Studying Hard!

It’s been a very busy period since the beginning of the MBA program and, I may have underestimated the amount of time the program would require of me. The two weeks residency session - in Cornell and Queens- was amazing (and very rigorous). I met half of the entire class and, my team. The professors are great and, have the ability to engage a class over a 6-8 hr period. I’m back in Kingston and commuting almost every weekend to Toronto/Markham for my classes - a 3 hr drive from where I live. Crazy, isn't it?

We had our accounting final exam this past Sunday (yes, a Sunday!), and it felt strange writing an exam in a university setting after a hiatus from it. Good news is that I was able to write the exam in Kingston. Accounting has never been one of my favourite subjects but John did an amazing job in helping me understand accounting (for the first time in my life)! Finance exam is next and Business Decision model is around the corner! Anyways, enough of school and back to Innovation.

I've been reading various synopsis of what may happen to Blackberry. It's strange that a company that once had a major share of the market is now struggling for survival. Even-though I want to be optimistic that BB is still a going concern, I must confess that the outlook for them is dim and the end to a fairy Canadian tale may be imminent. It's another bitter lesson in Innovation, underlining the importance of continuously assess/anticipate your customers' ever changing needs and responding quickly to them. It's also a lesson in humility: to never think that you are too big to fail and respect your competitors. As a Canadian, I really hope that they can turn things around; it's looking like they are in line to become the next Kodak, Nortel, Blockbuster.

In an era of unprecedented change, business complexities, increased consumer literacy, advanced technological platform and, accelerated delivery of new ideas, the market is very unforgiving to companies that are slow in delivering innovative solutions that meet customers' need!

Patrick

Back to School...

It's amazing how much we can achieve when we refuse to allow fear hold us back!

It's been a busy six months of the year and I haven't had time to write on this blog. Within this period I've had the opportunity to learn more about myself, about leadership and, to get a clearer understanding of my purpose in life. One of the most exciting thing that is happening in my life is that I will be going back to school next week. I'm starting the Cornell-Queen's EMBA program and excited about all the things I'm going to learn and, new friends I will make. I will be spending some time in residence at both Cornell and Queens with weekend boardroom classes in Markham. It's going to be a rough ride for the next 17 months, but, I'm excited because it's a dream come true for me. I'm happy that I took the first step in applying to the program without knowing where funding will come from or/and if I will even be accepted. God is faithful and I have the financing needed to embark on this journey.

"I can do what you can't do and you can do what I can't do. Together we can do great things." ~ Mother Teresa

One of the things about the program is the amount of "rich" materials from both schools you have access to. Even though I'm starting next month, I already have some assignments and reading materials ahead of the classes in Cornell. As I work through the reading materials, especially those on leading and managing organizations, a common theme that seems to be popping out at me is around self awareness and authenticity of leadership. I think that the first step in becoming an effective leader is in getting to know yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. I think a fully self-aware leader will be more effective in selecting the right team that will complement his areas of weakness and not compete with him. Poor leaders try to learn and master every thing they need in order to lead their organization. Great leaders are fully aware of their capabilities and hire the best individuals to complement their strengths. A leader who is great at visioning and poor at executing would do well to hire someone who is excellent at executing (and maybe not as visionary as the leader). The biggest mistakes some leaders make is to hire folks that think, talk, act, behave, and execute like they do. Now, hiring a strong team is not an excuse for the leader to wallow in ignorance. Great leaders continue to learn from their team because they understand that a leader must be able to fly at 30,000 feet and, also be able to crawl at ground zero. They also appreciate the Law of Blind-spot which states that every leader has several blindspots, so they hire a team diverse enough to cover their blind-spots as a leader.

Well, I'm looking forward to school and, excited about the future. I've come to realize that I cannot afford to leave my personal development to my environment, the media or even to my workplace. The responsibility to learn and grow lies on my shoulders. I've learnt that growth is not automatic, neither does it happen by chance; it's deliberate and must be planned for. I've also learnt that it's never foolish to begin preparing for a transition no matter how many years away it is or where you are in your career (Muriel Wilkins). Not everybody will be able to attend a business school (or any other formal education); but everybody can continue to learn and grow in the area of their calling in order to fulfill their purpose.

"Income seldom exceeds personal development" - Jim Rohn

You Are Unique

Patrick

Favourite 2012 Quotes on Innovation

I've been inspired by the things I've learnt about Innovation in 2012 and looking forward to learning more about this subject in 2013. Below are some of my favourite quotes on the topic of innovation:

“Innovation is anything, but business as usual.” - Anonymous

"...if we don't continue to value innovation and take risks, we leave ourselves open to future disruptive technologies" - Deidre H Caldbeck

"Pursuing strategies that play to your strengths but undermine your partners is a recipe for failure" - Ron Adner on Collaborative Innovation

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it" - Alan Kay

"Very successful companies ensure that their company culture does not stifle innovation across all levels of the organization. " - Patrick Egbunonu

"Involved people make for better innovation" - Brad Bird

"I always view problems as opportunities in work clothes" - Henry Kaiser

"...Business model innovation requires the creation of actionable and purposeful networks" - Saul Kaplan

"To be innovative, you need to ask: where else has someone seen and solved that problem?" - Clayton Christensen

"As we study innovation, we need to consider whether the question is better answered in a fast- or slow-moving industry context." -Clayton Christensen

"The culture of a company goes a long way to determine if innovation thrives or dies"

"Research has shown that most innovation happens as the result of something outside your industry being applied to your own. "- Tony Hsie

"Innovation is irrelevant. Useful innovation is what you want. "- John Kotter

"A hedgehog concept is not a goal to be the best, it is an understanding of what you can be the best at"- Jim Collins

“Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them could not stand being laughed at.” - Anon

"The enterprise that does not innovate inevitably ages and declines.- PF. Drucker

"Business model innovation is really just learning how to combine and recombine capabilities in new ways to deliver value"- Saul Kaplan

"Customer experience must be at the heart of any innovation and design process"- Saul Kaplan

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" - Steve Jobs

"Innovation almost always is not successful the first time out" -Clayton Christensen

"The most important thing we do to encourage innovation is give people the freedom to fail"...Robert Kotick

"Companies must solve a cultural and accounting dilemma that serves as a barrier to innovation" - Globe and Mail

"The more you practice, the more you discover your strengths and weaknesses"- Ade Sobanjo

"Innovation is the only sustainable strategy for creating long term value" - Gary Hamel

"If there's a way to do it better, either find it or find someone that can help you find it" - Patrick Egbunonu

Happy New Year!

Patrick