Halfway Reflection

This class has put me way outside of my comfort zone. I have never written a blog before, and I’ve always struggled to keep up with online classes. I had to be proactive, as many of the assignments for this course had to be started well in advance of their due date. At the beginning of the semester, I went through and looked at all the assignments and put all of the due dates in the calendar on my phone as well as on my laptop. I think doing so definitely helped me to keep up with all of the requirements for the course.

I definitely felt like I wanted to give up straight from the beginning. A lot of the assignments are very intimidating, especially the ones that involving interviewing multiple people for 10-15 minutes. I’m an introvert and I hate small talk and I hate networking because it makes me feel uncomfortable. Doing those interviews or even getting in front of a camera for an elevator pitch for an invisible online audience is scary. And no matter how many times I do those interviews they always feel fake and cumbersome. Obviously I did not give up as I am still here posting, but it’s hard to say that anything has really pulled me through when I am still here struggling with those assignments. But that’s just how I am, and there really isn’t any “getting over it.” There’s only doing and moving on. If there was anything that did pulled me through, it would be the knowledge that I need a good grade in this class to outweigh the C I will likely be getting in Finance this semester. Yay for professors who are trying to fail you! (not).

I feel like I have always been a very tenacious person, as I tend to be very head strong and once I set my mind to something I usually see it through. But I would say this class has actually made it harder for me to keep that attitude and mindset just because of how far outside my comfort zone many of the assignments are. This class is very hands on despite it being an online class, which is awesome but it is a very different style of learning and it definitely takes some time to get used to.

If I were offer three tips to next semester students, they would be:

1.     Be proactive! Read all the assignments during syllabus week, start well in advance on the ones that will take a while, and find the books you want to read at your local library as soon as you get the reading list and put the ones not available yet on hold.

2.     Think futuristic! To get into that tenacious mindset, think about how your actions now affect your future. And not necessarily just your grades or GPA at the end of the semester, think about how doing well in this class will allow you to graduate, and the skills you learn will be the deciding factor to that dream job you want.

3.     Start with friends and family. The easiest people to interview will be your friends and family as they are much less likely to judge you and can help you get over social anxiety. Even if they don’t fit the segment or target market you need to interview for the assignment, I would suggest to interview them anyways. Doing so will give you more practice and will help you when approaching strangers to interview.

Queception

[kyoo - sep - shuh n]
A portmanteau from the words question and deception.

Queception (n) - the art of not answering questions; the act of answering a question with an answer that does not actually answer the question.


I came up with the word from watching some of the press coverage of the current presidential election. It seems as if every single candidate is hiding something, and many of them have gotten really good at avoiding tough questions by using deceptive and distracting tactics to avoid giving a real answer. Some of these tactics include: excessive talking that starts out on topic but ends on a completely different topic; answering a question very broadly without giving any details as to how something will happen; repeating a previous answer; and answering a question with with another question (question inception).

I used queception as often as I could over the past 2 weeks, which was actually pretty easy to do with all of the election coverage and the political conversations that spawn from it. I definitely had quite a few people laugh at it just because they knew it wasn't a thing (yet), but many were pretty accepting of it and I even had one friend who used it later in the same conversation. I was also able to convince my mom that it was already a thing which was pretty funny. I think that this is something that we have all seen recently and is pretty easily identifiable when it happens so I definitely think that it could catch on!

Idea Napkin No. 1

1.     Me: My name is Briana and I am in the Innovation Academy here at UF and will be a senior with the completion of this summer semester. I am studying Information Systems and Operations Management and will also be receiving a minor in Innovation when I graduate. I am a very creative person who has a knack for thinking outside the box. I have also been told that I am a very good writer. I have experience in data analytics and decision analysis as well as some basic programming knowledge. I am certified in both Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. Despite how hard it is to break into the business, I want to eventually work in the sports industry doing data and player analytics. I could see myself trying to start this business concept. I’ve heard from several people that would buy the product and they definitely agree that there is a need for it, especially here in Florida because it rains so much. However, I do think over time it would definitely become more of a side project. My true passion is in sports and statistics.

2.     The What: The products that I am offering is a line of new and improved rain gear by a new rain gear company called RainSaver:

The Packbrella is an umbrella for your backpack. It would attach at the top of the arm loops in the backpack and would come down over the backpack almost like a turtle shell or one of those baby stroller shades. Just hook it on before you leave if you think there is a chance it might rain, and when you’re ready to use it simply press the button on the side and voila! Your stuff will now stay dry. Would be available in regular as well as large for use with hiking packs.

The RainSaver Raincoat is an improvement on the traditional raincoat out there that keeps your face from getting wet with the addition of flexible, detachable visor at the top of the hood. It would also be available in a winter option that would come with an added layer of insulation for those cold rainy days.

The PackSaver Raincoat is a raincoat for you and your backpack. It would be just like the RainSaver Raincoat described above, but would have added room in the back so that you could wear it over your backpack. The added backpack area when not in use folds in like the sides of folded a paper bag and then can be Velcro-ed to stay shut.

3.     The Who: The target market is anyone who does not enjoy themselves or their stuff getting wet when it rains. From there, I think the 3 main sub-markets to target would be: college students who walk to class; people living in condensed areas such as New York City as many of them often walk at least part of the way to work; and finally travelers/hikers due to their need to carry a lot of stuff while susceptible to weather conditions.

4.     The Why: Many of the products that are currently out there fail to keep us completely dry. Use an umbrella and you still get wet. Use a rain coat and not only can you not see with the rain pounding in your face, but you still get wet. And what’s worse is that there are virtually no products on the market designed to keep your stuff dry.

So let’s take a look at a scenario: Let’s say you’re walking to work (because you obviously care about the environment and want to cut down on carbon emissions), and out of nowhere it starts pouring (like it often does in Florida), and all you have is an ordinary raincoat. You have to then make the split second decision to either heroically give up your raincoat to save your laptop (which has on it the only copy of your plan to rule the world), OR you can choose to keep yourself somewhat-not really dry while wearing the raincoat like it was meant to be worn. So what do you do?!

Well, that’s where RainSaver come in. With RainSaver rain gear, you no longer have to choose between keeping yourself dry or keeping your stuff dry. So not only is your stuff now staying dry, but you will as well. And RainSaver products are guaranteed to keep you dryer than ordinary rain gear with their new innovative design.

5.     Core Competencies: The first thing that sets me apart is the fact that a backpack umbrella does not currently exist on the market. The second thing is design and innovation. The improved design and added features to keep your face and your stuff from getting wet set the RainSaver raincoat line apart from those that are already out there on the market.

I think that with all of these elements, along with constant innovation and improvement, could actually be successful. You have your Northfaces and Columbia’s that produce top notch outdoor gear, but not a single one of them has thought of these design changes or ideas. None of them think to ever change the actual design of what has become standard. Instead they focus on innovations in material and quality. That’s what makes these products actually stand out. And by producing them efficiently and using innovations in production can help to cut costs while still making products of top notch quality to compete with the outdoor retailers already out there.

Reading Reflection No. 1

Week 7 Reading Reflection
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

1.     What surprised you the most?

Something that definitely surprised me was learning that Steve Jobs was adopted. It’s hard to imagine the world today without iPhones or any of the other Apple products that are now a major part of our day to day lives, and had Steve Jobs not been adopted Apple may not have ever even existed.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admired Steve Jobs’ ingenuity and vision for the company. He was an extremely determined individual and that drive led him to create new products and sell them to a market that barely even existed at the time. He perfected the art of pitching ideas and new products to investors and consumers, and in the process set the standard for many pieces of technology.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I least admired his personality and the way that he treated his employees. He was very manipulative and cruel to a lot of the people around him.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so what did they do about it?

When Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in 1985, he went on to create the company NeXT, but it ultimately failed because it was considered too costly. It was eventually turned into a software company and was bought out by the now struggling Apple in 1997, which brought Steve Jobs back on as an advisor and eventually saved the struggling company.

2.     What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Steve jobs was a very futuristic person. He could clearly envision his next big idea in his head long before they became reality.

3.     Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
There wasn’t really a particular part of the book that I found confusing, however I found some Steve Jobs’ actions, such as him choosing not to furnish his house beyond the bare essentials, confusing because I could relate to doing them.

4.     If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything, and if so what?
I’d be interested to see if he would change the way he acted towards people and the way he treated the people around him.
In one sentence, what you say is the ultimate purpose of life?
I’m honestly just curious about this one. Would he say money? Success? Happiness? Family? Everybody views the world and life differently, and I’d love to hear what he’d say to this one.

5.     For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I think Steve Jobs viewed hard work to be the constant pursuit of perfection. The point of this being that nothing will ever be absolutely 100% perfect, but to make that your goal means to continually look for improvements not only in your own work but in the world around you. I definitely do agree with this opinion. There is always room for improvement, whether that be in work, in already existing products, or improvements on things we don’t even realize are a problem yet. Having this kind of mindset can open your eyes to so many different possibilities and opportunities in the world.

Tweaking the Innovation

For this post, I decided to take another look at one of the problems I talked about in my Bug List and the solution I mentioned with it – Backpack Umbrellas. I had a little fun with this and ended up expanding on the idea, so I’m going to say that there should just be a company out there that designs new and innovative rain products as well as improves upon the ones already out there. Let’s call it Rain Savers. Listed below are the different possible products and options I was able to come up with (so far). Each product would serve as a revenue driver, and each of the different available options would be the different ways to earn revenue from it.

The Packbrella – An umbrella for your backpack!

The benefit: keeps your backpack and everything in it dry.

The Tangible: Attaches to your backpack at the top of the arm loops (still allows for the backpack to be worn). Would come down over your backpack almost like a turtle shell.

Rainsaver Raincoat – An improvement to the normal raincoat already out there.

The tangible: This raincoat has a flexible visor that attaches to the top of the hood.

The benefit: Now your face will no longer get wet as it would if you were just wearing a normal raincoat.

PackSaver Raincoat – A raincoat for you AND your backpack!

The tangible: This would be just like the Rainsaver Raincoat mentioned above, but with added room in the back so there is room for you to wear it while still wearing your backpack.

The benefit: not only is your face staying dry, but your backpack stays nice and dry as well.

Additional ways to introduce innovation into these products would be to allow them to come in a variety of different color and design options as well as have the option for custom designs printed on the Packbrella (core). This gives customers the benefit to personalize their own look. Different sizes would be available for the raincoats (tangible), and the raincoats could also come in winter options, which would add a layer of insulation on the inside to keep the wearer warm (tangible).