I’ve been sponsoring three
student teams in the Integrated Product Development class at Carnegie Mellon
University. This is a great program. As part of it I and a
few of my colleagues get presentation updates from the teams on their progress;
we just completed our third and are awaiting the final.
While I’m really excited about
what these students are doing and can’t wait for the outputs of the projects,
I’ve found the process and experience itself to be really valuable.
As I’m traveling back to my
office; the GPS is on so I can reflect on the student presentations and not
miss my turns. A few observations I make:
1.
They are executing
to a solid process; not skipping steps – I wonder how often in my career I have
cut that corner, missed that insight. Getting back to tagging all the
bases sure has value. Note to self – employ a robust process; don’t skip
that step.
2.
Speed – not speed by
skipping steps but just a disciplined focus on getting it done; sometimes
getting creative to secure customer feedback. Overcome obstacles, don’t
stop and wait.
3.
The value of fresh
eyes – more than a few instances where they saw it differently and I never
looked from that angle (what else have I missed?)
4.
Eagerness matters –
When your hungry for success, excited about what you are doing and on a
learning journey its infectious and drives you to new levels of excellence. (How do I stay eager everyday?)
I can’t wait till the final presentations – guess that eagerness has rubbed off!
Jeff Thompson
President Pittsburgh Chapter PDMA
Director Innovation at Mckesson
Automation
SAVE THE DATE: May 16, 2013 Innovation Forum: Intentional Insight - McKesson's Process for Innovation
No comments:
Post a Comment