Disruptive or Sustaining: That is the question!

As we sit in class today, we start having a discussion about the different products and services that were introduced to the market that could be classified as: disruptive or sustaining.

Just so we're all on the same page, disruptive innovations revolves around the idea of an innovation creating a new (and unexpected) market by applying different set of values. On the other hand, sustaining innovations focus on revolutionary and evolutionary innovations by either: creating a new market by allowing consumers to solve a problem in a new way, or by improving a product in an existing way that consumers are expecting.

Let's take a look at some of our everyday examples. One of the items we can all relate to is our friendly refrigerator that sits in our kitchen. Some people fail to realize how much of an impact it had in our market, and why it would be considered such a disruptive innovation. With a product like that, ice boxes and our favourite neighbourhood milkman is no longer necessary as we can simply purchase milk from the grocery store and just store it for whenever we require to use it.

Another example of disruptive innovations is our digital cameras. I have about four of them in my household (I say "about" because I am sure my clumsy siblings lost one by now) and its quite interesting to realize how much of an impact it had on the market. The photography market used to suffer from horrible quality pictures and the long shutter lag would drive them nuts. Now, it's the least of their concerns as anyone can be walking around with hundreds of these high quality pictures literally in their pockets, stored inside of a memory card. You also no longer need to go by a shop and drop your films off to get it developed over a long duration of time. I guess the impatience in us really wins at the end of the day!

What about the sustaining innovations, you ask? Well, as much as I try to pretend like I walk around with a 20/20 vision, I cannot hide the fact that I wear contact lenses. Although, it isn't exactly putting the eye glass market out of business, it definitely got some attention as many people made that switch as soon as they could. Yet, there are always some people who can't wear them, don't want to wear them, or just want to puke at the thought of touching their eyeballs. This allows the market to continue selling eye glasses and even adapt the option of supplying contact lens to you.

One more example of sustaining innovations? Okay, but now you're asking for too much! You're taking up the time I could be spending shopping for goods on eBay! Speaking of which, it'd be a shame for me to leave out the option of online shopping, considering the amount of time I spend doing it. Our generation is getting lazier by the minute and being able to shop for goods online might just have as doing cartwheels for the first time in years! Stores are now using expanding their products/services to the virtual world and allowing you to buy what you want, and have it shipped to your front door. Talk about revolutionary!

If you're anything like me, you like to do things the traditional way and don't give in to these fancy disruptive and sustaining innovations. Now, excuse me while I put on my contact lenses, hop on the computer, watch TV on the web, with my WI-FI Internet connection.

Employment History

When I think back many years about all the places I worked, I noticed a few things. Firstly, I realized that I didn't really have any expectations for a specific wage or the type of job when I first started looking for a job.

My first job was with The Toronto Star, my brother already worked there and decided to pass the torch down to me because he was hired for another occupation. I never considered the fact that running from house-to-house on a cold winter day throwing newspapers for $6 an hour was a bad concept. The only thing that mattered was that my bank account was actually filling up with a positive number.

It was when I started comparing wages with other jobs did I realize that I was just above the border line for child labour! I immediately quit and got a job working at a Tim Horton's. Although the wage wasn't too great either, I really enjoyed working there because I made some great friends and I also started developing a passion for what I wanted to do in the future. I was fascinated by the system created to operation a Tim Horton's store, and I also realized that I LOVED working and communicationg with people.

I can honestly say that I stayed at Tim Horton's for a long time...maybe too long! I immediately started sweeping floors and cleaning garbage cans, but eventually became a supervisor for that location. When I found out about another opportunity to work with people, I jumped on it immediately. I had a friend approach me about a network marketing company that involves doing presentations and meeting people, while earning commision for each sale every single month. This seemed like something I was looking for all my life so I didn't even hestiate to get involved.

I am always open to looking for job positions that involve working with people and meeting people. What is your passsion when you are job hunting?

Everyday Information Systems!

After spending a class learning about “Information System” (a group of components that interact to product information), I started to realize that there are a number of activities we do each day that fall under the “Information System” category, without even realizing it.

First, take into consideration the five components that create the information system (IS: hardware, software, data, process, and people.

First thing in the morning, I have a habit of waking up and immediately hop on the laptop and checking my emails. Little did I realize, I was instantly involved in an IS. The hardware is the laptop, the software is Microsoft Windows, or the Hotmail website (http://www.hotmail.com/), the data is the emails that I have received, the process is when I physically checking my emails, and the people involves myself and the person who sent me the email.

Let's continue our day, on my way to school I will always ensure that I take my iPod with me to keep me entertained on my way to school. The hardware is the physical iPod, the software would be iTunes and the actual music player inside of the iPod, the data would be the songs that I am listening to, the process would include me physically listening to my music, and the people would involve myself and the artists who have recorded the music for me to listen to.

One final major IS that I use on a daily basis is my favourite little BlackBerry Curve. I am a cellphone addict and you will never catch me without the possession of one. The hardware is the physical blackberry phone, the software is the blackberry's programs that I use within the phone, the data is the phone calls (or text messages) I receive through my phone, the process is my speaking on the phone, or reading/responding to text messages, and the people involve myself and the people I am talking/texting on a daily basis.

There are many information systems that we use on a daily basis and these are just a few examples of the major ones I use every single day (and I MEAN every single day!). Can you name some that you use in a 24-hour cycle?

My Business Process at Tim Horton's

After being involved in a lecture about "business processes" I started to think about a business process that I have been involved with. The first thing that came to mind was my previous job at Tim Horton's. The business process behind it involves many aspects:

For example, when a customer comes up to the cash register and orders a donut, he/she is exchanging a payment for the product that they receive (donut).

Now let's follow that transaction and see where it goes: the cash register then sends that information to the inventory database as "quantity sold" and also take away the quantity from the physical inventory.

What happens to the information that is sent to the inventory database? Well, the remaining quantity on hand is then sent to the purchaser so that they can make a purchase order to the supplier. The supplier will then ship the goods to the receiving (who then fills up the phyiscal inventory), and also sends an invoice to the accounts payable. The accounts payable job is simply to receive a notifcation of goods received (from the receiving) and to make a payment for the supplier's invoice. What a system!

So the next time you visit a Tim Horton's and purchase a coffee or donut, think about the process your purchase goes through, and maybe even how many people you force to work with your purchase!

My Personal Goals and Desires

When one of my teachers first asked to write down my big reasons why I was in school and wanted to be successful: I was like “oh yeah! I know exactly what I want!” and I started listing down: Bentleys, mansions, lots and lots of money. My teacher looked at me, and he laughed, and he said “whatever works for you.” At that time I didn’t know what he meant, but it wasn’t long before I realized what he was trying to say.

I had to wake up at 6 every morning, I had to discipline myself to break my old habits and get out of my comfort zone, and I started to question whether I wanted to do this anymore. I started to realize that when times were hard, I didn’t feel like I needed the Bentley anymore. I was pretty comfortable taking the bus every day, why do I need to spend massive amount of money to travel to the same locations? I don’t need a mansion, what would I do with all the extra space? I don’t need all the extra money; I already make enough to get by. Then what did I do next? It’s not hard to tell, I was starting to quit.

So, here is the key thing I learned: don’t just desire the MATERIAL things in life. I mean, it is okay to want those as well but I realized why it needs to be more than just that. Most people are sick of working their dead-end jobs where they work 40 hours a week, and make barely enough to pay their bills. They can’t stand it anymore and that feeling of frustration and disgust is enough to keep them going on a daily basis. Some people have a passion for what they want to do, or who they want to be in the future, and just the constant reminder of that great future lifestyle keeps them focused, and that’s great too!

Here is my big reason why: to retire my parents. My dad used to work a very comfortable job in another country, and my mom never had to work a day in her life. They gave it all up to come to Canada so that I could get a better education. When we came here, they both started working the typical 9-5 jobs that would pay minimum wage and it killed me to see them like that. See, I love my parents enough to get up at 6 every morning and do whatever it takes to show my gratitude and let them put their feet up and relax, because I knew that even when times got hard, I would NEVER give up on my parents. I would NEVER quit.

Here is what I know about the no-quit attitude: we would never have a star like Michael Jordan if he didn’t live with the same mindset. He was cut from his high school basketball team and he cried himself to sleep for days. Do you think he had a strong enough desire to get back on his feet and keep playing basketball? Then you have the famous Beetles. They were turned down from record labels over and over, while being told that they don’t have a good sound. Can we agree that it was their no-quit attitude that helped make them into who they are today? Thomas Edison had teachers telling him that he was too stupid to learn anything, and Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper company because he lacked imagination. I think we can also agree that: sometimes when professionals give feedback, they have no clue what they are talking about.

Business Leaders I Admire

I can sit here all day discussing all the business leaders I admire, but if I had to single them out, Donald Trump would definitely be a name to be mentioned. In my opinion, he DEFINES the word “time management”. I have read about his life story many times and I still continue to be fascinated with the amount of accomplishments he has had in his career. Just take a look at all the property that he currently owns: http://www.trump.com/

There are a large number of qualities that he possesses that I am working on mastering, specifically his communication ability. To summarize it in a nutshell: when Trump speaks, people listen. I am a 100% convinced that he would not be as successful as he is today without the ability to communicate and create a big picture. This is why he has closed some impossible deals, as well as portrayed the Trump luxurious lifestyle to be something that the majority desires.

With that being said, I don’t think I can end this note without mentioning Richard Branson as another leader that I highly admire. Although, I can assure you right now that I am not the only one that would say this when you look at his golden ability to build great relationships with everyone and treating his employees as family.

If the world’s first computer was built today, and we were told that we would have a seizure for looking into the screen, and would have arthritis for typing on the keyboard, you can bet that everyone would be backing away from the technology and trying to shut it down for good. Not Richard Branson! Branson is dominant and takes high risk whenever he sees the opportunity to improve his business.

Donald Trump and Richard Branson are often compared with each other, as leaders in the industry. It is fair to say that their leadership styles are fairly different from each other, but it would be arrogant to not consider qualities of both leaders in order to find out what would work best for you. If anything, I think what we can also take out if this is that: there is not only ONE WAY to become a successful business leader in the industry, and that there are several ways to get the upper hand in the industry and accomplish your goals.