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

Beyond Green

When a hotel executive asked me recently what I would do to communicate the hotel’s sustainability initiatives to current and future customers, I proposed that the hotel explicitly abandon trying to advertise and promote its actual green activities to focus more on the emotional goodwill of sustainability through story telling and interactive displays – allowing guests to touch and feel (with hands and heart) the ways the world could be a better place.

Innovation in Services: Zillow for Real Estate

The global economy continues to undergo seismic shifts. Previous vertically integrated industries became segmented by horizontal service providers, then disjointed as loosely connected networks of service providers. The value creators in the new economy are providing exceptional experiences by outperforming their niche in the 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 Zillow.com and the “web 2.0-ing” of real estate.

THE SERVICE

Zillow.com: online, satellite imagery-enabled web site for real estate listings, guides, and discussion.

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

Zillow.com combined the mass of information on residential real estate, including public appraisals, tax records, and sales records, to provide the most innovative website for real estate listings since Realtor.com. Users can search by various purchase criteria (price, square footage, home features, zip code, specific street, etc.) and find a zoomable satellite map with currently listed properties highlighted, a pricing chart for local real estate prices over time, recent sales data, and user-generated “Make Me Move” prices for homes that aren’t even for sale – but could be for the right price!

Darden’s strategic outlook

Originally published Sept. 28, 2006.

A brief spat of hail and a full afternoon of rain drove me off the golf course today, but it didn’t stop Darden Dean Bob Bruner from meeting with me and the other 65 students in the Class of 2008’s Section D for an evening reception.  In a room bedecked with shrimp cocktails, sushi rolls, chardonnay and longnecks, I had the good fortune to chat with the Dean about his strategic vision for Darden. 

One of Darden’s most powerful traits is the quality of its teaching.  The faculty here are driven to build students into “future leaders in the world of practical affairs,” as goes the Darden mission statement.  As a studnet, this is one of my favorite features of the Darden experience.  Professors are here to teach, and they provide an outstanding classroom and co-curricular presence around Grounds.  To date, this has been a tradeoff against the quality and quantity of research coming from the faculty halls however.  Darden’s partnership with Good to Great author Jim Collins is leading us to embrace the “Genius of the And” – to achieve great research while maintaining top teaching performance as well.  (You can check the Darden BusinessCast after Friday, Sept. 29 for a podcast about Darden’s Good to Great partnership with Jim Collins.)

Darden is currently continuing a multi-year celebration of its 50 years of business education (2005 was the actual anniversary).  Dean Bruner provided a very inspirational message envisioning our Class of 2008 arriving at the 100 year centennial anniversary, where the school leaders of that age will look back on the people of 2006 and say, “They did something right.  They made smart choices, took wise risks, and succeeded in bringing Darden squarely into the global top ten business schools and a central feature of a lifelong learning environment.”

(Darden’s front steps: Saunders Hall) 

We at Darden believe in the power of this school, in its dynamic teaching, in the rigor of the aggressive case method, and in the dedication of our outstanding Career Development Center.  We have a Dean with an inspiring vision to ratchet up Darden’s global image and performance levels, and students and faculty who love what this school is and what it can become.  If you’re ready to work harder than you ever have in your life, if you’re ready to make something more of your life and more of our school, if you’re ready to join us to lead throughout the world of practical affairs – then join us here at Darden.

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…