Breaching boundaries.... IPL ishtyle

Cricket's new entertainment format the Indian Premier League has some very interesting innovation lessons...

The number of players allowed in a side hasn't changed. The boundaries of the stadiums haven't really changed. The ball is still made of leather and the bat of wood. But everything else about the game is dramatically, visibly, radically, excitingly different.

If innovation is about creating unique and compelling solutions - then this is a hugely innovative format. It respects the norms of the games, but questions every single condition fundamentally and essentially asks the bold question - what if cricket was not just a game, but instead a 3-hour action flick that was packed with drama, adventure, emotions, heroes, heroines...

What if?

Would we look at the game differently, then? Is there a huge blind spot somewhere in our current understanding of the game, that could change the very nature of this game? What are we taking for granted, that has the power to release locked-in value? What boundaries are we unwilling to breach today? What would create history in this game?



And sure enough whats been created is not just sport. Thats just the entry criteria! Its a proposition that packs in a new business model, combined with new product offerings, combined with the creation of dynamic new relationships between viewers, players, team-owners and the media.

Its not just the cricket eco-system in India that IPL has challenged and impacted. Soap operas and cranky family dramas at prime time is a finished industry now I guess. Movies Theaters will have to think up new strategies to get people away from television over the weekends. New movie releases will get impacted in the weeks that the IPL is on. Earnings from a cricket team could become a part of a corporate organizations balance sheet -:). The impact is far beyond the sports industry...especially in a cricket crazy country like India.

Its obvious that a truly compelling proposition has the power to create fans in minutes, convert observers into active supporters and shake up the eco-system that it occupies.

Takes me back to the start point for innovation. Seeking a solution that solves a current problem is a terribly incremental approach. If you really want to innovate then ask - what can we do differently that will question the most fundamental norms of the game and therefore change the game forever. That question will set you up for a journey onto a brave new path.

In fact if you are not willing to ask that question, then don't bother innovating.

PS: Tata's Nano is the other example of a Global-Indian Innovation that started with the same thought...