26 | COVER STORY
Raised in the northwestern American state of Minnesota, Simone’s mother was a physician and Simone always had a desire to help others. “Dentistry was on my radar since in the US, dentists have more autonomy in terms of running their clinics, but are still squarely in healthcare,” she tells eShe. Simone
India: “My bhuaji (father’s sister), who along with her husband and daughters, gave me my love for India,” says Simone, adding that jugaad was a brand new phenomenon to her when she visited India initially. “I learned about it as I was studying innovation in India – particularly among grassroots entrepreneurs
L-R: Simone with her son; the cover of her new book Jugaad 3.0, which is titled Disrupt It Yourself in the US
practised full time in private practice for just a year before going part time and “pursuing interests that were closer to my heart and more enriching for my mind” such as improvisational and traditional theatre and filmmaking. Though Simone’s family was primarily based in the US, London and Canada, she had one strong remaining root of her family in
and how they solve problems even if they are severely resource constrained,” she recalls. “It was really the contrast in problem-solving approaches between my teams – one US-based and one India-based – that helped me understand what jugaad is – and why it’s so valuable.” While Simone found her US team very talented, she felt they were also generally more rigid and APRIL 2019