Ode to a Mechanical Pencil

Oh pencil, how thou thwart me
You tantalize me with your fancy name
Your sleek design
The fact that you came with a friend

And six months later
You have left me alone and bereft
Both of you
And your friend from long ago, too

I have purchased two more replacements
I hope they last
I really hope they last
I rely on you and want you to be part of my life

Make Your Life Extraordinary

Those were the last words to our Design and Creativity class today:  "Make your life extraordinary".  They were from the movie The Dead Poets Society.  I still get a little tight inside and a little misty when I think about it.  That seemed to be the most profound thing anyone has said to us so far.

Today was lots of fun.  I laughed a lot, which was great because it was like shaking the poor muscles that were complaining about going to pilates this morning.  It's also a great stress reliever.

We did all kinds of things: learned models on how to generate ideas and be more creative, how to review things using De Bono's six thinking hats, and we drafted a note to ourselves with out top 3 personal, career and fun goals.

Well, I have some reading to do.  (Big surprise!)

Creativity and Innovation Videos

Interested in creativity and innovation?

Here are the videos I have to watch for tomorrow.  I didn't expect them to be about an hour each.  Yikes!  You have been warned!

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/357/
http://www.mindjet.com/us/download/
http://www.visualthesaurus.com

I am part way through the IDEO one (that's the first video).

All Information Is Available to Everyone All the Time

Today we are meeting with a former venture capitalist.  He says VCs are looking for:

·         Market opportunity

·         Leadership

·         Unfair advantage – like patents, etc.

·         Big brothers – like IBM launching the success of Microsoft and Intel

·         Right economy

Now, if you are an entrepreneurially minded person, the top three areas that VCs are interested in right now are:

·         Technology

·         Biotechnology

·         Green & clean technology

More narrowly, if you want to pursue a technology venture, the top three areas of focus are:

·         Mobility and smartphones – especially application development

·         Social networking

·         Cloud computing

The main reason they are looking at cloud computing (defined as using an application without having it loaded on your server) as one of the next big things is because “things obsolete themselves quickly”.

Simplicity is the underlying reason for success in the digital world.

Remember:  all information is available to everyone all the time.

It's Creativity and Innovation Week!

I am so excited about this week.  Apprehensive, too, since there is so much work that has to be done in a short period of time.

Surprisingly, we were given time in class to work on our case study for Managing the New Venture.  Lucky for us, really.  We ended up with a 170-page case.  And now all we know is beer.  Beer, brew pubs, and nice food.  I'll go to this place if I ever have to go to Ithaca (and the place actually opened).

Yoga yesterday morning was great!  Other people found it to be torture.  I think it goes to show that attending as regularly as I have has helped considerably over the past 5 months.  Gotta keep it up!!  I am kind of busy finalizing my contribution to the case study, so will miss going to the gym this morning.  If we finish at a reasonable time today, I might go before heading home.

Your Response Is Always A Choice

"When you focus on what's wrong, you get more of what's wrong. Conversely, when you focus on what's right, you get more of what's right."  - Gina Mollicone-Long

Your response is always a choice. Whether you know it or not, either you make the right choice, or the wrong one is made for you. Discover how to make the most powerful choice so you can get anything your heart desires by visiting the link for Gina's new book: http://www.ginaml.com/think

Thoughts on Statistics

These quotes are courtesy of my wonderful husband:

98% of all statistics are made up. ~Author Unknown


Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. ~Aaron Levenstein

Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentage people, you should be perfectly comfortable. ~Bobby Bragan, 1963

He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts - for support rather than for illumination. ~Andrew Lang

Do not put your faith in what statistics say until you have carefully considered what they do not say. ~William W. Watt

Then there is the man who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth of six inches. ~W.I.E. Gates

The average human has one breast and one testicle. ~Des McHale

200 Days of H - E - Double Hockey Sticks

We had our first class weekend since the break and I need sleep.  But there ain't no rest for the wicked.

Here's what is going on over the next little while:

• I am working on my take home "Individual Case Exam" for marketing.  Since I didn't realize that the Earl Grey tea in my cupboard was "free trade, organic" when I bought it, I must not be part of the target demographic for Nestle's Partners' Blend.  It's due tomorrow night.
• On the 17th, I need to submit a reflection paper on my entrepreneurship assessment.  If I asked you to complete an assessment, please get it in soon!  If I didn't ask you and you want to do one (it'll take about 10-15 mins), let me know!  If you have already sent it to me: Thank YOU!
• On the 18th, our team marketing paper on a B2B service is due.  I have two deliverables for it tonight and I think we have a Skype call on Wednesday.  And we'll have a round robin review (hmm -  new acronym:  RRR) on the weekend.  There's an email with all the details in my school inbox. I better look at it.
• On the 20th, I have to submit a memo and MS Project assignment.  My book from Chapters.Indigo (MS Project 2000 for Dummies) has not arrived yet...  I ordered it before Christmas, and was shipped when a few other books I ordered were shipped, so I am getting to be a little irritated.  The one copy the library has is booked for months, so not much help to me.
• And then, on Saturday, January 23rd (or whatever the date is on the Saturday), we start our Creativity and Innovation (C&I) session.  That goes for a whole week.  I am looking forward to it.  I think I'll be a bit of a turning point for me.  It'll be a lot of work.
• In between all that, I still have readings to do for the various courses that we will be taking during C&I.

They call the period from January through to the end of August "100 days of hell".  Well, my math doesn't work that way.  I see it as closer to 240 days.  It's a tough period because there are NO BREAKS.  We just go to school, go to work, do homework, submit assignments...  Someone in their infinite wisdom said we should take a break somewhere in there.  One of the guys on my team is going to Disney World the first week of February.  Another is going to Cuba in March.  I guess it helps that their employers are paying for their MBA studies.  And give them the time off work with pay.  I knew what my deal was when I started, but would like to have some time off from everything somewhere in there.  Someone suggested a Disney Cruise because they keep the kids busy so the parents can relax.  Something to think about.

Well, I must go and get some money to pay the cleaning lady and then pick up my chickies at Brownies.

Remind me to book a massage therapy treatment.  I can hardly move my neck.  Thanks.

And Then There Were Five...

Yep, it's true.  Ottawa Team D is now a team of five.  They say that we will be OK.  The "sweet spot" for team size is 5-8.  My personal coach said that we will be more effective.  Our team coach said that we'll need to be superior communicators.  Let the fun begin!

Accountability

We all benefit by being held accountable; whether it is losing weight, getting our finances in order, or completing a master’s degree.  And if you do not have a mechanism in place to keep you accountable, it is pretty easy to “forget” a goal, skip some tasks, or let something slide.

For that reason, I am looking for accountability buddies.  For me, an accountability buddy is someone supportive of my goals and helps me stay motivated.  They genuinely want to see me succeed.  And I would provide the same support and cheering for them.

Together, we would share our insights of each other and challenge each other to keep moving.  We will help each other redirect our steps back onto the path chosen.  We will call a halt to fearful thinking and get ourselves focussed on the positive.

Many of us have gotten sidetracked and forgotten our dreams.  I want to live my dreams and am asking for help to get there.