Assignment 13A - Reading Reflection No 1

13A - Reading Reflection No 1

1) a. What surprised you the most?

         The thing that surprised me the most about Steve Jobs was his volatile and often unpredictable behavior. The author notes that he exhibits signs of a personality disorder that went un-diagnosed for quite awhile. In my opinion, I saw signs of bipolar disorder in his obsessive behavior that was often entirely unpredictable. He hated things and people with a passion but alternatively he also loved people and pushed them to be their very best. I had seen the movies (both, with Michael Fassbender and Ashton Kutcher) and knew he wasn't entirely the nicest person, however just how unpredictable he was came as a surprise to me.

   b. What about the entrepreneur did you admire the most?

        His tenacity. He was ousted from the company that he himself created and instead of being depressed and mourning over it, he went on and acquired Pixar and built that into one of the most well-known animation companies in existence, aside from DreamWorks. Every Disney-loving kid/teen/adult knows (and loves) Pixar, and I admire his efforts in taking a small company built on a dream, building it and launching it into what it is today. Along the lines of Pixar, I admire his ability to step back. I believe during his time at Pixar was the turning point for him as a leader. The team had a vision and he had slight input but let them ultimately guide the company to its fruition, all while overseeing the general operation. This was a direct opposite of his approach when working on the MacIntosh with his volatile and expressive opinions. I also admired his simple life when he and his wife married. It is mentioned in the book that his children didn't know that they were rich, and every time I see someone of notoriety living their life that way I admire it.

  c. What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?   

       The thing that I least admired was also the thing that surprised me the most. I disliked the way he spoke to his team, other teams, competitors, etc. His most famous quote that was used the entire book was "This is Shit". I felt that was a harsh and inappropriate way of speaking to people. 

  d. Did the entrepreneur face adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

      I mentioned in part b about his tenacity. Yes, he encountered failure. Many products of Apple that hit the shelves, particularly in the early days, were absolute flops. On a larger scale, he essentially failed at effectively managing his own company and was ousted. The thing I admired most was his ability to keep moving, acquiring Pixar and creating NeXT almost immediately after being forced out of Apple. Instead of moping, he just kept moving until Apple finally came back looking for their visionary.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

     Steve Jobs was constantly learning. Throughout his entire career he was fascinated by learning new things and being the leader in the tech industry. This required the constant acquiring of knowledge to remain on top of consumer demands and wishes. Steve Jobs knew what the customer wanted before the customer even knew. He also knew how to motivate people. His team would say "this can't be done" and he would turn around and say "do it" and they would. It was often referred to as his "Reality Distortion Field" because he would, in essence, distort reality and accomplish what was previously thought couldn't be done.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

    I keep coming back to this, but his mood swings were very confusing, as I'm sure it was confusing for the people experiencing them. He would shun people and call them "shit" but in the same day would also motivate and form lasting and meaningful relationships. Maybe it's the mental illness factor that was mentioned in the book, but this was the most confusing part to me. 

4) If you were able to ask the Entrepreneur two questions what would they be? Why?

    Did you ever think about slowing down at any point? --- He constantly had multiple projects and visions going through his mind at any given point, I'm interested to see if he ever thought about slowing down and leading a more simple life.

    Why didn't you let your failures make the most of you? What advice could you give to someone experiencing this? -- Not sure this needs an explanation. I admired this about him and I feel his advice would have been good for some people who needed it.

5) What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

    This question makes me laugh because he was notorious for making people work overtime to complete a project, and through his "Reality Distortion Field" people were motivated to get things done. I believe at one point in the book they mention the quote "I am a firm believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." I adopted this as my personal motto at the beginning of my career, and five years down the line I find myself having a lot of luck both in my professional and personal life. While I believe people should work hard during their time at work, I also believe in a strong work-life balance. So I would say I semi-share the same opinion.

Assignment 11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You:

Hello! I am a 24-year old UF Online Student who works Full Time for a Non-Profit Association as a Full-Time Event Planner. We do 60+ events per year and rarely repeat the same venue, so I am in constant communication with various restaurants and values. I have an extensive Hotel/Hospitality background beginning at the Front Desk and moving up into Sales. For this reason, my skills include creating a friendly atmosphere and I have developed good interpersonal skills. Seeing the various communication styles through my current position, I have noticed both the good and the bad. In fact, for the same event at three different locations in the past three months, I've had what is probably the worst experience, the best experience, and one that simply does not stick out to me. Because of how much the experiences fluctuate, it led me to develop my idea for my product. As mentioned before, this is a Portal that will help to increase communication between management and floor employees. Every change that is made, additions, etc. will send a push notification to all Points of Sale locations as well as the individual employees smart devices they have on them. This will help promote accountability where the employee cannot say "You never told me". Alongside this, a training service would be implemented to help teach the employees how to properly use it, and through this service management and employees will work alongside the team to develop the best way to implement the usage. It'll have everyone on board and allow them feel like their voice is being heard rather than management simply expecting them to do it their way. Should this business idea become a crucial part of my life, I would be doing the initial selling and then implementation while growing a team of salespeople and product coaches alongside me. The product would essentially become my life, at least for the time being.

2) What are You offering to customers?

In theory, I'm offering a solution to their communication problems. This likely won't fix everything but will help to provide the framework to building employee accountability and create an effective process. It would be subscription-based, where the management and employees would have access to the portal based on how long they subscribed for, and additional add-ons would be available based on the amount of departments, how specialized the management wants to get, or if they want to have continuous training over the span of certain amounts of time. The biggest thing that I need to accomplish is figuring out the best way to make restaurant managers and owners recognize that they need this product. 

3) Who are you offering it to?

Restaurant managers and owners. Line-level employees will be affected by the product, but they're not the decision-maker. By appealing to the decision-makers, they can determine if it will be worth it. My target audience would be mid-to-high-level restaurants with 15+ employees. Anything less likely will not have the revenue to find value, and also will have too few employees for it to matter. The larger chain restaurants (such as Applebees, Chili's, etc) will be a difficult sell because they usually have Standard Operating Procedures company-wide. The mid-level chains or individually owned are my primary target (such as Bar Louie, World of Beer, or local chains).

4) Why do they care?

They care because the problem I'm addressing affects not only their day-to-day operation but sometimes their revenue. In cases where a food allergy is not communicated and a guest has an allergic reaction, a potential lawsuit may be pursued. If a guest is notified too late that an item they requested is out of stock because the server didn't know, the guest will likely request compensation. Through the portal I'm providing, it creates a simple and seamless way for employees and managers to communicate non-verbally and eliminate some of these quick situations.

5) What are your core competencies?

For one, my background. I have worked in little rinky-dink hotels on the beach to a world-renowned five-star resort and have experienced a lot, most first-hand. I've given the compensation myself and have been the one to be written up for a mistake that was not communicated to me. I always felt like there was room to grow where communication is concerned. Even with my position now, I see it as it's happening where I ask one server a big question and then I am asked the same question by someone else. One thing about the product itself I think is unique is the service that is associated with it. It sets itself apart because there's all sorts of Portals out there, but few come with a training opportunity that will allow employees and managers to create an operating procedure that pleases both.

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I believe all aspects fit together with my product, although I believe the service-end may be a tad bit stronger. While most people will utilize the product itself, what is unique is the customized training that is provided. This may cause a future where people will use the service more than the product as I feel it could cover a variety of things including management/leadership training, and other difficult areas where developing and efficiently implementing Standard Operating Procedures has proven to be too much.

Assignment 9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

WHO: 

• Through speaking with my five interviewees, I found that although my product applied directly to Restaurants, there were some restaurants that didn't apply, based on size and revenue production. Two of my interviewees brought up points about "Mom and Pop" type establishments, the example being given as a bagel shop. It's small enough and has few enough employees that their communication styles would differ (and likely be more efficient) than those with numerous employees.
• One interviewee stated that Restaurants that do not produce a certain threshold of revenue would benefit simply because they cannot afford it. This coincides with the size of the Restaurant as well.
• Another point brought up is current training methods already in place. If a restaurant already has a strict and effective Operating Procedure, they would likely not invest in something that they already have. If a restaurant feels they communicate well and have an efficient way of doing things they will shy away from the product.
• A point was brought up that this product/service can also expand from being exclusively Restaurants to service hotels/theme parks/other hospitality-related teams as it requires large scale communication to ensure these run smoothly.

WHAT:

• This solution is designed to promote better communicate, not better management. It is a tool that can be used to assist in managing and create better energy,  however it will not "fix" a bad manager.

WHY:

• In some ways, I believe there isn't a need, and with others, it's in a different way. For example, the "Mom and Pop" type establishments likely don't need a new communication method as they're size is pretty telling. The ones that cannot afford it need it the same way, but cannot afford it so they would need to look for it in a different method. Those that currently have a successful operating procedure likely still have the need as well, but there's always opportunity to refine your communication style to adapt to the ever-changing environment.

                                   Inside the Boundary                           Outside the Boundary

Who is In        Mid-size to Large Restaurants with            "Mom & Pop" type establishments

                         a specific hierarchy                                     where everyone picks up each other's slack

                         Large chains & Franchises                          Restaurants that do not produce enough 

                                                                                              revenue to pay for it

                         Other hospitality avenues- hotels,               Locations with efficent & effective 

                         theme parks, multi-departmental                 Standard Operating Procedures

What                An effective and efficient method of          A "fix" for poorly trained or under-

                         communication between management        qualified managers

                         and employees on the floor.         

Why                 Haven't found an Operating Procedure that works

                         Lack of direction from owners or General Managers

                         Too many employees/too much going on

Assignment 10A - Elevator Pitch 1

Assignment 8A - Solving the Problem

Assignment 8A - Solving the Problem

• I was unable to complete Assignment 7A in time to publish as I was out of town for a conference related specifically to my industry, and therefore not my prototypical customer. After doing the assignment on my own, my hypothesis is as follows:
• "There is a disconnect in communication between managers and line-level employees when a significant change in standard routine occurs".
• By "significant change", I mean that there is a variation from the norm- ie. someone in a party has a food allergy, a large event is booked/comes in, an emergency occurs.
• My solution to this problem is a Portal in which a restaurant can communicate and assist with these changes to ensure everyone has the correct information. A Standard Procedure that typically occurs already is a "Pre-Shift meeting" between employees and managers, however throughout the shift things continue to change, so the information sometimes becomes outdated.
• Through the portal I am proposing as a solution, this can be a webpage in which each server, dishwasher, manager, etc. has a login that communicates directly with their smart phone. The login stores email and phone numbers and sends push notifications in place of sending texts or e-mails so as these intermittent changes occur, a manager or administrator can update and send a notification to those activated on shift. It will then be up to the responsibility of the server or dishwasher to check their phone intermittently to receive these updates.
• For example- a Networking event of 100 people is booked for 1 week from the current date. As a manager, you will send a notification to the entire staff notifying of a large party and specific requests that are noted. Day of, an automatic notification is sent to all those on shift reminding them of the large party. Throughout the week prior, drink and food that has run out or been replaced is added/removed from this portal so come the day of the event, you can ensure everyone has everything they need. The client's name is included as well as a picture so that all staff can recognize when the Client arrives and make sure their needs are met.