Swami Vivekananda

Contributor Personality Program

An Adani Group Initiative

UNIT 7:

Design Solutions

for students and faculty of

Gujarat Technological University

by
University
Services
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UNIT 7:
Design Solutions
Contributors approach the various situations in their life and
work place with a unique mindset. This mindset we call, the
‘Contributor Mindset’.

The first aspect of the Contributor Mindset is the Contributor’s

willingness and capacity to find solutions.

When faced with a challenge, the Contributor’s first response

is : “Can we find a solution?” This is unlike a Non-contributor
who may respond to the challenge by trying a little and giving
up, blaming others, or finding excuses to cover up the issue.

But this is not all. The Contributor also finds a solution. In

other words, the Contributor develops the capacity to find
solutions through continuous practice and learning from
other Contributors.

Concept Exploration pg. 2-5

Concept Application pg. 6-19

Field Work (Project) pg. 20

Swami Vivekananda speaks to you pg. 21-22

UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Concept Exploration

EXPLORATION 1:

Non-contributors are often “rigid” about Contributors are focused on goals and
the procedure or their own way of doing find appropriate methods to achieve
things instead of focusing on the goal them within the framework of the
system

I don’t care if we don’t Let us find a

complete on time or the way to achieve
quality is not good! I follow the goal…
strict procedures…

REFLECTIONS

Q1. A term that is gaining popularity in the business world is the word “jugaad”. Think of examples of
how “jugaad” has been used positively in the real world. Write about these.

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 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CONTRIBUTOR PERSONALITY PROGRAM

EXPLORATION 2:

Non-contributors do not consider new Contributors consider new / alternate

possibilities1 in their thinking possibilities1 in their thinking

There are only two ways. We Can we look for a third way that
must choose one of these. combines the best of both choices?

? ?

REFLECTIONS

Q1. Generating new possibilities1 is the first step in creating innovations. Do you agree? Why?

MEANINGS:

1
Possibilities: New ways or alternative approaches or other options to make the goal possible

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

EXPLORATION 3:

Non-contributors begin with discussing Contributors begin with the assumption

all the difficulties involved in that the goal needs to be achieved
accomplishing a goal

1. But... Why not?! Let

2. But... us find a way to
Can this be Can this be do it…
3. But...
done? done?
4. But...

REFLECTIONS

Q1. Have you met individuals with the “can-do” attitude? Why are such people so valued in the workplace?

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 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CONTRIBUTOR PERSONALITY PROGRAM

EXPLORATION 4:

Non-contributors fear failure. For them, Contributors overcome their fear of

life is about safety and protecting failure. For them, life is an adventure
themselves. and full of challenges.

Failure will
become a
I will lose This experience
What will stepping stone
confidence will help us improve
happen to my to success the project/
image? product

Whether there is
I can’t even success or failure, I
imagine the will become stronger
consequences and wiser through the
experiment

REFLECTIONS

Q1. When you overcome your “fear of failure”, your willingness to try out new things increases. Share
some experiences from your own life.

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Concept Application

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.1:

CASE STORY
Story of the ‘Post-it’

In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist with

3M, in his attempt to develop a ‘strong
adhesive’ managed to develop only a
Dr. Spencer Silver ‘weak adhesive’. Dr. Spencer, instead
of being embarrassed of his discovery,
If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t shared it with his co-workers, to find a use
have done the experiment. The for it. For 5 years he promoted it within 3M,
literature was full of examples that but without much success.
said, “you can’t do this”.

In 1974, a colleague of his, Art

Fry, who had attended one of his
seminars, found a use of this weak
adhesive – as bookmarks! After
investing one more year in product
development, Fry was able to come Art Fry
up with the first version of what is
now known as ‘Post-it’. My mind was drifting back to music when
I got that flash of an idea. Eureka! I think
I can make book marks by applying Dr.
Spencer’s adhesive, so they can be stuck on
and peeled off without spoiling the book.

1977: 3m Launches the product in 4 cities, the response is disappointing.

1978: 3m Issues free samples. 95% of people using them said they would buy it.
1980: 3m Debuted in US stores as “post-it notes.”
1981: Post-its are launched in Canada & Europe.
Post-its went on to become a huge world success.

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REFLECTIONS

Dr. Spencer did not fear failure. Thus he was willing to keep presenting his failed discovery
in different forums. His persistence eventually resulted in him connecting with Art Fry in one
of these forums. Art Fry, on his part, wanted an answer to his own problem. He redefined the
utility of the entire discovery and came out with an alternate use of the weak glue.
Q1. What was the benefit that each received from his own different approach?
(i) benefit for Dr. Spencer

(ii) benefit for Art Fry

Q2. Think of an example where you or someone you know were able to find a solution to
the problem by persistently trying different approaches to arrive at a solution until you
succeeded. Write about this.
[Hints: Write about –
– what was the situation?
– what were the obstacles and failures faced?
– what was the response to these failures?
– what was the final outcome?]

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Q.3 Think of some difficult project you would like to take up, where many people have said
chances for success are low.
As a contributor, what are some of the actions or choices you could take so as to improve
your team’s chances of success? Discuss to answer.
[Hints: Think of how you can first experiment in a low-risk environment.]

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.2:

STORY

Nikhil, a computer engineer, was

on a visit to his village. He was Why can’t we connect
distressed to see the people of his farmers to the market-
place directly, using
village being squeezed by middle-
technology? That will
men. The farmers were not getting eliminate the influence
fair price for their produce. of middlemen on
them.

Nikhil was excited! He didn’t think

this would be too hard as he was a
computer engineer! Thinking this
was a great idea at hand, he worked
out a complete business plan.

To get started, Nikhil passed the word around in the This is terrible! Nothing
village, calling for a meeting of all farmers. However… can be done here! I am
better off back in my
corporate job!

No! If I don’t make this vision

Other than the local Moreover, the middle-
happen for my people, then who
coordinator, no one turned men didn’t take the
will?? It’s not going to be easy –
up for the meeting. matter lightly.
but I can & must find a solution!

Nikhil regrouped energies and readied himself for a long struggle. He began meeting
farmers regularly – individually and in groups. He also met some of the middlemen and
shared with them ways in which they could benefit from and support this effort. Seeing his
persistence, more villagers joined in. They ran a pilot with 10 farmers using the technology
to get connected to the mandi [market place]. These 10 farmers then became advocates to
other farmers in the village. The movement caught on… more and more people got involved...

Three years later, not only were most of the farmers in that village using this technology,
but neighboring villages had also begun replicating this.

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REFLECTIONS
Q1. Nikhil took responsibility for finding a solution to the situation. He believed that solutions
can be found, thus even though he faced many difficulties, he struggled with the solution
until he found answers – one step at a time. What were the benefits of this approach?
[Hints: Consider the
– benefits to the community
– benefits to Nikhil]

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Q2. In the workplace, often we are faced with challenges with no easy solutions. As a
Contributor, what are some strategies / tips you can learn from Nikhil’s approach, so as
to find your own answers when faced with these tough situations? Discuss to answer.

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.3:

STORY
Preventing accidental deaths
1
Dr. Venkat was receiving many road accident
cases in his hospital. These accidents were
happening about a kilometer’s distance from his
hospital.
2
Though he tried all medical
measures to save the victims,
there were still a high number
of deaths.

One more
accident death

3
I don’t think we have an
Dr. Venkat studied the factors affecting answer to this situation in
the severity of accidents, to diagnose the the hospital.
causes.

Too many road accidents

are happening here. So
many deaths...
4
The road outside his hospital did
not have a road divider. Having
identified a root-cause, Dr. Venkat
worked closely with the Traffic
Police to get a divider installed.

When vehicles coming from

opposite directions collide, then
the accidents are bad. Most
cases here are due to this.

The number of accidents came down

drastically.

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REFLECTIONS
Q1. Dr. Venkat’s functional goal as a doctor was to cure patients. What do you think were the
goals that he saw at a human level, that motivated him to take the effort to find the cause
and find a ‘non-medical’ solution to the challenge?

Q2. Write down 2 experiences from your life where a challenge was faced –
1. Where you saw a person focused on the process and the same old way of doing things.
2. Where the person found a new way of solving the challenge.
Compare the results of both these approaches.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Q3. In the workplace, suppose you are asked to join a team which has to complete a task
in a short time, as a contributor, which of the following would be your choice in the
situation?
You work sincerely and even do over-time

You do whatever is required of your role

You do whatever is required to reach the goal

You do whatever your boss tells you to do

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.4:

CASE STORY

Aravind calls itself an “eye care system” as it goes

beyond the delivery of pure eye care, to additionally
address barriers to accessing care.

The company, on a daily basis, seeks to deliver

better eye care to populations far removed
from the urban centers. To achieve this goal,
it continuously works on two main areas:
(1) Its outreach to the rural population (2) Cost of eye
care.

Aravind adopts active rural outreach. It holds “eye

camps” in which it registers patients, administers
eye examinations, teaches eye care, and identifies
people who may require surgery.

To bring eye care costs down and make it available to

people who cannot afford it, Aravind intensely focuses
on increasing productivity – such as standardizing
and streamlining surgeries. The system relies on
intensive specialization to generate efficiencies.

A surgeon typically performs 150 cataract surgeries every week, six times the number
common among Western specialists. To further lower costs, Aravind has created a sister
organization to manufacture lenses, drugs etc. locally at prices one-fiftieth of U.S. prices.
All these measures have greatly helped reduce costs. In addition, it has made cross-
subsidization an integral part of its business model.

Thus, despite the constraints of poverty, Aravind has built a systemic solution to a complex
social and medical problem.

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REFLECTIONS
Aravind Hospitals wanted to make affordable eye care accessible to the rural population
of the country. To achieve this, they continuously found ways to reduce costs and improve
efficiencies in the way eye care is done.

Q1. What are the benefits of this approach taken by Aravind?

– To the eye care system

– To Aravind Hospitals

– To the people of India & abroad

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Q2. Write down an example of any organization/individual who wanted to achieve a clearly
defined goal. How did the goal-oriented approach influence the choices that the
organization/individual made?
[Hints:
– what was the goal?
– what were some of the difficult choices that had to be made?
– what factors were considered while making these choices?]

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.5:

CASE STORY

The rural branch team of a large public sector bank shares its experience…

Branch Manager These people were

DBD Manager not in a position to
repay their crop
loans, being at the
mercy of the climate.
As a bank, we had
two options —
When I joined as a branch manager (1) refuse to give
in Dungripal, I noticed that the them loans
largest number of loan defaulters (2) write-off / forget
(called NPAs or non-performing about the loans once
assets) were marginal farmers given, leading to
having very small land-holdings. losses for the bank.

But then the team got together and thought — why can’t we do something such that we
are able to give them loans AND enable them to repay their loans? Why can’t we find a
way to increase their income?

The bank gave the farmers

“dairy loans” to begin dairy
production over and above Life was tough
their regular farming until the bank
activities. They also enabled stepped in…
them to learn and set up this
new line of operation.
I started with
This opened up an alternative
producing 10 L milk.
means of income for them
Today I make an
that was not weather
annual profit of
dependent.
Rs.50,000/-

Now, not only are they repaying their loans on time, moving out of our
NPAs list, but many have also approached us for new loans for dairy
equipment, thus increasing our business!

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REFLECTIONS
To find a solution, this team first defined the end-state or outcome they sought (i.e. genuinely
help this farmer community + protect interests of the bank). Then they went all out to find
solutions. Their answer was simple: “find a way to increase their income”. The entire team
then got energized to reach this goal! Through this solution approach all the issues they faced
regarding the NPA status of this community disappeared.

Q1. What is the value of sharing the vision of the goals (amongst all bank team members)?
Discuss to answer.
[Hints: Consider impact on
– team energy
– quality and creativity of alternate solution ideas
– closing the gap between “ideas” and “action”
– interests of the bank
– interests of the community]

Q2. This case is also an example of Imaginative Sympathy (topic of Unit 11) where the bank
officials appreciated the necessity of finding a solution that would genuinely help the
farmers. Do you know of any other case where a solution was found at a deeper level
because of genuine concern for the people involved? Write about this case.

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.6:

CASE STORY
The Gold Corp Challenge

In 1983, Rob McEwen took over an old under-performing Gold Mine in Red Lake district
of Ontario. This Mine had very high operating costs and production was very low.

Our district had many Mines. All of which produced a lot of

gold. The Mine next door had produced 10 million ounces!!! I was
convinced that there was gold in our Mine too. We only had to
get more people thinking on how to locate it.

McEwen attended a Linux conference. Here he got to know of the idea of “open
innovation”, which triggered the idea of the GoldCorp Challenge.

Wow, world class programmers

coming together to develop
software! That is what I want.
World class experts working
towards identifying digging
sites in our Mines.

We did something that the Mining Industry never

tried before. We released all our confidential
mining data online. Experts across the globe were
invited to work on it and tell us where to dig. The
prize: a total of $575,000.

Within weeks of launching of Gold Corp Challenge, submissions of 1200 people from 50
countries came flooding. Geologists, mathematicians, consultants all got involved.

There were capabilities I had never seen before in

the industry. I almost fell off my chair when I saw the
submissions. The contestants had identified 110 targets, 50
percent of which had not even been previously identified by
the company. We hit gold!!

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 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CONTRIBUTOR PERSONALITY PROGRAM

REFLECTIONS
By re-defining his challenge as “how to bring in more experts to identify gold-yielding sites”,
McEwen made the problem into one where he “knew what to do about it”. McEwen was
also able to identify an approach being used by software developers and adapt it to solve a
problem in his own field of work (Mining).

Q1. What choices does one need to make, to open one’s mind to solutions from other fields
that could be adapted to one’s own context? Discuss to answer.

Q2. McEwen’s firm belief that ‘he could find a solution’ to his problem, made him explore new
ways of thinking. Write down about one person you know who overcame a challenge
because of his/her ‘I can do’ approach.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
To find solutions to complex problems, many organizations use ‘brainstorming’. These are
idea generation sessions in which people from diverse backgrounds from within or outside
the organization come together to discuss the problem.

Q3. What do you think are the benefits of such sessions? Discuss to answer.

– Benefit for the organization

– Benefit for the participants

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

APPLICATION EXAMPLE 7.7:

CASE STORY

How many of us can dare to tackle one of the world’s toughest problems? Jerry Sternin, a
visiting scholar at Tufts University in USA, and his wife Monique had the courage to try…

In 1990, as staff
members of Save the
We call conventional wisdom about
Children, the Sternins
malnutrition ‘true but useless,’ or
were invited by the
tbu… it’s all about poor sanitation,
Vietnamese government
ignorance, poverty, etc. Millions
to help fight the problem
of kids can’t wait for those issues
of malnutrition in 10,000
to be addressed. Nothing has
villages in the country.
changed with outsider solutions.
But once there, an
This wouldn’t work - not in the
impossible demand was
6 months we had to make a
placed before them: They
difference.
had six months to produce
results. That’s it!

We had no idea what

More out of desperation and
we were going to do.
a little out of inspiration, we
Our attitude was, oh
turned to the approach of
my god! What’s going
“amplifying positive deviance”.
to happen?! i.e. In any community there are
some families where the children
are not malnourished – these are
positive deviants. If we are able
to identify their practices, and
transmit these to other families,
we can amplify their positive
effects across the community.

We observed the food preparation, We worked with the

cooking, and serving behaviors of these positive deviants
six “positive deviant” families. We found to offer cooking
that parents of well-nourished children classes to families
collected tiny shrimps, crabs, and snails of children suffering
from rice paddies and added them to the from malnutrition.
food, along with the greens from sweet
potatoes. Although these foods were
readily available, they were typically not
eaten because they were considered
unsafe for children.

By the end of the program’s first year, 80 percent of the 1,000 children enrolled in the program
were adequately nourished. In addition, the effort was replicated within 14 villages across
Vietnam. The groundbreaking work that Sternin did in Vietnam has served as a model for
rehabilitating tens of thousands of children in 20 countries.

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 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CONTRIBUTOR PERSONALITY PROGRAM

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Sternin patiently studied the practices of the community. He then amplified / increased their
positive effects by spreading this across the community. Through this they brought a huge
change in the community’s malnutrition which had seemed like an unsolvable challenge. This
solutioning approach called “positive deviance” originally proposed by Zeitlin in the 1980s
has been formalized over time. (You can do an internet search to find out more about this.)

Similarly, many organizations have formalized ‘best practices sharing’ to address many
recurring challenges. However, it is found that most employees don’t put in the effort to
document and share.

Q1. What are the consequences of not sharing possible solutions and practices across the
community? Discuss to answer –
– Immediate and long-term consequences for the team and organization?

– Consequences for the community being served?

– Consequences for the individual employee?

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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

7.7: FIELD WORK

PROJECT 1:

Project Goal: To identify how people (contributors) have found solutions to challenges they have faced,
and how they practiced “designing solutions”.

STEP 1: Identify any one “contributor” case where there was a challenge and the people involved designed
solutions to face and address the challenge. This case could be about -
l An incident or project you or someone you know has been a part of.
l A public case or incident that you may have read / heard about (in newspapers / public
knowledge).

STEP 2: Decide how you are going to present your project. As a –

• Home-video project (recording a video of interviews etc. to make a short-film on the case), OR
• Slide presentation (with photographs, factual data, insights, sound / music, etc.), OR
• Poster presentation (with photographs, factual data, insights, etc.)

STEP 3: Do a research study to collect data (video, photographs, data, etc.) for your project presentation.
Your research can include –
• Primary research done by interviewing the people involved / beneficiaries in this case.
• Secondary research done by using the internet, going through newspapers and magazines, talking
to experienced people who know this case well.

In your research study, find out –

• What was the main challenge? How did the people involved define their goal?
• How did the people involved go about finding a solution to this challenge?
• In this case, find out specific examples / incidents from this experience that show us how the people
involved practiced “designing solutions” i.e. how they –
– Stayed focused on the goals and found appropriate methods to achieve these goals
(within the framework of the system / rules)
– Considered new / alternate possibilities in their thinking
– Demonstrated a “can-do” attitude
– Overcame their “fear of failure”

STEP 4: Make your final presentation.

STEP 5: Present in the class.

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 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CONTRIBUTOR PERSONALITY PROGRAM

Swami Vivekananda speaks to you

Stand on your own feet
Contributors do not depend on others to give them “aid”. They take up the challenges in front
of them and develop their own solutions to these challenges.

“ Does higher education mean mere study of material

sciences and turning out things of everyday use by
machinery? The use of higher education is to find out
how to solve the problems of life, and this is what is

“
engaging the profound thought of the modern civilised
We want that education by which
world, but it was solved in our country thousands
character is formed, strength of
of years ago. The education which does not help the
mind is increased, the intellect is
common mass of people to equip themselves for the
expanded and by which one can
struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of
stand on one’s own feet. Physical
character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of
weakness is the cause of at least
a lion – is it worth the name? Real education is that
one-third of our miseries. We are
which enables one to stand on one’s own legs. The
lazy; we cannot combine. We
education that you are receiving now in schools and
speak of many things parrot-like
colleges is only making you a race of dyspeptics. You
but never do them. Speaking and
are working like machines merely, and living a jelly-fish
not doing has become a habit with
existence.
us. What is the cause? Physical
weakness. This sort of weak brain

“ Ay, in this country of ours, the very birth-place of the

Vedanta, our masses have been hypnotised for ages
is not being able to do anything.
We must strengthen it. First of all
our young men must be strong,
into that state. To touch them is pollution, to sit with
them is pollution! Hopeless they were born, hopeless my young friends, that is my
they must remain! And the result is that they have advice to you. You will be nearer
been sinking, sinking, sinking, and have come to the to Heaven through football than
last stage to which a human being can come. For what through the study of the Gita. You
country is there in the world where man has to sleep will understand Gita better with
with the cattle? And for this, blame nobody else, do your biceps, your muscles, a little
not commit the mistake of the ignorant. The effect is stronger.
here and the cause is here too. We are to blame. Stand
up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders.
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UNIT 7: DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Swami Vivekananda at Junagadh – 3

“
A nation is advanced in proportion
as education and intelligence
spread among the masses. The chief
cause of India’s ruin has been the
monopolizing of the whole education
and intelligence of the land, by dint
of pride and royal authority, among a
handful of men. If we are to rise again,
we shall have to do it in the same way,
i.e. by spreading education among the
masses. All the wealth of the world
cannot help one little Indian village
if the people are not taught to help
themselves.
In Junagadh, sometime in 1892, Swami Vivekananda

“
also came in contact with Chhaganlal H. Pandya
(b.1859, d.1936) of Nadiad, a great scholar,
Within man is all knowledge, and it
educationist and well known in Gujarat’s literary world
requires only an awakening, and that as translator of Sanskrit classics like Kadambari.

much is the work of the teacher.

He was deeply impressed by Swami Vivekananda’s
personality and in the introduction to his book
Christnu Anukaran, a Gujarati translation of The
Imitation of Christ, by Thomas A Kempis, published in
1915, Pandya gives a wonderful account of the days
he spent in Swami Vivekananda’s holy company.

Chhaganlal Pandya also gave a vivid description of

how Swami Vivekananda charmed and influenced
everybody by his spirituality, his catholicity of views,
his simplicity of life, his proficiency in music and
profound knowledge of various arts and sciences, his
stirring eloquence and not the least by his proficiency
in the art of cuisine.

Source: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Source: Shri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Rajkot,
(Published by Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi Entally Road, website (www.rkmrajkot.org)
Kolkata 14, India)

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