INSWAYS Knowledge Network

Every Great Design Has Many Authors

Today, a ten-year-old reviewed a professional identity card that I have been designing. She didn't know anything about insurance. She didn't know anything about surveying. She simply picked ...

Users describe symptoms. Designers discover causes.

For many years, I believed that the role of a software designer was to answer every question a user asked.

Experience taught me something very different. The best products are often built by solving the problems users haven't yet learned to describe. More than twenty years ago, a young surveyor t...

Innovation Is Rarely a Giant Leap. It Is Usually the Next Logical Step.

Looking back over my engineering career, one lesson stands out. Most breakthroughs don't happen because someone suddenly has a brilliant idea. They happen because solving one problem makes i...

If You Can't Explain It Simply, Do You Really Understand It?

Many years ago, I was invited by New India Assurance to speak at a seminar in **Vadodara (erstwhile Baroda)** on ISO 9000. The discussion was full of technical jargon, and I could see many p...

The Most Expensive Asset Is Not On The Balance Sheet

After more than 40 years of engineering, valuation, insurance claims, and asset audits, I have come to an interesting conclusion: The most valuable asset in any organization is usually not r...

Your Shortcut Through Experience

What if the Relay Race Teaches a Better Lesson Than "Winner Takes All"? One thought has been bothering me lately. Why do we celebrate so many systems where one person takes all the rewards, ...

Learn Smarter Not Harder

Today, at the age of 72, I find myself developing software with AI, reflecting on a lesson that has stayed with me for over half a century. Life, in my view, is not a 100-metre sprint. It is...

The Asset ID Paradox

In fixed asset management, we often assume that assigning an Asset ID solves the identification problem. . It certainly helps. . But does it completely solve it? . Consider a simple example....

The Spreadsheet Isn't the Problem

I have spent much of my professional life working with Fixed Asset Registers, reinstatement valuations, insurance reviews, and claim investigations. . One observation continues to surprise m...

THE RIGHT TOOL CHANGES EVERYTHING

Growing up in India, I often watched roadside mechanics perform remarkable repairs with very limited tools. Sometimes, a stubborn nut would be loosened using a hammer and a chisel because th...

The Missing Bolt Principle

Failures are often caused not by what is present, but by what is missing.

When a machine fails, people often look for the broken part. . But experienced engineers know that sometimes the most important clue is not what is there. . It is what is missing. . A missin...

THE SMALL SIGNAL PRINCIPLE

Most major failures begin as minor warnings.

. One of the most expensive assumptions people make is: "It's only a small problem." . A slight vibration in a machine. . A minor oil leak. . An unusual smell. . A small crack in a wall. . A...

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE TEST

If an idea cannot survive criticism, it cannot survive reality.

Many years ago, I learned an important lesson. . When we create an idea, a business, a system, or even a belief, we naturally become attached to it. . We begin to see its strengths. We imagi...

Information is Not Understanding

Having more data does not necessarily mean having more insight.

We live in an age where information is abundant. . In fact, information has become so abundant that many people assume that having information is the same as having understanding. . It is no...

The Rear-View Mirror Principle

Why experience is useful—but dangerous when driving into the future.

A car has a rear-view mirror for a reason. It helps us learn from what lies behind us. But imagine trying to drive while looking only into the rear-view mirror. An accident would be inevitab...

When Scale Changes, Methods Must Change

The problem may remain the same. The scale changes. Therefore, the method must change.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that a method perfected for dealing with small numbers cannot simply be extended to deal with large numbers. If someone asks me to add 2 + ...

When a Fire Claim Involved 13,000 Inventory Items

Many people believe that preparing an insurance claim is largely a matter of estimating the value of what has been damaged. In reality, that is often the easier part. Many years ago, I was i...

The Most Expensive Question Is the One Nobody Asked

Sometimes the breakthrough is not in the answer. It is in the question.

Many years of engineering, valuation, and insurance investigations have taught me a simple lesson: The quality of the answer can never exceed the quality of the question. When things go wron...

When Information Became Democratic

When I graduated from IIT Delhi in 1976, information was scarce. If you wanted technical knowledge, you went to a library. If you needed data, you searched through files. If you wanted exper...

From Pyramids to Forest

For most of my professional life, I worked within traditional organizational structures. Like most organizations, they were designed as pyramids. Authority at the top. Instructions flowing d...

What Keeps The Tree Standing

Where is the Brain of a Tree?

Many years ago, while resting under pine trees after a trek in Himachal with my young children, I asked them a simple question: "Do these fresh leaves look like the babies of the tree?" The ...

The Wizard's Principle

I was fortunate to be coached by Major Dhyan Chand, India's legendary Hockey Wizard. Among the many lessons he taught us, one has stayed with me throughout my life. During training, he would...

The Boyle Method

The Method That Led to Boyle's Law

Most of us studied Boyle's Law in school. Some may still remember the equation. Many may remember that pressure is inversely proportional to volume. A few may even remember the condition: Pr...

The Relay Race Principle

The baton is the story.

Most people admire the 100-metre sprint. The fastest individual wins. Nothing wrong with that. But what has always fascinated me is the relay race. Four runners. Different strengths. Differe...

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

A Lesson from a Mumbai Workshop

Many years ago, during a two-day workshop in Mumbai, we had an hour to spare after lunch before dispersing. Someone suggested we use the time for an informal discussion. I chose a simple top...