Post #5

This past week, I read a very interesting chapter from the book The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley.  The name of the chapter was called Barrier Jumping, and it went into full detail of all the types of barriers innovators and entrepreneurs sometimes face when designing and marketing a product.  Like a lot of the other chapters, Kelley gives great examples from his and his colleagues' experiences.  One of the first "borders" that Kelley described "jumping" is cultural barriers.  He gave the example of a vacuum cleaner, and how American and Japanese consumers are looking for two very different products.  In Japan, the walls are much thinner and more compact, so the quieter the vacuum is, the better.  Americans, however, believe that greater power means more efficient and it is doing a better job at picking up dirt.  The louder the vacuum, the more power.  These types of barriers affect many other products in the world.  This reminds me how important it is to know your audience when selling an item before you start designing and making it.  During the first semester in the class, we spent a lot of time on asking the audience what they wanted.  I remember interviewing students about the food truck, and how different groups of students will want different types of food.

Another border that I had never thought about before was how hard it is to get people to change their rituals.  For example, many people born in the 50s and 60s wash their plates and silverware until they are almost clean before they put them in the dish washer.  I watch my parents do this all the time, and it has always confused me.  Apparently, the machines would break if any food was in the process.  Nowadays, washing the plates is totally unnecessary, yet [parents still do this because it is how they grew up.  When I was marketing the new BHS logo this past fall, I faced this same type of ritual.  Everyone kept telling me how our logo is the native america arrow, despite it not being our logo since 2005.  It will be at least another four years until a new four grades of students will be in the high school and they will accept the new logo as the truth.  But even still, there will be students who will want to go back to the past.

Post #4

This past week, I read another couple chapters of The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley. One chapter that I really enjoyed was about creating an experience.  Kelley talked about all of the small things, even some large adjustments, companies can make in order to increase sales why making the consumer happier.  One example he used was flying in an airplane.  He walked through the usual experience (in 2001) of flying.  From checking in at the gate, to going through security, to finding your gate and getting a better seat, he detailed many of the problems involved.  Kelley then went through each problem and systematically created a solution that would make the process better.  While some of the solutions required additional funds, I was surprised at how many solutions he had would save the companies money or not cost anything at all.  This type of thinking is what every employee at IDEO does every day, and is the reason they are so successful.

While talking about creating an experience to make profit, Kelley used the example of Vegas.  He talked about how Vegas was able to replicate the experience of going to another country, like France, without the cost.  Creating a 1:2 model of the Eiffel Tower, with the same exact type of paint used as the original, just adds to the ambiance of the resort.  I believe that creating a fun and interesting experience for a customer is the best way to increase sales.  I remember when we had that class project to re-design the cupcake store, I wanted to create a new experience.  By adding more expensive furniture, music, and even serving alcohol, I created an experience different than just buying a cupcake.  I feel like the thinking I did for that project mirrors what Kelley has been preaching in his book.

Post #3

As I picked up The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley for a third week, I began to think about how the ideas he is describing in his book could help me perform better in school and my extracurricular in the future.  While Kelley focuses his instructions towards executives and other businessmen looking to improve the innovation at their own firms, I believe that I could use the same ideas in my life, too.  The first chapter I read that interested me was about brainstorming.  It discussed the different ways to come up with ideas and how to build the right environment for it.  Innovating is based on new ideas, so brainstorming is the backbone of innovation.  Some ideas he mentions is writing everything down, numbering the ideas, and taking leaps from different ideas to other ones.  One thing he stressed was this idea of equality in the room.  Having a boss looking over your shoulder as he judges you will definitely lead people to not be as wiling to speak their mind.  I have seen this before in school, too. I think one of the problems in school in general is that the teachers believe they have a power over the students.  In elementary school I understand that discipline is necessary in certain situations, but their is a line when teachers restrict creative learning because they want to follow a strict set of rules.  For example, making sure everyone talks in a class discussion before you can talk again.  I have seen this rule implemented over and over.  Kelley even states making everyone talk is one of the six ways to "kill brainstorming."

Another idea that Kelley highlights is creating an environment of teamwork.  No single human could ever be a greater innovator than a group of people working together.  Working in teams is one of the most important skills I have come to realize through all of my experience in school and the work force.  I believe giving students opportunities to work in groups is really important to building those skills, too.  One idea Kelley gave made me want to redo how groups are made in schools, though.  He explained that in his situation of creating new groups for discussion, he let the students pick who they wanted to be their leader.  I feel like letting students pick what groups they want to be in is really important.  If you force students into groups, they will most likely not do as well.  Many teachers would argue that kids would just want to be with their friends and fool around.  Then that is their fault for not trying, not the teachers.  Overall, the book is giving me a lot to think about.

Post #2

This was the second week of reading The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley.  In the latest chapter that I read, it talked about the art of seeing and being that helps create true innovators.  He argues that looking at a picture or asking a focus group is not enough to find the true problems behind an object or service.  The true art of innovation, Kelley says, is being able to watch something and find problems within it that should be changed.  Kelley calls this a "bug list."  It is the mental notes, or even physical ones, that someone writes when they notice a problem.  This action has made people millions of dollars.  He describes how IDEO goes out into society when solving a problem to do their research.  While they do not always have a lot of time or funds to do their research, just watching and asking the right questions can help solve the problem.  He gives many examples, like when they invented a toothbrush with a bigger grip for children.  Intuition would say smaller kids need a smaller grip to hold it.  But as they watched children, they used their entire fists, while adults just used a few fingers.  So by marketing these big, squishy grips in different colors, it solved the problem and made the brushes more appealing to children.
I really like how IDEO has used this way of looking at a problem to make money.  They were one of the first companies to think like this, and ever since they reformed in 1991, they have not had an unprofitable quarter (book was published in 2001).  The book also talks about the unstructured, fun, and non-hierarchal way of working they have created.  The author compares it to a young version of Apple in the 70s.  Even more, both companies were startups in Silicon Valley and IDEO even helped Steve Jobs created the first Apple mouse for his computers.  This book has made me think about how to solve problems and make money.  Some good stuff. And well written.

Quarter 3: Blog Post #1

For the third quarter of C4E, I have picked a new book that I believe will be very interesting and insightful.  The title of the book is The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley.  The book talks about the design firm IDEO, which has received national attention in the way they think about innovation and design.  In my four years at BHS, I have watched the short film NBC's The Deep Dive at least four times in different classes.  The film takes you through a week at IDEO as they rethink and redesign the shopping cart, an example of the thousands of explorations they go on every year.  After seeing this video twice in the same week, I began to wonder why teachers loved it so much.  Since then, I have really thought about innovation and why it is so important to our economy.  When I read my book in quarter one, Creating Innovators, I began to understand more.

After reading just a few chapters of The Art of Innovation, I have begun to get a closer look into IDEO and what the fuss is all about.  The first chapter went back and explained in more detail the shopping cart stunt.  Tom Kelley, the project manager of IDEO and the author of the book, does a great job explaining how important the way you think about a project or idea makes everything come together.  He explains the five simple steps his company does every day when faced with a problem.  First they understand the problem, then they observe it in real life.  After they visualize concepts and continue to evaluate and refine their solutions.  The last and longest step is implementing the new concept.  The great thing about IDEO's steps is that they can be applied to anything at all. I am excited to read more about IDEO and their opinions on innovation.

Week #5- Book

As I finished reading Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner, I came away with a few opinions from what Wagner was arguing.  First of all, I respect that he wants to change the way Americans are educated and I believe their truly is an inefficient program in place to teach students from kindergarten to PhDs.  I also believe that a lot of his examples were very well described and I enjoyed learning about a bunch of new, innovative programs in America.  I do think, however, that the ideas and methods that he is arguing would not work on the full-scale.  He wants every public school in America to let students teach themselves and have more hands-on, collaborative thinking. While this might work in some class rooms, their are too many educators and students that just do not teach and learn this way.  I think it says something that places like Harvard and Stanford do not respect this type of learning.

A lot of the ideas Wagner also talks about has nothing to do with teaching and the school systems.  A lot of the book is addressed to parents- something most people would not really think has much to do with innovative leaning.  The idea that passion, play, and purpose is what drives children to be innovators has to do with the way they are brought up.  There is no way that parents will just begin to 'parent' differently.  I think parents will 'parent' like how their parents brought them up.  The idea that letting your child just run free and make his own choices seems really crazy.  Also, in a time where the college process is extremely competitive, not signing your child up for activities is not exactly a key for success.  So unless parents want their child to be a thinker and a dreamer, and I feel like that is the minority of parents, then Wagner's theory will always stay as just a theory and no more than that.  

Week #5- In class

This past week has been a great finalization of all of the projects we are doing as a group.  One of the most helpful days was when we practiced our presentation with Mr. Fischer and Ms. Stevens.  We got a lot of great feedback on our slides and information that we are presenting.  We also learned a lot about public speaking which has been great.  I wish we could spend more time in class learning public speaking and presenting skills.  I think having those skills will be extremely useful in whatever career I pursue.  Being able to present information well is usually more important than the actual information I am presenting.  

This week has also concluded our selling of the calendars.  Overall, we sold a couple more calendars for a few dollars.  In total, we made a profit of $54.  With an initial investment of $200 from the class, I would say a 27% profit is not too shabby.  I do wish that we had sold more, and although the class project is done, I still believe we can sell the rest by the end of the year.

I have had both my guidance counselor and dean both mention that they are coming to my presentation in two weeks.  I am very excited to get some real feedback from professionals on our storefront project.      

Week #4- Book

The more that I read Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner, the more I see the connections between what Wagner is saying and how Communications for Entrepreneurs is being run.  I would not be surprised if you both read this book while writing up how C4E would be organized.

In the last few chapters, Wagner has pointed to different examples from real-life schools and classrooms on how his ideas were already being run across America.  One idea that he talks about is a flipped classroom.  Although this idea is not implemented in C4E, I do partake in this style of learning in my AP Physics class.  During class time, we focus on hands-on projects, from labs to big questions to creating posters.  Every night, we have a video of notes accompanied by a textbook reading and a few questions.  I think it is very interesting to read about this style of learning according to Wagner and then actually do it, too.  Overall, I enjoy the new way of learning and feel like I am forced to think about the conceptual questions deeper.  I can no longer just accept the right answer and move on.  I must understand why it is right, and that is the hardest part of the class.  While I am thinking differently, I do not think I am learning "more" information or learning faster.  I do, however, feel like it is a better way to learn ideas that are hard to conceptually think about, like Physics.

In the last chapter, Wagner has talked about Olin College as an example of innovative learning.  This is really interesting because it is just down the street in Needham, MA.  While it has only been around for a decade, the college has blown away scholars and businesses by the type of students they are graduating.  Some of their biggest ideas are teamwork and hands-on learning.  While it is a very small school, they make sure their students are always learning from each other.  The way they treat their teachers are different, too.  They are not all working to get something published or to have a tenure.  They are just their to push their students to think.  And the craziest part is Olin is an engineering school, but these students are coming away and entering so many different fields.  That is because they also support interdisciplinary learning, and the ideas and skills they are teaching can help in tons of industries.  I think a lot of the ideas Olin College has about learning reflect how we learn in C4E and also how Wagner suggests the American education should be taught.

Week #4- In Class

Since I last posted, a lot has changed in both of our class projects.  The calendar sales are on a steady rise since before break.  We made even the last day before break and have paid off all of our investors.  That means that ever time we sell a calendar it goes straight to profit.  At the moment, are almost $50 in profit, and are on average selling 2 calendars per day.  While we still have more than 50 calendars to sell, I know that for the next month or two, we will slowly sell each unit.  We also made the decision to sell them at $10 per unit to students, but are still selling them at $15 to parents.  This was mainly done to sell more calendars faster while still making as much money.  I have also tried to contact the school store to sell our product through a third party.  My future plan to sell the remaining calendars is to also contact the booster clubs for all of the sports teams at BHS.  For example, if I could get Friends of Brookline Soccer to buy ten and sell them to parents, if would be a very fast way to distribute our product.

Besides selling calendars, I have also been very busy creating the document to send to Mr. Gladstone for the Storefront project.  I took all of the documents that had been typed up and created one formatted document that looked much better.  I also had to take some of the excel documents JC had made and reformatted them so they were easy to read.  I also designed the Table of Contents and a cover page.  By using the sample as a goal, I was able to make our document look professional so that Mr. Gladstone would not be confused by an incomplete, confusing document.  Now that I have finished this document, I will begin to work on the remaining projects due for the this quarter.