A CFO scoffed, “Creativity is for artists—we need profits.” Two years later, his team’s driven invoicing system reduced payment delays. What changed? Not their talent. Their culture. As a leadership coach, I’ve helped teams across India shift from “That’s impossible” to “What if we tried…?” Here’s how you can replicate their success.

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The Core Problem: Why Teams Stop Thinking Differently

Innovation stalls when fear of judgment overshadows curiosity. Engineers hesitated to suggest automation tools at a Hyderabad IT firm because “leadership prefers manual checks.” Sound familiar?

Fix it in 2 Steps

1. Redefine psychological safety: Let teams take risks without backlash.
2. Normalise cross-functional collaboration: Break department silos to spark fresh perspectives.

(Concepts explained succinctly: Psychological safety means teams can take risks without fear. The cross-functional collaboration merges diverse skills to solve problems.)

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Strategy 1: Borrow from Google’s Playbook (Minus the Perks)

Google’s “20% time” policy lets engineers spend one day weekly on passion projects. You don’t need unlimited budgets—just structured freedom.

What Worked for a Nagpur Logistics Startup

• Instituted “Innovation Fridays”: Every last Friday, teams prototype one idea.
• Result: A driver’s GPS shortcut idea saved 200+ hours/month in fuel costs.

Your Action Plan

• Start with 90-minute weekly “think tanks.”
• Use Miro or a whiteboard to map ideas—no approvals are needed yet.

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Strategy 2: The 3M Model: When “Mistakes” Become Post-it Notes

3M’s weak glue was deemed a failure—until Art Fry turned it into Post-its. Tata’s “Dare to Try” award in India celebrates smart risks, not just wins.

Case Study

A Coimbatore auto parts manufacturer encouraged engineers to repurpose scrap metal. One “failed” alloy became a best-selling heat-resistant component.

Leadership Coach Tip

Publicly share a project in which you pivoted after a mistake. This humanises you and permits teams to experiment.

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Strategy 3: Mahindra’s “War Room” Tactic for Everyday Teams

Mahindra’s cross-functional war rooms solve supply chain crises in hours. You can replicate this with:

Implementation Steps

• Monthly problem-solving sprints: Mix sales, ops, and IT teams.
• Role-swap days: Let marketers shadow engineers (and vice versa).

Example

A Pune e-commerce firm reduced returns by 19% after warehouse staff joined product design meetings.

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The Dull Truth About Sustaining Innovation

Forget hackathons. Lasting creativity thrives in small, consistent habits:

Habits for Sustaining Innovation

• Daily “Idea Lightning Rounds”: 5 minutes for quick suggestions.
• Quarterly “Progress, Not Perfection” awards: Celebrate iterative improvements.

At a Bengaluru SaaS company, these habits led to 121 process tweaks in a year—each saving 15+ minutes daily.

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Your 30-Day Starter Plan (Proven with 40+ Teams)

Week-by-Week Breakdown

Week 1: Host a “No Bad Ideas” brainstorming session. Reward the wildest suggestion.

Week 2: Pair two unrelated departments for a coffee chat. Document insights.

Week 3: Share a personal “lesson from failure” story in a town hall.

Week 4: Pilot one small idea (e.g., a new meeting format or workflow).

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Why This Works for Indian Businesses

Our culture thrives on jugaad—but systematic creativity scales it. As a leadership coach, I’ve seen Indian SMEs outperform MNCs by:

Key Differentiators

• Leveraging local insights (e.g., vernacular UX designs).
• Empowering junior staff to lead micro-innovations.