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