Innovation Management

One of the issues which we face as a growing organisation, and which all start-ups eventually face when they become big, is managing its innovation! Innovation in organisations is all about imagination, creativity, idea sharing, and freedom to try your ideas out as and when they occur! More than this, there has to be a free-flowing culture within the organisation which promotes innovation. Some companies have specialized R&D centres, but innovation can happen in so many places that, it is perhaps restrictive to have these "Research Labs". One of the articles I came across, which talks about managing innovation in a large set-up is from MindTree Consulting's website . They refer it to as "Knowledge Management" however >>

(source: http://www.mindtree.com/kc/kc.html)

Mission: To establish systems, processes, and culture that helps us continuously build our Intellectual Capital.

Knowledge Management (KM) at MindTree allows MindTree Minds to tie together the collective experiences and knowledge towards better service delivery, organizational excellence and talent transformation. An established KM Corporate Function is responsible for globally overseeing all the activities related to KM systems, processes, structure, and policies.

MindTree’s Approach to KM

MindTree’s approach to KM is holistic, and unlike traditional approaches, it is not focused solely on a technology solution. Instead, we believe KM to be a socio-technical approach, powered by a knowledge culture. The key areas of KM in MindTree are innovation, sharing/collaboration, and reuse.

Our culture resonates with our goals to create an open and transparent organization in which knowledge is created and shared in a supportive environment where creativity and innovation are highly valued. MindTree Minds are encouraged to bring forward any idea for improvement or innovation. To create sparks of innovation, we encourage various means of self-expression such as blogging, creative writing, painting, poetry, etc.

The GALIS framework below illustrates the knowledge cycle that is supported by our KM approach. The knowledge cycle outlines how each MindTree Mind Gets, Applies, Learns, Innovates, and Shares knowledge through various socio-technical means.

Our people policies also are aligned with a robust reward and recognition program for key contributors, be it content generation, championing Knowledge Communities, or filing for a patent.

Knowledge Communities

MindTree currently has over 25 Knowledge Communities covering various technical, non-technical, and business domains. These Communities provide a platform for knowledge sharing at a practitioner level and in the long run building overall organizational capability. An average of 35 Community events take place each month.

Technical Infrastructure

To support the knowledge needs of each MindTree Mind, we have internally developed and deployed various systems to enable collaboration between MindTree Minds and give them quick access to knowledge. This includes a centralized knowledge repository, a collaboration platform used for Community-specific and project-specific collaboration, and a platform for collaboratively creating MindTree Intellectual Property and enabling software reuse.

Knowledge Workplace

Our internal physical environment creates a vibrant and dynamic ethos where self-expression is encouraged. The interiors are richly splashed with the colors of our visual identity, with each color representing a DNA element (Imagination, Action, and Joy). Digitized images conceived by the children from the Spastic Society of Karnataka adorn the walls and enough attention is given to community space. In our Bangalore West Campus, proximity to nature is intended to spark original creative thinking.

Innovation

Innovation at MindTree starts with our DNA element of imagination. MindTree Minds are trained in a variety of lateral thinking and creativity techniques such as DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats, Mindmapping, TRIZ, etc. There are regular drives for ideas from MindTree Minds with awards for the best ideas and best implementations. MindTree’s knowledge culture and knowledge workplace are all meant to cultivate the creativity in each Mind. Even a Knowledge Community focused on innovation exists within MindTree, which regularly practices, experiments and endorses various creativity tools and techniques.