Month: November 2013

Business makes the world go round. And at the very core of business lies the exchange of value – ie money. And what could be a bigger change, than a change at this very core?

In a previous blog post, I talked about an emerging digital currency – Bitcoin. It is a universal currency that is non-physical, not backed by banks or governments, and traded over an open source network. (The full blog post, including a video explaining Bitcoin can be found here)

In the short time since I last blogged about it, Bitcoin has picked up huge increase in interest all over the world. On October 14, Baidu, an internet company that runs the No. 1 search engine in China, began accepting bitcoins for the web services. Now, “All of a sudden businesses have at least one example of a large company saying it is going to accept Bitcoin.” Furthermore, Plug and Play Tech Center, which was a seed investor in PayPal, has announced the opening of an accelerator program exclusively for Bitcoin-related startups, to promote business accepting the digital currency. It is almost certain that Bitcoin is the way of the future.

Amidst an era full of technological races, furious innovation, and newly emerging industries, clearly the business world is changing in unpredictable ways. The feature that will separate the winners from the losers in this new world is the ability to quickly spot and critically analyze all of these emerging trends.

For now, all we can do is keep an open mind, and watch as the winds of change blow…

References

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229960

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229588

Picture: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229588

Brian Chung brings up and interesting question in his blog post – what is the best way to improve efficiency? Chung disagrees with the decision of Marc Caira, CEO of Tim Horton’s, to cut down the amount of choices on the menu to increase in-store speed.

Efficiency is a key value proposition, but so is having variety. Although there is usually a danger of getting caught up between different strategies when a company tries to do everything at once, Tim Horton’s low cost and expansive menu have not been a problem in the past. Its menu has become like an icon to its customers; cutting parts of it away could indeed be devastating.

However, on one point I must disagree with Chung. He argues that Tim Horton’s should focus on better employee training to increase efficiency, but there is only so much a human being can do. A better option to increase efficiency without sacrificing menu variety would be to invest in technological and innovative practices. For example, Chili’s (a casual diner somewhat similar to Tim Horton’s) pledged to increase efficiency by renovating their kitchens and installing tablets on every table for increase ease and speed.

The rapid growth of technology is allowing businesses to expand their value propositions without sacrificing others – but only when business leaders are quick enough to spot these possibilities.

Response to UBC Blog post.

References:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/brianchung/2013/11/12/tim-hortons-reducing-menu-size/

http://www.smudailycampus.com/dollars-and-sense/the-new-face-of-chilis-whats-changed-since-1975

Pictures:

http://www.timhortons.com/ca/images/general/baked-good-landing666x209en-fr-us.jpg

http://listdose.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/better-efficiency.jpg

“He who learns to swim in changing waters, survives.” – Frank Herbert.

After reading Colin Lam’s blog post, I couldn’t help but think about how innovation is affecting multitudes of other industries as well as the gaming industry. In fact, it seems as if the twenty first century is all about innovation. Computers, smartphones, electric cars – the list is limitless. However, the biggest impact of innovation is not just how it’s changing current industries, but creating new ones.

The most relevant example of this is, of course, social media. In 2004, Facebook was created, and in just 5 years, it become the second most visited site on the internet. At this time, the world saw a surge in social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Now, an average person spends 3.2 hours every day on social media sites, when just 10 years ago, nothing of the sort even existed. The potential for businesses that take advantage of innovation is enormous.

Another thing that social media has in common with the gaming industry is that they both utilize the lean-start up model. Facebook is constantly coming out with new updates, in response to consumer preferences. In this day and age, a business that ceases to innovate will be swallowed up by new, emerging businesses and industries, and cease to exist. But, for one that spots future trends and is willing to jump outside of the box and take risks, the possibilities are endless.

Response to UBC Blog post.

References:

http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/interactive/social-networking-eats-up-3-hours-per-day-for-the-average-american-user-26049/

http://socialmediatoday.com/daniel-zeevi/1251026/ultimate-history-facebook-infographic

https://blogs.ubc.ca/colinlam/2013/11/15/response-the-future-of-gaming/

Picture:

http://www.navigantresearch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Social-Media-in-the-Utility-Industry.jpg

In a recent post in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Michael Schrage explores the concept of yelling at employees in the workplace. Is it bad? A leadership flaw? Or can it actually be a successful motivator?

To see the effects of yelling, Schrage investigates other areas in life where successful leaders have been known to be intense yellers. In the world of sports, numerous elite coaches are notorious for shouting intensely at their talented athletes. For example, Alex Ferguson who is regarded as the most successful coach in the English Premier League, is famous for his “hair dryer treatment”, which involved yelling at such high volume and force that is was like having a hair dryer switched on in your face. As a soccer player for many years, I can definitely attest to being on the bad end of a high-volume coaching session, on several occasions.  Such treatment is also regularly found in military command, and even in more artistic environments such as movie and theatre directing.

Using these patterns, Schrage suggests that the notion that “raising one’s voice represents managerial weakness” is nonsense. However, in practice, an effective leadership style depends entirely on the culture of the workplace and the type of employees working there. If a manager’s style is to use high-vocal force, then he better recruit the employees that respond well to this type of motivation and make sure that yelling is accepted as a sign of encouragement and respect in the businesses culture.

Response to external blog post.

References:

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/11/is-it-ok-to-yell-at-your-employees/

Picture:

http://www.richardwinters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/I-Am-Not-Yelling-590×393.jpg