An American Self-portrait

Chris Jordan presents an evocative series of wall-sized prints that beautifully convey a tragic story. See more of this and other series at http://www.chrisjordan.com/

from www.frogdesign.com posted with vodpod

TED | Talks | Isabel Allende: Tales of passion (video)

I recently read “Eva Luna” by Isabel Allende – a book that has become infinitely more moving after seeing Isabel in this live presentation. She illuminates the great power of storytelling for social change and inspiration. Interestingly, someone pointed out how devoid current political debates or the State of the Union address have been in good storytelling.

from www.ted.com posted with vodpod

Innovation in Services: Miriam’s Kitchen

The value creators in our new economy are providing exceptional experiences by outperforming their niche in an industry network or tying together the nodes of the network and packaging the whole thing in innovative ways.

As part of my recent course at Darden on Innovation and Integration in Services – The New Economy, I made observations on a number of innovations as examples of value creation in this flat, networked world. This is my submission on Miriam’s Kitchen.

THE SERVICE

This organization falls strongest in the “Make Their Day” and “Be There” categories of the Fish! Philosophy. Miriam’s Kitchen, a provider of meals and additional services to homeless people in Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC

HOW IS IT INNOVATIVE? WHY DID IT GRAB YOUR ATTENTION?

Miriam’s Kitchen is noteworthy for a number of characteristics. It has always used hot meals as a way to gather people who could benefit from the area’s social services and introduce those services in a non-threatening manner. In that sense, the dining room aggregates a target audience and makes additional, highly valuable services know. Second, Miriam’s Kitchen attracted a great New York chef to run the soup kitchen. His culinary smarts have helped form food partnerships with local distributors and restaurants

What are we working for?

Originally published August 14, 2006.

I just finished an invigorating read through Jim Collins and Jerry Porras’ best-seller, Built to Last.  I love the way these researchers capture the epic mythology of doing great work – of finding purpose and meaning beyond the dollar signs.  Their research showed that “visionary companies,” as they defined them, are more often built with some motivating purpose other than making money when compared to less successful competitors.  This point is one that captures my entrepreneurial spirit – to do something that matters for the long haul, something that makes a lasting impact on the world around me and improves the lives of others. 

The MBA program guides and consultants I reviewed during my application to business schools all seemed to have one thing in common: discussing the ROI of business school.  The rationale was always the same – since you’re going to business school, now’s a great time to examine the return on your investment!  It’s generallly a winsome argument, since many MBA graduates leap ahead to substantially higher salaries among multiple job offers than their pre-MBA careers would provide.  But this argument woefully discounts the non-financial return of two great years of investing in one’s self and a tremendous network of peers who are capable of leading the next generation of world-changing organizations.  To put it more directly, the prospects of learning extensive practices to create and guide organizations have much more value than the immediate salary commanded by MBA graduates.  That is why my MBA admissions essays focused on learning to make an impact on others more than making more money for myself.

As I see it, my MBA studies are a priceless time to learn about the development and management of organizations, a time to learn more about how to impact teams of people motivated toward a common goal.  I expect my education to be valuable both in my professional career and in my volunteer efforts, as I join the leadership of my church and community non-profits to make lasting impacts in the social sector as well.  While I do find it important to believe that my education will pay for itself in career successes, I also believe one of the greatest advantages of an MBA education must be to share it with those who could benefit from my service but could not otherwise afford it.

Please do not misunderstand me: I am not opposed to earning high salaries and ensuring that one’s MBA education earns significant results.  I am, however, suggesting that making an impact on others is more important than will be reflected in one’s salary, and that the financial rewards of doing good work are best invested to increasing the impact of future work.  For those who share this vision (particularly those who are  Darden MBA students), I look forward to meeting you and exploring the possibilities.

And, as a post-script, it turns out the purpose-driven “visionary companies” of Built to Last dramatically outperformed their comparison companies and stock market indices…

The making of young innovators

Originally published May 18, 2006.

A reader sent me a thoughtful email about the difficulties for young innovators and the structures of the educational system that don’t seem to lend themselves to developing new innovators and entrepreneurs.  This is a provocative topic, so I thought I’d post a copy of my reply and invite others to join the dialog:

 

Thanks for your comments about my blog and your provocative thoughts about entrepreneurship and innovation.  What are you studying at
Virginia?  I was an Electrical Engineering undergrad at UVA, which gave me the opportunity to take a number of design and invention-oriented courses (and I’d be happy to recommend courses and professors).  I think the Architecture school also has a number of “innovation enhancers” in its curriculum.  I personally know a number of very successful ventures (and serial entrepreneurs) to come out of UVA.I think I understand your concerns about innovation among the twenty/thirty-something set.  Especially as I work around DC now, I feel greatly undervalued by my age – in this town, until you’ve got a crown of gray hair and a record of financial giving (politically) and success (business-ly), it’s hard to be taken seriously.But I also understand that professional innovation is a highly risky venture – those that do it well are celebrated because there’s inherently a high amount of experimentation.  Just starting a new business is a risky venture, particularly for recent graduates which may have limited business networks and experience as well as college debts to pay (to say nothing of rent, food, insurance, car, and other expenses).  New businesses may typically go several years before turning a profit as the venture traverses its own growing pains; business incubators are established all over the country (there’s one at Darden) to help shelter those businesses from the high-risk environment of a start-up. Often times the “risk equation” makes it much more palatable for new young professionals to work several years, develop business acumen and networks, then consider a new business venture (or continue their ascent through corporate ranks).I also think there’s simply a very small percentage of the population with the business sense and creativity necessary to innovate marketable solutions (much less to build successful and growing companies).  It’s more sensible (but not necessarily right) in our economic constructs to “create jobs” than to create innovators.  For most people, who need a lot of support to even enter the workplace, they rely on others to create jobs.  But as for the smaller percentage of the population which is really eager to innovate AND capable of doing so profitably (e.g. with good management, marketing, manufacturing, logistics, etc), I don’t know that there are sufficient development tracks in the educational or professional systems to identify and “incubate” those future business leaders – perhaps there’s an opportunity for innovation!Is there also a sense in which successful innovators buck the system, as did Bill Gates or Richard Bronson?  Would efforts to form a support system for entrepreneurs (who may be fiercely independent) be doomed to fail?  I suspect not, and I would offer the Kauffman Fellows Program as one high-profile example.  But how do we link these programs to undergraduate and graduate education?  How do we identify and actively develop those young business leaders who will transform the world?

VC for alternative energy

Originally published May 17, 2006.

Venture capital investors seem to have one major, common point of reference – the dot come bust of 2000-2001.  That bust followed a record year of VC fundraising – some $106 billion in 2000 among top benchmark firms – and preceded a major fallout of invested dollars across the economy.  The lessons learned all seem to point to greater discipline in VC investments, but that’s not holding back (re-)growth in VC fundraising.  The Associated Press reported in April that venture capital firms had raised some $6 billion in the first quarter of this year, more than 20% over last year’s figure for the same quarter, with projected annual fundraising around $30 billion.  (See the article as published in the Washington Post online: Venture Capital Fundraising Rises in 1Q.pdf.) [Update: The New YorkTimes ran an article suggesting that the renewed vigor in venture capital is not a sign of a new bubble: A Few Signs of Froth Do Not a Bubble Make]

The trends of last year indicated strong venture capital interest in “clean tech” and alternative energy as solar and wind technologies matured and new ventures generated profitable cash flows, buyouts, and IPOs.  In fact, three of the top IPOs of 2005 were solar power companies, as reported by the Wharton Private Equity Review.  [Update: See BW interview with Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and current partner at venture capital firm KPCB: Green: The Next Big Thing.  He thinks greentech is going to provide the next Google in terms of revolutionary wealth-creation.)

Now, the energy market is showing no signs of decreased demand despite continually high gas prices.  As Americans (and others around the world) effectively say “no” to conservation (see James Ellis’ op-ed piece in BW, No Sacrifices, Please), energy demand will continue to grow while limited stocks of fossil fuels (not to mention the political delicacies surrounding the international energy market) keeps a ceiling on supply.  With the proven returns in solar and wind power, and wide interest and policy incentives in ethanol, biomass, and energy storage technologies, the stage could be set for continued successful investment in clean tech industries.

And hopefully in two years the stage will be set to hire this Darden MBA into a successful and growing VC clean tech fund.

Darden’s Career Next Step

Originally published May 10, 2006.

One of the pre-matriculation requirements for Darden students is to complete a battery of self-assessment tests using a product called Career Next Step.  It’s a bonanza of web applications that prompt you to respond to inductive questions (“What kinds of activities energize you?”  “What might this figure (in an ambiguous sketch) be doing?”) in order for you to build a series of analytical statements about your own personality, preferences, and professional “fit.”  The goal seems to be to avoid job search strategies that rely too heavily on following the buck (i.e. who’s hiring now) and focus more on matching your own preferences and predispositions to a suitable and rewarding career.

While the process is lengthy and the web applications seem to be early in their development, Career Next Step does seem to be a marginally useful and comprehensive tool with the aim of creating some target professional goals and profiles for each student by Day 1 on campus.  As I understand it, this Career Next Step process will be complemented by a full Myers Briggs Type Indicator (I’ve come up ENFP twice before), other large scale assessments, and career/industry presentations during the first week.  All of this seems to build towards a holistic, individually-tailored plan for career development that begins the day you set foot on campus to the day you retire.

So, while some students head for MBA-land with the intent to advance their career in a predetermined industry, other career-hoppers like me are hoping to see more of the business world and find a new place in it.  Already, I’m grateful for Darden’s support in finding a career that will match my own sense of happiness, meaning, and success.

Has anyone already benefited from Career Next Step, or another career development process?  Has anyone discovered a whole new career field because of their MBA studies or career coaching?

Corporate Innovation at Darden

Originally published April 14, 2006.

At the Darden School’s recent “Darden Days” welcome weekend for admitted students, I serendipitously met Professor Jeanne Liedtka, the director of Darden’s Batten Institute for entrepreneurship and innovation.  We talked briefly after a “mock case” discussion that introduced the prospectives to the case method, and I learned more about her courses in strategy and research in corporate innovation - my own fields of interest.

Well, BusinessWeek just turned out a few excellent pieces on innovation, so I thought I’d create a little home for them in this blog as well.

I was really caught by surprise by some of the answers in this Innovation Quiz.  (I scored 5 out of 12, apparently good enough for the quiz to recommend me as chief innovation officer for my company.)

There’s also a great Innovators in Our Midst slideshow (one of my favorite features of BusinessWeek online) on corporations leading innovation in all kinds of industries.

Then there’s the fine analytic piece, Innovative Writing on Innovation, offering five themes emerging from a survey of corporate leaders.

Finally, I’ll add the link to 25 Innovators, 6 Industries.

Hope that’s enough to spark the creative business thinker on a rainy Friday afternoon!

Innovation: buzz word or the real deal?

Originally published April 7, 2006.

From the glossy ads of IBM’s new Innovation business area to the whack jobs on American Inventor, it seems like everyone wants to be an innovator (or wants to hire one).  The emergence of Chief Innovation Officers and business school courses targeting innovation suggest that, in today’s tight market for large cap companies and healthy growth for small and mid-caps, innovation may be today’s killer app.  To my mind, this makes sense conceptually: as markets mature, the potential to exploit market openings diminishes and the need to create revolutionary new products, processes, and especially business models becomes a necessity.

In social entrepreneurship, innovation is never an option.  There are rarely opportunities to exploit; rather, whole new paradigms must be introduced, supported, and grown  – often outside the realm of traditional business.  (See The Economist’s article The hidden wealth of the poor (Nov 2005) in PDF.)

Its encouraging to see innovators finding successes in the realms of social entrepreneurship, such as the Washington Area Housing Partnership in Washington, DC, which is “re-branding” affordable housing initiatives as not just social support programs but prudent community development programs for working citizens.  Check out their story in the Washington Post, A Regional Campaign for Affordable Housing.

This innovation is also being cultivated in the young and passionate minds of academia.  As I head to The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, I’m especially interested in the innovation occurring within the University’s Engineering and Architecture schools.  I recently learned of an outstanding initiative in affordable housing at The University of Virginia’s School of Architecture: the ecoMOD program to prototype ecological modular housing.  For a heart-warming insight into the ecoMOD program in Gulf Coast restoration efforts supported by Charlottesville’s most famous author (Mississippi native and UVA parent John Grisham), take a look at this Habitat for Humanity Press Release (PDF).

Further interesting information on ecoMOD and other innovative architectural systems can be found at the Charlottesville Community Design Center’s  exhibition showcase and the Rural Studio, part of the Auburn University School of Architecture program of studies.

Team-oriented leadership

Originally published March 8, 2006.

American business mythology seems to imagine each worker as some sort of pinstriped Sisyphus pushing their resume up the corporate ladder. Those that make it to the top of the ladder are revered as gods. Nobody seems to want to mention the Hades that meets those who fail to reach the top of the corporate ladder (though I suspect it’s not all that bad, especially for those who trade the corporate ladder for the pursuit of their own dreams).

But where are the leaders who will push entire teams to new heights, and all along the way offer praises for the successes of the team? Where are the leaders who embody a fierce devotion to the significance and development of others (not only themselves)? My sad sense is that MBA students are made more to fashion a brand of themselves and demonstrate their individual successes rather than seeking to build the successes of teams they work for and with.

While the design of business education may lend itself to this self-promotion, I currently feel this pressure most acutely from MBA information centers, MBA career advisory firms, and other sources that cater to the power-driven and power-hungry. I don’t want to be a leader who competes to differentiate myself from other individuals. I want to be a leader who builds teams that differentiate themselves from the norm, who rise to incredible challenges and conquer enormously complex challenges. At the end of the day, I’d rather hear praises for the teams I work with and build than personal praise for my role in that team.

In a culture of American individualism, where a company’s CEO may be given sole credit for the success (or failure) of an entire corporation, I often feel that my perspectives on team leadership are out of place. Am I too idealistic? Will American individualism crush the dream of team-oriented leadership? Is a massive reform possible to create opportunities for a new generation of team-builders, of humble giants looking to hoist others onto their shoulders and pave the way for success throughout the corporation and community?