American & Amish Ingenuity in the Age of Jugaad - Innovative Thinking For the New Economy

While American businesses struggle in the aftermathon top, and a car in tow.
of an economic recession that knocked the wind outWe can also look to today's 1,600 Amish-owned
of their sails, smaller business enterprises in far awaybusinesses in Lancaster County, PA, for examples of
India are resorting to numerous ingenious techniques toinnovative thinking as does Donald Kraybill, "the
survive the financial tsunami (see 01-21-2010foremost living expert on the Old Order Amish", see
BusinessWeek, Don't Underestimate India'sen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Kraybill. Another observer,
Consumers). Many of these noteworthy "jugaadu"Ed Tenner, a historian of technology and culture, states,
practices have been in existence for a long time, but it"Amish life might not be utopian, but it remains one of
is only now that they are attracting the attention theyAmerica's oldest and most robust technological
deserve (see 12-02-2009 BusinessWeek, India's Nextexperiments, with something to teach the rest of us."
Global Export: Innovation).(See 07-2005 MIT's Technology Review, Plain
In this and subsequent articles, we will look at some ofTechnology).
these "jugaadu" practices and at matching examplesEd Tenner, returns us to India when he says: "Amish
from Lancaster PA's traditions of American Ingenuityingenuity was focused on making horse-drawn
and Amish Ingenuity. Then, by examining the thinking atagriculture more efficient. With the rise of large-scale
the core of these ingenious styles, we hope tomechanized farming in the U.S...equipment makers
encourage greater innovation by local businessstopped developing machines for horse-drawn
owners.agriculture. Amish entrepreneurs saw this opportunity
Before going any further, it is important to firstand are now exporters of devices that help make
understand the word 'jugaad' itself. Essentially, it has aThird World draft-animal farming competitive with
dual connotation - a narrow one that refers to ruggedtractors as fuel prices have increased." (See 10-2008
vehicles cleverly pieced together from scavengedForbes, The Amish Technological Vanguard).
parts (please see the pictures posted in my blog...seeIn his insightful article on innovation in technology and in
link below), and the much broader connotation of anministry, What the Amish Can Teach Us About
innovative fix or an ingenious solution which isInnovation, Todd Rhoades, an observer of the Amish
applicable across a very wide range of settings.community in Ohio, brings us back to the United States
Can the rigged-together machines you see in thewhere spiking fuel prices are a recurring critical
pictures really teach us anything about innovativeeconomic issue: "Amish metalworkers are at the
business practices? At a glance, it hardly seems so,forefront of the revival of horse-drawn agriculture in
but delving deeper we realize that they may help us tothe U.S. (The number of horses on U.S. farms
reflect upon things more creatively as did ourincreased by 20 percent between 1997 and 2002)."
forefathers. Among other features, their "ConestogaIn comparison to practitioners of jugaad, American
Wagon" - part vehicle, boat, motel, store, and part fort -Ingenuity and Amish Ingenuity, we find many American
had a bowed bottom that kept goods from shiftingbusinesses, big and small, hamstrung by a rigid mindset
when going up and down hill and which could float thethat is resistant to change. High-priced products with all
wagon when fording water, a canvas top to protectthe "bells and whistles" sit on shelves while
passengers and goods, wheels higher than the rocksbusiness-owners complain about The Recession and
and stumps in what passed for roads, and a brake.their customers, and fail to visualize novel, more
Today's extravagant equivalent would be aaffordable ways of doing things.
gas-guzzling RV with awning and furniture, a boat tied