Home Leadership Turn Archives Me RampUp Solutions  
 

  • Categories

  • Archives
 

Entrepreneur: Change the World

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

3509986960_9a4239e68a_mI frequently see comments on blogs and social sites along the lines of “I know I could be an entrepreneur if I just had a good idea” or “I want to be an entrepreneur and change the world.”

Sadly, it seems that most are looking for ideas to make them the next Groupon or Foursquare and while that might make them rich, it will hardly change the world.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it won’t change much or get you into the history books.

You change the world by tackling real-world problems, often with hard science

But you don’t need to be a scientist; self-taught Gary Cola invented the world’s lightest, strongest steel that takes less than ten seconds to make.

In fact, you don’t have to be an adult. Take a look at the winners of the first Google Science Fair and you will be blown away; none are 18 yet and none of their ideas involved the Internet.

Here’s an idea; if you want to change the world look for problems with global impact. Blake Mycoskie is changing the world with shoes and glasses, while Anthony Capone, CEO of Nimbus Water Systems, is changing it with inexpensive, solar-powered, portable water purification systems.

Then there are toilets.

Yes, toilets.

That handy gadget that we take for granted (unless it isn’t working) and that many parts of the world only dream about.

“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet.” –Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global development program

And the Gates Foundation is putting its money where its mouth is.

Look around; think about changing the world by reinventing or innovating something that addresses a basic need.

You may not end up as rich as Mark Cuban, but I guarantee that it’s the sexiest, most exciting, rewarding, feel-good thing you’ll ever do.

Image credit: idf-fotos

Expand Your Mind: Ingenuity

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

I love revolutionary ideas, although the ones that fascinate me are only occasionally net-based. I tend more to stuff that exists in the real world. The following caught my attention; since there are more than you might want to read about I thought I’d include enough info for you to pick and choose the ones that would interest you most.

Ingenuity is not limited to startups; Nimbus Water Systems has been purifying water since 1968, but their latest innovation has the power to radically change our world for the better.

The company has designed a portable water-filtration system that can be easily toted to remote parts of the world to take up to 2,500 gallons per day of dirty water from a stream, a well or a tank and turn it into water that is safe to drink. … The system runs on solar power and comes in a rolling suitcase that can be checked as luggage onto commercial airplanes, carried off on a moment’s notice in response to a natural disaster or other emergency.

You’ve heard the old saying ‘fight fire with fire’? That is what Eboo Patel is dong in an effort to create a force that fosters tolerance by fighting religious bigotry.

He figured that if Muslim radicals and extremists of other religions were recruiting young people, then those who believe in religious tolerance should also enlist the youth.

Dogs are trained to sniff out a lot more than explosives and drugs; they can be trained to recognize the changes from cancer, seizures and other illnesses and, in doing so, change a life forever. Researchers are working to duplicate and apply the results to a variety of diagnostics, but they admit there is little possibility of actually duplicating a dog’s sensitivity.

Scientists are building sophisticated electronic and chemical sniffers that examine the puffs of exhaled air for telltale signs of cancer, tuberculosis, asthma and other maladies, as well as for radiation exposure.

Now, in a lighter vein…

Meet Hayden Hamilton, an entrepreneur who used his own money to develop a product that he knows may never sell—a razor that carries a price tag of $100,000.

…the Portland entrepreneur has spent four years on and off — and close to $1 million of his own money — developing a luxury alternative to the ubiquitous throwaway blade.

Do you ride a bike? Do you suffer the discomfort of essentially sitting on your groin until it’s numb? Would you change that if you could? Now you can.

“The subject matter always draws juvenile chuckles. They don’t even listen long to understand what part of a man’s anatomy is being protected here.”

Chris Miles recognized a major need for those who, intentionally or by accident, find themselves requiring the services of a lawyer.

“If I want a pizza, I can get a pizza in 15 minutes,” he says. “I can get a plumber in the middle of the night. Why can’t I get a lawyer?”

Finally, for all those women who would love to round out their pants the way the stars do there is Booty Pop, a much simpler, less arduous and all around cheaper solution than has been available previously.

Thanks to the founders of Booty Pop, you no longer have to be in the gym for hours or spend a lot on expensive plastic surgery to get a round rear.

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr

Expand Your Mind: Innovation and Culture

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

expand-your-mind

Today we have four stories that sit at the intersection of innovation and culture.

The first is the story of Nick Sarillo, founder of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Chicago. Sarillo set out to build a culture that ignored common knowledge’ about what to expect from hourly workers. Did he succeed? You tell me.

In an industry in which annual employee turnover of 200 percent is considered normal, Sarillo’s restaurants lose and replace just 20 percent of their staff members every year. Net operating profit in the industry averages 6.6 percent; Sarillo’s runs about 14 percent and has gone as high as 18 percent. Meanwhile, the 14-year-old company does more volume on a per-unit basis (an average of $3.5 million over the past three years) than nearly all independent pizza restaurants. And customers, it seems, adore the service: On three occasions, waitresses have received tips of $1,000.

Next is commentary from Daniel Isenberg, professor of management practice at Babson College, who offers cogent reasoning to save passion for the bedroom.

Passion is up there with innovation in what people think entrepreneurs need in order to succeed. I doubt it. My experience as entrepreneur, entrepreneur educator, and venture capitalist tells me that the more scarce and valuable commodity is cold-shower-self-honesty.

Third on our list is a cautionary tale about what happens when a leader looks for external confirmation that am innovative idea is great and passes on it when none is forthcoming.

Innovation is killed with the two deadliest words in business: Prove it.

When faced with a new idea, the boardroom impulse is to ask for proof in one of two flavors: deductive and inductive.

This attitude gives insight on the difference between Apple and Microsoft—only Microsoft’s blockage is internal according to Dick Brass, a vice president at Microsoft from 1997 to 2004.

Microsoft has become a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator. …

Internal competition is common at great companies. It can be wisely encouraged to force ideas to compete. The problem comes when the competition becomes uncontrolled and destructive. At Microsoft, it has created a dysfunctional corporate culture in which the big established groups are allowed to prey upon emerging teams, belittle their efforts, compete unfairly against them for resources, and over time hector them out of existence.

The striking difference between the culture at Nick’s and the one at Microsoft is a real eye-opener.

Image credit: pedroCarvalho on flickr

Wordless Wednesday: Business Smarts

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

guaranteed-success

Now click over and see the mindset you need to embrace.

Image credit: stephmcg on flickr

Saturday Odd Bits Roundup: Interviews with 2 Successful Entrepreneurs

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

glassesEntrepreneurs, you got to love ’em—at least most of the time.

Two great interviews today; just two because one if fairly long.

First is Dany Levy, founder and editorial director of DailyCandy in an interview conducted by Anthony (Tony) Tjan, CEO, Managing Partner and Founder of Cue Ball, a venture and early growth equity firm.

Daily Candy is “a daily email newsletter that provides readers with an essential nugget of hip, insider advice about “what to do today,” began in New York and soon spread to a dozen other U.S. cities and London.” Levy took in one majority investor 2003 and the company was recently acquired by Comcast for $125 million.

There is both a written interview and a video, but Harvard doesn’t provide embeddable code, so you’ll have to go there.

Next, Henry Blodget interviews 25-year-old Mark Zuckerberg who started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004.  Five years later, it has 300 million users and $500 million in revenue, and it’s worth something north of $6 billion.”

Many wonder what someone that age know about running a company that size, but Zuckerberg makes the case for not only hiring those smarter than you, something every has heard, but also listening to them.

Below is the full interview, the short version is here, if you prefer, but the full interview is well worth watching.

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr and The Business Insider

Jumpstart Innovation

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

A reader phoned me and asked if I could recommend one action item that he could do that would jumpstart a change in his organization and put them on the road to having a true culture of innovation.

I get asked that a lot and wrote abut it way back in 2006, so it seem like a good time to repost the original with a few additions here and there.

MAP and QF (questioning fundamentals)

Looking for a good way to make your company more innovative? Or to move it from where it is to where you want it to be?

Creating an innovation culture means encouraging your people to question the fundamentals (QF) of the company. This is one of the best ways to overcome the “…but we’ve always done it that way.” school of thought, as well as “not invented here” syndrome. Both are major stumbling blocks to innovation, productivity and a host of other positives moves.

  • Start by identifying your company’s fundamentals, not so much the official ones, although they can also be problematic, as the unwritten/unspoken ones your employees deal with every day. It’s easy to find them, just ask—but ask knowing that you may not like the answers.
  • Depending on the trust level in your current culture the identification process can be anything from a public brainstorming session with a whiteboard to some kind of truly anonymous “suggestion box.” Expect to be surprised at some of the perceptions that turn up. One client found that, contrary to its stated policy, their people believed that quality wasn’t as important as shoving the product out the door.
  • Once you have a start on a list of fundamentals you want to open them up to debate—the more passionate the better—using a combination of technology (forum, wiki, etc.) and in person discussions. The object being to decide whether to modify/jettison/keep each one, as well as what to add.

Unless your MAP dictates a company that functions in Dilbertland, QF is an ongoing, proactive management task that encourages employees to question/rethink/revamp the company’s fundamentals.

Even when QF is deeply embedded in your culture you can’t assume your people will do so, since new people coming from other corporate cultures will need assurance that QF is indeed part of your company’s DNA.

Image credit: Marco Bellucci on flickr

Implementing recession-proofing advice (con’t 3)

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Image credit: asifthebes

‘Innovation’ is one of the main themes permeating recession-proofing advice, but if you don’t already have an innovation-friendly culture you need to start by rectifying that or it ain’t gonna happen.

As you work to fix any cultural problems you found, you can work on small innovations, too. Just don’t try and implement something that your culture won’t support. Innovation is about the freedom to fail as much as it is about the joy of succeeding. If you’ve trashed your managers or killed the messenger every time something didn’t work don’t expect to change their assumption that it will still happen or rebuild a viable trust level overnight.

And before you start moaning about spending money let’s remember that innovation is not always synonymous with expensive inventions or something that rocks your industry.

  • Start with your business processes and open everything to consideration, discussion and improvement.
  • Listen to your people—all of them.
    • Don’t make the mistake of thinking that ideas are the province of a certain level or education or position.
    • Administrative staff often knows where more of the speed bumps and bottlenecks are than their bosses, but they need to know that they’re safe before they’ll say anything.
  • Rethink your customer care. No matter how good you think it is it can still be improved.
    • Look for ways to do and fix the stuff that you may not have bothered with in good times.
    • Listen to your CSRs because they are your pipeline to your customers.
    • Be proactive by asking your customers for feedback, instead of waiting for a complaint.
  • Explore open innovation. It’s “about connecting with others to find new ideas and, often, to co-develop and co-market them.” Open innovation is not about outsourcing.

Remember, a slow-down or recession approach that’s only about cutting costs ignores the obvious. If you don’t innovate now you won’t have anything going for you when the the economy impoves—which it will as it always has.

RSS2 Subscribe to
MAPping Company Success

Enter your Email
Powered by FeedBlitz
About Miki View Miki Saxon's profile on LinkedIn

Clarify your exec summary, website, etc.

Have a quick question or just want to chat? Feel free to write or call me at 360.335.8054

The 12 Ingredients of a Fillable Req

CheatSheet for InterviewERS

CheatSheet for InterviewEEs

Give your mind a rest. Here are 4 quick ways to get rid of kinks, break a logjam or juice your creativity!

Creative mousing

Bubblewrap!

Animal innovation

Brain teaser

The latest disaster is here at home; donate to the East Coast recovery efforts now!

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation or call 00.733.2767. $10 really really does make a difference and you'll never miss it.

And always donate what you can whenever you can

The following accept cash and in-kind donations: Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Red Cross, World Food Program, Save the Children

*/ ?>

About Miki

About KG

Clarify your exec summary, website, marketing collateral, etc.

Have a question or just want to chat @ no cost? Feel free to write 

Download useful assistance now.

Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.

Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
while $10 a month has exponential power.
Always donate what you can whenever you can.

The following accept cash and in-kind donations:

Web site development: NTR Lab
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.