Week #8 - What's Next?

I’ve always had an interest in technology.  I was fortunate to have a hand-me-down computer in the late 1980s and “modern” computer in the early 1990s.  I watched TechTV and read Wired and PC Magazine.  I had enough confidence to perform hardware upgrades and software hacks, and even built a couple gaming machines.  I guess it’s odd that it never occurred to me to pursue a career path in tech.

I am “tech positive.”  Measuring conservatively, I’ve adapted to tech generally and artificial intelligence specifically.  I think I have taken strong strides towards becoming an adopter and, in some respects, have become adept.  I’m an avid listener of tech focused podcasts, rarely pass up an article or blurb on the “future” of artificial intelligence, and, as I’ve pursued my MBA, become more interested in data. 

Prior to picking up Surfing the Tsunami, I had already started reinforcing my math skills and exploring some of the computer programming offerings on Khan Academy (I’m quickly approaching 1,000,000 meaningless internet points).  I’ve also poked around sites like freeCodeCamp and LinkedIn Learning.  Initially, these efforts were born out of curiosity and making constructive, productive use of my newfound spare time during The Pandemic.  But now, it seems to be more important than that.   

As artificial intelligence becomes even more integrated into the workspace, members of the workforce will most certainly be required to be AI adopters. More and more, job postings are searching out more than just “tech savvy” or “familiarity” with email.  Instead, organizations are looking for employees with practical experience using a variety of data harvesting and processing programs like Power BI, Tableau, and Alteryx as well as advanced fluency with old standbys like Excel.    

Competitive advantage is typically executed at an organizational level through cost leadership or product/ service differentiation or focus.  With time, organizations may come to increasingly rely on personnel to be more than proficient with software, but adept individuals with the advanced, sophisticated understanding needed to create and innovate.    

 

 

 

Week #8 - MBA 6101 - Surfing the Tsunami, Chapter 8: What to Do Next

Kelsey’s final chapter of Surfing the Tsunami, What to Do Next, lays out suggestions for taking the next steps towards artificial intelligence proficiency. For Kelsey the journey starts at adapting to AI with active habit building. This can be as simple as setting aside time dedicated to reading about (or watching or listening to) developments in artificial intelligence.  Reaching the second step, adopt, is a very natural progression—setting aside the time to explore and investigate AI applications. 

Taking the next step, becoming AI adept, in naturally more involved.  To start, Kelsey has a variety of recommendations including books like Ford’s Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future and Byrnjolfsson and McAfee’s The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies.  Kelsey also suggests exploring the variety of tech “bootcamps” that have become available as well as course offerings from online institutions like Khan Academy or Coursera.  The caveat is experimenting with different formats until finding what works for you. 

Ultimately, there are many resources available for the intrepid and curious.  From simply following the news and reading books or journals to more formal sources including individual classes and learning paths or full courses of study, there are many available trails to explore. Whether you are keen to adapt or adopt, or aspire to become adept, like other technologies, AI is constantly evolving, and learning is an ongoing process. 

 

  

Week #8 – MBA 6101 – Guerrilla Marketing, Chapter 8: Research: The Starting Point of a Guerrilla Marketing Campaign

In Research: The Starting Point of a Guerrilla Marketing Campaign of Guerrilla Marketing; Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making BigProfits From Your Small Business, Levinson discusses the significance of research in shaping and implementing a marketing campaign.  As a tool, research can be used to create a powerful connection with potential and existing customers.  For the entrepreneur, the information gathered through research can serve as a “spark for breakthrough thinking.”

Most entrepreneurs will begin their research with internet searches, but the traditional methods of research that the internet supplanted are well developed and up to date.  Books, journals, and other publications still hold valuable, accessible information including census data, industry white papers, and research reports. 

Another source for research for guerrilla marketers are prospective and existing customers.  Simple surveys and lengthier questionnaires can be used to collect a glut of details.  Along with observing broad trends, information collected from surveys and questionnaires can be used to learn specific details about potential and current customers.  These details can be used to optimize marketing efforts including “how to appeal to them” and “how to reach them through the media.” Other information that can be learned are details about potential competitors as well as demographic details about your customer base. 

There are many potential sources for information that marketers can tap to create and execute their strategies.  However, it is important to consider the “quality of information” and the “source of information.”  According to Levinson, for research to be valuable, it is crucial that it is “high-quality information” from a “reliable source.”     

Week #7 - MBA 6101 - Ascend Your Start-Up, Chapter 7, The Summit: A View Toward Your Next Peak

In The Summit: A View Toward Your Next Peak, the seventh chapter of Ascend Your Start-Up, Yu explains that an organization’s “growth thrives at the intersection of technology and humanity.” According to Yu, an organization needs the “vision and wisdom” of the “right people” to drive technology.  Gaining a foothold on the global stage is a team effort that requires support from the entire organization.   

Decision #22: How will you inspire cultural collaboration?

Yu explains a collaborative culture as taking the initiative to create an “inclusive, thriving culture” that is open and welcomes ideas and innovations. For the entrepreneur, it is important to be the voice of those within the organization that are underrepresented.  To nurture cultural collaboration, it is important to consider many aspects of the organization. Some examples include ensuring hiring practices encourage cultural fit, placing value on relationship building, demonstrating open communication and trust from the organization’s leadership, and creating an environment that encourages empathy.  

Decision #23: How has your technology connected humanity in a better or bigger way?

Yu states unequivocally that “technology is a path to freedom.” For many, technology provides a means to almost limitless opportunities to learn and explore. Yu places the burden on tech start-up founders to use their technology to make a positive, constructive difference for humanity.

Decision #24: How will you armor up for adversity?

According to Yu, “in the face of adversity, we are who we choose to be.”  For the budding start-up, hurdles and obstacles are the rule rather than the exception and should be expected.  Yu stresses the importance of the roles of physical and mental preparation in overcoming adversity. When a snag is encountered, it’s critical to maintain a positive viewpoint and committed to staying on course (or prepared for potential detours). Yu encourages entrepreneurs to remember to acknowledge achievements no matter how small and to foster a positive team experience.      

Decision #25: How will you handle the loneliness factor?

While undoubtedly rewarding, according to Yu, the climb for the entrepreneur is a “solitary” experience.  Because of it’s inherent loneliness, Yu emphasizes the importance for entrepreneurs to create a supportive community to help cope with the rigors of professional life.  

Decision #26: How will you take care of and preserve yourself?

The final micro-decision that Yu puts forward is “how will you take care of and preserve yourself?” For entrepreneurs (and their employees), it’s easy misconstrue overworking as passion.  Like an overtrained athlete that becomes prone to exhaustion and even injury, an overworked entrepreneur can become prone to “burnout, unwanted company culture, missteps, and even illness.” To counteract this tendency, Yu stresses the importance of self-care to ensure mental and physical well-being. 

 

Week #7 - MBA 6101 - Surfing the Tsunami, Chapter 7: Getting to Know AI: People and Perspectives

 In Chapter 7, Getting to Know AI: People and Perspectives, of Surfing the Tsunami: An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Optionsfor Responding, Kelsey introduces several leaders in the field of artificial intelligence.  While Andrew Ng, Geoffrey Hinton, Pedro Domingos, Fei Fei Li, Jim Spohrer, and Irving Wladawsky-Berger are not necessarily household names, they are pillars in the tech community, contributing their vison and/ or having a hand in shaping and leading innovation.

The figures profiled by Kelsey move in different circles, but they are committed advocates for technology and evangelists for their fields of study. While their expertise varies, there are common threads that weave through their work.  For example, technology generally, but artificial intelligence specifically, has the potential to have a profound, positive impact on individuals (like improving the accessibility and quality of education) and society at large (such as improving the efficiency and efficacy of employees in the workspace).  Although the integration of artificial intelligence will include growth pains, the experts discussed by Kelsey are largely optimistic about the direction of technology and AI.  Perhaps more importantly, the experts are hopeful that people will adapt and adopt to the changes that come with innovation   

Kelsey advocates for taking in as much information about AI and the AI community as reasonable.  In addition to tried-and-true resources like articles and books, seeking out opportunities to meet people that are using artificial intelligence at a variety of levels can be as source for not just information, but inspiration.          

 

 

Week #7 – MBA 6101 – Guerrilla Marketing, Chapter 7: Secrets of Saving Marketing Money

In Secrets of Saving Marketing Money, the seventh chapter of Guerilla Marketing; Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits FromYour Small Business, Levinson outlines marketing strategies that optimize a marketing budget without sacrificing effectiveness.  According to Levinson, a savvy guerrilla marketer can save marketing dollars by not squandering marketing dollars. 

Levinson argues that identifying and staying with a marketing strategy provides two benefits to the entrepreneur.  First, it enhances the broad impact of your marketing efforts.  Second, you avoid sinking precious marketing dollars into repeatedly changing your marketing campaign.  

Levinson also urges entrepreneurs to consider bartering.  By partnering with ad publishers like television stations or newspapers and other entrepreneurs it’s possible to barter various services and goods as an alternative to paying retail price. 

Along with bartering, Levinson also suggests accessing cooperative advertising funds.  Similar to product placements in television or films, advertisers with large budgets may pay other advertisers that promote their products or services in their ads. 

Another option suggested by Levinson is a per inquiry (PI) or per order (PO) arrangement with a radio or television broadcaster.  In exchange for advertising time, the advertiser will pay a commission to the broadcaster. 

According to Levinson, regardless of how the guerilla marketer decides to conserve marketing resources, the entrepreneur must consider three variables, “quality, economy, and speed.” While speed can be important, quality and economy are the center of a successful guerilla marketing campaign.  For Levinson, marketing falls in two categories, “expensive” and “inexpensive.”  Expensive marketing “is the kind that doesn’t work.”  Inexpensive marketing “is the kind of marketing that works, regardless of cost.”  

Week #6 - MBA 6101 - Surfing the Tsunami, Chapter 6: Level 3: Become Adept in AI

Through the course of his book, Surfing the Tsunami, Dr Todd Kelsey encourages that some familiarity with artificial intelligence and machine learning is crucial in the job market today and for the foreseeable future. At an organizational level, AI and ML are and will continue to be critical to creating and keeping a competitive edge.

Kelsey provides three options or levels of proficiency to aspire for. The beginner level, to adapt, is predominantly a passive option.  According to Kelsey, the AI/ ML beginner is learning and paying attention to how artificial intelligence and machine learning are being integrated and applied in the workspace. At this stage, while acknowledging the potential impact of AI/ ML, the adapt stage still allows for some cynical-tinted skepticism despite the “writing on the wall.”

At the intermediate/ proficiency level, the user has moved beyond adapt and embraced adoption. According to Kelsey, the adopt option is for the user that looks for a “hands on” approach to artificial intelligence tools and platforms.  Integration may include basic tools like virtual assistants (Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Cortana), using software that is AI-based like Salesforce’s Sales Cloud Einstein, or using a platform built on programs using Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning or Google Cloud Machine Learning.

The third possibility is to become adept. According to Kelsey, the adept user has achieved a fluency with artificial intelligence and machine learning. The user has developed the knowledge and skills to engage directly in creating, developing, or implementing AI applications. While bridging the gap between intermediate/ proficient (adopt) and fluent (adept) may feel intimidating, Kelsey favors short steps over long leaps.

Kelsey suggests “finding ways to simplify the process of learning about AI” and above all, to find ways of learning that are “fun and interesting.” For example, novice learners can find inspiration on sites like YouTube. Videos, especially those that focus on application rather than abstraction, are accessible, convenient first steps.

Another method for users looking to move from adopt to adept (and beyond) are games. Educational games are effective tools that can be used to teach a diverse audience of learners a range of concepts across many subjects including data science, artificial intelligence, and coding. Games/ sites like CodinGame, SQL Murder Mystery, and Grid Garden and Flexbox Defense are aimed at introducing beginners to coding through gamification. 

Videos and games provide a reasonably thorough introduction to artificial intelligence, data science, and coding, there are sites and apps that offer a more “traditional” online experience to learning.  Kelsey notes the advantages of a structured, community-based, mentor/ instructor led approach to learning as the most helpful, but suggests offerings from sites like Coursera, DataCamp, and Khan Academy as simple ways to get started and, importantly, to “maintain momentum.”    

There are many different paths that lead towards fluency in artificial intelligence. Ultimately, according to Kelsey, “it comes down to trying a path” and making learning a habit.