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I was a bit tipsy at a party,.. and the rest is as follows.

What I knew so far,….

I have a great team of young and dynamic individuals in several levels : 12 team members in two locations. It’s a diverse team: We call ourselves R&D Wizards, and they call me the Lord of the Wizards. The team has super energetic Energizer Bunnies to Sloth Bears, but they all do one good thing: Innovation.

The two teams are far apart about 100 km, but it seems 1000 km due to the communication gap. Although they knew each other well, their communication was restricted only to E-mails and occasional telephone conversations when anything is needed. It was sometimes a concern as the knowledge sharing was limited and some developments held up due to material issues and cross functional delays.

Then it all changed in one instance,… story rewinds again to the party. There was a notification sound from my overly smart phone, and a whatsApp message from one of my friends… It instantly popped up in my mind,. “What if I create a R&D team WhatsApp group and improve communication ?”. Looks like a great idea,.. and I contacted one of my techies in the group and asked to create the group. Creatively enough he named it R&D Wizards and the communication started instantly. The young generation is indeed tech savvy and find the fingertip communication is much more convenient than sitting in front of the computer. If they have any problem even at the lab, now they drop the questions to the group, and suggestions flow instantly.

From motivational quotes sharing to venting their frustrations, it’s pretty much open to anything within the norms of the society. Even if they go out, they tease each other by posting the pics and encouraging others, that’s not a good sign if I have to pay from my pocket – That needs to stop. However it is, the communication gap narrowed hundred folds, and inter unit communication improved as much as it is. I am glad my first innovation for 2016 is paying its dividends. Not only it opened up a new communication channel, it also created new ideas, closer team relationships and opening up of usually silent team members. It is indeed the best innovation I did in the first 8 days of the 2016.

I have a great team. It’s the best team any leader can have, and I am lucky I have them with me…and I hope they can be better than that with this revamped communication style.

That’s the story of being tipsy,…

Being tipsy is good,.. Keep drinking,.. I mean,.. keep innovating.