One of the most important ideas mentioned in the Innovation tips is "Don't fight culture." Same goes in the U.S. People aren't going to give up their SUVs, so stop trying to make them drive Priuses and just give them more environmentally-friendly SUVs. Lord knows, wheeling around in a giant vehicle is half of what makes us American.
That being said, I wonder if this fights a little bit with the idea of "providing skills" along with finished technology. I suppose it would depend on the situation, but if you're truly basing these new products on pre-existing cultural tropes, how much skill-training do you need to do? I could see how someone from the U.S. coming to a place in the developing world and teaching folks what they already know how to do might seem a little neo-colonialist. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that there's a fine balance between the two and it should be navigated carefully.
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