What the West Can Learn from Jugaad

On its own, the structured approach to innovation favored by mature companies can't deliver the agility and differentiation they need in today's complex business environment. On the other hand, a resilient mind-set can transform scarcity into opportunity by combining limited resources with inventiveness and a never-say-die attitude.

This approach — whether it is aimed at creating a product, service, or business model — is called jugaad innovation. Jugaad is a colloquial Hindi word that roughly translates as “an innovative.....