So what does it really mean to be 'Out of the Box' or 'Disruptive'? These have been buzz words for so long that it's almost outdated now and I guess this is the zillionth time someone's writing about it. But I'll give it a shot anyway because I believe that enough still hasn't been said or done to encourage this in everyday life.

One thing I can say for a fact is that 'Out of the Box' does not mean 'something nobody saw coming or understands and is therefore brilliant and profound!' Although that is how many people and companies have perceived it and fallen flat on their faces as a result. Remember the vacuumizer? The video phone? Or even that show on TV many years ago that allowed you to call in and pick the story ending of your choice. Who needed all of that? We look for things in life that are a lot simpler. Like Google or everyone's best friend today - Wikipedia; I mean for someone to think of a free search portal made of only contributions!! Now that's brilliance and truly disruptive.

Another case in point that I'll talk about here is a pint sized 90 something minute film called Aamir that came out a week ago out of nowhere and completely blew me away.

Almost the entire movie has been shot with one actor on the crowded streets of Dongri and Bhendi Bazaar using hidden cameras. I thought this technique was very effective because it allowed more penetration for the viewer ... as if we are really there.
The soundtrack is also edgy and interesting. Some songs have the exact opposite rhythm and feel to the scene and I thought was more 'in your face' than ever. Despite these and more interesting innovations used, the message of the film is never compromised. Objectivity is still there throughout the movie and the profoundness of the message stares at you with a thousand eyes at the end.

I end here by pointing out that new and disruptive thinking, therefore has its place in the world. If an Aamir works, it is because of its 'out of the box' dimension and 'risk taking' involved.

'Disruptivity' is going to be 'survival' tomorrow and I bet there's definitely more where all this came from. I'll certainly keep you posted on anything interesting on the topic. For starters I intend to finish the book - 'The Black Swan Theory'. And tell all about it. If it doesn't ring a bell yet, why don't you 'wiki' it? 

 
The medium of television revolutionized the delivery of entertainment, opinions and news. It was the first step towards bringing the world into people's homes, albeit in black and white to begin with. My generation will remember the Sunday evening Hindi movie or the Friday night Chhaya Geet. They may remember Sarita Sethi's crisp delivery of the 9 o'clock Hindi news or the dulcet eyes of Luku Sanyal delivering the 10 o'clock one in English. Sabira Merchant's What's the Good Word was perhaps India's first game show. And no Parsi worth their Dhansak would miss Adi Marzban's rollicking variety entertainment show - Avo Mari Sathe (Come Along With Me.)

Television brought a sense of immediacy to news and created an entirely new dimension for spreading information. While the Internet has changed some paradigms and will continue to do so, the 40 year old television re-invents itself continuously to be the pride of place in most living rooms.

While corporates explore new ways of internal communications, very few corporates (none so far in India) have used the potency of television to their advantage. MMTV is our very own Internal television, which if used effectively can ease the challenges of integrating our rapidly expanding organisation. Smart programming can unite the vast diversity that exists in the Mahindra Group today - both geographical and cultural. Interviews, story boards and features can transfer Mahindra values from companies that have been part of our Group historically to younger ones.

While we explore different technologies to bring TV programming to all the units in our organization and set up an in-house MMTV Studio, we are open to ideas on content. I have been the first reporter on MMTV (I wonder if anyone will remember me as fondly as I remember Luku and Adi.) but we need more reporters to captures news, views and stories "breaking" in the various companies that belong to our organisation. Breaking News, News you can Use; but NO Saas Bahu blues, mind you!

 

At Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (MLDL), we are striving to be energy efficient and quality conscious with reference to our products and processes.  We have taken the initiative to "Go Green" for all our Residential Building Projects in India. Four of our projects so far are now registered for the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for green buildings, making us the FIRST Residential Building Developer in India for LEED - Precertification of the Projects. We have also signed an MOU with CII-GBC for feasibility studies for all-ongoing projects.

 

But what does all this mean for the families that wish to own spaces we build?

We would like to provide avenues and opportunities for them to truly conserve energy and live in an environment that safeguards the future.

 

In this post we would like to take the opportunity to share with you MLDL's vision for a sustainable future and hope to talk a lot more in our subsequent posts about our green initiatives in more detail.

 

Green Buildings and its benefits to residents

Green Building is a design and construction practice that promotes the economic health and well being of your family, the community and the environment. A green home incorporates smart design, technology, construction and maintenance elements to significantly lessen the negative impact of the home on the environment in five broad areas as mentioned below and improve the health of the people who live inside.

 

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy efficiency and atmosphere
• Environmental Friendly Materials and resources
• Indoor Environmental quality

One of the main benefits of Green Building is that a high-energy low emissivity glass will be installed in all fenestration, which will have low SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient). This kind of glass has high light transmission ratio with low shading coefficient and in turn induces more day light effect than normal glasses. Due to low SHGC, entire fenestration system will reduce the energy requirement for indoor air-conditioning substantially in comparison with normal fenestration. 

 

As a mandatory part of Green Building development more emphasis is also given for optimal Indoor Environmental Quality to ensure healthy living spaces for our customers.

 

To ensure proper indoor environmental quality we are improving the ventilation effectiveness by providing open-able window space to floor ration more than 15% (as against 4% stipulated by ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers/ ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code, Government of India). We are using low VOC* (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, adhesives and insulations inside the flats for improved moisture management. It also increases the Occupants productivity.

 

The terrace roof will be covered with the high - albedo - insulating material having SRI (Solar Reflectance Index) value more than 78 to reduce the heat absorption and energy demand for air-conditioning.

 

Outside the building an innovative erosion and sedimentation control management system will be developed with a rain water harvesting system with storm water management to recharge the ground water. An in-house STP (Sewage Treatment Plan) will be installed to reuse the wastewater generated from the building and thus reducing the water demand.

 

All the above initiatives will create a healthy living space for our customers and result in interactive effects of energy efficiency measures.

 

Green materials we propose to use at MLDL:

 

1.       High energy efficient, Low U Glass

2.       Flyash bricks / blocks

3.       Low VOC paints, sealants and adhesives

4.       High Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) insulation material on Roof

5.       CFC Free refrigerants

6.       Recycled steel, Aluminium, tiles etc.

 

*VOCs are chemical compounds that contribute to air pollution inside and outside of buildings. VOCs react with Sunlight and nitrogen in the atmosphere at room temperature to form "Ground Level Ozone", a chemical that has a detrimental effect on Human Health. Ozone damages Lung Tissue, reduces lung function. Application of VOCs also affects outdoor air quality, creating Smog and producing an unhealthy environment. W.H.O. reports that indoor air pollution causes 14 times more deaths than outdoor air pollution.

 Another major energy efficient benefit of Green building is that Flyash based concrete bricks/blocks of low energy density will be used for internal as well as external walls which will be covered with cement mortar plaster having Polypropylene Fibres and Water Proofing Admixtures. This kind of building envelope will protect the building from water leakage and act as better insulation. Thus we are creating a building envelope to reduce energy demand for air-conditioning system installed by our customers.