Unit 4 reflective journal

This week’s lecture delved into the solution component of the Lean Business Model Canvas, with a particular emphasis on how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can enhance or even create new business model for our venture. Although many concepts introduced were familiar to me, Ranjit offered a more comprehensive understanding. For instance, terms like Bitcoin, Metaverse, and NFT are often misunderstood and seen as synonymous due to recent events involving platforms like FTX and JPEX. Consequently, many people tend to avoid these concepts.

I’m contemplating the use of Augmented Reality (AR) to increase the appeal of my project. In promotional materials, I’m considering incorporating QR codes that, when scanned, reveal digital holograms of Cantonese opera costumes or popular props such as the horse ship or the small shoes used for foot binding in the past.

Additionally, I watched a Netflix documentary about JUUL, an e-cigarette invented by 2 Stanford graduates Adam Bowen and James Monsees. This invention significantly leveraged ICT to create a new business model for e-cigarettes, distinct from traditional cigarettes. They managed to advertise on billboards and televisions, which have since been banned for all traditional cigarettes. Eventually, regulations caught up with this new product due to its potential harmful effects on children. The once popular JUUL lost its appeal and was ultimately acquired by a traditional cigarette company.

Two quotes struck a chord with me from the Deloitte Hype Article:
An innovation does not need to reinvent the wheel. Those likely to be adopted quickly are both easy to understand and simple to use. Leaders who continue to embrace overly hyped innovations can leave employees experiencing shiny new object “fatique”: Decreased morale, increased confusion, and cynicism.

I believe that ICT could be beneficial for my venture, particularly by integrating the latest lighting technology and incorporating LCDs into our performances.

This week we focused on the Problem and Solution of the Lean Business Model Canvas. (Social Enterprenership)

The insightful lectures by Ranjit and Roger this week have left a profound impression on me.

Ranjit’s startling fact that 4 billion people survive on less than $2 a day has instigated a deep introspection about how my venture can play a role in improving this situation.

While the issue of carbon footprints wasn’t explicitly discussed, it is a social dimension that we are actively addressing within our NGO. My recent participation at the APAM/Rising delegate trip in Australia emphasized the urgent need to address this issue within the performing arts industry. It was noticeable that many international organizations are making significant progress in this area, yet it seems to be a less prominent issue within the Hong Kong performing arts scene. We are currently brainstorming ways to integrate more eco-conscious initiatives into our forthcoming projects. Additionally, our organization is making significant contributions by providing quality education to numerous schools and universities in Hong Kong thereby aligning with and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 4.

screen cap of my charity – One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation

The guest lectures by Amanda and Marcus were equally inspiring. Amanda’s journey, starting with limited resources but driven by immense passion, leading to significant achievements, deeply resonated with me.

Marcus’s presentation offered valuable insights, featuring successful real-life business cases. Notably, his advice, “What is your value proposition post-Covid?” has provoked a great deal of thought about the future direction of my venture in the post-pandemic world.

This week was dedicated to review and recapitulation.

During this week’s online lecture, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Venus and Thomas on our upcoming assignments. Each of us shared our individual topics, with mine centered on the preservation of Cantonese opera. Recognizing the need to engage younger audiences, I suggested a fusion of Cantonese opera and another art form that resonates with this age group.

In a separate online lecture, Matt Phull provided valuable guidance. He outlined our assignment requirements in clear terms and offered practical tips for sourcing supplementary resources that will aid in our assignment’s completion.

Further, I participated in a highly productive meeting with my colleagues: Paul, Jerry, Bernice, Venus, and Karen. With Bernice acting as the facilitator, we used the Lego Serious Play approach to shape and refine our venture ideas. This session, featuring five rounds of Lego assembly steered by Bernice’s insightful questions, was truly engaging.

This exercise was instrumental in honing my concept and fostering idea generation among the group. Leveraging my experience and knowledge, I offered insights that helped my colleagues refine their venture goals. This interactive session, characterized by learning and knowledge-sharing, underscored the significant impact of collaboration on our understanding and perspectives of our venture ideas.

Utilizing my knowledge, I guided Karen to explore the ADC’s Arts in School project and provided concrete feedback on Jerry’s two distinct projects. This demonstrated how collective brainstorming can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of our respective projects.

Venus and Bernice brainstorming ideas

This week, I also delved into a book by Kazuo Hirai, who held the position of CEO at Sony from 2012 to 2018. The book provides a fascinating glimpse into how he modernised a venerable brand during his tenure, successfully transforming it into a profitable entity once again.

Hirai’s perspective is particularly intriguing. He doesn’t view himself as an expert in a specific field. Instead, he sees his strength in his ability to communicate effectively with people and unify the collective strength of a company towards achieving common goals. The book is an excellent read that offers valuable insights into effective leadership and corporate turnaround strategies.

This week we focus on the Channels of the Lean Business Model Canvas
It was a deep dive into various business models and the process of creating new ones based on market opportunities.

One key takeaway for me was Ranjit’s advice against complacency. When I shared my existing business model and mentioned its static nature, Ranjit cautioned me to stay vigilant about changes in my market, lest it becomes too late.
Another intriguing topic was the discussion on the two entrepreneurial New Business Model (NBM) stances–Causation and Effectuation. My experience suggests that most business models are a hybrid of both or lean more towards Effectuation. Very few are purely Causation. This has prompted me to want to research this topic in more depth.

During the lecture, I had some confusion about my business model and offerings. Thankfully, Ranjit clarified these after a few queries, providing me with a clearer understanding.

The idea of community building for my company was another inspiring aspect. Although we already have a community, I am motivated to strengthen it by offering more workshops and seminars.

The concept of the value linkage model is something I plan to focus more on. It’s crucial for me to keep the customer perspective in mind and align it with my business model.

Finally, Ranjit shared an inspiring NBM story. The New York Times described it as “a store with media in mind,” and Rachel Shechtman, Story’s owner, summarized it as, “A magazine tells stories between pictures and written words, and we do it through merchandising and events. And our version of publishing is sponsorship.” This story left a lasting impression on me.

As for my business model, I plan to stick to my customary model by conceptualizing a new offering (a new art form) and securing funding from the government.

This week, our attention was centered on the ‘Customer Segments’ component of the Lean Business Model Canvas, a vital element in the development and growth of any venture. The lecture unfolded a systematic approach to customer profiling, an idea that resonated with me greatly. It underscored the importance of analyzing our customers not just from a demographic perspective, but also from a behavioral and psychological standpoint.

This approach has opened my eyes to a new way of conceptualizing our audience. It has sparked ideas for additional pertinent questions that we could incorporate into our performance questionnaires. These questions would extend beyond basic demographic information and probe more into behaviors, preferences, and psychological factors that influence our audience’s decisions and engagement with our shows.

The lecture has provided me with a clearer, more focused strategy for identifying and understanding my target customers. Recognizing the potential benefit to my venture’s growth, I’m eager to apply this insight. However, due to resource constraints, I’ve encountered difficulties in fully concentrating on this aspect and fully leveraging the wealth of information in our existing database. To address this, I’m contemplating engaging a third-party service to assist with this critical task.

The insights from the lecture also prompted me to reassess and clarify who my core customers are. Previously, we had a broad category of young audiences. Now, I’m inclined to consider a more specific age range. For instance, if I decide to focus on very young children, I must strategically view their parents as my actual customers, with the children being the end consumers. This perspective shift would necessitate a reevaluation of our marketing and engagement strategies, ensuring they address the needs and expectations of both these groups.

Given my experience in imparting keynote speeches and conducting workshops for university students, coupled with their enthusiastic responses, they will form my primary target audience.

Our focus this week was on ‘Unfair Advantage’ and ‘Unique Value Proposition’ of the Lean Business Model Canvas. We were introduced to the concepts of entrepreneur and intrapreneur, illustrated with the example of Virgil Abloh.  particularly admire his brand “Off-White,” with the Nike crossover sneakers being my absolute favorite.

This was my first exposure to the term ‘intrapreneur,’ and it challenged my prior belief that a person could excel as either an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, but not both.

One element that struck me was the introduction of the Value Net Framework. It was a thought-provoking moment when Ranjit suggested that no company could excel in all three aspects of the framework: Product Leadership, Operational Excellence, and Customer Intimacy. Initially, I wanted to challenge this theory, but as I attempted to find a counter-example, I found myself agreeing more with Ranjit’s perspective.

A quote from Joann Rupert resonated with me – “You are either a disrupter or disrupted,” a sentiment I strongly concur with, as I’d much rather be the former than the latter.

The lecture also differentiated between ‘innovation’ and ‘invention.’ I had previously used these terms interchangeably, not fully appreciating their distinct meanings. The dissection of these concepts was enlightening, and it made me reflect on the importance of innovation in the context of my venture.
The introduction to the innovation matrix and the concept of managing innovation streams was another thought-provoking segment. It stimulated me to consider how I could apply these concepts to my current venture, prompting a deeper analysis of our innovation strategies and potential areas for improvement.

Regarding my venture’s unique value proposition and unfair advantage, I plan to merge Cantonese opera with another art form that resonates with modern audiences. I aim to create something that these audiences will find delightful and entertaining!

I’m really excited about this first week of Unit 4. The previous three units focused primarily on Arts and Culture, with very little emphasis on business, which is a realm I’m less familiar with. I’m particularly looking forward to the first lesson because I’ve always preferred face-to-face classes over online ones. In addition to learning about Ranjit’s background in the initial section, I find the “How Enterprising Are You Quiz” to be quite intriguing. I wasn’t aware of such a test, but my test results conclude that I am highly enterprising, which align with my self-perception.

One notable aspect of the lecture is the discussion of the six stages of learning. It turns out that I’ve instinctively been following these stages, but it’s beneficial to have them conceptualized. The stages – remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating – shed light on why some topics provide me with tangible benefits while others pose challenges. I’ve also gained insight into a step-by-step approach to critical thinking.

Another key point emphasized is the importance of offering and receiving help when it comes to completing our assignments. It’s great to know that support is readily available.

Finally, I had the privilege of attending project presentations by students who are a year ahead of us. This invaluable experience provided me with insights on how to approach my own final assignment. Additionally, I was delighted to meet with Andy again and had the chance to provide him and Olive with feedback regarding the course with Bernice and Venus.

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