ETEC 522 – May 2012

Turning Technologies – Mike Broderick

Turning Technologies produces software and hardware for interactive group polling. The main software is powerpoint based and has results/ report management functionality (TurningPoint)  and is used in conjunction with a hardware radio frequency device (ResponseCards). The company has expanded its products to include:

• software that allows polling from pdf, webpages, spreadsheets;
• LMS integration of student results;
• response devices that do not require a computer or projector for polling;
• web-based polling using laptops and cell phones for use n the hosting site as well as from remote sites and which also allows written answers not just multiple choice options.

They have an impressive list of Alliances for example; Microsoft, McGraw Hill, Blackboard, Discovery Education, Cengage learning, Saba; and use Channel Partners and distributors for their products. The company now sells in over 90 countries.

Mike Broderick

  Mike Broderick is cofounder and CEO of Turning Technologies.

In the 1980s he spent 6 years with his wife working as a missionaries in the Phillipines. On his return to Ohio he became a partner and president of one of the earliest group response software companies – Creative Communications Corporation.

Turning Technologies was created in 2002 when he and two other founders saw an untapped market for response technology in the classroom (whereas previously the market was in the corporate  industry).   Their proposition was to create and develop “a product that engages every student in a classroom” (Smart Business website).

The company grew exponentially from 2004-2007 (3,707.9%) and was named seventh fastest growing US private company. It has continued to be recognised as a top performing company and its products have been in top 100 lists consistently up to 2012.

He has been awarded Ernst and Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” and inducted into the Northeast Ohio Hall of Fame as the first winner of the “Entrepreneurial Spirit Award”.

According to an interview in 2011 in Smart Business, Mike identifies a number of aspects to building a successful company:

• Company vision
• Marketing by identifying challenges and providing solutions
• Implementation research
• Defining your role as leader
• Hiring the right people
• Treating clients as partners
• Perserverance

In assessing his team one can see his focus on leadership and finding people who are the “right” people – different to himself but who complement each other within the company. He sees himself as the entrepreneur who focuses on the “big picture”, and so relies on a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Instructional Officer with an education background, an Academic Advisor who is a university professor and author, and a sales team with education and business qualifications.

The company’s focus on Channel Partners is one of the strategies he employs to create a strong client relationship. Our own organisation has experienced this very strong client partnership approach in support and training we receive.

Reflection

What has inspired me is Mike’s comment about entrepreneurship that “if you’re really serious about (your venture), you can’t have a Plan B. If I had a Plan B in the first year or two I probably would have chosen it.” (Inc. Website)  The implication being, from another of his comments, that if he had had a Plan B Turning Technologies as a company might not have existed. (Smart Business)

I was also fascinated that he uses their technology products in all their company meetings. He argues that it encourages creativity, and decisions are easier, and everyone has an opportunity to input. In addition I am impressed with the level of understanding of the use and the impact of their products they would have.

The weakest point in the company’s webiste, given Mike’s comments, is the company’s implementation research. Research papers are accessible on the website but they are mainly reviews and focus on satisfaction, with only a few studies that research the impact of this technology on learning. Supporting further education research in an unbiased way or at least expanding the quality of the research on the website would be valuable addition to educational knowledge.

References

Turning Technologies  – http://www.turningtechnologies.com/. Accessed 1 June 2012

Smart Business website – http://www.sbnonline.com/2011/08/how-mike-broderick-built-turning-technologies-from-an-idea-into-an-industry-leading-company/. Accessed 1 June 2012

Inc. Website – http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070901/how-i-did-it-mike-broderick.html. Accessed 1 June 2012