Why do some initiatives succeed where others fail? That would take a book in itself. But perhaps a lesson from a student competition may help.
For the past eight years, I have been a sometimes judge at the world's largest student competition for software, the Microsoft Imagine Cup. By the time the semi-finalists reach the chosen city for the world competition, they have won their regional and country competitions. 350,000 applicants become the best 20 teams. This in itself is a monumental achievement.
My favorites is the Jordan team's video from 2010 in New York. They had the ultimate mashup: a TV remote diode attached to a baseball cap, a SONY WII box duct-taped to a monitor, and software to move a mouse when the cap was worn and moved. Their solution was a "system" to allow a paraplegic to manipulate programs like Facebook and a phone dealer, so a 25-year old confined to a wheel chair was able to regain her life (her words). Perhaps the cursor software was new, but everything else was strung together from off-the-shelf items. Brilliant!
Having seen a 100 such presentations, I've noticed some recurring themes that may not be apparent from the content of their work; it is a matter of attitude that is so different from many of our corporate initiatives.
The lessons of the Imagine Cup tell another story. Team after team with project after project defy the odds with innovation. I have often counted off what I call the "no's" of Imagine Cup students:
1) No business experience
2) No marketing experience
3) No money
4) No time
5) No sense of limitation
It is that last one that makes all the difference. The contestants I have listened to over the past five years as a software design judge are not limited by statements like "that will never work here". They just "do" with whatever means they have within their reach, and then some. And their enthusiasm for their solutions is contagious. |