Cultural Innovation Movements

If you are a brand or creator planning to grow your own community, save this post for your next brand strategy session – Follower counts are overrated. What truly matters for your brand is a community that talks back. In the last 5+ years of building my personal brand along with Like Mind Tribe, I’ve learned this the hard (and beautiful) way. We often chase vanity metrics, namely likes, views, followers. But the brands that actually grow focus on: + trust + conversations + creating spaces that people want to return to My top 3 learnings about community building that most people ignore are👇 1/ Stop broadcasting. Start involving. Don’t just talk to your audience, co-create with them. Ask for their input. Let them choose the next product, workshop, or event theme. Your content should feel like a conversation, not a monologue. 2/ Trust builds in silence. Show up even when it’s quiet. The real connection begins when no one’s clapping. Be consistent with your presence. Show your progress, not just your polished wins. 3/ Give them a space beyond social media. DMs, Zoom rooms, meetups, or even a close friend's story list; These micro-interactions are where loyalty is built. If you want retention, give them a room where they feel seen. ———— I’ve met: → strangers who are now collaborators → community members who became accountability partners → even businesses that were born from casual coffee chats at our meetups That’s what happens when you value: Impact >>>>> Followers Whether you're building a brand or just starting out as a creator – Don’t just aim for attention. Create belonging. What’s the biggest challenge you face in building your community? Let’s tackle it together! #drishtiispeaks #community #branding #strategy #growth #socialmedia #content

After the dinner I organised between Chinese investors and Saudi officials, a Saudi advisor messaged me. "The dinner was excellent. But the Chinese laughing loudly at how the Arabs were eating hot pot was inappropriate. It could damage the partnership." I had already noticed this during dinner and quietly addressed it with the Chinese delegation. They were genuinely surprised, in Chinese culture, laughing together over food mishaps builds rapport. They thought they were being warm and inclusive. But in Arab business culture, laughing at someone's unfamiliarity with food can be read as mockery, not friendliness. Both sides had good intentions. Neither understood how the other would interpret the moment. This is why I spend so much time on cultural briefings before bringing delegations together. One moment of misunderstood laughter can undo months of relationship building. The Saudi officials remained professional throughout, and the Chinese investors sent enthusiastic follow-up messages about collaboration. To an outside observer, the dinner looked successful. But I know that trust develops or breaks in these small cultural moments, not in formal negotiations. My Saudi contact is now arranging cultural training for Chinese workers joining an Aramco project next month. We'll use this as a case study, not as criticism, but as learning. After twenty years of facilitating cross-border partnerships, I've learned that cultural intelligence determines deal success far more than financial terms. The consultants who studied the Middle East will never catch these moments. Cultural fluency comes from being in the room, reading the signals, and managing both sides in real time. Successful partnerships require someone who understands what each side actually means, not just what they say. #CrossCulturalBusiness #MiddleEastBusiness #SaudiArabia #ChinaBusiness #CulturalIntelligence #InternationalPartnerships #BusinessStrategy #GCCMarkets #DealMaking #BusinessNegotiation #GlobalBusiness #MarketEntry #BusinessLeadership #StrategicPartnerships #CulturalAwareness

I’ve trained in rooms where people speak English, but think in Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil Same company, same goals, but completely different communication styles. We love patting ourselves on the back for being diverse. But when a South Indian team feels a North Indian manager is "too aggressive," or a Gen Z employee thinks their Gen X boss is "dismissive", we call it a "communication gap." When really it's India's invisible boardroom barrier. Because while communicating, you’re navigating: 🔹 Cultural nuances 🔹 Generational gaps 🔹 Language preferences 🔹 Urban vs regional perspectives And if you're not adapting, you’re alienating. Here's my 3A’s of Cross-cultural communication framework: 1. Awareness: Recognize that your communication style is shaped by region, generation, and upbringing. It's not universal. 2. Adaptation: Match your message to your audience. One style doesn't fit all rooms. 3. Ask: When in doubt, clarify: What does yes mean here? How do you prefer feedback? What's the protocol for disagreement? India's diversity is incredible. But if we are not actively learning to communicate across cultures, not just languages, we're wasting it. P.S. What's your biggest cross-cultural communication struggle? #CrossCulturalCommunication #AwarenessAdaptationAsk #3AsFramework #Awareness #Adaptation #Ask #CommunicationGaps

The Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu, Karnataka, stands as a testament to India's rich architectural and engineering heritage. Among its many intricate carvings is a depiction of Masana Bhairava, a fierce form of Lord Shiva, holding what appears to be an advanced mechanical device. This sculpture has sparked discussions about the technological prowess of ancient Indian artisans. The device in question resembles a planetary gear system, characterized by an outer gear with 32 teeth and an inner gear with 16 teeth—a precise 2:1 ratio. Such mechanisms are fundamental in modern engineering, used in applications ranging from automobile transmissions to sophisticated machinery. The presence of this depiction in a centuries-old temple raises intriguing questions about the depth of mechanical knowledge possessed by our ancestors. Key Insights: 1. Advanced Understanding of Mechanics: The accurate representation of a planetary gear system suggests that ancient Indian craftsmen had a sophisticated grasp of mechanical principles. This challenges the conventional narrative that such knowledge was absent in ancient times. 2. Integration of Art and Science: The fusion of intricate artistry with precise mechanical representation indicates a holistic approach to knowledge, where art and science were not seen as separate domains but as interconnected disciplines. 3. Preservation of Knowledge: The detailed carvings serve as a medium to transmit complex ideas, ensuring that such knowledge was preserved and communicated across generations. This discovery not only highlights the ingenuity of ancient Indian artisans but also underscores the importance of re-examining historical artifacts with a fresh perspective. It prompts us to appreciate the advanced understanding embedded in our cultural heritage and encourages further exploration into the technological achievements of ancient civilizations. As we marvel at the Hoysaleswara Temple's architectural splendor, let us also acknowledge and celebrate the profound scientific insights it encapsulates. This serves as a powerful reminder of the rich legacy of innovation and knowledge that forms the foundation of our present and future advancements. #AncientIndia #EngineeringMarvels #CulturalHeritage #PlanetaryGears #HoysaleswaraTemple #Innovation

The Asia Pacific screen industry is marching toward a massive $196 billion by 2030. But looking closer at data provided by Media Partners Asia, the real story isn't the growth. It’s the radical structural shift underneath. We are witnessing a tipping point where digital platforms aren't just competing with legacy media; they are effectively dethroning it. Three strategic shifts from the data that stood out to me: 1. The "Wallet" is Closing, but the "Eyeballs" are Open For decades, the guaranteed revenue model in Asia was Pay TV. That era is ending. We are seeing a structural flip where advertising revenue is growing faster than consumer spend. As viewers cut the cord on cable, they aren't just moving to subscriptions (SVOD); they are flooding into ad-supported platforms. By 2030, UGC/Social and Ad-supported VOD will drive the majority of revenue growth. 2. The $20 Billion "Micro" Surprise If you haven't paid attention to Micro Dramas (90-second vertical episodes), you are missing a sector projected to hit $20 billion by 2030. This isn't just short video. It’s a completely new monetization engine that behaves more like mobile gaming (micropayments to unlock episodes) than Hollywood TV. It’s a high-volume, high-turnover game that is already capturing 10% of the market share. 3. The Divergence of the Creator Economy For creators, the platform choice is no longer just about reach; it's about business models. -- The "Middle Class" Model: YouTube remains the gold standard for building a production company, offering a predictable 55% revenue split that allows creators to hire staff and own their IP. -- The "Casino" Model: The booming Micro Drama sector is a work-for-hire factory. Platforms own the IP, and producers operate on thin margins. The market is getting bigger, but the path to capturing that value is changing. The power has shifted from the scheduling executive to the algorithm, and to the creators who know how to navigate it. More below in the article. #CreatorEconomy #Asia #DigitalMedia

India's Thriving Startup Ecosystem: A Closer Look at What's Driving the Growth In a recent report by Startup Genome, India ranked fourth globally in the number of startups that have secured funding exceeding $50 million. This impressive ranking highlights India's emergence as a prominent player in the global startup landscape. With more than a decade of active involvement as a founder and investor in India's dynamic startup landscape, I see several underlying dynamics that are propelling the startup ecosystem in India: 🚀 Educational Foundation: India's robust startup ecosystem is built upon a foundation of structured, rigorous education. This educational bedrock nurtures knowledge, problem-solving skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset. 🚀 Entrepreneurial Heritage: India's cultural DNA is rich in entrepreneurial spirit, with a legacy of small businesses and family enterprises. Many Indian households have a tradition of running small businesses, reflecting an inherent association with business dynamics and a willingness to embrace calculated risks. 🚀 Expansive Consumer Base: India's vast population provides a distinct advantage. With 1.4 Bn billion people, it offers a broad and diverse customer pool. This demographic abundance enables startups to test innovations within a vast market, facilitating rapid scalability. The diversity of the market also allows multiple business models to find traction. 🚀 Tech-Driven Momentum: Technology is central to nearly every startup endeavor. India with its deep prowess across multiple domains is a natural technological epicenter. Tech leaders are able to drive innovation and build skilled teams to tackle complex challenges. 🚀 Role models : The presence of accomplished role models in the startup arena has played a pivotal role in inspiring budding entrepreneurs. India boasts of thousands of successful start-ups that have won the trust of consumers, the confidence of investors and local and international acclaim. This has made entrepreneurship not only acceptable, but aspirational. The best and the brightest want to turn entrepreneurial. India's startup ecosystem has taken remarkable leaps, overshadowing mere funding milestones to cultivate an environment where each successful wave of entrepreneurs is helping build and boost the next. It is a sea change in under a decade and I am optimistic that this growth has just started. What else is driving the great Indian entrepreneurship rush?

“A brilliant VP offended a Japanese client without realizing it.” The meeting room in Tokyo was a masterpiece of minimalism—soft tatami mats, the faint scent of green tea, walls so silent you could hear the gentle hum of the air conditioner. The Vice President, sharp suit, confident smile, walked in ready to impress. His presentation was flawless, numbers airtight, strategy compelling. But then came the smallest of gestures—the moment that shifted everything. He pulled out his business card… and handed it to the Japanese client with one hand. The client froze. His lips curved into a polite smile, but his eyes flickered. He accepted the card quickly, almost stiffly. A silence, subtle but heavy, filled the room. The VP thought nothing of it. But what he didn’t know was this: in Japanese culture, a business card isn’t just paper. It’s an extension of the person. Offering it casually, with one hand, is seen as careless—even disrespectful. By the end of the meeting, the energy had shifted. The strategy was strong, but the connection was fractured. Later, over coffee, the VP turned to me and said quietly: “I don’t get it. The meeting started well… why did it feel like I lost them halfway?” That was his vulnerability—brilliance in business, but blind spots in culture. So, I stepped in. I trained him and his leadership team on cross-cultural etiquette—the invisible codes that make or break global deals. • In Japan: exchange business cards with both hands, take a moment to read the card, and treat it with respect. • In the Middle East: never use your left hand for greetings. • In Europe: being two minutes late might be forgiven in Paris, but never in Zurich. These aren’t trivial details. They are currencies of respect. The next time he met the client, he bowed slightly, held the business card with both hands, and said: “It’s an honor to work with you.” The client’s smile was different this time—warm, genuine, approving. The deal, once slipping away, was back on track. 🌟 Lesson: In a global world, etiquette is not optional—it’s currency. You can have the best strategy, the sharpest numbers, the brightest slides—but if you don’t understand the human and cultural nuances, you’ll lose the room before you know it. Great leaders don’t just speak the language of business. They speak the language of respect. #CrossCulturalCommunication #ExecutivePresence #SoftSkills #GlobalLeadership #Fortune500 #CulturalIntelligence #Boardroom #BusinessEtiquette #LeadershipDevelopment #Respect

How often do we design with people, instead of for them? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that creativity is something only designers hold the key to. But when we pause and engage with communities, we realize something powerful: Creativity thrives within the community itself—it just needs the right conditions to flourish. Take, for example, the Collective Action Toolkit (CAT) by Frog. It’s not just a tool; it’s a framework that empowers communities to solve problems by tapping into their collective strength. Through a series of activities—like clarifying goals and imagining new ideas—small groups around the world have used this toolkit to not only share their thoughts but to take decisive action that addresses their concerns. The beauty of this approach is in its adaptability. It’s not a one-size-fits-all model. Each group can mould it to fit their unique needs, ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard and valued. But collaboration, as we know, isn’t always easy. There’s often discomfort, sometimes even conflict, when differing ideas meet. Yet, as designers, navigating these challenges is where true progress happens. As Otto Scharmer and Peter Senge, leaders in organizational development, have shown, it's in this space of tension that new solutions are born. A recent contribution from @Design Impact offers a set of guiding principles for designers to keep in mind when working with communities. One of these, “Value me for who I am, not who I’m told to be,” resonates deeply. It’s a reminder that behind every design is a real person, with history, emotions, and passions. When we acknowledge that, we move beyond simply gathering feedback—we tap into real leadership within the community. At the end of the day, Social innovation isn’t just about creating a product or service. It’s about co-creating, about building alongside communities rather than handing down solutions. It’s about fostering a space where everyone’s creativity can shine, and where long-term, sustainable change is possible. Have you been part of a design process that values community leadership? What challenges—and opportunities—did you encounter along the way?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴? 𝟳𝟬% of all the knowledge which you accumulate in any organisation. The implicit and tacit knowledge, the why and how which drives actions and decisions and is lost when employees leave. Only 𝟯𝟬% of what we truly know is captured in documents, data, facts and figures. I recently wrote about the challenge of retaining knowledge in Procurement teams, particularly in times of high fluctuation. Left unaddressed, it's causing productivity leakage and lowering employee morale. But not all knowledge is of the same kind. And not all can be harvested the same way. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁: The "What" is known and documented (e.g., SOPs, processes, spend reports). 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁: The "How" of actionable insights, often unspoken but transferable (e.g., negotiation tactics, best practices). 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁: The "Why," deeply embedded in experience and values, hard to express but crucial (e.g., personal insights about market trends or suppliers). 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴. Turning experience into tangible, documented information and data points is like reverse engineering and is often resisted by knowledge owners when it comes to sharing. Technologies, such as Knowledge Graphs, Ontologies, and AI assistants, can collaborate with employees to harvest knowledge at the source, whether from structured data (files, tables, logs) or unstructured data (voice, audio, video, documents). This can help to reduce the burden of knowledge capture, centralise its management and make it accessible for everyone. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆. 𝗜𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀. Here are some practical tips to kickstart knowledge sharing to surface tacit and implicit knowledge: ▪️𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗴 𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 where category teams share use cases and insights ▪️𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 captured in documents and support tickets ▪️𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘁 sessions to review project outcomes post-mortem ▪️𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 & 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘀 used for knowledge dissemination ▪️𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to skill-up new people in a role ❓What kind of knowledge assets are most valuable in Procurement? ❓How is your company tapping into your submerged knowledge #knowledgemanagement #procurement #lessonslearnt #artificialintelligence