer growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China. It explains how emerging economies are pioneering the art of “frugal engineering,” then it provides practical tips on how Western companies — from tech startups to multinational industrial corporations — can likewise do more with less. A provocative and entertaining read for 21st century business leaders.”
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Kevin Roberts
CEO Worldwide, Saatchi and Saatchi
“I’ve long argued that the role of business is to make the world a better place. In the new economy, that requires true innovation - bold ideas, gutsy people, and extraordinary actions. Need a new roadmap? Fresh Inspiration? Accessible tools? It’s all in this remarkable book, Jugaad Innovation. Get a copy for yourself and every member of your team today.”
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Charlene Li
Bestselling Author, Founder, Altimeter Group
“The authors have it right: Highly-structured innovation processes can’t deliver all the breakthroughs now required by “the speed of business” today. What’s called for are new practices that work with – not against – the forces that drive our hypercompetitive world. Jugaad Innovation lays out the new principles that you – and that every forward-thinking leader in your company – needs right now.”
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Marc Benioff
Chairman & CEO, salesforce.com
“Everything is changing. Businesses today must move away from the top-down organizational hierarchies that have defined the past and transform themselves into Social Enterprises built on bottom-up, agile models based on collaboration. Jugaad Innovation shows how you can enable your entire ecosystem—employees, customers, and partners—to make significant contributions and drive hyper growth. This is an important book for anyone who wants to compete in the future.”
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Doreen Lorenzo
President, frog
“CEOs tend to manage innovation like an orchestra conductor – with a traditional, hierarchical, and prescriptive approach. Jugaad Innovation shows how to innovate like a jazz band – with improvisation, creativity, and agility. Both styles are necessary on today’s global stage.”
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Peter H. Diamandis
Founder & Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation
“We are entering an age where humanity’s grand challenges are being solved by a new generation of ‘do-it-yourself’ innovators employing jugaad-style thinking. Today the entrepreneurial spirit of your very own employees, customers, and partners, empowered by new technologies can literally change the world. X PRIZE has proven the value of jugaad by leveraging this bottom-up approach of “better, faster, cheaper” to the point of sending a man into space for a fraction of what NASA spends. This compelling new book, Jugaad Innovation, articulates how you can start to accomplish amazing things on a shoestring. It is a vital read.”
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Amit Khanna
CEO, Reliance Media Works
“Powered by demographics and geopolitics, the global economic axis is shifting
inexorably eastward. This book highlights innovation in rapidly expanding markets like
India where frugality and flexibility are strengths that are being leveraged to drive
growth in the 21st century. From transnational corporations to grassroots entrepreneurs,
and for manufacturers as well as firms in the creative sector, understanding how to
catalyze success through innovation is crucial. For all of them Jugaad Innovation is a
must read.”
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George F. Colony
CEO, Forrester Research
“Jugaad Innovation throws cold water in the faces of CEOs, reminding them of the immense power of grass-roots, do-it-yourself, cheap, quick, simple, innovation. This is one of the most important lessons that emerging markets are teaching the West.”
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R. Gopalakrishnan
Director, Tata Sons Ltd, India
“Innovation is a western word. In spoken Indian languages, there is no equivalent. The act of innovating is referred to as ‘jugaad’, meaning an adaptation or practical solution. Although ‘jugaad’ sometimes has mildly pejorative overtones it is used by millions of Indian entrepreneurs to create effective solutions to pressing socioeconomic issues. By formalizing the ‘jugaad’ approach to solving problems speedily and frugally, the authors have conceptualised a platform on which future innovation can develop.”
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Wido Menhardt
CEO, Philips Innovation Center Bangalore at Philips
“Structured and planned attempts at innovation rarely drive breakthroughs in technology or business models. In India, process culture and jugaad culture live side by side, and their marriage, Jugaad 2.0, has incredible potential to drive the breakthroughs required for sustainable growth. Jugaad innovation is the roadmap that will help you get there.”
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V.R. Ferose
MD, SAP Labs, India
“With its six intuitive and actionable principles, Jugaad Innovation provides a unique recipe for organizations to consistently drive radical innovation. With R & D budgets on the rise, and their returns on the decline, business leaders are questioning whether it’s time for the top down approach to innovation to be traded for a more bottom up approach. This book provides a crystal clear answer. A must read for all business leaders.”
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Tulsi Tanti
CEO, Suzion Group
“In almost every nook and corner of Indian streets, you will see spectacular examples of frugal innovation. In the face of immense adversity are born some of the best ideas. It is heartening to see credit given to the spectacular resilience that Indian entrepreneurs have shown and built upon in the past few decades. At Suzlon, we have imbibed this concept in all of our processes and this enables us to provide one of the best products and services in the world.
Navi Radjou brings new life to the concept of ‘Jugaad’ and through the book is encouraging the western world to embrace it. I am excited that Suzlon is able to serve as an successful example, and contribute in making the concept popular.
The authors bring new life to the concept of ‘Jugaad’. In the face of immense adversity are born some of the best ideas and it is heartening to see credit given in this book to the spectacular flexibility and resilience that Indian entrepreneurs demonstrate every day. Read this book to understand why the concept of jugaad innovation must be imbued into the processes of both Indian and Western corporations in order to continuously create the world’s best products and services.”
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Terri Bresenham
President and CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia
“Jugaad Innovation details and provides illustrative examples on ways to transform existing innovation processes to the more fluid art and disruptive culture of jugaad. You’ll finish the book with a sense of urgency and a roadmap to go after the organic ingenuity lying within your employees, suppliers and customers, and prepared to tackle the economics of scarcity.”
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D. Shivakumar
Senior Vice President, Nokia - India, Middle East and Africa
“Innovation flowers at the intersection of disciplines and cultures. For innovation to be engaging, efficient and breakthrough, companies need to go beyond structured innovation and employ the principles of jugaad which is based on frugality, flexibility and instinct. Anyone can run a process, but few leaders understand the value of instinct and trust in employees and consumers. Jugaad Innovation will help leaders unlock the value of these principles in enabling innovation.”
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Dr. Rana Kapoor
Founder, Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK
“Frugal Innovations are mission critical at YES BANK. I sincerely believe that Indians are natural leaders in frugal innovations, with our jugaad system of enterprising workable solutions from scarce resources. I firmly believe that Jugaad is an entrepreneurial approach to innovation, which has indeed been the cornerstone of success for Indian SMEs. I would like to compliment Navi Radjou and his team for creatively showcasing this methodology through inspiring examples of companies which have used this concept to drive growth. It is an excellent guide for innovative Indian entrepreneurs, and truly provides an international validation for many Indian corporate leaders to embrace indigenous solutions.”
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Nitin Paranjpe
CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever
“In an increasingly resource starved, volatile and unpredictable world, conventional approaches to innovation will simply not work. Instead, what is needed is a jugaad mindset — one that is frugal, flexible and sharply focused on outcomes. Jugaad Innovation makes a compelling case for corporations to find ways of encouraging this unique mindset even within their existing organizational processes and ways of working.”
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N. Chandrasekaran
CEO, Tata Consultancy Services
“Emerging markets offer a unique growth opportunity in the 21st century. Demographics, economics and enabling technologies like mobility, social media, cloud computing and big data create a fertile basis for innovation in these markets. Jugaad is the dominant approach to innovation in emerging markets. Yet, jugaad is not just a quick and dirty solution; it also builds on the core principles of customer experience, scale, and profitability — all critical determinants of success. Using powerful examples, this book shows how you can drive frugal innovation of high-quality.”
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Kishore Biyani
Founder, Future Group
“Frugality, flexibility, and following your instincts are principles we all learned growing up in India, and ones that we must effectively leverage for long term growth - especially in large corporations. The authors of Jugaad Innovation have it right: to stay ahead, corporate leaders need to adopt the principles of jugaad innovation. This book is a must read for the corporate sector and entrepreneurs alike.”
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Dr. Armin Bruck
Managing Director & CEO, Siemens Ltd., South Asia Cluster
“Jugaad innovation is a must-read for all MNC executives who have a long-term vision to be successful in India. Targeting local resource opportunities and being ingeniously innovative, Jugaad enables local success and in many ways, also helps fortify global markets. If one succeeds in emerging markets such as India, you can be successful anywhere in the world; and to succeed in India, you need Jugaad!”
JUGAAD INNOVATION Western
corporations can no longer just rely on the old formula that sustained innovation
and growth for decades: a mix of top-down strategies, expensive R&D; projects and
rigid, highly structured innovation processes. Jugaad Innovation argues that the
West must look to places like India, China, and Africa for a new, bottom-up approach
to frugal and flexible innovation.
For speaking engagements, workshops or executive education, please directly contact the coauthors:
