The link to the elevator pitch is:
https://youtu.be/mAATar5cWGM
Friday, September 28, 2018
9A - Hypothesis 2
In this exercise we look at individuals that fall outside
our target market even though they fit the original criteria.
Who: I
interviewed three individuals from each of the original criteria:
·
Business Professionals: There was a lot of
excitement in this group. Every person agreed that the way they share contact
information with potential clients today is worthless. They do it because it’s
“just how it’s done”. Knowing that 88% of the cards distributed today are
thrown away did not surprise them. When asked why they did it I received an
overwhelming response that very few other options exist outside of cards,
email, and social media trolling. This gave me an option to probe further into
what they thought would be better. One answered – don’t accept my card unless
you really find it useful. The other two interviewees had more constructive
suggestions:
o
Interviewee 2 - In business today, there’s a lot
of skepticism that feels like ‘stranger danger’. You must build trust. It is a
relationship – not a one-night stand if you are offering something of value.
o
Interviewee 3 – There’s a sense of instant
gratification out there. It depends on the client though. The time to value is
less with younger clients vs. older clients. This individual almost never gives
his business card to younger clients as his services typically requires
8-12mths to start seeing a return on investment.
·
Small Business Owners: I learned quite a bit
about this segment. All of them had less than 5 employees working for them and
“time” is their most valued asset. They have a tight budget and scrutinize
everything when it comes to spending money. When I talked to them about the
waste they raised an eyebrow but didn’t seem to be too concerned. The reason for
this is because they can get a 500 stack of business cards for approximately
$20. None of them could trace back a return on investment and seemed to believe
that it “gets their name out there”. I didn’t push back and tell them that it
likely doesn’t, but I learned a lot.
·
Non-Business Owners: This group is just a
non-starter. I thought I would investigate this group at different age levels
under 50. The older group related the idea as a dating app and the other two
age groups thought another hook up app would be awesome.
What: I have come
to realize that the purpose of distributing these business cards have different
purposes between the groups. Corporate professionals are very interested in
solving the waste and low value proposition whereas the small business and
non-professionals don’t seem to be as enthusiastic.
Why: For
corporate professionals they have performance metrics to meet regardless of how
many business cards they distribute. If they can’t find the right target market
to invest in their product or service, they are likely out of a job. The
current day business card doesn’t do that for them today, so they don’t even
rely on it. Small businesses don’t recognize the waste due to the cost being so
low. Individuals that are not in a business profession recognize economic
benefits of not having traditional business cards but don’t see much additional
value outside the tools they have today to connect with others.
|
Who
|
Inside the boundary
|
Outside the boundary
|
|
|
Corporate Employed Business Professionals
|
Small Business Owners
Non-Business Professionals
|
|
What
|
To alleviate the waste and provide a product that produces
real results for professionals and gives back to the environment we live in.
|
Worrying about people sharing every contact detail they
have on the internet
|
|
Why
|
There is a real need here to produce results
|
There is no indication to me that this group is driven by
solving the overarching problem
|
Friday, September 21, 2018
8A – Solving The Problem
How to solve this problem:
In previous exercises we flushed out the opportunity assessment. In the previous exercise we homed in on that opportunity.
My idea is to put the paper business card providers out of business.
Why?
· 88% of what is printed today is waste and that is just in the US
· 2.5% result in increased sales from business card distribution. That seems like a low number to me and everyone I have talked to so far find it hard to track sales to business cards distributed
· I don’t consider myself a tree hugger but reducing the number of trees we have to cut down to create paper is surely a bonus. Not to mention the plastic coating on a lot of these business cards
· The instant gratification age we live in today means I don’t want to wait or run out of business cards
· A paper business card provides no insights
How?
· Business cards need to be transformed to a digital version
· The options need to have controls for who you want to share information with
· The product itself needs to optimize the unknown opportunities that may be in front of you that you would otherwise not know of
· The card itself needs to contain context of its distribution to the viewer
· Conversions of distribution need to be trackable
· Information about the receiver or distributer should be dynamic and not stale. For example; maybe I want to share LinkedIn details with individuals but not others or maybe I want to keep my contacts updated if I change jobs/positions.
7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
Title of the Opportunity: Digital Biz Cards
· Opportunity: ~10 billion business cards are
printed in the US every year. ~8 billion of them will be thrown out within a
week because the benefits of the product or service being offered is not
immediately realized or needed.
o
Who: Business professionals.
o
What: Their cards and information is discarded almost
immediately because they have little value at the time.
o
Why: People live in the moment and don’t need
their product or service at that given moment.
· Testing Who: There are various levels of who
across business categories. At the corporation level there are mid-high-level
employees that network on a frequent basis. They travel for conferences, invite
other businesses to present their opportunity, and attend functions that
promote their company. For small business owners that do not have the capital
to network as much still rely on these business cards to market their business
with the intent of generating revenue. Since we are talking about ice-breaking
with hopes to complete a transaction later, this could also be an opportunity
for non-business professionals that want to take the first step in meeting or
talking to other people.
· Testing What: Some of these business cards are
pushed on individuals. It’s not uncommon for someone to stick a business card
in your face as you walk by at a convention or attached to marketing mail you
receive at home. We have all seen the little jars in restaurants that allow you
to put your business card in with hopes you are drawn for a free lunch.
However, I believe the majority are legitimate transactions based on real human
interaction. What other reasons would individuals have to accept a business
card knowing they are just going to toss it in the trash can almost immediately?
· Testing Why: There is no need for the service
immediately make sense but then why take the business card in the first place?
Politeness or business etiquette maybe. A good portion of the ideas and pitches
are presented to individuals that have no buying power is another theory.
Interview #1 – Executive professional in a
large corporation that was very surprised to hear about the waste of business
cards. She felt that although she didn’t fit in this category she could see how
this can occur. I was informed during this interview that she only shares her
business card strictly with individuals that have expressed a service or
purpose that has the potential to make an immediate impact on her business. I
got the impression that at her level there’s not a lot of room for small talk.
She did express to me the importance of making backups or multiple copies and
notes of prospects and told me about an opportunity she missed because she
misplaced a contact.
Interview #2 – Myself. I wanted to get my
own perspective down on paper as an exercise because I have been in this
position several times. My goal is to really think through the hypothesis from
my position. I have certainly accepted business cards that shoved in my face
only to toss them in the trash less than 5 minutes after I get them. Why?
Because it was not something I asked for or needed. I have accepted them in
meetings from companies that present demos. Most of the time because they are
given to me at the beginning of a meeting. It is very rare for me to follow up
with any of these opportunities. The ones I want are the ones I ask for and the
ones I get excited about are when I am asked for mine after the
discussion.
Interview #3 – The sales manager I
interviewed was very interesting. He didn’t seem to care about the waste
factor. He informed me that he distributes as many business cards as he can to
a) get his name out b) believes that the more people he gives his business card
to the better chance of making a sale. When I pressed him on the second answer
he believes that due to his success it proves that it works. However, what was
interesting is that he couldn’t prove his mass distribution really contributed
to his sales transactions.
Interview #4 – The marketing professional I
interviewed next was interesting. She informed me that she keeps a Google
spreadsheet of everyone that she gives her business card to and those that she
has received. She wasn’t aware of the high number of waste but admitted to
discarding most of the business cards she receives. She was also not surprised
and told me her roommate gets on her case about killing trees when she brings
home a box of 500 business cards.
Interview #5 – This was an interesting
interview. A young gentleman that has just entered the workforce after graduating
college. I wanted to get a different perspective from a non-seasoned
professional. Once we got passed the “no need for business cards” and “that’s
what snapchat is for” we had an interesting conversation. In part because he
didn’t seem to observe the boundaries older professionals (like myself) do. A
business card to him is considered “old school” and something he believed would
be lost in a matter of minutes. When I asked him about the need for maintaining
contacts that could be opportunities to better his situation in the future he
informed me that it would be cool if he could get a girl’s number without going
through the stress.
· What do you know now that you didn’t before?
o
Based on my lowered belief of my first
opportunity assessment I learned a lot during this exercise. My original idea
was merely a solution looking for a problem. However, I think I found a real
problem here. Everyone I talked to had no idea about the volume of business
cards that are printed each year or the level of which they are discarded (88%)
in such a short period of time.
o
I also learned that different professionals
utilizing these business cards had different ideas about their purpose.
o
A real eye opener was the lack of recall to whom
individuals distribute their information to.
o
Given what I learned in my last interview there
may be more opportunities with a broader audience.
Friday, September 14, 2018
6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends
Economic Trend – Baby Boomers are a Big Market
Belief the Opportunity Exists – With a generation entering
retirement and accounting for almost 50% of the economy I have a hard time thinking
there’s not opportunity in this market. Then when I read that 80% are choosing
the route of entrepreneurship, 86% are members of brand loyalty programs, and
70% of disposable income in the US is controlled by Baby Boomers I get more
excited!
Prototypical Customer – The prototypical customer in this
segment is born between 1946 through 1964. Estimated last year at approximately
74 million.
Opportunity Easy/Difficult to Exploit – I believe
opportunities in this segment would be easy to exploit.
Why I saw the opportunity – I am certainly not the first to
see this opportunity, but I think I grabbed on to it because we tend to think
of our older generation as retirees that want to go off and play golf or fish
or cribbage. This generation wants to be more active, engaged, and keep on
working.
Economic Trend – Generation Z
Belief the Opportunity Exists – In this generation we have a
makeup very close to that of Baby Boomers where 72% want to be entrepreneurs. More
than a quarter of the population is made up of this generation. They are
resourceful and self-serving.
Prototypical Customer – Born from the mid 1990’s to the
early 2000’s making up 25% of the US population. Larger than the Baby Boomer
population overall.
Opportunity Easy/Difficult to Exploit – This will be a more
difficult opportunity to exploit. This generation relies on instant gratification
and results immediately. Many of us older students have children in this
generation and understand how hard it is to keep their attention for 5 minutes.
Why I saw the opportunity – I have kids in this generation.
Regulatory Changes – Net Neutrality
Belief the Opportunity Exists – I am not a big believer in
Government regulation of the Internet. Who decides who the traffic cop is and
how do we make sure they are not bias. The internet has thrived on its own
allowing startup companies to take advantage of the infrastructure and disrupt
markets. Why is that a problem? I agree with the graphic shown in the article,
we have provided a solution and are now looking for a problem.
Prototypical Customer – I think this hits the larger
companies and entrepreneurs looking to take on companies like Facebook,
Netflix, Twitter more so than smaller entrepreneurs/businesses.
Opportunity Easy/Difficult to Exploit – This would be a
tough one to exploit as you have to be in a position to be in competition with
the large companies mentioned above.
Why I saw the opportunity – I believe I see the opportunity
because I have always seen the Internet as a free zone to be opportunistic in
the same time-period Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix grew from ideas to
big business.
Regulatory Changes – Association Health Plans
Belief the Opportunity Exists – I really like this idea and
we use it to bargain throughout the United States. Think of Costco, Sams, or
Medishare more specifically.
Prototypical Customer – Any group of customer. Think of a
wide range from Carpenters to Contstruction Workers, or Teachers to Education
professionals banding together to create their own association and bargaining
group.
Opportunity Easy/Difficult to Exploit – I believe this would
be a tough one to exploit as the majority of these folks are already enrolled
in employee or union based plans.
Why I saw the opportunity – I recently dropped my insurance
to go with my wife’s insurance plan that wasn’t great but much cheaper than
mine.
5A – Identifying Local Opportunities
Story 1 – Hurricane Irma flood victims awash in memories one
year later
Description of the Story – A common problem we face in
Jacksonville, Florida is the yearly threat of hurricanes. Until we come up with
a way to deflect these storms from coming onshore we will always face the
devastation they bring. This story talks about flooding in two problem areas in
Jacksonville that are constantly on the news when a storm, not necessary a
hurricane, targets the city – Black Creek and San Marco. I lived in San Marco
about 12yrs ago and flooding was a major problem then.
Problem Presented in the Story – Flood prone areas that
consistently go through the same problems every year when we have severe
thunderstorms. Band-Aids cover up the real issue until the next storm.
Who has the problem – Approximately 60,000 people living in
the San Marco or Black Creek area.
Story 2 – Duval County Schools again outspend revenue
Description of the Story – In this story we first see that
Duval County is spending more than it is taking in. More students are leaving
the public-school system and going private and charter schools are on the rise.
Problem Presented in the Story – The real question here is
why. Duval schools historically have been below the nations average.
Who has the problem – The impact of this problem hits many
areas: 130,000 students, the families of these students who want the best
education for their children, and the city of Jacksonville that needs to keep
funding failing schools.
Story 3 – Vystar employee indicted for embezzlement of $5.4
million
Description of the Story – An employee of Vystar who worked
in the mailroom stole stamps and sold them in small portions over many years to
another company that sold them at 80% market value and gave the employee a
portion of the proceeds.
Problem Presented in the Story – I am not sure if I can
fault the company that bought the stamps although they should have mechanisms
in place to make sure the stamps they receive are legitimately owned. Where is
the oversight? Surely when a cost incurs there’s a trace to the expense. Maybe there
needs to be better checks and balances in the accounts payable department at
Vystar.
Who has the problem – Ultimately the bank will try to recoup
these costs which likely mean higher fees being introduced to its members.
Story 4 – Mayo Clinic announces $144 million expansion
Description of the Story – This story hits home as my wife
works for Mayo at this location. The story is about expansion and additional
buildings they are planning for. It’s great to see growth like this but when
you read the headlines and hear the real story it’s not all it seems to be. The
new parking garage they built is great but what you don’t see in the story is
that it forced employees to park a quarter of a mile further away. Not a big
deal unless you are coming off a shift at 3am and now must walk 1.5 miles to
your car.
Problem Presented in the Story – The story itself does not
present a problem with the new construction, however, being involved at a
personal level I know the problems are going to be with their employees now
having to walk further across the campus with very little security.
Who has the problem – Employees at Mayo are going to have a
problem with this.
Story 5 – Undocumented immigrant charged with murder,
manslaughter in death of Nassau County deputy
Description of the Story – This seems to be a major issue
that hits home across the nation and here in Jacksonville. Undocumented or
Illegal immigrant charged with murdering a US Citizen. While police questioned
6 individuals in the back of a pick-up truck one of them took off and the
officer gave chase with a Border Patrol agent. The chase caused the officers to cross a road
in which the 32-year-old officer was struck by a car and died. He leaves behind
a wife and 6yr old daughter.
Problem Presented in the Story – Weak immigration policies
Who has the problem – The problem is nationwide in the US
Friday, September 7, 2018
4A – Forming an Opportunity Belief
So in this exercise this is where we take one of our problems from the bug list and try to define if it's a problem worth solving. I believe there’s an unmet need for business owners, professionals, and entrepreneurs to have their business or contact information ready to share with others. When traveling for business, at a conference, or sometimes even in an airport I find myself meeting individuals I would like to follow up with regarding a business opportunity. The problem I run into is either I or the person I am talking to doesn’t have a business card on them. To solve this problem, I must write down their details on paper, notes or temporary in my personal contacts, and later transfer the information to my own digital contact spreadsheet on Google Drive. What I would like to do is always have this information ready to share and store it in a location that I keep all my business contact information. I am 75% certain this need exists.
#1 – VP of Sales
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: Absolutely. All the time. It’s part of my job and you never know when that person could become a lead or a prospect.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: Almost never. I always have cards on me. Even when I go to my daughter’s recital I will bring business cards.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: Eh. To be honest it happens so rarely but when it does it is usually because I forgot to order more, or they are in my luggage or bag somewhere that I can’t get to. Maybe if I run to the grocery store, I am not sure really. Actually – one time I was on a business trip and spilled coffee on my bag which leaked onto my cards and ruined them. I had to get my secretary to put an order in and overnight them to me.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: If I don’t have a card on me I would typically get their card and send a follow up email with my details.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would say 8. I don’t really have a big problem. I have been doing it for 25 years so maybe I am just old school.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: [Laugh] – If they magically appeared on my contact list. Seriously though, the problem for me comes later when I try to remember the conversation and specifics I discussed with the person. If I don’t write these details down it’s hard to nurture a lead.
#2 – Product Manager, Marketing
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: On occasion. Colleagues I can easily find within our company and I don’t really work with leads.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: For me I don’t carry them with me all the time. When I do talk to someone, like a customer using my product, that’s when I want to provide my contact details, so they can contact me and provide feedback about the product. If I go to visit a customer I always make sure that I have business cards with me.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: Most of the time really.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: This has only happened to me a couple of times maybe. Rather than write something down I went back to the office and sent an email to the customer with my contact information.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would say 9. It doesn’t bother me really.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: I would like a better way to track the ongoing communication with each customer and somehow tie that back to their satisfaction with the product.
#3 – Chief Technology Officer
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: Quite often, yes.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: I don’t like to carry business cards. I would prefer to take the individuals information and then get back to them.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: As I said before I don’t typically carry them in bulk. If I am going to a speaking arrangement or a conference I bring along a bunch but mainly for networking.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: I typically get an email address or ask them to send their details to my email address.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would maybe give it a 7 as I get enough emails and a lot of time these types of email get a low priority in my day.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: Some way to rank it for relevancy so I can go back to it when a situation comes up that I need to engage with a person I met previously who could possibly help with a situation.
REFLECTION:
Reflecting on this exercise I was really surprised with some of the answers I received. I expected higher level executive types to be always ready to share information not be restrictive, but I guess it makes sense given their position and focus on their business. Product Managers and Sales people are two different animals. Sales people are more engaging and seem willing to strike up a conversation and share information at will without really caring too much about the method or tools they use. Product Managers are all about the feedback so whatever way the customer wants to communicate with them they are open to it.
SUMMARY:
I went into this with a belief that the business community had a problem with sharing contact information using the old method of business cards. When I look back on it I think I also went into it being tied to an idea on how to solve the problem that I hadn’t fully vetted ‘was’ a problem. My belief has gone from 75% to 45%. However, this was a great exercise that taught me to detach or not think about how to solve a problem before defining the problem. I still believe there’s an opportunity there but not exactly what I thought it was. I am now leaning toward the most important thing is not about how we share this contact information but recall as to why it was important in the first place to capture it. If I am going to move forward on this I need to adapt.
#1 – VP of Sales
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: Absolutely. All the time. It’s part of my job and you never know when that person could become a lead or a prospect.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: Almost never. I always have cards on me. Even when I go to my daughter’s recital I will bring business cards.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: Eh. To be honest it happens so rarely but when it does it is usually because I forgot to order more, or they are in my luggage or bag somewhere that I can’t get to. Maybe if I run to the grocery store, I am not sure really. Actually – one time I was on a business trip and spilled coffee on my bag which leaked onto my cards and ruined them. I had to get my secretary to put an order in and overnight them to me.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: If I don’t have a card on me I would typically get their card and send a follow up email with my details.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would say 8. I don’t really have a big problem. I have been doing it for 25 years so maybe I am just old school.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: [Laugh] – If they magically appeared on my contact list. Seriously though, the problem for me comes later when I try to remember the conversation and specifics I discussed with the person. If I don’t write these details down it’s hard to nurture a lead.
#2 – Product Manager, Marketing
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: On occasion. Colleagues I can easily find within our company and I don’t really work with leads.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: For me I don’t carry them with me all the time. When I do talk to someone, like a customer using my product, that’s when I want to provide my contact details, so they can contact me and provide feedback about the product. If I go to visit a customer I always make sure that I have business cards with me.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: Most of the time really.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: This has only happened to me a couple of times maybe. Rather than write something down I went back to the office and sent an email to the customer with my contact information.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would say 9. It doesn’t bother me really.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: I would like a better way to track the ongoing communication with each customer and somehow tie that back to their satisfaction with the product.
#3 – Chief Technology Officer
Q: Do you find yourself being asked or asking for business contacts, colleagues, or potential business leads for their contact information?
A: Quite often, yes.
Q: How often do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a business card or contact information you want to share?
A: I don’t like to carry business cards. I would prefer to take the individuals information and then get back to them.
Q: When do you typically find yourself in a situation where you don’t have business cards on you?
A: As I said before I don’t typically carry them in bulk. If I am going to a speaking arrangement or a conference I bring along a bunch but mainly for networking.
Q: How do currently share your information if you don’t have a business card on you?
A: I typically get an email address or ask them to send their details to my email address.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 – how happy are you with sharing your information this way?
A: I would maybe give it a 7 as I get enough emails and a lot of time these types of email get a low priority in my day.
Q: What would be your ideal way to manage your business contact information?
A: Some way to rank it for relevancy so I can go back to it when a situation comes up that I need to engage with a person I met previously who could possibly help with a situation.
REFLECTION:
Reflecting on this exercise I was really surprised with some of the answers I received. I expected higher level executive types to be always ready to share information not be restrictive, but I guess it makes sense given their position and focus on their business. Product Managers and Sales people are two different animals. Sales people are more engaging and seem willing to strike up a conversation and share information at will without really caring too much about the method or tools they use. Product Managers are all about the feedback so whatever way the customer wants to communicate with them they are open to it.
SUMMARY:
I went into this with a belief that the business community had a problem with sharing contact information using the old method of business cards. When I look back on it I think I also went into it being tied to an idea on how to solve the problem that I hadn’t fully vetted ‘was’ a problem. My belief has gone from 75% to 45%. However, this was a great exercise that taught me to detach or not think about how to solve a problem before defining the problem. I still believe there’s an opportunity there but not exactly what I thought it was. I am now leaning toward the most important thing is not about how we share this contact information but recall as to why it was important in the first place to capture it. If I am going to move forward on this I need to adapt.
3A-Your Entrepreneurship Story
A little background about me and my relationship with entrepreneurship. I like to think that I embraced an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. Growing up with very little, I had to find ways to make ends meet. From the age of 10 years old I have constantly worked to solve problems and get ahead. Delivering newspapers to folks that couldn’t get to a newsstand, delivering milk in exchange for a small wage and dairy for my family, and joining a startup that went public are a handful of roads I have traveled. Most recently the company I work for promotes entrepreneurship and rewards employees that solve problems. I have created my own position at the company on numerous occasions and several positions for others. My latest problem to solve is designing a methodology that can be used to measure the health of a customer with the goal of reducing churn and improving customer satisfaction.
I enrolled in ENT3003 this semester because the timing was right. Private investors have acquired my company, so change is inevitable. The options on the table are to operate within the guidelines of the new company, find a new company that offers the same level of entrepreneurial spirit, or find a problem to solve and lead the effort to do it.
I enrolled in ENT3003 this semester because the timing was right. Private investors have acquired my company, so change is inevitable. The options on the table are to operate within the guidelines of the new company, find a new company that offers the same level of entrepreneurial spirit, or find a problem to solve and lead the effort to do it.
Be Not Afraid!!
2A - Bug List
The purpose of this exercise is to focus on identifying problems.
I found it challenging at times to come up with two or three but on some occasions, I wrote down five or six. I found it easier when I focused on an event like traveling to a city or leaving for work. The list below is what I came up with. Feel free to rip these to shreds during our peer review.
1. Run out of business cards while at a conference.
a. Why - People don’t want to carry a bunch of business cards around and don’t want to necessarily keep those individuals as regular contacts on their phone.
2. Putting out the recycled trash we cannot include the plastic bag containing the trash, so we must dump all the contents then place the plastic bag in the regular trash.
a. Why – It’s too time consuming to open the bags and they may interfere with the sorting machines.
3. Batteries die at the most un-opportune moment.
a. Why - There’s no way to tell how much life is left unless we take them out and test them.
4. Food waste.
a. Why - The refrigerator mistakenly gets left open.
5. The AC continuously runs and hikes up the electricity bill in the summer.
a. Why - Children leave the doors open.
6. Traffic lights that change from green to red too soon that only one or two cars out of the 20 waiting get through.
a. Why - The timing on the lights was initially programmed when traffic was light but never changes as the traffic pattern changed.
7. Meetings that waste people’s time.
a. Why - A clear agenda with an objective goal is not defined beforehand.
8. Fake reviews on Amazon.
a. Why - Companies are paying other companies or individuals to write a review for a product they don’t own so their product appears to have a high rating.
9. Not knowing the right temperature for a baby’s bath water.
a. Why - The baby can be traumatized or even burned.
10. Not knowing what type of pollen is in the air.
a. Why - Many people with allergies don’t figure this out until the reaction begins.
11. Children under the age of 18 having access to legally owned firearms.
a. Why - Adults are careless about securing them
12. Getting into a car in Florida that has been sitting in the parking lot for a few hours and experiencing tremendous heat.
a. Why - To deter theft, we must keep our windows up.
13. When you do not have the keys or a badge to enter a building or home.
a. Why - The key or badge was forgotten.
14. Overpriced/Non-Personalized Yearbooks.
a. Why - Schools charge $85 to cover the cost of the photo and materials for a photo that is typically the worse picture you have seen of your child.
15. Taking a pool sample to a store to find out what chemicals are needed only to find out you don’t need any.
a. Why - Home kits require owners to be chemistry majors to figure out the right balance.
16. Not having a place that delivers a nice hot and healthy breakfast
a. Why – I haven’t quite figured this one out yet. My best guess is that the type of food doesn’t transport very well but I am not sure I am buying that. Still need to do more research on this one.
17. A grill brush that sheds little metal bristles.
a. Why - The bristles are not properly secured to the brush handle.
18. Running out of propane in the middle of cooking burgers
a. Why - The propane bottle weighs 10lbs itself and the gauges you buy to tell you how much propane is in the tank tend to be faulty.
19. Marketing robo calls.
a. Why - The cost of a human dialing is much more expensive. It’s more cost efficient to have a dialer do the calling and only use a human when the customer answers to engage.
20. Neighbors not speaking out when crimes or suspicious behavior happens in their neighborhoods.
a. Why - People are afraid to get involved.
I found it challenging at times to come up with two or three but on some occasions, I wrote down five or six. I found it easier when I focused on an event like traveling to a city or leaving for work. The list below is what I came up with. Feel free to rip these to shreds during our peer review.
1. Run out of business cards while at a conference.
a. Why - People don’t want to carry a bunch of business cards around and don’t want to necessarily keep those individuals as regular contacts on their phone.
2. Putting out the recycled trash we cannot include the plastic bag containing the trash, so we must dump all the contents then place the plastic bag in the regular trash.
a. Why – It’s too time consuming to open the bags and they may interfere with the sorting machines.
3. Batteries die at the most un-opportune moment.
a. Why - There’s no way to tell how much life is left unless we take them out and test them.
4. Food waste.
a. Why - The refrigerator mistakenly gets left open.
5. The AC continuously runs and hikes up the electricity bill in the summer.
a. Why - Children leave the doors open.
6. Traffic lights that change from green to red too soon that only one or two cars out of the 20 waiting get through.
a. Why - The timing on the lights was initially programmed when traffic was light but never changes as the traffic pattern changed.
7. Meetings that waste people’s time.
a. Why - A clear agenda with an objective goal is not defined beforehand.
8. Fake reviews on Amazon.
a. Why - Companies are paying other companies or individuals to write a review for a product they don’t own so their product appears to have a high rating.
9. Not knowing the right temperature for a baby’s bath water.
a. Why - The baby can be traumatized or even burned.
10. Not knowing what type of pollen is in the air.
a. Why - Many people with allergies don’t figure this out until the reaction begins.
11. Children under the age of 18 having access to legally owned firearms.
a. Why - Adults are careless about securing them
12. Getting into a car in Florida that has been sitting in the parking lot for a few hours and experiencing tremendous heat.
a. Why - To deter theft, we must keep our windows up.
13. When you do not have the keys or a badge to enter a building or home.
a. Why - The key or badge was forgotten.
14. Overpriced/Non-Personalized Yearbooks.
a. Why - Schools charge $85 to cover the cost of the photo and materials for a photo that is typically the worse picture you have seen of your child.
15. Taking a pool sample to a store to find out what chemicals are needed only to find out you don’t need any.
a. Why - Home kits require owners to be chemistry majors to figure out the right balance.
16. Not having a place that delivers a nice hot and healthy breakfast
a. Why – I haven’t quite figured this one out yet. My best guess is that the type of food doesn’t transport very well but I am not sure I am buying that. Still need to do more research on this one.
17. A grill brush that sheds little metal bristles.
a. Why - The bristles are not properly secured to the brush handle.
18. Running out of propane in the middle of cooking burgers
a. Why - The propane bottle weighs 10lbs itself and the gauges you buy to tell you how much propane is in the tank tend to be faulty.
19. Marketing robo calls.
a. Why - The cost of a human dialing is much more expensive. It’s more cost efficient to have a dialer do the calling and only use a human when the customer answers to engage.
20. Neighbors not speaking out when crimes or suspicious behavior happens in their neighborhoods.
a. Why - People are afraid to get involved.
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