It was interesting to start the second half of the semester with the article "14 ways to be a great CEO". It got me thinking about the start ups that I know of in India and trying to understand if their CEOs have the attributes that the article touches up on. For someone like me who does not have the business acumen (I would like to say that it is because I haven't taken any business focused class until this one) it is nice to have a check list of attributes. However, I am vary of articles like this. From my experience as a designer reading design experts talking about check lists for everything from "Best UI", "Creating winning interactions" or anything else like it, I feel that it only gives an outsider a cursory view of what is actually required to be a great designer. I would like to see articles that pick start ups and companies and tell me where it works and where it doesn't. Like for example the article suggests "Almost no experience preferred" so tell me about companies that have CEOs that have no experience and of companies with CEOs that have a lot of experience. What worked in the latter case? I want to know both aspects from the business companies. I feel like this article is giving me only a tiny window to peer into the whole world of being a CEO.
On the other hand the article about defining core ideologies and envisioned future got me thinking about what they would be for the bike helmet social venture. I don't have the necessary resources to jump right into it now but I know a few years down the line I would like to use my experience and learning through this class to actually set up a social venture that focuses on developing economies. Nathan's blog post below from Ghana was an interesting read because he talked about the potential in developing economies around the world. I can see how a product focused in India can also be translated to other countries. What that is right now, I don't know what my product, service or concept will be. After reading that article however I started to see that maybe taking this class project is a viable option.
It was interesting to read from the article of how a lot of companies don't actually have an "envisioned future" and reach their goal very quickly and lose steam. I was afraid that once I put a helmet on every working man's head, I will have nothing to do. Wil I exit the market? Leave all the factories to gather dust? Doesn't that go against the idea of a "social venture"? I'm causing damage rather than creating opportunities.
I started thinking about my envisioned future, "Enabling every single low income worker to move up the social ladder by supporting a safe commute." or "Creating a safe environment for every bicycle rider in the developing world".
In each of these versions I think my social venture will not stop at just making cheap bicycle helmets, the idea is to impact everything around the idea of commuting by bicycles, creating cheap accessories that aid commute, encouraging more Indian to take up cycling as a medium of transportation and eventually making cycling a mainstream commute option which will force the government to start creating safer infrastructure. I might need to work out the BHAG statement to reflect all of this.
Writing this blog post has made me start thinking about the actual impact I could have with this venture. I know I've always talked about the potential of the venture but articulating it now is making it more real.
On the other hand the article about defining core ideologies and envisioned future got me thinking about what they would be for the bike helmet social venture. I don't have the necessary resources to jump right into it now but I know a few years down the line I would like to use my experience and learning through this class to actually set up a social venture that focuses on developing economies. Nathan's blog post below from Ghana was an interesting read because he talked about the potential in developing economies around the world. I can see how a product focused in India can also be translated to other countries. What that is right now, I don't know what my product, service or concept will be. After reading that article however I started to see that maybe taking this class project is a viable option.
It was interesting to read from the article of how a lot of companies don't actually have an "envisioned future" and reach their goal very quickly and lose steam. I was afraid that once I put a helmet on every working man's head, I will have nothing to do. Wil I exit the market? Leave all the factories to gather dust? Doesn't that go against the idea of a "social venture"? I'm causing damage rather than creating opportunities.
I started thinking about my envisioned future, "Enabling every single low income worker to move up the social ladder by supporting a safe commute." or "Creating a safe environment for every bicycle rider in the developing world".
In each of these versions I think my social venture will not stop at just making cheap bicycle helmets, the idea is to impact everything around the idea of commuting by bicycles, creating cheap accessories that aid commute, encouraging more Indian to take up cycling as a medium of transportation and eventually making cycling a mainstream commute option which will force the government to start creating safer infrastructure. I might need to work out the BHAG statement to reflect all of this.
Writing this blog post has made me start thinking about the actual impact I could have with this venture. I know I've always talked about the potential of the venture but articulating it now is making it more real.
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