Kelsey Ingham's Blog

Comm299 taught me a lesson that I hear every day when I wake up to the song “The City” by Maurice. This lesson summarized in a phrase seems to have passed over most people, but it has definitely stuck with me: “Take chances; you are genuine.”

So many times, people complained that Comm299 was turning out cookie cutter versions of ourselves. I understand the issues that they had, but they were surface issues. Yes, all our resumes look the same at a glance, but none of them are the same once you dig into the content. Philippe emphasized over and over that we need to remain genuine, that we need to discover our inner passions, in order for us to succeed. The perfectly formatted resume gets you through the first door, but it’s your genuine personality and passion that gets you to your dream job.

The first part, “take chances”, is really where I personally grew. I couldn’t believe it when I was preparing for my interview and sat, stuck in shame, for half an hour as I tried to conjure up anecdotal evidence of a time that I took a risk. I’m always taking calculated risks, leveraging myself, weighing the pros and cons a thousand times before I jump in. I take the motto “look before you leap” a bit too far. I need to take more chances! I’m always so afraid of failure, but what’s more of a failure than not even trying? Comm 299 opened my eyes to all the opportunities that are available at UBC, and in the workplace, and helped me realized that there’s so many things out their that I can try, that if I take enough chances, I’ll eventually hit gold. All you need to make it in this world are your passions and the fearlessness to pursue them. Information interviews are definitely something that I’m going to try, despite how nervous the idea makes me.

I feel like I’m constantly attempting to put into words how grateful I am to have my brother. Having someone that’s seven years older than me who has been through all the hoops and struggles of Business School, and then the pressure of finding a job out in the real business world, is both indescribable and priceless. However, I’m going to attempt to live up to his standards by sharing the greatest lesson that he’s ever taught me. This lesson is greater than all the newspaper articles he’s ever explained to me, greater than the countless calculus lessons he’s offered me. The greatest thing he’s ever taught me is a way of life: there’s no quick fix.

Throughout the years, I’ve gone to my brother for my fair share of homework help and advice, and everytime, it boils down to him telling me, “you just have to put in time and work at it. Sit down and just figure it out.” At first I found it frustrating; I just wanted to get my assignment in! However, over the years I’ve realized that it’s one thing to finish an assignment by stringing together bits and pieces of help, but it’s much more satisfying (and leads to greater success) if you sit down and make sure that you completely understand what you’re doing. If you solve problems by yourself, you’ll learn the strategies you need to succeed when the challenges get tougher, instead of just the processes that work in specific situations.

I hated hearing him say this to me everytime my Calculus homework didn’t make sense within 15 minutes, but I’ve finally come to terms with it. You simply have to put in the time; life has no shortcuts.

Amazon has a great point of difference. They offer free shipping with a guarantee of 48 hour delivery on every purchase if you join their annual $79 flat rate Prime shipping service. This bit of marketing genius is estimated to contribute at least 20% of Amazon’s sales. What makes it so great? Once customers have paid for the service, they feel like they have to make use of it and therefore make up to 100% more purchases from Amazon than they would have otherwise.

The Prime shipping service seems like it could easily become a point of parity, and other companies are trying to cash in on this phenomenon. ShopRunner is the biggest culprit, a collaboration of over 20 companies who have joined together to offer the same shipping policy as Amazon. So it would seem Amazon has lost their edge…

Luckily, Amazon has another point of difference up their sleeve that supports the Prime membership. They sell everything. Amazon is convenient; you only have to go to one website. Order absolutely anything you want from Amazon and you get free shipping! Now these 20 companies represent a large assortment of retailers, but they just can’t provide the same variety and convenience as Amazon. For that reason, Amazon won’t be losing control of its point of difference any time soon.

Point of difference: Everything you need is available on one convienient site

Reference: Bloomberg Businessweek (Nov 29-Dec 5)

American Apparel is facing the threat of bankruptcy after they reported being $120.3 million in debt, with a $94 million loan from Lion Capital that is due January 2011.

Companies face bankruptcy all the time; the thing that makes this case interesting is attempting to determine what makes a company at the top of their game, fall so quickly. The company was trading at $14 per share in 2008, which then plummeted to under 75 cents per share in August 2010. Though the CEO, Dov Charney, blames the early 2010 factory raid that saw him lose over 2500 illegal immigrant employees, a closer look indicates that this is only a fraction of the problem.

American Appparel Share Value

Internal stealing appears to be the driving force behind the $-30 million growth rate that AA faces. With untrained and inexperienced managers operating inventory control systems, products often go unregistered for over a month. In this time, employees steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. If AA hopes to stand a chance of survival, they need to improve management, providing training that will allow managers to properly use inventory control systems in a timely manner. Managers will also need to be trained to manage employee misconduct. A widespread lack of honesty in the organizational culture is evident due to few employees receiving any training or information regarding organizational standards. Overall, AA management is undertrained and under regulated; this needs to change before the company sees any growth.

Employee Testimony regarding training:

“We were put in the store, and we were given a website. Everything else was up to us.”

SCVNGR has found the road to innovation and entrepreneurial success.

SCVNGR is a start-up company that allows users to create and share scavenger hunts through a phone application. Companies and Universities can also create their own hunts and make them available to the public, who in turn can earn points and real life rewards.

What makes it an entreprenurial company?

Amount and speed of of wealth creation: They created a large amount of wealth in a short time frame.SCVNGR earned over $1 million in revenue in its first full year in business.

Risk: It has $4 million in venture capital funding from Google. Venture capital is provided to high-risk start-up companies. In additon, the company currently has 500 000 users, which is a significantly small portion of their market, and poses a relatively high risk as more established companies could drive them out of business.

Innovation: The company is run by Seth Priebatsch, a 21 year old innovator who dedicates all his time to improving his products. By the age of 12, he had already started his first company and is now dedicated to innovation within his new company, SCVNGR. The company has successly found a way to earn profits from phone applications, in addition to their initial purchasing cost.

Going Green means Growing Green

MEC seems to be riding the Green Wave in its latest expansion plans. The co-operative has recently asked for rezoning for a new eco-friendly store in North Vancouver. Local bike shops are panicked, but MEC remains confident. The company truly recognizes the power of going green, as “the co-op felt confident enough to buy the land even though at least one previous owner was turned down when he sought retail zoning.”

MEC obviously foresees the potential for upside benefits; they are more likely to be granted rezoning permission due to their eco-friendly practices. The new building will ride the Green Wave as it is “LEED certified…with a smaller footprint [than the previous building.] The cooperative has figured out how to appeal to, not only its customers, but also to the people that make the crucial decision regarding whether they get to operate or not. They have realized that businesses increasingly need to focus on creating a social dimension to their value proposition. Consumers and regulators are concerned about the environment, and companies must respect these values if they wish to retain their right to operate.

If MEC succeeds in winning this location, despite oposition from many local bike sellers, other corporations might just realize how profitable this Green Wave truly is. They might realize what MEC already knows: Going Green means growing green.

Starbucks is taking a shot at rebranding themselves, with revamped locations that will now serve beer and wine. Will this brand renovation increase or decrease the profits of a corporation that reported $207.9 million of profits in the third quarter of 2010?

Starbucks has an extremely strong brand image. People associate comfort, cleanliness, and ambiance with it. It stands out in consumer’s minds as a reliable place to drink gourmet coffee and feel safe. Now, enter the proposition of introducing alcohol to Starbucks locations, as they attempt to draw in evening sales (70% of sales are made before 2pm.) Wine and cheese might seem like a good idea to draw in a night crowd, but it completely changes how consumers will view the company. Will people feel as relaxed and safe in an environment with alcohol? Will loyal customers fit this new target segment? The introduction will likely deter consumers who feel uncomfortable in such a changed setting.

Starbucks is looking to dramatically change their tried and trusted ways. This is a huge risk as they will completely alter their immensely strong brand image and most likely lose profit along the way.

Would you drink this?

As mentioned in a previous post, social networking is essential to a company’s success. It is no longer a fad, but rather an essential business tool. But as much as virtual communication, including email, blogging, and twitter, can benefit a corporation, it can also have detrimental effects if not dealt with properly. In order to protect brand image, it is vital that businesses understand that they must manage this side of business.

Employees are not just employees of the corporation they work for, but are also social people that interact online. It’s important that organizations are aware of their employees’ activites so as not to harm brand image. An unhappy employee has the power to go online and blog about their dissatisfaction. They have the ability to tweet their discontent and spread negative views regarding their place of work. I’ve read countless Facebook statuses offering negative views about an employer. Though organizations may not be able to dictate all views shared on the internet, they can dictate what employees can and cannot share online through company policy. Companies need to recognize that their image is at stake every time an employee goes online, and that employees need to be informed about what is and is not acceptable.

Company policies caution employees to THINK before they TWEET, BLOG, ETC.

UPS is a brand that’s built on integrity and reliabilty. But what strategy drives this company? Universal Parcel Systems focuses their attention on supply chain strategy. It makes sense that a delivery company would be so concerned with how a good gets from where it is made to where it is sold. But this company has perfected the supply chain, making it a fine art.

UPS implements many tactics in order to ensure that they are the most efficient delivery service possible, but what’s most surprising is that they even implement thorough driver tactics.

* Drivers are told to avoid left turns, as they take longer than right turns
* Drivers are told to carry keys on the pinky of their nondominant hand so they don’t lose time searching through
pockets

This painful attention to tactics is exactly how UPS is achieving its strategy to “Sustain the core and create their future….through practicing innovation that leads to growth.” Obviously they have a plethora of tactics, but the ones presented offer a sense of how dedicated UPS is to their strategy and why they held a 50% share of their ground shipping market in 2009.

Reference: Bloomsberg Businessweek (September 20 – September 26th)

SOCIAL NETWORKING.

At first glance, it may seem like a useless tool. Some view Facebook and Twitter as silly sites that allow people to share pointless social information. However, I believe that social networking has moved beyond a fad, and has in fact become an essentiel part of modern business.

When Twitter was first introduced, many people didn’t understand its significance. Why care what any given person is doing at any given time? Well the truth is, businesses should. Not only do social networking sites allow businesses to promote themselves, share information, and connect with consumers, but they also allow businesses to access public information regarding consumer preferences, etc. When someone updates their Facebook status, they’re not just sharing that information with their friends; they’re providing useful marketing information. Ever noticed those ads on the right hand side of your Facebook window? Funny how they always seem to know exactly what you’re interested in.

Companies need to recognize that social networks are not just a fad that people will grow tired of. They are a means of communication that have altered the way people interact and share information, and that ignoring their significance in the modern world would be detrimental to any organization’s success.