Navi Radjou
Navi Radjou | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 14, 1970 India |
| Citizenship | French, American |
| Occupation(s) | Innovation and leadership consultant, author, academic |
| Known for | Frugal innovation, jugaad innovation |
Navi Radjou (born 14 August 1970) is an innovation and leadership consultant originally from India, now established in Silicon Valley. He holds a Fellowship at the Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge and is widely acknowledged as an authority on frugal innovation.
Career
Radjou possesses both French and American citizenships. His academic credentials include a diploma in technical studies (DEST) from Paris’s National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) and a Master of Science in information systems from Ecole Centrale Paris. His professional journey commenced at IBM’s Toronto Software Laboratory, followed by nearly ten years as Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, a prominent US-based technology research and advisory firm. During his tenure there, he concentrated on the transformative effects of globalized innovation—especially originating from India and China—on market dynamics through what he termed "Global Innovation Networks." He provided strategic guidance to senior leaders worldwide on collaborative innovation driven by technology, supply chain synchronization, and enhancing customer service.
Up until 2011, Radjou served as Executive Director at the Centre for India & Global Business within Judge Business School, collaborating with director Jaideep Prabhu. He continues to be a Fellow at Judge Business School and contributes to the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council focused on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Radjou has also acted as a judge multiple times for The Economist’’’s Innovation Awards and for FastCompany's 2017 World Changing Ideas Awards.
Writing
Throughout his time at Forrester, Radjou authored over one hundred reports addressing innovation trends and emerging economies. In 2008, following extensive fieldwork in India, he produced a ten-part series entitled "India: The Innovation Giant (Re)Awakens," which analyzed innovative business strategies employed by both corporations and grassroots entrepreneurs within India.
He co-wrote Frugal Innovation (The Economist, 2015), detailing the core principles and methodologies underpinning frugal innovation. Additionally, Radjou co-authored the international bestseller Jugaad Innovation (Jossey-Bass, 2012), acclaimed by The Economist as the definitive publication on frugal innovation. His other collaborative work includes From Smart To Wise (2013), which explores emerging paradigms of leadership. Radjou frequently contributes articles to respected outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Wall Street Journal, alongside maintaining a blog hosted on HarvardBusinessReview.org.
His forthcoming book, Conscious Society: Reinventing How We Consume, Work, and Live (scheduled for 2018), investigates how heightened consciousness combined with inner qualities—such as love, creativity, and wisdom—can foster inclusive, sustainable communities and steer human progress toward a more promising future.
Speaking
Radjou is highly sought after as a keynote presenter and is regularly cited in global media. His 2014 TED Global presentation on frugal innovation has garnered over 1.5 million views.
He frequently addresses top executives and has delivered talks on innovation and globalization at prestigious events organized by entities including the World Economic Forum, Council on Foreign Relations, The Conference Board, TiE (Indus Entrepreneurs), Milken Institute, Asia Society, Harvard University, and MIT.
Awards and recognition
Radjou has attracted considerable attention from both national and international press such as The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, Le Monde, and Nikkei Shimbun. He is recognized among France’s 50 most influential figures shaping the future of innovation.
In 2013, he was honored with the Thinkers50 Innovation Award for his significant contributions to innovation management. That same year, his book Jugaad Innovation was shortlisted for the Thinkers50 CK Prahalad Breakthrough Idea Award.
Identified by BusinessWeek as an expert in corporate innovation, Radjou’s collaborative research on National Innovation Networks—which assess countries’ capabilities to integrate innovation across regions—was described by the Financial Times as both "ambitious" and "sophisticated." His studies on "polycentric innovation," a framework enabling multinational companies to coordinate R&D activities worldwide, have been featured in publications including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde. Furthermore, his concept of "indovation"—India’s model of sustainable innovation serving large populations—has been discussed at Asia Society forums and covered by the Financial Times.
Criticism
Radjou’s work on jugaad innovation has drawn critique from Indian scholars such as Rishikesha Krishnan, Vijay Govindarajan, Anil Kumar Gupta, and RA Mashelkar. They contend that jugaad often results in temporary fixes that lack safety, scalability, or sustainability.
In response published in Thinkers magazine, Radjou argued that jugaad itself is inherently neutral; it is the underlying intention behind this inventive approach that ultimately determines whether its impact is beneficial or detrimental.
Notes
- Navi Radjou, "Made in India for the 21st Century," Asia Society New York, 28 January 2010
- Navi Radjou, "Transforming R & D To Win in Global Innovation Networks," PARC Forum, 1 March 2007
- Navi Radjou, "Turbocharging the Franco-Indian Partnership," Bloomberg Businessweek, 15 July 2009
- Navi Radjou, "Polycentric Innovation: A New Mandate for Multinationals," The Wall Street Journal, 2 November 2009
- "INDOvations," moderated by Navi Radjou, Asia Society New York, 28 January 2010
- Navi Radjou, "Managing the New Trajectory of Global Innovation," Council on Foreign Relations, 14 October 2009
- Navi Radjou, "India's Decade of Innovation," Cambridge Judge Business School, 16 February 2010
- "Polycentric Innovation" Video Interview, IBM and Cambridge Judge Business School, 27 May 2010
- Navi Radjou, "Creating the Next 'Indovations'," India Economic Summit 2009, World Economic Forum, 27 November 2009
- N Madhavan, "Made in India, for the World," Business Today, 12 May 2010
- Navi Radjou and Prasad Kaipa, "Do Multinationals Really Understand Globalization?," Bloomberg Businessweek, 6 August 2010
- Nisha Kumar Kulkarni, "Talking about Indovations," Beyond Profit, 2 December 2010