Never ever be narrow-minded or pessismistic about great visions: Be open-minded to ideals but not be overly optimistic about the reality.
Expectation management 101
There are 3 life lessons in my life which thought me about expectation management.
True, it is important to have great expectations and vision but we must also manage expectations. It is an art of dying to self or to fleshy ambition.
Expectation management #1: “You just got to die to people’s expectations and start living your own. What belongs to you will rightfully be yours.”
When I first got into University 3 years ago, I was filled with expectations thinking I could do well academically. To my horror, it was difficult. I realized I am not that bright after all.
My scholarship was suspended twice. I realized I must manage my expectations. “Heck with the scholarship, let me have fun learning” I like what my World History lecturer/tutor said to us, “Do not worry about your assignment grades and critique, you are here to learn, not to succeed.” That sentence lived with me and I began seeing the greater mission of education, it is NOT just an academic exercise or a chance to show how good you are with getting good grades. It’s about preparing you in the society and work force. Please, FAIL big time or at least try to learn valuable lessons in school. If you were to fail in your workplace, it could cost you MORE than grades alone.
Alright, I got my scholarship back when I threw the weight of my scholarship hopes. Sound contradicting but when I lose it, I gained it back.
Expectation management #2: “You will never be 100% ready anyways, so just go for it. Do not expect much on your current abilities or situation but expect much from trying and not wavering.”
In the beginning of 2012, I was concerned about my career in future. I will graduate in 2013 and I have all these pressure and expectations to get a good job. One of the first step towards my target is to get an internship opportunity with a reputable company and see what employment chances would I be offered.
I must be grateful to my University’s career centre for presenting its students with great opportunities to work in reputable companies. In the beginning of January 2012, banks were looking for interns. The usual me would say, “Ah, I am not good enough, I am not good at this, I am not too good at that.” After realizing that I will NEVER be 100% ready, let’s try it. No harm to try right?
I applied for Credit Suisse (CS) and Deutsche Bank’s IT internship programme. First round of elimination: Online assessment test. Heck with it, just go for it first. And guess what? I think I did okay for Linguistic test but I think I randomly picked answers for the Numerical test. I really suck at calculating numbers. Why lie to myself or to any potential employer?
I received an email few days later telling me that Credit Suisse will not process my application further. Okay, I knew it. I am not bright enough.
But, 10 minutes later I received a call and an email at 9pm! Wow, these good people work till wee hours huh?
I was told I was selected to have a phone interview with one of the CS IT managers. Alright, was happy but I didn’t expect much nor did I prepare much because I think I am going to fail the interview.
After the weekend, I received an expected call on a Monday night. I excused myself from my night class and begun talking to the interviewer. Everything was fine until the Interviewer asked me a question which I knew it will be asked BUT I did not bother about preparing for it. “Why would you want to join Credit Suisse?” I know, you can smack me for not preparing for such a common question. My answer seem impossibly perfect: “I want to be honest, Credit Suisse is a reputable and prestigious company. I want to feel proud and knowing when I speak to my clients, I can be sure I speak of credibility. Knowing I belong to Credit Suisse gives me the confidence to perform and delight my clients.”
I once read that we shouldn’t say we want to join the company because of its prestige. I guess I went to contrarian route. But I speak the truth! If I am proud of my company, wouldn’t I be motivated and feel the sense of belonging to perform better?
Okay, I thought I screwed up my phone interview. Never expected that I would get through to the group interview.
Yes, I still think I was lucky. I didn’t expect much from the group interview. I told myself, “These people are brighter than me, but I will still be myself and not try too hard to impress.” Goodness, I think I performed well in the group interview. I saved the presentation last minutely because someone else took more points than previously agreed upon (Which I think was quite irresponsible!) In order not to make things difficult for the rest of the presenters in my group, I reiterated some previous points but “value-add” into it. I was impressed myself. And I guess I impressed the group interviewers as one of them just gave an impossible gesture of saying, “I can’t imagine someone could come up with these perspectives!”
Now now, I begin to expect I will have greater probability of getting the internship. Yes, I got through to the last round and I am well prepared. I looked through my past lecture notes and asked myself what motivates me to pursue IT as a passion.
The day came and I spoke like a river but I am STILL myself. Not trying too hard to impress. I even told my interviewer that I admit I am a little dated with my software development skills.
Just last week, I signed the contract and I am all excited. I hope I can perform well but most importantly, be true to myself, never make yourself miserable trying too hard to impress. It’s good to be driven, but don’t be a slave to overly idealistic fantasies.
Expectation management #3: Do not despise the small, remember the chilli padi. (A random quote but I can’t think of any better)
On 17th Feb 2012, it was our University’s Student Achievements Award night at the University of Cultural Centre. My one year old project of helping the special needs in school was graciously nominated under the Community Projects category. Seriously, I don’t think my group will win anything. Of course, it was already a win when we were nominated.
I did not dressed up in formal but wore a smart casual good enough in my opinion to attend the ceremony. (Well, I never expect I would go up on stage anyways!)
My group were delighted to win a merit award with a trophy and a certificate for our efforts in helping the special needs students in school. Seriously, our name was the first to be called out in the category and all of us were shocked. The award inspired me to do greater things with our initiative and I had been thinking our next move.
What I realized was, all group nominees were large and reputable student bodies and clubs. Our group? 4 person team. The smallest group among all group nominees. I am so proud of my group because an idea to help the physically challenged became an official project adopted by the Office of Student Affairs. With official support, we can do more for the special needs and my motivation is to help NUS be a more inclusive and conducive environment for students with special needs.
Remember the chilli padi, it may be as small as my group relative to all big community service groups in school, but we still can make an impact!
Never ever be narrow-mind…
Classifying sources of innovation
While reviewing this week’s lecture that follows up on Peter Drucker’s Discipline of Innovation, I came to a few questions for discussion.
If New Knowledge takes a longer time to fruition, then what is Disruptive Technologies supposed to be?
So, can I say that Disruptive Technologies may not be birthed from a new knowledge but usually they are formed due to changes in perception or even incongruities? If Disruptive Technologies is a form of new knowledge, it is unlikely it will stun the industry and displace an incumbent company. Agree?
Hard-disk industry, people started looking at a “lower” and cheaper tech and it became part of PCs and Laptops. Maybe I can call this example a “Low-tech” disruption.
(Is this source of innovation from incongruities or new knowledge?)
Okay, how about iPhones? Apple has such fore-sight that when it came out with its iPods, they weren’t satisfied. They were thinking ahead. Why don’t we marry music playing with telecommunication functions?
When the Sony Walkman (I would say it’s the pioneer of portable music) came about, most music devices target the portability utility and hardly anyone thought of combining a phone and a music device.
And then comes the iPhone from Apple, marrying entertainment, personal organization (inspired by Palm Pilot,etc) with telecommunications.
So in your opinion, is an iPhone innovation from an Incongruity source? Or we can classify them under Incongruities and in Changes in Perception?
IMHO, I think smart phones and other consumer electronics nowadays aren’t new knowledge but more of a creative fusion of anything someone can think about.
If we finally adopt the flexible displays (fold-able phones and those newspapers you see in Harry Potter movie where a newspaper can transmit videos on the page itself), then this is definitely a source of New Knowledge innovation.
Whatever innovation we are speaking of, do not forget Geoffrey A. Moore’s Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers. Where it speaks of the technology adoption lifecycle where five main segments are recognized; innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Once your tech product crosses the chasm, you can expect a large buying market. Hence, crossing the chasm.
The diagram you see is from Tech Startup 3.0 which classified Moore’s diagram into something we can identify with.
So please interpret the below contemporary diagram as
Innovators – Tech Enthusiasts.
Early Adopters – Visionaries
Early Majority – Pragmatists
Late Majority – Conservatives
Laggards – Skeptics
(1) Something interesting about Sony Walkman, the founder or innovator of this innovation saw hippies in the US shouldering large radio sets on the streets blasting their music. And the idea of a walkman portable music player came forth.
Do we really know what we are doing?
Are we passing on knowledge or wisdom?
Are we training or educating?
Are we working or value creating?
Are we busy or productive?
Are we breathing or living?
Life is a BIG question ma…
Life is a BIG question mark. We often need to explore smaller question marks and experience many exclamation marks before we can turn life’s BIG question mark into a hallmark!
The Discipline of Innovation (Peter F. Drucker)
Above article was from THE INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISE AUGUST 2002
Peter Drucker write in this article, innovation is real work and that most innovative business ideas come from methodically analyzing seven areas of opportunity, some of which lie within particular companies (intrapreneurship) or industries and some of which lie in broader social or demographic trends.
Entrepreneurship is not about a certain kind of personality but a systematic practice of innovation.
Reflection:
However, in my opinion, personality does play a part in innovation. A person who has high inter- and intra-personal intelligence often observes his surroundings, follows current affairs, asks unconventional questions to conventional systems, discusses new initiatives and ideas, and talks to people and being curious about their lives. These people often have the natural or an “easier” time purposefully searching for innovation opportunities.
There are 7 sources of innovation mentioned in the article.
Four areas of innovation opportunities exist within a company or industry.
1. Unexpected occurrences.
2. Incongruities.
3. Process needs.
4. Industry and market changes.
Three areas of innovation opportunities lie outside a company but in its social and intellectual environment.
5. Demographic changes.
6. Changes in perception.
7. New Knowledge.
Unexpected occurrences
The easiest and simplest source of innovation lies in the unexpected. It could be an unexpected success: IBM developed the first modern accounting machines designed for banks but banks did not buy them in the 1930s. However, the New York Public Library wanted a machine and so IBM’s founder and CEO Thomas Watson Senior sold more than a hundred of his unsalable machines to libraries.
Reflection:
Entrepreneurship is not about an eureka moment (AHA! effect), but rather an eureka insight. It’s a lot of researching, talking to people and sensing the market. No innovative idea will be an innovation until it’s executed and proven by the ruthless market before being accepted as a product. Interestingly, many entrepreneurs started out thinking if it’s a great idea for them, it will be a great idea for others. In this case, IBM might thought the same because it did not consider the trend of the banking industry at that time: they did not have enough money or interest in buying machines. The unexpected success of IBM came about when libraries at that time, have that kind of money and interest! For your business to float above the sea, you need funding!
The next unexpected success came about 15 years later and when people finally believed that computers were designed for advanced scientific work and businesses showed an interest in automated payroll. IBM redesigned its machines to rival UNIVAC’s machine specialized for mundane applications such as payroll. After since, in 5 years, IBM became a leader in the computer industry and it has maintained this position till now.
Unexpected failures may be an equally important source of innovation. Ford Edsel (Car model) was the biggest new-car failure in the automotive industry. However, Edsel’s failure was actually the foundation for the company’s (Ford’s competitor was General Motors) later success. Similar to what the article will mention about psycho-graphic and demographic changes in the market, Ford realized that the automobile’s market can no longer be just segmented by income groups, but “lifestyles” group. Ford’s response was a car with a distinct personality called Mustang. From then on, Ford reestablished itself to be an industry leader.
Reflection:
Do not be rigid with your product, business or past. Mistakes are a huge source of future innovation and success. Take for example, the Post-It. The company 3M initially wanted a super adhesive gluey compound for their new product. However, a mistake happened. A type of gluey compound sticks well but not well enough and it can be removed easily. The mistake wasn’t the end, it became a by-product for a new product called the Post-It!
Marketers and entrepreneurs should understand that not all creations of products/services can serve the current market. Consumers can be educated or be made aware of a new need identified by entrepreneurs. Don’t always think of a product or service that serves an existing need, go beyond that. Have eureka insights and build on them, you will never know if a future need can be met by your current innovation.
Incongruity
Reflection:
I like this source of innovation because I often like to question conventional systems and wisdom. We came a long way before modern technology is pervasive in many societies. Many old ways, processes and legacies were passed down either for “heritage” purposes or best practices purposes. Take for example the ministerial salary review, pension was proposed to be scrapped.
In this section, Peter Drucker showed us that by filling in a gap comes the success and sources of innovation. Incongruity or gaps can happen in processes, the way people work, the way people perceive, and any markets or segments of people un-served or under-served (Similar to Blue Ocean strategy)
Take for example my a year ago initiative with NUS’ Office of Student Affairs. I saw an un-served or under-served segment of special needs students who might struggle to travel from point to point in the campus. The maps and directions of the campus aren’t suited for them at all! Considering this fact, my team and I took the innovative step in identifying wheelchair friendly routes and present them on a 2D map (I used Microsoft Visio to create these schematic maps).
Right now, we are currently in talks to push for an official support and hopefully our initiative can be official. Our goal is to help special needs students (Targeting on the physically challenged for now) to travel in the campus in order to enjoy the school’s facilities as much as possible.
Process needs
In the article, Peter Drucker talked about the process of driving on highways where reflectors on highways and on vehicles allowed cars to “detect” each other and thus enabled smoother traffic and with minimum accidents.
Reflection:
Relating this to businesses and organizations, a new product or an adoption of a new technology may require business restructuring and process innovation. There will always be a process where needs are not met perfectly and thus a source of innovation.
Industry and market changes
Reflection:
Change is the only constant in life. (Heraclitus)
I would relate this source of innovation to rapid advancement of technologies and the famous “The Innovator’s Dilemma”. From mainframes to minicomputers to today’s affordable consumer electronics: Desktops, Laptops, Netbooks, Ultrabooks, Tablets and smart-phones.
When a company has an entrenched and fortified position of serving a particular profitable segment of customers, they usually have a dilemma when something seemingly insignificant (disruptive innovations) “stuns” the market place. This company would have asked itself, “Should I serve this small segment of customers too? Or should I continue on my Business As Usual (BAU) activities?” These companies in history would ended up winding down their business because a disruptive innovation would have destroyed them. Some examples include industries such as Hard-disks and from mainframes to minicomputers to Personal Computers.
Another example I always like to learn from is Nokia. With no doubt, Nokia is still one of the best mobile phone manufacturer and designer. However, it had lost hugely to Apple iPhones and to phones adopting Android OS. Nokia insisted in coming out with their own latest smart phone OS called the Symbian 3 released in Q4 2010 and launched inside flagship Nokia N8 phone. Well, I tried N8 for a day and decided it wasn’t for me, in as much as I was a Nokia fan myself. It grossly lost to the network effects of iOS and the open-sourced Android OS.
Currently, Nokia phones like Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 adopted Windows Phone 7 OS. I respect Nokia’s decision in winning back their smart-phone markets but I believe this mistake is related to its legacy. A huge and entrenched company often takes a long time changing its direction and often gets out-maneuvered by smaller and dynamic companies.
But one thing we all can learn from the article: Markets and industries always change. So, have foresight and have risk management.
Demographic Changes
Population statistics change, education levels change, occupations change, age distribution change, geographic locations can also change. Many due to globalization. According to Peter Drucker, following these types of innovation sources is the most common, most rewarding and least risky among other sources.
People have needs and needs change when the society changes. This is not difficult to understand because we are in the society itself sensing the beats of the population.
Changes in perception
Reflection:
A change of perception DOES NOT change a fact but it changes their meaning.
Take smart-phones as an example, it is essentially a phone combined with music playing, visual entertainment and personal organization tools. However, the mobile phone industry recognized the buying power of the younger population that phones have nowadays become a fashion accessory. For example, the LG Prada Phone.
Apple had been very successful in helping their fans and customers perceive iPhones as a fashionable asset and the feeling of “uniqueness”. Older models of iPhones are no longer produced when the newer ones are launched. This creates a steeper supply curve in order to raises the “value” of demand. In some sense, iPhones are no longer perceived just as a phone, iPhones were perceived as a fashion statement and an “entry-proof” to belong in a community of Apple fans/cults.
New Knowledge
This is one of hardest innovation source to manage. It takes a long lead time for new knowledge to converge and to be converted into an usable and highly demanded technology or social instrument.
Reflection:
It’s so difficult I can’t think of any examples myself. Anyone?
Conclusion
Because innovation is both conceptual and perceptual, would-be innovators must also go out and look, ask, and listen. Successful innovators use both the right and left sides of their brains. They work out analytically what the innovation has to be to satisfy an opportunity. Then they go out and look at potential users to study their expectations, their values, and their needs.
Above all, innovation is work rather than genius. It requires knowledge. It often requires ingenuity. And it requires focus.
Reflection:
This conclusion perfectly coincides to my opinion that the motivation and personality of entrepreneurs does matter for successful innovations. To be effective, an innovation has to be simple, and it has to be focused. It should do only one thing; otherwise it confuses people. (Using the Strategy Canvas to help innovators see if their new product/service is indeed a Blue Ocean Strategy)
You would have realized there are 3 innovation opportunities related to the word, “Changes”. No wonder we often hear, “Get out of that comfort zone!”
==End notes==
The intrapreneur focuses on innovation and creativity, and transforms an idea into a profitable venture, while operating within the organizational environment. Thus, intrapreneurs are Inside entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the organization.
