Back From Asia

Posted by Dr. James Canton on May 8, 2007 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

There is nothing like getting ahead of a trend by “being there”. Much of what we call trends will come from Asia first, as we have seen. The linkage, the convergence of trends, is undeniable. Going to Asia, particularly China, India and Singapore, is always an eye opener to validate growth and change. So here is the latest from my Asia trip over last few weeks.

Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons Limited, a collection of leading steel, auto and information companies, employ over 22% of the Indian workforce. His next challenge is building a $2,000 car, from steel, that seats 4, and will get you more than just around town. He already has a $4000 auto distributed by Fiat in Africa. Tata, who is a world class innovator, may be one of the best. He and I had time to catch up in Singapore. Tata website

He has the classic innovator’s drive, “They said it couldn’t be done”. I heard that from Steve Jobs when I was at Apple working on the Macintosh product introduction in 1981. Same DNA –loves challenges. The conversation we had about how you teach innovation is one that has me thinking: I think there is an alchemy of innovation.