Considering the latest news about the change in focus of Infosys with respect to Products and Design thinking, I would recommend to read the below article from Oct 1, 2014.
Arun Jain was well ahead of the curve.
http://www.thesmartceo.in/magazine/cover-story/transformation-by-design.html
Thinking of design
For this feature, Jain explained to us what he means by the concept of design thinking.
aItas a four-step process,a he says. aFirst, one has to feel the emotional side of how a customer, investor and employee will react. Second, one has to observe the common patterns in the entire industry. Third, to connect the dots among all these different happenings and finally, unearth the blind spots,a says Jain, adding a theoretical layer to his explanation.
This methodical approach meant that the demerger process went on smoothly from all standpoints. For example, Jain and his senior team conducted informal sessions with various subject matter experts and external consultants on what the regulatory expectations were from a documentation standpoint. Jain says, aWe uncovered a fund of information from such sessions and acted upon the findings. Our thorough work in this regard meant that there were no delays in response from regulatory bodies or the court.a
To be sure, the concept of design thinking is something the company wants to use in both its services and products businesses across processes; right from the macro level, where business, technology, people and operations come together to the level of adding features to a particular product.
The macro vision
Polaris 4.0 also earmarks a new phase in the entrepreneurial journey of Jain. A 25-year veteran in this industry, Jainas day-to-day role now includes that of a coach for his five CEOs. He says, aI am glad to say that weave now attracted the best of talent from the industry. My personal role will be to help our CEOs uncover any blind spots they encounter, be it in strategy, systems, style or organisational structure.a
Additionally, Jain also runs workshops with his team members a project managers and above. Branded Unmukt, these workshops focus on upping the aspirational quotient of his people. aIn addition to skill development, one of the key aspects of building organisations is to improve the mindset of people,a he adds. Jainas theory is that the whole organisation needs to be aligned to specific purposes. If one of the companyas goals is to reduce complexity in the customer environment, this whole thought has to be internalized, by the entire organisation.
With the de-merger almost complete, Jain and his team are now gearing up for the next phase of growth. When Jain used the words asoul of a startupa in his note to shareholders, he was referring to the renewed agility of each line of business, a spirit of entrepreneurship where each CEO is completely empowered to grow his piece of the business and to unearth the potential of a powerful enterprise in its own right.
THE ROLE OF DESIGN THINKING IN DECISION-MAKING IS A FOUR-STEP PROCESS.
Jain wants to use the concept of design thinking across the board, right from macro level decision-making to the level of adding features to a particular product.
Feel the emotional side of any decision
Observe the common patterns (across the industry)
Connect the dots among all these different observations
Unearth the blind spots
Polaris 1.0
Till 2001: Touched Rs. 296 crore in revenue with a deep focus on financial technology sourcing for the BFSI industry__
Polaris 2.0
2002-2008: Touched Rs. 1,099 crores in revenue, focus on IP building, acquired OrbiTech from Citibank.__
Polaris 3.0
2009-2011: Touched Rs. 1,595 crores; complexity reduction for clients, worked with leading global firms in banking, financial services and insurance
Polaris 4.0
2012 onwards: Touched Rs. 2,424 crores in FY 2014. De-merger of services and products division. Deep focus on design thinking as a strategy for execution. Five CEOs hired to scale each line of business.
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Disc: Invested for the long term. Please due your own due diligence.
