It takes a lot of courage for organizations to take a leap of faith around innovation – to move from recognizing that a leap is warranted, to taking the leap towards realizing a breakthrough. Upon starting on the effort, they immediately hit their first obstacle – employees who are either unwilling or unable to think of ways to transform a product, service or a business model. Why is that?
According to Sathya V. Venkatasubramanian, Founder and CEO of Svatantra Innovation LLC “After years of reacting to problems and applying existing knowledge to ‘more of the same’ scenarios, it can become difficult for employees to think of something different”. As Sathya further explains, this is a result of conditioning of one’s own thinking, also known as mindset gravity. Unlike physical gravity, mindset gravity builds up over time and gets stronger due to successes and experiences. Mindset gravity can impact individuals, organizations, industries and even cultures. With over 17 years of experience across multiple industries and across continents, Sathya has helped individuals and organizations identify and overcome their thresholds of thinking and create breakthrough transformations.
Svatantra Innovation was founded in early 2019 with a vision to transform the way one thinks. The name Svatantra denotes freedom: freedom to question the status quo, freedom to be unbiased by past thinking, present distractions and future expectations – all manifestations of mindset gravity in one or more forms. The onset of mindset gravity is marked by a visible absence of curiosity! Whether it is young children or adults, the absence of curiosity is marked by an acceptance of the status quo, perhaps even an adamant justification for it. Sathya believes that in order to push people to breach their mindset gravities, it is essential to help them think, to help unshackle their thoughts and to allow them a path to operate outside of comfort zones – the proverbial box in the phrase ‘think outside the box’!
Through Svatantra Innovation, Sathya is currently offering two engagements:
- Slingshot is a certificate learning program designed to help children improve their skills around creative thinking and innovation – designed to complement their school curricula and resist the effects of mindset gravity. The program is spread over 26 hours of learning plus application.
- Breakthrough Thinking is a certificate program designed to help adults identify and combat their established mindset gravities. This program is offered as a 1-day workshop, with the first workshop scheduled for November 6, 2019. Register here.
Both programs are currently based in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. For participation inquiries in either programs, write to info@svatantrainnovation.com