Contact me at bala@balaramadurai.net.

My Books

I have written a few books on various topics.

My Podcasts

I have recorded a few podcasts on topics that I am very happy to talk about.

Design Thinking

The learners get under the skin of the user/customer and solve problems for them. The approach is based on an age old theory (more than 2000 years old) postulated by Lord Buddha. The learners learn thinking tools from the design world, the TRIZ/ARIZ world, Indian arts, metaphors and the patent database. Finally, they utilize some tools from six thinking hats and Mr. David Snowden. They learn the course interactively through silence, videos, stories, inane jokes and interesting assignments.

Creativity and Innovation

This workshop module uses the ARIZ/TRIZ thinking methodology (You could say that this course is an offspring of the design thinking course). The learners bring in problems that they have been working on and I guide them to use ARIZ/TRIZ in detail. The learner brings in problems that they have already understood and are fairly certain about the problem to solve using the concepts in the course.

Technology Forecasting

If design thinking is for the NOW, technology forecasting is design thinking for the future. The learner uses a methodology called FORMAT - http://handbook.format-project.eu, a result of a European Union funded (~$3 million) project. The learner hones their skill to think of a future timeframe of more than 10 years. They will consider the potential of the current technology, but also the alternatives and how strong or weak is their technology of interest in comparison to the alternatives. Imagination, intuition, analytics and data crunching go hand in hand in this course. The predictions from the forecasting exercise are not as important as the questions of forecast posed (first stage of the FORMAT methodology).

Executive Coaching

“How does one execute a large innovation project within my company? Do I get personally involved or delegate? Am I listening or telling? I am doing my best, what more can I do?” If these are questions that keep coming to your head (and you happen to be the head of a company or department), you have reached the right place. One on one coaching can work wonders in clearing out the fog around some of the issues you may be facing in your workplace.

Intrapreneurship - A workout

Intrapreneurship is a conundrum of sorts, since it is making an entrepreneur out of an employee taking the risks of an entrepreneur with the friendly resources of a company. How did Mindtree achieve this in 2008-9? I introduce the participants to the company profile. I excite them with the remarkable history of a very different kind of company. How and why did they launch 550? Why is 550 a very different sort of program? How did the program bring out innovation and the creative entrepreneurial spirit of the company? The learners assume the role of innovation managers of companies of their choice to design and present an intrapreneurship program.

Client Speak

I have worked with many clients and I always like to hear that they come out from the collaboration happy and satisfied. Have a look at what the clients said about my work.

Updates (News and Blog)

I write occasionally about a few things that are dear to me - writing about life, teaching tools and techniques, and learning about technology. I plan to write more about health and writing in general as well. Stay tuned. Please do subscribe to my blog if you like what you read.

How to Write a Novel – Building a Strong Story Arc

on 2024-10-09

In this post, we’ll dive deeper into creating a story arc.

If you’ve been following the series, the steps we’ve covered so far:

  • Write a one-liner for your novel
  • Write the main story arc
  • Create supporting characters and draft their motivations

Now, before we move into crafting arcs for these support characters, let’s first break down how to construct a compelling story arc. I am going to use Marlin in Finding Nemo. Oh, I so love him, what an adorable father!!!

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Unlock Your Karmic Design Thinking Potential: Hands-On Workshop (Oct 22-25)

on 2024-10-03

If you’ve completed our Design Thinking MOOC and are eager to take your skills to the next level, we have exciting news for you! We’re thrilled to announce a special hands-on workshop from October 22nd to 25th. This four-day, immersive experience is designed specifically for those who want to apply the principles they’ve learned in real-world scenarios.

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Trends of Innovation Talk - Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City

on 2024-10-02

In a recent Trends of Innovation talk with the folks from Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, held on September 27th at 7 p.m. Mexico time, I explored the application of Altshuler’s technical laws of evolution—specifically the law of increasing ideality, the law of increasing dynamism, and the transition to super systems. Here are three ideas that I came up to demonstrate the application of these laws:

Dynamic Keyboard (Law of Increasing Ideality)

The concept here is to reduce unnecessary components, making the keyboard more adaptable. By removing features like keys, stands, numpads, and even the letters themselves, we could shift to a dynamic display. Imagine an LED panel that adapts based on the language or typing requirements. With this, users would no longer need multiple physical keyboards for different languages, and the design could cater to various use cases, reducing complexity while increasing functionality.

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Podcast Enterprise: S2E17 Piece of the Action

on 2024-10-02

Space, the final frontier. These are the podcasts of the Podcast Enterprise. Its only mission: to explore story structures, to analyze our favorite characters and plotlines, to boldly talk what everyone has seen before

We will analyze all episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series or TOS for short using the following guiding structure:

  1. Synopsis or summary of the episode
  2. Story structure
  3. Character analysis
  4. Our likes and dislikes

The synopsis: When this episode begins, the USS Enterprise is in orbit around Sigma Iotia II. They’ve arrived at this planet in response to a radio signal from the Horizon, a ship that visited Sigma Iotia II about a hundred years ago. The Horizon, lacking the non-interference directive that later became Starfleet policy, inadvertently contaminated the culture on Sigma Iotia II. The Enterprise’s mission is to check on the planet and its civilization, assessing the impact of this contamination.

Upon approaching the planet, the crew receives an invitation from a character named Bela Okmyx (or Oxmyx, as the pronunciation varies). He refers to himself as “Boss” and requests a meeting with Captain Kirk. Amused, Kirk decides to investigate and beams down to Sigma Iotia II with Spock and McCoy. Upon arrival, they find a world that looks strikingly like Chicago of the 1920s, complete with people dressed in suits, women in frocks, and a gangster-like atmosphere. Almost immediately, they are accosted by gangsters claiming to be henchmen of Okmyx.

The gangsters take them to a large building where they find Okmyx playing pool. He speaks to Kirk in a half-polite, somewhat friendly manner. Spock soon discovers the source of the cultural contamination left by the Horizon—a book about the Chicago mobs of the 1920s. The Iotians, being highly intelligent and imitative, adopted this book as a sort of holy guide, shaping their entire culture around it and turning themselves into gangsters.

Okmyx becomes a problem for Kirk when he demands that Kirk supply him with weapons—specifically, the phasers he calls “heaters.” He wants these weapons to wage war against rival gang leaders and unite all the gangs on Sigma Iotia II under his rule. Naturally, Kirk refuses, leading Okmyx to imprison him. However, Kirk manages to escape by inventing a nonsensical card game called Fizzbin. Despite escaping, Kirk is promptly captured by a rival mob boss, who has similar demands—wanting weapons and control of the Enterprise.

Kirk finds himself in a precarious situation, needing to use all his wits to prevent these gangs from destroying each other and to instill some semblance of unity. There are several memorable scenes, including Kirk’s attempt to drive a car, which adds a humorous touch. Eventually, Kirk manages to bring the two gang bosses, along with others, into one place. He demonstrates the power of the Enterprise, which helps him get their attention. Adopting a gangster persona himself, Kirk talks about cuts and profits, appealing to their interests, even though it’s against Starfleet regulations. Despite the chaos, he succeeds in uniting the gangs.

Finally, the crew of the Enterprise, including Kirk, is released by the gang bosses, and they return to the ship. However, the episode ends with a twist—McCoy realizes he left something very important behind on Sigma Iotia II, which hints at potential future problems.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Thank you for listening to the Podcast Enterprise. Please do share your reviews with us and please share this podcast with any of your writing friends or trekkies. Live long and prosper!

Stay tuned in for our next episode! Enjoy!

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