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How do you define form and function? Are they synonymous with style and substance? Do they change based on individual characteristics and contexts (of people and businesses)? Do they vary based on mediums of expression? Do they change over time? Is form only about expression? Is function only about utility? In this episode of Storm The Norm, Anisha Motwani and Narayan Devanathan continue to dissect, analyse and interpret existing norms to decipher what's the new norm!

This norm is going to sound very basic, very simplistic even, but there’s a very profound truth underneath—one that is the unquestioned norm, or at least, has been so far. We are talking about the ownership of cars. Especially in a country like India, it’s both the norm and the aspiration, isn’t it? It’s why the car industry is a bellwether for the economy itself. It’s why a slowdown in car sales has economists and the public alarmed. But there’s something a lot more personal in owning a car. It’s an aspiration, identity and transportation all rolled into one. Everyone who can dream of owning a car. In that simple statement, though, we see two norms, not just one. The idea of ownership—having something in your permanent possession, and the specific idea of owning a car. That’s never going to change, or is it?

Think about it. Business & Politics have kind of been on opposite sides on many counts. • Politics is right-brained/ emotional & business is left-brained and factual. • Politics is raw and rough. Business is structured and organized. • Politics is ideology-based & business is ideology-agnostic. But increasingly, business and politics can’t seem to stay away from each other. Very visible issues today impact how businesses run, how they present themselves to the world. What we are seeing now is (a) it’s easier for the public to see where the two are mixing, and (b) that visibility is making it apparent that businesses can longer get away from being shallow in living up to the purpose.

I am sure there was a lot to absorb from what Ashish Bhasin said about ‘How do you become a successful entrepreneurial professional?’ But, Ashish is a bit of an exception. What’s a little rarer are successful professional CEOs who make entrepreneurs. Not long-standing corporate leaders who are entrepreneurial in a monolithic organization but those who venture out of successful corporates to become entrepreneurs. Falguni Nayar who founded Nykaa after a successful career as a banker is a great example of that. Sameer Bhatia, ex-Citibank who founded Equifax credit bureau in India is another. Here are the Five # STN Fundas to give to our audience on what stars to align for this?

There are those of us who, even as kids, would see a puddle and jump into it. Or see a red button and press it to see what would happen. And then there are those of us who wait to see what happens when that other kid presses the red button and then decide what's the prudent thing to do & that's the defining trait that continues to separate grown-ups and whether they become professionals or entrepreneurs.

Powerful Innovation is rarely a random idea that emanates from a casual brainstorming session or a bright spark in the middle of the night. If you don't understand the difference between ideas and innovation, it is unlikely that your idea will end up with a transformative innovation aimed at solving a real problem. Just follow the 5 #STN Fundas to put your IDEA through the INNOVATION FILTER and avoid making a mistake..because failed initiatives are expensive at several levels of business.

In part one of this episode, we had highlighted the 3 A’s—ambiguity, agony and apathy as three key levers. The questions to ask is: from ambiguity to what? From agony to what? From apathy to what? The answers seem fairly obvious when we ask the questions. From ambiguity to clarity. From agony to ecstasy. From apathy to empathy. The overarching question that remains is—how do we go about it, with the canvas of the obvious? Listen in..

In this episode, we take up a very fundamental question: What is the most fertile source of innovation? The norm is that innovation comes from the edges of what is known, from the outliers. In exploring how to storm this norm, we roped in Santosh Desai, cultural expert, social commentator, brand and business builder and a thought-provoking person (not just a thoughtful person or thought leader) in general. The conversation was, as expected, extremely thought-provoking while being elementary at one level. In this episode, we’ll talk about what other canvas there is for innovation, what conditions are needed to even recognize and prepare that canvas, and what prevents us from looking beyond the norm.

That’s the common perception, isn’t it? That family run businesses benefit family members with superior incentives and lesser hindrances, and so it’s easier for them. Let me add a key statistic here about why this is an important norm to storm for anyone in business: By one estimate, 90% of all businesses in India are family-run businesses, from the ubiquitous kirana stores to multi-industry conglomerates. Now that I think about it, you recognize so many big names that are family-owned businesses: The Birlas, Tatas, Godrej, Parle, the Biyanis, Premjis, Nadars. This does seem like a fairly universal norm. But there seems to be more to this norm than meets the eye.

Anti-incumbency is an unstoppable mega force

If you are too big to fail, you are too big to disrupt. What does it take to rewire for success in a disruptive world? Why Storm the Norm in the first place? What’s wrong with the norm? And is there any formula to Storming the Norm? These are the questions Narayan Devanathan & I will explore and explode in our brand new fortnightly podcast series, taking different norms across the business landscape to see how businesses can rewire to succeed in a disruptive landscape. In our debut episode, we talk about a Big Daddy norm. It’s one of the oldest pieces of received wisdom: if you’re too big to fail, you’re probably too big to disrupt. We were nervous first-timers but also had a really good time storming this norm. Give us a listen & we would love it if you can share it with your friends & colleagues and give us your feedback and comments. And follow us for our fortnightly episodes: https://soundcloud.com/stormthenorm