Friday, November 25, 2005

Paradigm Shift - New Business Model and Learning Method

Have spent the past couple of weeks consolidating our thoughts on a pet project. In other words, have we been idling in the conventional sense? Not quite. We are seeking a new paradigm to prepare for the next phase of competition. And the 3 critical success factors are: domain knowledge, technology and networking. The days of black and white have gone, and we have many shades of grey - meaning that instead one big market we will have numerous micro-markets. And supporting this will be the emerging micro-businesses. They, small and nimble, get things done fast. The most important task will be to create uncontested market space. Hence the proof of concept will take on a new dimension. Processes need to be tweaked as we move along, what works must be scaleable, and what doesn't can be discarded ( recycled ) hence minimsing the risks of a mal-investment in capex. How can this be done? Be customer centric. To do so, we need to develop competency in interacting with the real world environment, capture data, analyse it for what it is worth, draw conclusion and execute. This process will get more complex and we require tools that will empower us to get off the ground. The solution lies in technology. What we are seeing in some of the larger organisations, is a trend of outsourcing technology. If it is back-end, maybe this is the right approach. However, to compensate for this lack of capabilities, they must already have a game plan to substitute with high-end value innovations, and this inevitably must be accompanied by technology.

We are in the process of developing a competency-based training curriculum that serves to address these needs. The framework within which we are developing this, will test the relevancy of the curriculum in nurturing the next generation of entrepreneur-leaders. The standards include ability to multi-task, interacting with the environment, discern wants that are unmet, create uncontested market space, collaborate with strategic partners.

The workshop will range from a compact 24 hr program to an extended 80 hr program over a 24 month period. The pedagogy ( extendable to andragogy ) to the learning task will essentially be a show-and-tell approach, and the center-piece is our ACEbots incorporating lesson features like concept and inspiration, design and build, automation, test and validate. The assessment rubric will assess the participants from the real world perspective of competency in articulation, communication and execution ( ACE ).

Next: We take a look at the real-world workplace to appreciate what it is like out there.


Keywords: domain knowledge, technology, networking, ACE, pedagogy, competency-based training, value innovations, ACEbots, micro-businesses, customer centric


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Saturday, November 05, 2005

Micro-businesses - The New Big (II)

We continue with Part II on the virtues of micro-businesses...
4. Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you retain the power to invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear
them.

Our practice can best be categorised as micro-business. Yet we can't be happier. We focus on what we are passionate about, and we spend very little time bothering about things that do not concern us. We have the total freedom to create value-added ideas and translate them into viable products and or services. We execute them when we have a job to do. We spend our free time either thinking about the issues that we like to solve, or we chill out by reading books, doing our favorite sports etc. And when we are charged up we are ready to take the plunge and devote our undivided attention on the project we set for ourselves. The outcome is usually invigorating and satisfying.


5. A small professional practice is succeeding because they’re good, not because they’re big.
We have witnessed that even in the best-of-breed organisations that are world-class leaders, their employees can be just so-so, or worse, demoralised. They spend time fretting or looking around for a job. Such attitudes tie up precious resources, and one dare say, translate into mediocre results and returns. Smaller outfits with an attitude are focused on what they are doing, full of energy and the owners are usually highly motivated individuals and passionate about their work. The end result is a high MVA Ratio with limited invested capital committed making shareholder value creation a reality.


6. A small shop has an owner who greets you by name.
It is because he understands what it takes to please his customers, and is sincere in doing so.

Keywords: micro businesses, micro markets, MVA Ratio, shareholder value



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