Week 55 (4.5.08)

Learn

Creativity, Inc. - Building an Inventive Organization (Jeff Mauzy & Richard Harriman)

From Harvard Business School Press 2003

To survive and prosper in the long term, people in companies need to create and innovate. And they need to do so as regularly and reliably as they breathe.

• Corporate leaders need to know the fundamental elements for initiating and sustaining creativity and innovation.
• Value of creativity:

1) Employee and customer satisfaction

2) Increase growth

3) Flexibility to change

4) Attract good talent

5) Increase market interest

6) Strengthen competitiveness

• Six essential understandings of creative process:

1. There is no recipe for systemic creativity - a company needs to build the framework that's right for itself
2. Creativity and innovation are two distinct concepts - creativity is the generation of novel and appropriate ideas. Innovation means taking new ideas and turning them into corporate and marketplace reality. Both creativity and innovation need to be nurtured at every level and function for a corporation to become systemically creative.
3. Creativity happens with individuals , coalitions and teams, and organizations - for success, a company needs to prepare itself to provide the resources, the strategy, and the climate that encourage both individuals and groups to perform at their creative best
4. There are 4 critical dynamics - motivation, curiosity and fear, the breaking and making of connections, and evaluation
5. Creativity depends on climate - companies need to transform the larger climate into one that actively supports creativity throughout the organization
6. Systemic creativity asks everyone to be a leader - each person in a company has the potential for leadership in creativity. Everyone can be creative. Anyone who takes this initiative leads.

Unlearn

I did not have a clear picture on the distinct difference between creativity and innovation.

Relearn

From the above learning, I am able to capture a clearer and precise definition between the 2 distinct concept and how I can play my role in encouraging every level and function to perform their creative best by providing the necessary resources, strategy and climate (=support environment).

Week 54 (27.4.08)

Learn

The Value of Creativity and Innovation (AMA Module)

Creativity - is about- bringing a unique approach and way of thinking to the way you do things.

Innovation - is about - result of a creative process - ended up with a new/better product or service

What do we get from the value of creativity and innovation?

1. Progress
2. Competitiveness
3. Change
4. Efficiency
5. Effectiveness
6. Growth
7. Survival

Ways of Developing Your Creativity:

• Set a goal for new ideas
• Discover new worlds
• Add variety to your pace
• Try new things
• Identify categories or trends
• Learn about inventions and discoveries in a range of fields
• Take a chance
• Question assumptions
• Interact more
• Keep an idea book
• Put your finger on fear, doubt and insecurity
• Look for other explanations

Unlearn

Did not realize that by trying out new things, is unlocking my creativity potential. I associate it more with the "courage" of trying out new things.

Relearn

With what i have learned, i will be more alert to :

• read about market leaders in other industries
• stay in touch with other culture, other age group and gender - read diversified magazines
• increase social circle, eg attend sports club, toastmaster meeting
• avoid criticizing new ideas
• accept failures after putting best attempt...but ask why to get closer to the root cause

Week 53 (20.4.08)

Learn

IT Drivers (Cost/Benefit Analysis) - AMA Module

IT Cost

1. Direct

• Hardware - Server, Network, Computers etc
• Software - Business Application, DBMS, Operating system license fee

2. Indirect

• Personnel - IT personnel, Programmer, Analyst, Third Party
• Downtime - System shutdown

IT Value/Benefits

1. Increase Revenue
2. Reduce Cost

Unlearn

Thought that IT takes up more of the cost only and less benefits can be seen. However, after studying through this IT module, I understand the value that IT can create for all the stakeholders ie customers, employee, business partner and company.

Relearn

IT can enable the program (eg Sales Force Automation) for the Value or Benefits, which I can apply as below in my work place.

1. Increase Revenue

• Expanded share of market
• New revenue streams
• Reduced Churn Rate
• Increased revenue per customer
• Less rebates given
• Increased price
• Less late payers

2. Reduce Cost

• Reduce cost of marketing and sales

- lower cost per lead

- increased lead to opportunity lead

- lower cost per sale

- increased opportunity to sales rate

- shorter sales cycle

• Reduce cost of inventory

- decreased number of inventory

- decreased cost of storage

• Reduce IT cost

- lower maintenance and support cost

Week 52 (13.4.08)

Learn

Article: Enterprise Security, 2006. IT RIsk Management: An Essential Strategy for Business Success, USA, pp 4

IT risk management involves two complementary components:

• security
• availability

Information is worthless, and even be a liability, if it's not secure. Secure information is useless if it can't be efficiently stored and readily accessed.

Unlearn

Did not realize the importance of information security in office. There is risk involves if information are not secured properly.

Relearn

To mitigate the risk and improve on the current business risk and impact on IT, below are my suggestions on how IT or Pfizer can adopt:

1. Tight customer data control particularly during data maintenance exercise, to prevent sales reps from copying the data
2. Firewall and VPN to ensure only authorized devices are allowed to connect to the network and access to all applications
3. Implement company wide Information Protection Plans whereby each user has their own password to access the necessary informations.