A Reflection On The Pitfalls Of Being Different In Business

For this blog I want to reflect on my experiences of trying to complete an assignment for my Uni degree. The assignment was basically to generate profit for charity with $5 seed funding in under 4 weeks. Now while I can feel already many of you are thinking right now of brilliant fast money enterprises, there's an issue with almost all of them.

What is that you may ask? Well being different doesn't always pay dividends.

Take for instance the first idea my group had. It was essentially to offer an errand/lunch/coffee service to lecturers and tutors who don't always have the time to get their own food. They give us $1 or $2 and we do a job for them. While this is by no means groundbreaking its definitely a little different to your lemonade stand or raffle. We felt that this model was easy to carry out, required $0 funding to get it started and could easily be managed by the 3 of us. And so we began speaking to customers and finding out what they wanted, got a fairly good response too..

So wheres the issue?

The issues lies in that we barely got any orders. While other groups were doing simple stuff like baking cookies or scones or organizing movie nights and bringing in revenue, we weren't. My group chose to try and do something that was not the norm when it comes to rapid fund raising. To be honest I felt a bit disheartened to see that trying to be a little different made nowhere near as much cash as doing what everyone else does.

So is it wrong to do something generic?

Not at all. Let's not forget that these models are so common because they consistently work well and are capable of bringing in revenue fast and in a relatively easy manner. It's just that when you're told on a weekly basis by your educators to be different, try new things and stand out, it all seems a little pointless. Will this stop me and my fellow students from trying outlandish ideas? Absolutely not, as failure and learning from failure is an essential component of entrepreneurship and business success.

So where does that leave us?

Yes it is true that the most common business models for fundraising are generally the most reliable and successful compared to more left-field ideas. But trying new things and testing out new models is truly the key to making bigger strides in the business world. Therefore I'd recommend using a common business model to get you started on your entrepreneurial path, but always be thinking outside the box when looking towards the future.

How Tech is Making Face-to-Face Relationships More Important Than Ever

Image Courtesy of IABC: https://www.iabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/iabc-articles-november-2010.jpg

It's so easy today to jump onto the Internet and get in touch with your friends and family through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even the humble Email. Right now you're reading this blog, which allows me to communicate and express opinions, which are accessible almost anywhere in the world. The power that we have today at our fingertips is truly breathtaking but raises a few issues. Having the ability to communicate via a screen or microphone negates the need, for many people, to meet in person. This is particularly detrimental in a business, where communication and customer relations are so paramount to success.

I think that Forbes contributor Alan Hall sums it up quite eloquently by saying that "Award-winning business builders know their customers as well as they know their own families". How are you going to get to know your customer, and more importantly, make a great impression, via pixels and speakers? Today its becoming more and more overlooked just how crucial it is to meet someone, shake their hand and sit down for a conversation. Making the time and effort to see your customers, even if its every now and then and even if its representative, gives a far stronger impression of care and concern for the customers needs than a Skype call ever could.

We as a species are a social group. We have senses refined for taking in our surroundings and languages designed to communicate with those around us. There is an intangible difference to meeting someone compared to speaking on the phone or the computer. Achieve Solutions have a brilliant article on this. Here's just a small excerpt:

When we laugh together, smile at one another, shake hands, or share a meal, we bond on a primal level that cannot be replaced by electronic communication. We literally take in many cues from our various senses—sight, sound, feel, taste and smell—when we interact face-to-face. There’s even scientific evidence that we react to and process the scent of others on a subconscious or unconscious chemical level.

In the past it used to be a given that if you wanted to have a meeting you'd sit down at a large table and talk face to face. Today however, with the advent of modern technology it may appear that this is a thing of the past. But I can't stress on stronger terms how important, and this goes out more to my generation than anyone else, meeting people in real life is to the success of your business. Don't be tempted by the speed of online communication. Yes, it will get things done potentially earlier but in the big picture long-lasting relationships melded by personal contact will always outweigh time savings.

For another great article on what I'm on about have a look at IABC's piece 'What’s So Great About Face-to-Face?'

3 Ways to Help Improve Your Chances of Developing a Successful Enterprise

1. Start off by thinking about what the customer you want to target may need, not what you think they need. These days it's quite common for entrepreneurs to come up with brilliant ideas to address problems that simply don't exist. To give an example, I’m currently in the process of developing an NFC product that I want to sell to schools. In developing the business model, we started off by thinking about what’s wrong with schools in our subjective opinion. While this generated some innovative solutions, once we spoke to actual schools, our actual customers, we realised that the issues which they needed solving were worlds away from what we had identified. This lead to us changing the purpose of the product that we initially envisioned, into something the customer would actually buy based on real feedback.
   
2. Customer focus is key and never loose sight of this. The customer is the single most important part of a functional and successful business. If you are not building, designing or offering a service that pleases and fulfils the needs of a customer, your business is unlikely to thrive. Remember it’s the cash coming out of their wallet that allows you expand and maintain your business.
   
3. ‘Be 10 times better now to be 4 times better when you come to market’. This is a saying that I have shamelessly copied from Dr Buzz Palmer, CEO of STC  and an individual fluent in entrepreneurial development. I feel that it’s the best way of expressing how important it is that what you want to create is not just better, its clearly better than anything available today. This ties in with fulfilling the demands of the customer. What you offer has to be so good that it overwhelmingly offsets the investment or ongoing costs to acquire whatever it is that you plan to sell.

For more tips on creating a successful product and business here are some useful articles from Forbes and Inc.

The Synergy of Art and Science Part 2

I want to start this post with a question. How has scientific progression influenced the way we design the things around us? I think that a clear answer to this lies in a personal passion of mine, aviation. I'll use 3 notable aircraft since the first flight in 1903 to generally compare how much things have changed and how the balance between art and science has shifted.

Image Source

Humble Beginnings

Its December 17th 1903 and the Wright Brothers have just taken the machine you see on the right into the sky for 120 glorious feet. This aircraft lies at the bottom end of the scale where science and engineering dominate and artistic merit is irrelevant. Just getting the thing to fly was 100% of the challenge and so 100% of the plane was function and not form.Wood, Canvas and pulleys were the materials used during this time and this further limited the shapes and forms an aircraft could take to small and boxy designs.

Art Claws Back Some Ground

Before I go on I want you took look at the two images below. The first image is of a Spitfire from WW2, the second is a faithful scale model, one of which now sits on my desk.

Image taken from the Daily Mail

Image taken from Tailwinds

To many aviation enthusiasts this is one of the most evocative and beautiful machines ever constructed by man. Here is what I thinks is the quintessential example of art fighting back against functional design. Not a single component of this aircraft looks like the 1903 Wright Flyer above apart from that it has wings. The incorporation of lightweight and strong metals allowed for single wings to be built, engines went from modified car motors to powerful generators of horsepower and overall size increased. Aircraft designers could finally experiment and produce planes (that were essentially aerial gun platforms) that pleased not just the engineers' eye but the eye of the general public. The Spitfire shows how changes in materiel sciences changed the path of aviation, and don't forget, only 33 years separate these two aircraft.


Artistic Freedom Arrives

While the final aircraft in this lineup does not yet exists, it hints towards the potential future of aeronautical design. The AWWA Sky Whale Concept (yep you read that correctly) incorporates both current and future materials such as carbon nantubes, advanced ceramics and alloys to create shapes never seen before. While Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, there's no doubt that the blending of sharp angles and curvaceous undulations and sweeps makes for an catching aesthetic. None of the looks of this future concept would be possible without the aforementioned mediums providing strength gains and weight reductions improving efficiency - the ongoing golden term of current and future aeronautical development.



We are now looking at a future where if it can be drawn, it probably can be built and flown. This is a world away from those flimsy wooden aircraft that first took to the sky 112 years ago and only time will tell where plane design goes next.

This marks the end of a 2 part blog series on the blending of science and art but don't worry, more content on many other topics will be coming soon.

Thanks for reading!

The Synergy of Art and Science Part 1

I recently had an enlightening experience at MUMA at Monash University Caulfield. It was interesting mainly because I have never truly considered art and thought about its significance, meaning and message. I'll openly admit that I am not one for artistic appreciation, however from the MUMA visit I did take away one key message, the Sciences need Art.

As Science and technology advance it is more important than ever that it is appealing, Particularly in the public space where looks can be everything. I recently was lucky enough to take ownership of a new Mazda 3.  During the process of reading through the brochure and between all of the marketing flim-flam I noticed that the car and the brand itself used something called KODO or 'Soul of Motion' as the basis for their automotive design. Searching further I was fascinated by how much time and effort was dedicated to turning a functional machine into a piece of stationary art that looks like its always on the move. It was eye opening, particularly for someone as artistically deficient as myself, when I began to see subtle design features and what can only be described as artistic methods put together on something as mundane as a car.

Image: https://www.mazda.com.au/about-mazda/promos-apps/

The things we buy don't just have to work well but fulfil the artistic component of our conscience. Art really is emotion embodied in tangible objects. And the Mazda is but one of many examples of this artistic rendition of technology

This Blog is part 1 of a 2 part series which I want to use to discuss how science and art work together in synergy. Part 2 will be uploaded very soon!

For more examples have a look at these links:
Apple Macbook - https://www.apple.com/au/macbook/
Monash green chemical futures building - image
more information on this building

Adaptive leadership - Why Being a Great Boss Isn't Always About Doing the Best Job

Sharing a Thought:

Recently I read a section in ''The Practice of Adaptive Leadership' by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky which I feel resounds quite strongly with many of us. In the section titled 'Distinguishing Leadership from Authority' it states that "exercising adaptive leadership is radically different from doing your job really, really well"(Heifetz, et al., 2009). In essence we have to understand that those who are successful in business are generally so due to them doing what their superiors demand to a pleasing degree. However great this sounds many of the breakthroughs that we have seen in our time have been down to individuals practicing adaptive leadership and unhinging themselves from the constructs of mainstream leadership practices.

We are Trapped by our Success

The book describes how "if you do what you are supposed to do...you will be rewarded in the coin of the realm"(Heifetz, et al., 2009). This included pay rises and promotions and for many reading this these things sound like absolute positives and in many ways they are. A big problem however is that this trains us to be subordinate. I remember in Year 12 a dilemma which was faced by my school captains. Chosen by the students for the students these individuals were tasked to actuate the ideas the year level were producing in relation to school life, sports and charity to name a few areas. Immediately there appeared to be an inherent problem. In order to remain as captains these students had to remain within the guidelines set out by the teaching group but at the same time put into effect the wishes of the student body. This situation is not dissimilar to the issue faced by a head of a section of a business. The business goals set out by a CEO may not mirror the model being worked towards by employees. Meanwhile a department manager is wedged in the middle fruitlessly trying to balance the expectations set on them from both sides of their business life.

Source:  ''The Practice of Adaptive Leadership' by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky (Page 28)

Replay

Looking again at the issue faced by those captains, lets see how adaptive leadership could have played a role. Rather than just the straightforward, black or white choice between students and teachers lets use the approach of leadership instead of authority. Studying Figure 2-3 from 'The Practice of Adaptive Leadership' we see that adaptive leaders "expose conflict or let it emerge"(Heifetz, et al., 2009) whereas mainstream leaders will "maintain norms"(Heifetz, et al., 2009) . Applying the adaptive response, these captains have the opportunity to use their position to initiate conversion between the conflicting parties. Rather than acting as an authoritative buffer, these students can bring both sides of the disagreement together potentially producing a far more agreeable solution. As it played out however, the teachers got what they wanted and the students had a say, but whether or not it had any influence on the final decision was always debatable. This was disappointing given that we come to expect that leaders act for their supporters and not for their bosses.

The Two-fold Problem

Many of the great leaders in recent decades have arisen based on their drive to effect change. They pushed for reform and sought to break through the long held norms of their society. As appealing this sounds to the aspirational entrepreneur there can be consequences. In business in particular, adaptive leadership and its associated practices mean "challenging the status quo"(Heifetz, et al., 2009). This issue is down to two particular problems. The first issue is that people don't like change. Secondly, if you're trying to contradict your employers ideas of how something should be run then "they may want to get rid of you and find someone else who will do their bidding"(Heifetz, et al., 2009).

(susandayley, 2011)

So What Should We Do?

The single most important thing that we must do is understand what adaptive leadership is and recognise that it is a way of understanding conflict. It is a tool for allowing solutions to be found, particularly in the business scene. Don't be those unfortunate students or employees who are the extensions of their authorisers demands. As has been discussed there are solutions to problems outside of the 'yes boss' response type. Great leaders need to be change makers who are willing to challenge not just their societal or business norms, but their own norms as well.

As always please leave a comment if you agree, disagree or just have further impute!



Reference:

SUSANDAYLEY. 5/12/11 2011. Don’t Tell Anyone When I Fall! Out My Backdoor [Online]. Available from: https://susandayley.wordpress.com/tag/balancing/ [Accessed 28/8 2014].

Heifetz, R., Grashow, A. & Linsky, M., 2009. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

My Hero?

"The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go." Galileo Galilee 

Posed with the common question of if you could meet anyone who would it be i believe it would be Galileo!

Given the unique opportunity I would jump into a time machines and travel back to the 16th century to meet a long time hero of mine, Galileo Galilee. This is because I see this man as not just a leader but also a walking revolution, a trendsetter. In the past few years I have done numerous projects on this man, including school readings. Through this I have gained a deep respect and admiration for Galileo. I truly look up to him because he chose to do more than anyone before had done. He uprooted people’s reality and threw it away replacing it with what we know today as true but what back then was unthinkable. He represents to me courage, motivation and curiosity. The cornerstones of what I seek to live by and incorporate into my everyday Life. He taught me knowledge is power and it is a power that can extend beyond the individual and which can sway millions. Picking up on the work of a Giordano Bruno in 1600, whom had previously been burned at the stake for his views, I feel is one of the courageous things someone has ever done. He essentially, at the cost of a freedom later in life, propelled the idea of a universe where humanity and earth were not at its center. Galileo spent his entire life learning and studying and experimenting, even while under the watchful eye of the church. Beyond this he took that extra step and took what he saw and pushed to educate the masses. Knowing full well that the foundations of reality were wrong and that doing such was punishable by death. Time and time again he stood before the church and its hierarchy and it was only when we was shown the devices of inhumane torture did he finally give in. I would require pages to cover all that I would ask him but a few would go along as such.

1. During those times where the church was hounding you to renounce your views, what was it that kept you motivated?
2. Why was it so important to make people realize the truth of reality when they were so content with their own?
3. What is it like standing before those who hold your life by a string and holding strong to your beliefs and where do you find the strength to do so?
4. Do you still believe in God or a higher power? If so, why?

The response to these questions I feel would impart onto me deep and meaningful lessons in regards to leadership. How to stand strong and fight for what you believe in and what motives turn an ordinary man into an extraordinary one. Someone who steps beyond the cliff of human understanding to open the peoples eyes to the wonders of the universe and their place in it.

The Man Himself

Who is your hero? Please feel free to comment below!

Sources
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/galileo_galilei.html#6Fe8v60qXYF5g56F.99

http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Galileo_Galilei_3.htm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei,_1636.jpg