Is innovation a top-down or bottom-up process?
In India, if you give a challenge to engineers, it is remarkable how they come up with innovative solutions. The orientation towards innovation from the top has more to do with direction setting, defining horizons, and defining stretch. That then creates an environment where innovation is unleashed within the company. Whenever we have set an aggressive challenge to a team of young engineers, the boys and girls have come up with phenomenal outputs; I have seldom been disappointed. More often than not, the top management of a company becomes a hurdle to innovation and the best way they can foster it is by setting the direction and developing internal culture.
