Week 4 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me was reading how to identify opportunities and generate ideas as I never knew there was a method or a way to quantify the process of developing or creating these game changing items.  I know that there had to be a way to put into words the methods and idiosyncrasies that work when coming up with ideas and solutions I just never thought of it the way described in the book, so systematic and logical. 

I would say the most confusing aspect of the reading to me was the improving on creativity because I always had the misconception that people were either creative or not creative.  I always tend to think of creative types as really artsy and abstract in their thinking however entrepreneurs blend this with the systematic and logical process ability.  This part clarified a lot of the confusing aspect of creativity for me. 

I would ask the author what methods of the creative cultivation process have worked best for them in identifying opportunities.  My biggest challenge has always been in identifying the opportunity where others see a problem or an unsolvable issue.  I would love to be able to think in a mindset free of distractions and preconceived notions that bring out my tendency to rush to judgment and arrive to a conclusion without really seeing the whole problem and possible solutions.  Maybe thinking outside of the box would be helpful, I just need a more forceful nudge to implore that kind of thinking. 

I would also ask what other useful aspects of the creative process can be dug deeper into as I always have a cool book idea or graphic novel concept but always fail to expound or elaborate enough to make it come to fruition.  I always end up dropping it and it will usually be out of sight and out of mind so nothing has ever come of it. 

I don’t think the author was incorrect about anything in the reading.  As usual, this book serves to broaden my thinking which I always go into not expecting much when reading the subject matter.  I always take away a pretty neat concept or nugget of information that I share with my coworkers or my fiancé and it will be no different with this reading. 

Customer Interviews No. 1

I live very close to UCF in a subdivision off of North Tanner Road and McCulloch Road.  On this intersection there used to be a 5/3rd Bank that is now defunct.  It is on a simple stretch of road that is adjacent to a nature preserve on one side and the rest of the surrounding area is comprised of single family home subdivisions.  It is an established area as it's close to the UCF main campus and a prime opportunity to implement a solution for the young families, students and commuters in the vicinity.  I was able to identify the need for maybe a gas station or a daycare facility in the existing building/lot where the bank used to be.  The reason these 2 offerings came to mind and I decided they were unmet, is that I often find myself needing gas before driving to work and taking my daughter to daycare, or I find myself wanting a late night snack or need to buy milk and all the other stores are closed.  The gas station/convenience store fulfills that particular need.  The child daycare center however would be a great solution as well as there are plenty of young families with children in and around my neighborhood.  The location is strategically located and there aren’t many child daycare centers in the direct vicinity.  You do have to drive to specific locations away from the area in order to locate one so the scarcity of such a business is present.

I asked 5 strangers that live in and around my neighborhood what would better serve their needs and the following are the results.

Questions:

1.  What would better serve the members of this community, opening a gas station/convenience store or a child daycare center?  Why?

3.  What would be some negative impacts if such a business were to be implemented?

4.  What other types of businesses do you think would compliment or would you like to see in close proximity relative to this location?

Ian Gesundheit

Matt Schafer

Jose Garcia

Fab Schafer

Rob Vetter

After talking/interviewing 5 strangers, I came away with the positive affirmation that this would be a great and viable idea to implement and it would serve the community in a good way for sure.  The gas station/convenience store option was the more popular one and the one that I think would generate the most steady stream of revenue as well as providing the greater amount of convenience.  

Talking to strangers and asking to interview them was a daunting task for me as I consider myself fairly introverted and not an outgoing and gregarious personality that finds it easy to talk to people I don't know.  What I did find is that strangers have a lot of patience and are normal human beings just like myself and after the first 2, the rest of the interviews became a tad bit easier to conduct.   I greatly appreciated their time and their feedback as I honestly did not think I was going to be able to pull this off seeing as how I'm not a super outgoing person that finds this type of task a walk in the park.  It definitely did get me out of my comfort zone and it made me realize that it wasn't so difficult after all.  I should not have stressed it so much and I hope this makes it easier for the next interview assignments coming up.  

Top 5 World Problems

Most Serious

Income inequality

Terrorism

Climate change

Sexual Slavery

Wars and Conflicts

Least Serious

Hunger

AIDS

No running/potable drinking water

No availability of internet

Apathy

Most possible to implement

Climate Change

Income Inequality

Sexual Slavery

Terrorism

Wars and Conflicts

The reason I selected Income Inequality as the top problem is because I firmly believe that money and the corruptible power it bestows is the root of a lot of the evil that exists in the world.  An example of this is to take a look at the microcosm of violence and corruption that comprises the narcotics trafficking cartels in Mexico.  The money the illicit trade of narcotics brings, is so powerful that large swaths of the justice system and state police forces are entirely corrupt as a consequence.  They are bought and paid off so handsomely that over a hundred thousand people have died at the hands of this violence, just to traffic narcotics across the border to the U.S.  It has a trickle down effect in that it engenders and creates a vicious cycle that is hard to break in the form of dependencies and spin off illicit markets that are created in support of and in conjunction to the narcotics trafficking trade, such as prostitution, sexual slavery, murder, arms trafficking, human trafficking, etc.  All for money.  That’s the end goal and what these willing and unwilling participants are both fighting and sacrificed for, respectively.  Without this large gap in income, a lot of these ills and problems outlined would be in effect eliminated.  Impossible to eradicate as it is impossible to predict human nature. 

My most implementable solution I believe is climate change.  The reason I listed this one is because as humans we can certainly determine if there is a planet where we can spend money and vacation and work and fulfill our destinies, then it stands to reason that without a planet none of the aforementioned is then viable or possible.  We will reach a point where recycling, reduction in carbon emissions, conserving energy will become a necessity and not a green minded after thought for the conservationists and folks who seek to preserve and save our planet.  It’s a long shot but I really hope we start to really invest in green and renewable energy sources more so than we have in the past.  Without these technologies in the pipeline, our dependency on fossil fuels will continue.  Its high time we take care of our most valuable resource and the reason for our existence.  Its not like we have another planet we can simply take a space ship to and colonize and then begin to ruin that environment as well.