Thursday, July 28, 2011

For reference:

Mission:

McDonald's brand mission is to "be our customers' favorite place and way to eat." Our worldwide operations have been aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win centering on the five basics of an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience.


Vision

"McDonald's vision is to provide the world's best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile."


Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines has a responsibility not only to be an excellent company, but also to be an excellent citizen of the world by enhancing the lives of the people we touch. With that aim in mind, we have made many commitments to the arts and education, to our communities, and the health and welfare of our country's citizens, and those in countries we fly to. With this goal in mind, we've also made a strong commitment to preserving the environment - and our world for future generations.


Google

  • Google Mission Statement: "Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
  • Google's vision statement :
  • To develop a perfect search engine.

  • Setting up a business[Part 1]: Feasibility and Marketing

    Dear all,

    Please work on the following and get ready to share next week. You may wish to refer to SST official site or other international corporations' websites to get some ideas:)


    -Product/Service to be offered

    -Company name

    -Vision Statement

    -Mission Statement

    -Logo/crest

    -SWOT analysis of product/service

    -Organisational Roles: CEO/Chief Financial Officer (CFO)/Chief Information Officer (CIO) /Marketing Director etc


    Groupings:

    1 johanan,jiale,niklaus,tim 2 jonan, preston, siyuan, ben, cherin

    3 rayner, junwei,hardy,yuchong, chris 4davina,michelle,stacey,naveena,gwen

    5 victor,minsuk,seeto, junhong


    SUBMIT IN PAGES(by next wed to submit folder). The same PAGES document can be used for your class sharing. Thanks!

    Wednesday, March 2, 2011

    Rubrics for DI

    Performance Task 1 – Instant Challenge

    Teams are to construct a skit based on a theme given to them. They will be given an improvisational element which they must make use of in their skit.

    Performance Task 2 – Destination Imagination Challenges

    Teams are given the choice to select one of the six Destination Imagination Challenges to work on.

    Criteria

    Level 4

    Excellent

    Level 3

    Competent

    Level 2

    Developing

    Level 1

    Needs Improvement

    Teamwork

    Leadership and team roles are easily identified Diversity of skills mutually respected and evident

    Team dynamics are exemplary

    Acceptance of team roles above average

    Good cooperation Sharing and acceptance of ideas of others

    Some evidence of individual team member roles

    Some cooperation Some evidence of accepting ideas of others

    Dominating individual who limits participation of others Cooperation is minimal

    Little sharing of ideas

    Creativity

    Creativity is present and it’s innovative

    The solution is complete

    Creativity is present and it’s mostly original work

    The solution is mostly complete

    Creativity is present and it’s relevant

    The solution is somewhat complete

    Creativity is present and it’s somewhat enhanced

    The solution is incomplete

    Improvisation

    The team used or featured the Element in their presentation in an exceptionally creative manner.

    The Element was integrated into the presentation in an outstanding way. The team improvised extremely well with the Element.

    The team used or featured the Element in their presentation in a creative manner. The Element was integrated into the presentation in an above-average way. The team improvised very well with the Element.

    The team used or featured the Element in their presentation in a moderately creative manner.

    The Element was integrated into the presentation in an average way. The team improvised moderately well with the Element.

    The Element was used or featured in the presentation, but the usage was not/or was minimal creative.

    The Element was not integrated into the presentation well.

    The team did not improvise well with the Element.

    Wednesday, February 16, 2011

    Announcement

    Hi 209:

    You will be given an extra double period lesson to finish up your DI. Please remember to bring your materials so that you can do some finishing touches, for those who are doing Challenge B, you may want to rehearse in class.

    Pass the message around:)

    Thank you.

    Tuesday, February 15, 2011

    Innovate! - The Steve Jobs way

    Source: Beckford, Avil. (2011). 'Innovate the Steve Jobs way'. Retrieved from http://www.refresher.com/aavbinnovate.html

    ----------

    In the recent webinar, "Innovate the Steve Jobs Way: 7 Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success," Carmine Gallo shared seven principles for innovation which he learned from studying Steve Jobs for many years. The webinar was a prelude to his book The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success. I found it extremely useful to attend the webinar before reading the book and I combined what I learned in the webinar with what I learned from the book. The book provides concrete examples of how Steve Jobs innovates and the author conducted several interviews with former Apple employees.

    To support what he says in the book, Carmine Gallo also looked at what other innovators were successfully doing.  He defines innovation as, "A new way of doing things that result in positive change." How can you innovate the way you do your job? What innovations are occurring in other industries that you can transfer to yours?

    Carmine Gallo has identified seven principles to guide innovation based on what he has learned from studying Steve Jobs, the Co-founder and CEO of Apple. The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs has 15 chapters, an introductory one and two chapters devoted to each principle. Though the book presents a lot of information on the way Steve Jobs approaches innovation, there are many examples of others who are innovating in similar ways and achieving success.

    Principle One: Do What You Love

    Passion is everything, and it keeps you going when you face inevitable setbacks. Be obsessed and improve the areas that you love. To achieve success, passion is not enough – follow your obsessions, tailor them to your skills, and focus on what you can make money from. What is your calling and your destiny? How can you change the world?

    A simple formula is Success = Passion + Skills + Market Demand

    Principle Two: Put a Dent in the Universe

    Innovation doesn't take place in a vacuum. Have a vision, because innovation cannot occur without one. What's the bigger picture and how can you share your vision with enthusiasts who will make your vision a reality. How is your product or service going to change the world? How can you leave the world a better place than you found it?  How can you make your customers' lives better?

    Margaret Mead's quote, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has," encapsulates this principle.

    Principle Three: Kick Start Your Brain

    Seek our new and novel experiences, and bombard your brain with them. Who is doing something remarkable that you can learn from? Steve Jobs studied the Four Seasons Hotel and Mercedes Benz because they are aces when it comes to remarkable customer experiences. Jobs introduced a Concierge Service in the Apple Store based on what he learned from observing the Four Seasons Hotel.

    A critical part of this principle is to make connections among disparate things and force yourself outside of your physical and mental comfort zone. To live a vision requires creative thinking which requires immersion in novel experiences.

    New experiences expand the way you think. Surround yourself with people from different cultures. Experiment, and try new things. What are two things that you can do differently to improve the way in which you deliver your product or service?

    Principle Four: Sell Dreams Not Products

    Understand your customers, and help them to fulfill their dreams. Get to know them better than they know themselves. How can you change your customers' worlds? Create remarkable customer experiences and market that.

    Your customers often do not know what they want, so be a linchpin as marketing guru Seth Godin says and anticipate what they need before they do. It's a twist to the concept of build it and they will come, to build it and convince them that they should come.

    Principle Five: Say No to 1,000 Things

    Take the road less traveled. Remove distractions so you can focus on the core product. Eliminate distractions from the customer experience. Don't spread yourself too thin, and go for simplicity. Steve Job told Nike's CEO  Mark Parker, "Get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff." Go for simplicity and elegance.

    Simplify and focus on your product and service offerings. What are you best at? What is one thing that you do extremely well? Focus on it and simplify.

    Principle Six: Create Insanely Great Experiences

    Create emotional connections with your customers. What are five ways you can enrich the lives of your customers? What relationships are you forming with your customers? Look outside your industry for examples. Create memorable experiences so you have rabid fans. Before you innovate, hold your customer in your mind's eye, and proceed from there.

    Principle Seven: Master the Message

    Effectively communicate your vision. Innovate around the way you communicate the vision. What are master presenters and communicators doing? Emulate them. Be a great storyteller, and be consistent in your messaging.

    I enjoyed reading The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success because I had to stop several times and think about what I was reading. The many examples demonstrated how others were using these seven principles with great success, and I understood how I could use them as well. I also learned about innovative products that others were delivering.

    For instance, DNA 11 creates art with their customer's DNA and became a multi-million dollar business in five years. The owners Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed didn't conduct focus group interviews to decide if there was a need for their product, they created the product then created the demand for it. They also noticed that some of their customers were asking for art with their pets' DNA, so they offered that to other customers who might not have thought of that.


    What Carmine Gallo has shown in his book is that innovation does not necessarily mean creating something radically new. Sometimes it is simply doing something in an entirely new way. This is a practical book written in a clear manner. I recommend The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success.

    News Update

    Source: The Straits Times, 05/03/2010

    Tuesday, February 8, 2011

    Gentle Reminder

    DI Challenges

    Please bring the required materials for the 2-hour I&E lesson.

    Week 2: Introduction of DI five challenges
    Week 4: Selection of DI challenges, Grouping and discussion
    Week 6: Planning, ideation, Preparation, Conclusion (Side trips to be included for bonus points)
    Week 8: Completion of challenges, submission & Appraisal

    Saturday, January 22, 2011

    Heads up for I&E DI Groupings

    Hi 209 students!

    For your I&E Double periods, please report to the following venues:

    Challenge A: report to S2-07 (Mdm Yeo Sok Hui)
    Challenge B: report to S2-09 (Ms Jamie Tan)
    Challenge C: report to S2-01 (Ms Alice Lim)
    Challenge D: report to S2-01 (Ms Alice Lim)
    Challenge E: report to S2-08 (Mr James Koh)
    Challenge Project Outreach: report to S2-06 (Mr Dennis Lam)
    TKK Young Innovators: report to S2-09 (Ms Jamie Tan)

    Destination Imagination

    Challenge A Unidentified moving object (Technical)

    Your Team Will:

    ␣␣ Design and build Equipment to move various Materials to and from towering heights

    ␣␣ Start and end the Presentation with the Equipment contained in a Storage Box

    ␣␣ Create and present a Sales Promotion highlighting the features of the Equipment

    ␣␣ Complete all of the above with no AC electrical power


    Challenge B Spinning a tale (Scientific)

    Your Team Will:

    ␣␣ Research Energy Cycles in the Natural and/or Physical World

    ␣␣ Develop and present an original three-­act Circular Story that demonstrates knowledge about one Energy Cycle of the team’s choice

    ␣␣ Create a DIcycler that changes as the Story progresses and the acts change

    ␣␣ Create a Finale that uses your DIcycler to signal the end of your Presentation



    Challenge C Triple Take Road Show (Fine Arts)

    Your Team Will:

    ␣␣ Use different Storytelling Methods to tell the same story to three team-­ chosen Pretend Audiences

    ␣␣ Portray the Travel Methods used to move your Traveling Road Show between different Pretend Audiences

    ␣␣ Integrate a team-­created Technical Spectacle into one presentation to a Pretend Audience


    Challenge D Mythology mission (Improvisational)

    Your Team Will:

    ␣␣ Create a five minute improvisional skit about a mission involving a mythical creature. This must be done in the five minute preparation time prior to your presentation at the tournament.

    ␣␣ Incorporate a research about a Culture from a country.

    ␣␣ Incorporate three Souveneirs randomly selected from the list of items and combine them to create one Master Prop.

    ␣␣ Incorporate an unexpected problem that is discovered on stage.


    Challenge E Verses! Foiled Again! (Structural)

    Your Team Will:

    ␣␣ Design and build a Structure made only of Aluminum Foil, Wood and Glue.

    ␣␣ Test how much weight the Structure will hold.

    ␣␣ Present a Story about a character that is Foiled.

    ␣␣ Integrate team-­written Verse and published Verse into your Story.


    Challenge Project Outreach Dynamic Networks

    This Challenge has two distinct portions:

    ␣␣ First, your team will design and carry out a Project to address a real community need and integrate a social network.

    ␣␣ Second, at the Tournament, your team will showcase your Project with an Album and a Presentation, as well as complete an Instant Challenge.