What Shapes Us Episode 6: In Talks with Rishikesh Krishnan

As Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and having completed a term as its Director, Rishikesh Krishnan has observed institutions from both the classroom and the corner office. That dual vantage point shapes how he thinks about leadership, innovation, and access.

Through influential works like From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation and the award winning 8 Steps to Innovation: Going from Jugaad to Excellence, he argues that improvisation alone cannot power a nation’s ambitions. Systems, processes, and culture have to evolve together.

In this episode, he reflects on his own journey through academia and public leadership, asking which of the “Es” truly matter. Is it early environment. Is it education. Is it exposure to ideas and mentors. Or is it the ecosystem that rewards certain kinds of risk taking.

He also examines the responsibility of institutions. How do business schools design admissions, pedagogy, research priorities, and faculty incentives so that opportunity is broadened rather than concentrated. What does it take to move from pockets of excellence to widespread capability.

His conversation with Vidya is thoughtful and unsentimental. It recognises structural constraints, yet insists that institutions can choose to redesign themselves. Not with slogans, but with deliberate shifts that expand who gets to participate, lead, and innovate.