Innovation is not happenstance, nor is it a one-size-fits-all process. However, there are practical steps you can take to foster innovation on a global level.

1. Obtain leadership commitment

The commitment to innovation starts at the top. The CEO and his/her most senior team must understand and value innovation, recognize it and make regular investments in the key factors required to nurture a global culture of innovation.

Think carefully about how your leadership views innovation. Ask yourself:
• Is innovation a core value?
• Is innovation supported by your other values and processes?
• Is innovation reflected in your internal measurement and reward systems?
• Do your customers value innovation in your relationship with them?
• Is marketing effectively communicating the impact innovation has in your products and services?
• Does finance understand the positive impact that innovation has on your P&L statement, or are investments viewed as cost items with a phantom ROI?

Innovation is both a powerful concept and a popular buzz word. How top management looks at this concept is the number-one, make-it-or-break-it criterion for creating a culture of innovation.

2. Hire and nurture the right people

Once you achieve a commitment from the top, it's time to build from the bottom up. This starts with hiring the right people. Notice I said hiring the right people, not skill sets. Great skill sets will take you where you want to go. Great people will take you to places you never knew existed. When recruiting new talent, target individuals who are curious, creative and communicative. Do they ask questions? Do they proactively look for ways to "make things better?" Can they effectively communicate their ideas to a team? Regardless of where your new hires are located, these shared characteristics will form the bedrock for a global culture of innovation.

When we hear a client say that our engineers took them to an entire new level of thinking, that's when we know we hired the right people. But don't assume your job is done when you bring new talent on board. Make a point to ask your employees where they want to go in their careers and then help them get there through additional skills training, apprentice and mentoring programs, career development and opportunities to work on a variety of projects.

3. Equip employees for success

In addition to hiring the right people, give them the tools and environment they need to maximize their creativity in a global context. Invest in continuing education opportunities, cultivate innovation rewards programs and create open working environments that encourage "cross-pollination" among employees in different focus areas and geographies. Innovation does not have a comfort zone; you need to break the status quo. For example, when engineers working on a medical device connect with engineers working on streaming media, you get a product that will turn both industries on their heads. When these two groups operate in different geographies, it's even more important to invest in tools that will allow them to connect, collaborate and innovate. At GlobalLogic, we use a specialized collaboration platform called Velocity™ to manage the software development process among our distributed employees. We also deployed a rich, contextual social network that connects these people across teams and time zones, as well as an innovation-focused platform and rewards system that encourages new ideas. None of it was easy, but the results have been impressive.

4. Take an Agile approach

We are quite clearly in the midst of a tsunami of accelerating change. Agile software development practices are a fantastic way to enable change and make room for innovation by adding frequent feedback mechanisms to the software creation process. However, our culture for innovation goes way beyond software, and we find ourselves applying these Agile, iterative approaches to other parts of our business. Creating an Agile workplace, creating an Agile culture, and creating an Agile approach to internal systems, processes and tools, and even financial management, is core. Why? One key reason is that the iterative nature of Agile thinking accelerates learning. By encouraging continuous feedback cycles and incremental improvements, you never suffer the proverbial "two steps forward, one step back." This flexible planning process also creates space for innovation. When your employees present you with a great new idea, do they expect to hear "we will get to that next year" or "we will get to that in the next sprint?"

5. Understand "design" as a thought process

Much has been written about the design of Apple's products. They have raised the design bar from a simple aesthetic to make "intuitive" a "must-have" characteristic for technology solutions in all the categories in which they compete. Design-centered thinking produces empathy for the context of a problem, encourages creativity in looking at ideas, and supports a rational analysis of possible solutions. This approach has brought us the tablet, the multi-touch mouse, the rubberbanding UI, and more. It provides a practical canvas for innovation.

Where possible, embrace design as a problem-solving technique to encourage the creative exploration of solutions. An analytical approach is great for measuring the effectiveness of ideas, but applying it too early in the creative process can snuff these new ideas before they are fully developed and understood.
6. Embrace diversity

Going back to the Apple example, I want to highlight how its 1997 "Think Different" campaign effectively relaunched its status as an innovation leader. Why is diversity of thought so closely linked to innovation? Because great minds do not, in fact, think alike. A global network brings together a multitude of great minds that see challenges, opportunities and solutions differently. They also operate differently, which means you must apply geographic-specific management systems to most effectively channel the conversation.

But with the right infrastructure, tools and processes in place to manage these complementary cultures and viewpoints, you can create truly differentiated, cutting-edge products that could never be produced by like-minded individuals. Several of our clients work with GlobalLogic labs in multiple geographies to take advantage of the unique skill sets and creative processes in those geographies. It also allows them to leverage local talent to build or adapt products for local markets. This is an increasingly savvy approach to product development. Goldman Sachs predicts that the BRIC countries may together account for 41 percent of the world's market capitalization by 2030.

7. Persist in your innovation efforts

Sometimes innovation is more about perspiration than inspiration. In his book "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly talks about the "10,000 Hours Rule," which claims that the key to success in any field is to practice a specific task for 10,000 hours. So, yes, practice really does make perfect. To again quote Geoffrey Moore, "Although one way to waste your innovation investment is to fail, [a natural risk of innovating], the one that really drives you crazy is to not go far enough." Creating a global culture of innovation isn't easy and it isn't fast. But the benefits of leveraging a global network of smart, motivated, creative people with vastly different viewpoints and talents is more than worth it.

Innovation is a hot topic today as America tries to regain leadership, revitalize industry, and rebuild its economy. For GlobalLogic, this journey started over a decade ago. Across business cycles, technology trends and industry fads, our focus on innovation and our global approach to fostering it keeps us grounded and gives us confidence to explore new ideas and invest in new areas.
 

Nature bestows us with unbounded knowledge. It is up to us to harness it to our benefit. Here are the top management gurus from nature.

OYSTERS

Think of Oyster and the first thing which comes to our mind is 'Pearl'. We all know that the Oyster lives in a shell.

When any irritation gets into its shell, the oyster first tries to take it out. But when it can't, it uses the same irritations to create one of the most beautiful things in the world. It uses the irritations to do the best thing it can if given a chance. Yes it makes a Pearl.

When faced with problems majority of us tend to complain, crib, disagree, blame and hold others responsible. We avoid facing problems and doubt our ability to create a ‘Pearl’.

Create a pearl every time you face adversities !!

EAGLE

Eagle has an average life expectancy of around 60 years. However, when it reaches around 30 years of age, its beak and wings get weaker not allowing the eagle to fly and catch food efficiently. So the eagle breaks its own beak, which then takes around a month to grow it again. Then with the new healthier beak the eagle takes off all its wings, which again takes a time period of another month to grow them again. Thus the eagle voluntarily invites temporary pain and sacrifices for a better tomorrow! The eagle is ready again to fly and catch food with the same energy and speed.

The ability to deal with change is a must quality for today's global, fast moving and ever changing environment.

Like eagles, we should also be alert and ready to accept the fact that to adjust with ever changing environment; our knowledge, skills and abilities need to be upgraded and enhanced continuously.

ANT

The ‘Ant Philosophy’ relates to Hard Work, Commitment to Win, Communication and Team Effectiveness. It saves before consuming. The ants are ready to postpone their pleasure to save for the rainy day.

CHAMELEON

Chameleon has got a natural ability to change colors, which help it for self-protection, hiding from target food, communication and also display of physical and psychological condition etc.

We all should learn to be a human chameleon i.e. try adjusting to people, environment / surrounding; while thinking, communicating and taking decisions; by controlling and managing our internal environment i.e. our emotions and psychology.

TREE

All huge trees begin their lives as a small seeds initially and then they grow in stages. The higher a tree grows; the more it needs to spread its roots deeper. Apart from growing higher, the trees also spread across branches. It represents that we should also try to spread across various dimensions of life and strike a balance between the personal, professional, social and spiritual areas of our lives.

Here the growth of tree represents our growth in various areas of life and the roots represents our knowledge, hard work, skills, dedication, sincerity, patience, genuineness, relations, contacts, network, commitment to win, positive attitude and overall management of our time, energy and money in a productive way etc.

 Computer tips to bring computer to normal state when it freezes or hangs up

Sometimes when you are in the middle of someting and suddenly your computer hangs or freezes. You are left with no other option than to restart your computer directly. But the only problem is, you have not saved your work! Don’t panic! There is a solution for that! And you can surely save your file! Here’s how:

First keep on pressing “Num Lock” key until your Operating system is back to normal state. This releases the processor from any busy process. If this doesn’t work then follow the below ten tips to bring you computer back to normal state when it is struck.

1. Click on “ctrl-alt-delete” keys. The windows task manager will then open, click on all programs that you don’t need and end the task. You will see that all programs on your taskbar will close one by one. If this will resolve the issue! – then save!

(Tip 1: if you’re working on an MS Office application, it will automatically save your file in case the programs suddenly shut down —

Tip 2: always save your file at least every 2 minutes by just simply clicking on the “diskette icon”—  just one click!)

2. If it did not resolve the issue, are there some users logged on that computer? If so, go to switch user (for XP) and log off that user, go back to your log on screen and log on again. The reason the computer hang up is because if there are many open programs and applications, these retains in the memory, if it is too much for the memory to handle, it freezes! Another reason too the computer hang up is because if you are connected to the internet via dial up, and you are running too many applications and opening many websites. So I suggest, if you are multimedia user or a heavy internet user, then you are better off with a higher memory, at least 512Mb of memory. There are simple ways to avoid computer to freeze or hang up:

3. Clean your history at least once a week >tools>internet options>clear history. I normally set my history to “0”, meaning, when I restart my computer, it doesn’t save history pages that I have visited

4. Delete all internet temporary files >tools>internet options>delete files (do the “offline” content too!)

5. Delete cookies (some do not do this, but I do delete cookies at least once a week!) >tools>internet options>delete cookies

6. Remove unnecessary programs that you no longer use they are just occupying space and memory! >control panel>add/remove programs

7. Do defragmentation at least once a week >point the mouse to “start” button, then right click “explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (which is usually the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>defragment now

8. You can also check the logical drive’s volume for errors >point the mouse to “start” button, then right click “explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (I repeat, is usually the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>check now

9. It is better to have only one user being logged on. Even if there are many users, make sure the user logs off after using the computer, rather than keeping it logged on and you do the switching of users. Switching users is good as long as you don’t keep all users logged on.

10. Always shut down properly the computer (do NOT use the power button when turning it off!............

 Sometimes some of your friends who appear offline in yahoo messenger may not be actually offline, they may in the ‘Invisible’ mode. This maybe if they are trying to ignore you or are too busy to talk to anyone.

There is this small trick that you can use to find out what the truth is.

Firstly open your yahoo messenger main window and double click on the name of the person whom you want to check. The chat window will open obviously.
Click IMVironment button, select See all IMVironments, select Yahoo! Tools or Interactive Fun, and click on Doodle.
After loading the Doodle imvironment there can be two possibilities

1.If the user is offline Doodle are will show this “waiting for your friend to load Doodle” continuously .See in the picture below:

2. If the user is online (but in invisible mode), after few seconds (it can take up to one minute, depending on your connection speed), should get a blank page like in the picture below. So you know that the user is online .

An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

A 3 day Skilledge led training programme on Data Structures Using C in collaboration with ICTACT (Information and Communication Technology of Tamilnadu) was organised in the college from 10th to 12th June, 2011 for the 48 faculties of the member colleges under the umbrella of ICTACT. The programme commenced with the welcome address given by the Principal, Dr. S. Kathirrvelu. Vickram College of Engineering becomes the first college in south Tamilnadu to organise this kind of a programme in a joint venture with ICTACT. Dr. Ananthi Shesusayee expert from Quaid-E-Milleth Government college for women was the resource person for the programme who discussed on the issues of the Industry oriented problems and said “The objective of conducting this kind of programme is to impart industry relevant technical skills to the students and make them industry ready.” A few practical questions were given to the participants to deal with and also the suggestions were asked to impart the simplest method of teaching to the students. Innovative methods of teaching Data Structures using C was rendered to the participants, which was highly appreciated. Four staff from the college particiapated in this programme: Mr. D.Weslin & Ms. L. Kamatchi Priya of the CSE Department and Ms. Akila Devi & Ms. I.G Umamaheshwari of the Department of Information Technology. The coordinator of the Skilledge council Mr. D. Weslin, Head, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, proposed a vote of thanks.

Have you heard of Roger Bannister? He was the first athlete to run the mile in less than four minutes. In doing so, he not only broke the four-minute barrier, but also taught us all a valuable lesson.
 

Back in the 1950's, the world record - 4 minutes 1.4 seconds - was held by Sweden's Ginder Haegg. The record stood for several years since it was set in 1945. Athletes, experts and the world were convinced that it was impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes. Some even argued that the human body was biologically incapable of running the mile in less than four minutes!
And then, on 6th May, 1954, Roger Bannister did the impossible. He broke the four minute barrier, finishing the race in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
His rival - Charles Landy - had thrice run the mile in less than 4 minutes 2 seconds without breaching the 4 minute mark. The four minute barrier was "like a wall", Landy had said. But guess what? Just 56 days after Bannister's feat, Landy ran the mile in 3 minutes 57.9 seconds. And by 1957, 16 athletes around the world ran the mile in under 4 minutes. The 4 minute mental barrier was truly shattered!

What really happened?

• Neither the coaches got smarter nor the athletes were taught new techniques? Did running shoes get more sophisticated? Did bodies suddenly get stronger?
• No. The 4 minute barrier it turned out was not a physiological one - just a mental one! As Roger Bannister explained later, it seemed illogical that you could run a mile in 4 minutes and a bit, but not break 4 minutes. His mind refused to accept that barrier. That made all the difference.

Once that mental barrier was broken by Bannister, everyone believed it could be done! And once the belief changed, the rest was easy.

It's important to understand that our achievements in life are limited not by what we can do, but by what we think we can do. More than ability, it's our attitude that makes the difference. As Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you are right".
You will probably find your mind constantly grappling with two competing thoughts: 'I can't!' and 'I can!' How do you ensure the 'I can' wins? How can we break our mental barrier of 'I can't'?

The history of mankind is full of anecdotes and you only have to seek it..

There was a man in Alaska who had a black dog and a white dog. His dog fights attracted large crowds. Every week people would bet on which dog would win. Sometimes the black dog won, and sometimes the white one. One lady noticed that no matter which dog won, the owner always bet on the right dog, and won each week. When the man retired the two dogs, the lady asked him the secret.

"Simple," said the man. "I always bet on the dog I had been feeding all week."
 

So whether 'I can't' wins in your mind or 'I can', depends on which thought you are feeding! Feed the 'I can' dog in your mind. The thought you feed, grows! Focus on your strengths, and they will grow. Or keep thinking of your weaknesses and your fears. And unfortunately they'll grow too.

You won't always find a Bannister to break your mental barrier. You need to do it yourself. Once you start feeding the 'I can' thought, you will achieve more than you ever thought was possible!

After 6-7 decades ( I am not sure!) in one day cricket, Sachin Tendulkar scored double century...Will that be broken soon?