Strands of Genius: Jugaad, Disruption in the Death Industry, The Salem Witch Trials Still a Reality in India

Guest curated by Payal Pereira

Oct 21, 2021

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, PAYAL PEREIRA ::

LOCATION: New York, NY

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: SYLVAIN

I’m Payal, an engineer turned copywriter turned strategist, just trying to keep my left and right brain happy! I graduated from the VCU Brandcenter this past summer and am currently working as a strategist at SYLVAIN.

Strands of Genius was one of the resources that really helped me make that transition from copywriting to strategy by making strategy and strategists feel less intimidating. I met Rosie and Faris through Mark Pollard, the founder of Sweathead when they had come down to Mumbai for the Zee Melt conference back in 2019. Being in the midst of so many strategists for the first time and having some of the most interesting discussions I’ve ever had made me feel like I belonged.

P.S.I identify as a witch so October is truly one of my favorite months of the year. With that in mind, you can expect some spookiness sprinkled in this newsletter.

Editor’s Note (Rosie): While it’s mostly felt like this pandemic has dragged on, it also feels like only yesterday when we were back in India for the Zee Melt conference. We’re looking forward to reconnecting in person - hopefully sooner rather than later - but in the meantime, we’ll settle for the internet bringing us together. Thanks for sharing Payal! I especially enjoyed these links!

:: THE LINKS ::

JUGAAD - THE ART OF FRUGAL INNOVATION

While necessity may be the mother of innovation, constraint is the mother of frugal innovation. Jugaad is a Hindi word meaning “the gutsy art of improvising a solution in difficult conditions with limited resources.” This innovation-mindset has been part of Indian culture for hundreds of years. From using a washing machine to churn milk to sending a rocket into space that cost less than the budget of a movie about going into space (i.e, Gravity), Jugaad is the reason why Indians will always look at every difficult situation as a possibility for innovation.
Jugaad innovation is grounded in these 6 principles:
1. Finding opportunity in adversity
2. Doing more with less
3. Thinking and acting flexibly
4. Keeping it simple
5. Being inclusive
6. Following your heart
While this innovation mindset has typically been practiced in many developing countries, in this post-COVID world even developed countries could benefit from adopting this mindset to reinvent the economy making it socially inclusive and ecologically virtuous. (BBC)

DISRUPTION IN THE DEATH INDUSTRY

Death is natural but discussing it is not. Only 21 percent of Americans have even spoken to their loved ones about their wishes, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Death is probably the only rite of passage around which we have become so passive. But with the rise of the Death Positivity movement and the introduction of concepts like Death cafes, apps like WeCroak and Youtube series like ‘Ask a Mortician' that encourage people to have open conversations about death, this is slowly changing.
While the major part of a typical funeral today is remarkably similar to one from 50 years ago, millennials are disrupting this industry by looking for ways to make funerals more personal, sustainable and affordable through practices like green burials, and home funerals. (Vox)

THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS MIGHT HAVE ENDED, BUT IT’S STILL A REALITY IN INDIA

In ancient times, witchcraft was a practice that was mentioned as a profession in the Rig Veda, an ancient Hindu scripture, and was taught at ancient Indian universities. But this practice is still common among some of the indigenous tribes in parts of northeast India. These witches, mostly who identify as women, are targeted and become easy scapegoats in property disputes or conflict over material wealth within families. Even though there have been laws passed to prevent witch hunting, at least 193 people have been lynched and killed in witch hunting incidents between 2001 and 2017. (Vice)

Looking for more from Payal Pereira? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from her in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Pictionary

:: City :: Mumbai

:: Book :: A Place for Us

:: Podcast :: Culture Binge by Wisecrack

:: REDESIGNING THE FUNERAL EXPERIENCE ::

A passion project where I tried to redesign the funeral experience.

Hit me up if you’d like a Tarot reading.

Payal Pereira

pereira.payal4@gmail.com

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

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