Leadership Style

Hi Everyone,

The foundation of my leadership style is to lead by example. I've been exposed to many leaders and I've learned from their styles and actions and in my opinion, what they could have done better. I know its difficult to follow someone who doesn't "practice what they preach" so it's important to me to always display a reputable style of work ethic to set the tone for my peers.

I'm also incredibly data driven. I don't like shooting in the dark, taking educated guesses or making approximations. I think this is how errors come about. From a mechanical design standpoint and a people management standpoint, precision, clarity and focus is the key to success. Being able to see the bigger picture and keeping people focused on that goal, even if they don't yet realize what the goal is, is my strongest leadership qualities.

-Brendan

Solar: The Bigger Picture

Hi Everyone,

For the presentation on Gove Solar's Tri-Tier system, we focused on the development of the Tri-Tier system for commercial applications - Home Depot sized roofs. In order to really do the solar development justice, I wanted to explain some other phases of the solar development.

I mentioned how Blair Builders is a customer that I have on board and eager to get the Tri-Tier system on roof tops they own. Blair is also a substantially large land owner in Massachusetts. I'm currently in litigation with Blair to help them develop 6mW (=6,000,000 watts) solar farms on some plots of land that they have available and are un able to install houses on. I couldn't go into this aspect of the solar development in detail because its a business proposal in itself. I chose to stick with the Tri Tier system because it was something that I had least development on, from a business stand point.

So, for a compelling story, I hope to be breaking ground with Blair in early 2013. I alluding to installing conventional solar systems to serve as revenue generation for the Tri-Tier system. The solar farm installations is the revenue. This is what REALLY allows me to pay back a $155,000 to $205,000 loan in under 1 year.

For the Tri-Tier system, I'm finalizing a second loan to get the first freemium project installed by March. The idea is to develop the Tri-Tier system and use it to enhance the energy performance of solar farms as well. Essentially, I came out of the class with 3 business proposal documents, the second of the 3rd which I focused the class on and the 3rd of which I haven't written yet.

-Brendan

Reality of Possibly Failing

 Hi Everyone,

I posted this in the financial case study but wanted to copy it to my blog in case you found value from it.

Original Message:

You all probably don't know much about my business model plan. In short, I'm trying to develop a custom system solar panel installation company. The concept of financing is always on my mind. I'm constantly calculating ROI's from different angles with different perspectives. Last night, I had a discussion with my Mother and Father. They serve as the proto-type installation project for me to really establish myself in the solar business. Long story short, I asked them to re-finance their house, take out a $30,000 loan and support my wife and I as I try and make this installation business work.

Now, there are a TON of details, pro's and con's, benefits and risks that go into this business proposal as you all well know by now. What I wanted to share was the overwhelming emotion I felt when my parents agreed to put the things they've worked so hard for on the line for me; fear. I was scared when they said yes. This happened last night and I'm still scared right now as I'm typing this :). Slide 7 and 8 especially and really the while financial presentation goes through the methods and avenues for gaining financial support. In the end, it is incredibly humbling and down right scary to make the step and really go for it; try to make a business yourself.

My parents haven't refinanced their home yet, they only agreed to do it. I have a lot more work to do (finishing the business model for this class is a big one) before I feel a bit more comfortable with giving this a real try. It may be obvious to some, but I was thinking about the porter 5 forces and the personal pain gain map exercises. The best way to really understand your business, to really understand your customer and measure how willing you are to see this thing to the end is to ask yourself, would you allow your parents to willingly risk the things they've worked so hard for and the life they've built to help you get started? If you received money from an investor, $100 or $1 million, could your REALLY pay it back in 5 years? What if you can't? What if there's a huge road block that you didn't expect which prevents you form being successful and you have to explain to your parents that their $30,000 isn't going to be quite as easy to pay back as you thought? I think I understand the concept of high risk; high reward on a more personal level now...

-Brendan

Can a company today survive on inbound marketing? Why or why not? What is the role of outbound marketing?

Hi Everyone.

I'm very much of the belief that most humans (if not all humans) are naturally skeptical (which doesn't mean they're not gullible, but that's a different story) especially when it comes to making an investment. Assuming that most people are naturally skeptical coupled with the fact that most humans resist change, it can be incredibly hard to get a majority of the population to fully commit to new technology as an investment. Even if  the technology is proven to work, people still have a hard time making the step to part with their money.

That being said, out bound marketing is a term that represents going out into society, talking with people face-to-face and explaining the details that make people skeptical. One of the most important aspects of outbound marketing which will be the foundation of my solar panel sales is getting prototypes into the hands of key, influential people. I need to get a solid working system, beyond a prototype phase, into the hands of a person or group that will use the solar panel technology (which I'll give them for free as a part of an out bound marketing technique) and will create natural in bound marketing. The person/group will be so happy with their service and system production that they will go tell people and be willing to talk to people as living proof that my solar panel technology really does work. That's the plan at least...

In conclusion, out bound marketing is a necessity for developing a successful business. In bound marketing is something that should happen naturally based on the success of the out bound marketing technique.

-Brendan

Gerber - Why Big Companies Can't Innovate

Hi Everyone,

After reading the entire article, I couldn't help but go back to the line, If venture capitalists think entrepreneurs have identified a big problem with an interesting solution, they'll fund the start-up." This is something that I lose sleep over at night when it comes to my innovation with designing a new solar panel. I had a conversation with a student in our class about this; how do you, ABSOLUTELY KNOW, that the problem you think is answering a big problem really is answering the big problem....?

I guess the answer comes down to the "fail quickly and cheaply" concept. I'm at the point know where I REALLY THINK my innovation can solve a big problem; make solar panels more efficient and more appealing as a cost effective investment. I think my only choice is to create a prototype and see what the real market response will be. Any thoughts...?

Another line that caught my attention, "Seasoned managers steer their employees from pursuing the art of discovery and towards engaging in the science of delivery." This is a tough one because in my opinion, the art of discovery is more often than not found in the failure of an innovation. Knowing how NOT to do things can be just as valuable in understanding how to do something correctly. I feel like the general managerial/executive power at be may not fully understand this concept of failures being a huge part of the final success. 

SOLAR PANEL UPDATE:

I went to Florida, where the sun radiation levels are signifigantly higher than in Mass - makes PV system a lot more attractive, this past week. I spoke with a general contractor who is an associate with a very successful Realtor down there. They seemed to think the residential market would be much more accepting to the concept of solar panels because of how much higher the electric bills are down there from 24/7/365 AC units running. People in modest size homes reporting spending in the $6,000-$10,000/year electricity bills. That's about 10x higher than my electric bill in Mass, same for most everyone I know. 

Targeting people with high electric bills is certainly going to be a focus for my entrepreneurship development because the ROI is substantially quicker in terms of time to pay back the system over total investment. The overwhelming response was that developing commercial applications would be a serious cash cow as there's a substantial amount of deserted land that is far outside the sight of communities. 

Thoughts, ideas or any input is always appreciated! Thanks. 

-Brendan

Personal Pain Map

Morning Everyone,

A personal pain map is an incredibly useful tool that asks question to create a profile of the customer segment of a product. A personal pain map is more or less an exercise that puts the innovator/manufacturer/designer in the shoes of the customer to better understand the every day life of their customers. The main objective of the pain map exercise is to find the emotional high's and low's of the customer to capitalize on the customers wants and needs.

Stepping back a second, Kris made a comment a few weeks ago regarding my innovation. My goal was to further develop my solar panel innovation and try to position the product in the residential market. My plan was to start as a door-to-door salesman and try to sell my product to financially established home owners. Kris made a really good point, coupled with the same response from my partners on the project, Kris reasoned that the residential market may not be ready for solar panel technology yet.

When I apply the pain-map exercise/methodology to analyze the residential market (specifically 30-45 year old new home owners in Massachusetts) as the market segment for my product, the first thing that comes to mind (and Kris's mind) is money. The goal of designing and implementing a solar system on someones house is to at a MINIMUM, eliminate their electric bill. Best case scenario is the home owner gets a check back from the electric company (PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DOING THIS! HOME OWNERS ALREADY HAVE SOLAR PANELS ON THEIR HOUSE AND GET A CHECK FROM MASS ELECTRIC EVERY MONTH - $4,000 to $8,500 A YEAR!!!).

The part that potentially turns off home owners from the technology is the investment. Typical home owners with a $75-$125/month electric bill require a $26,000-$40,000 system to get the payback results discussed above. The fact is that this sticker shock is going to turn residential home owners away considering the economic struggle that a majority of my target segment is experiencing. With out making this blog even longer, I've used the 7 sources of innovation and the pain map tools to serve as a pivot point on my target customer segment. I'm going to focus on established businesses of all sizes with the logic that these customers will be more likely to see the investment potential and use it propel their business to the next level.

Side Note: Massachusetts has a tax incentive and re-bate system passed just recently by Devaul Patrick. Home owners are putting existing solar panel technology on their homes, systems are $26,500 and after the tax incentives and rebates, is about $6,000. A TON MORE TO COME ON THIS in the future!!!! What event do you think I'm waiting for to jump from the commercial to residential market...?

I'm REALLY trying to go for this business development. Any advice/opinions is greatly appreciated! Break me down any way you can and point out potential failures.

Thanks guys,

-Brendan

Morning Everyone,

I thought Toyota's A3 report was very interesting. It instantly reminded me of Albert Einstein who is remembered as one of the greatest physicist, engineer and innovator of all times. What Einstein is NOT know for is his terrible personality. In actuality, Einstein almost failed out of his undergraduate study because of his lack of interest in intermediate level classes and liberal arts. Einstein failed with his personal life, divorces his first wife and having a troubled relationship with his children. Most importantly, Einstein wanted nothing to do with talking to investors. Einstein's closets Maurice Solovine, was actually responsible for making all of Einstein's earliest work known to the outside world. Einstein's professional life could have benefited immensely from Toyota's A3 Problem solving method (maybe even his personal life too...?).

Continuing to use Einstein as an application of the A3 system, let's consider Einstein in his earliest years of just before he patented his first innovations on electromagnetism. Einstein was unemployed for 2 years after graduating with his PhD. Einstein could have applied the most basic concept of the A3 system to finding a job; Storytelling. Einstein needed to identify his problem; lack of communication skills. Then he could have used the A3 storytelling tools to market himself to other people in a more mythological and objective way where he could have found a job much sooner. In addition, The A3 problem solving process to identify the root cause of the problem could have forced Einstein to reflect on his weaknesses, understand why the problem exists, how to fix it and a way to sustain the solution.

-Brendan