The Thinkery by Sky Castle Business

THE THINKERY

winter EDITION

Dec 2012/JAN 2013

for Creative Entrepreneurs

THE COOKIE DEPARTMENT &

Ways TO brand like a rockstar

POWER 2 SWITCH The $1.3m Bright Idea That Nobody’s Heard Of

PARTY TRICKS

Tactics to Survive Your Office Party

PIECE & GOOD WILL STARTING ECO-CHIC FASHION LABEL PIECE X PIECE

Worlds No.1 Small Business Guru

Michael E. Gerber On Why Most Dreams Fail and What to About It

THE THINKERY | DEC 2012 / JAN 2013 //1 www.skycastlethinkery.com

//Contents DECEMBER 2012 - JANUARY 2013 Piece & Good Will A look at Piece x Piece Elizabeth Brunner’s eco-chic new label

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Shopping for

Power 2 Switch

Why Most Dreams Fail and What to Do About It

The Cookie Department

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Author Michael E. Gerber talks about visioning and limitations

Cross Pollination

Going from bored architect to flourishing florist.

The cookies that brand like a beverage plus 5 ways to brand like a rockstar

Gastro Jazz

One of the world’s best restaurants finds jazz and discover its purpose

Thinker Tools Case Study Builder

The Lazy Gift Giver’s Guide

27 Books to ponder

Reviews

Services that make selecting gifts effortless.

Office Party Survival

Avoid a festive faux pas at work.

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Editor’s //Note The Thinkery is that place where great ideas occur, when you stop thinking and start imagining. Get started. Even if you don’t have all the answers try anyway. The anthology of entrepreneurs that follow all did. They took an extraordinary leap of faith, starting businesses when the economy was at it’s most precarious. There is never a perfect time to get started on your dream. You’re only limited by your ability to adapt and create. So far we’ve uneven and shaky glimpses of recovery. While we wait expectantly for an uptick, there’s a lot I’m looking forward to for the new year. 2013 ushers in the JOBS Act and equity crowd-funding. I’m interested to see how that space burgeons and what it means for entrepreneurs. Of course I’m looking forward the new and improved tech-tools that 2013 no doubt will offer, and the continued growth of locally made goods but what I’m really enthused by are the clients who are taking the long term view. They’re investing in their business development now. Innovating and steadily preparing to be poised for the next wave. Which brings be back to my first point— get started. You never know how far you’ll get unless you make a start, so go for your dream, you’ll be amazed at how the world will rise to support a good idea, and of course we’ve got your back. Wishing you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! MICHELLE BADEJO Sky Castle Business Design & Coaching michelle@skycastlethinkery.com.

//Contributors Editor-in-Chief Michelle S. Badejo

Design Michelle S. Badejo

Contributing Writers Michelle S. Badejo Carrie Beal Amaro Melissa Gena Rachel K. Mann

Contributing Art Vanessa Ninona Contributing Photography Dan Ostergren special thanks to Judi Roubideaux

www.skycastlethinkery.com

THE THINKERY | DEC 2012 / JAN(4759) 2013 //3 415-326-4SKY

INGENUITY Elizabeth Brunner’s Unique Eco-Chic Concept: Piece x Piece There is something quintessentially Americana about piecing together alternating fabric, from the seamed together stars and stripes to the needlework of quilts. Patchwork quilting in particular has traditionally been an expression of meaning, frugality and art, which made its way to the upper echelons of society. In Elizabeth Brunner’s day frugality is earth-friendly and art is fashion. No she is not a seamstress from Pennsylvania Dutch country, she is the founder of the fashion label “Piece x Piece”, in San Francisco.

iece x Piece is a collection of well tailored clothing, “upcyled” from sample, fabric swatches which would otherwise be discarded. Brunner came up with the idea while interning at a local designer. Coming from a family of six and because of her own eco-awareness, being wasteful did not sit comfortably with her. “Rather than just accept that, I guess, I asked if I could take them home because I thought it was very bizarre, even though it shouldn’t be, it was the strangest realization that I came to.”

Piece and Good Will Follow us @the_thinkery

“

...if you have a good story, and believe in what your doing that takes you very far.”

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INGENUITY Initially Brunner had intended to pass on the swatches to her college and create a bridge from the design house to the college so that fellow students had access to finer fabrics but that plan didn’t pan out. So her garage, became an orphanage for forgotten fabrics and lost linens. Until a year later when Brunner’s husband reminded her that the swatches would need to find homes. “Once I started looking at the fabric closely and realized that if I didn’t come up with a use for the fabric, I too would have to throw them away. That was just something that was hard for me to do, and so I just started trying to figure out a way I could use the fabric. It turned into, organically, a business but it was not intentional at all.”

By the time Piece x Piece had launched in 2010 there was wave of home sewing hobbyists underway, compelled to sew flirty aprons in fruity colors but for those committed to sewing their own wardrobe the “McCall Pattern Company” would be there to meet the demand with their Generation Next designer patterns. Brunner secured a licensing deal with McCall adding Piece x Piece patterns to the collection. They saw brand alignment in the idea of fashioning clothing with left over fabric, something home sewers have a lot of. Brunner recalls her mother having draws and draws of left over fabric. Piece x Piece has sold over 7000 patterns with McCall, proving to be a good business move.

Brunner had recently graduated from California College of the Arts, in Fashion Design and with encouragement from friends and family, Brunner transitioned her designs into a label. “I remember very vividly sitting in my studio, thinking...I’m really putting this stuff together piece by piece and that’s how the name came to be.”

Though she would rather be designing than pitching, the role of business owner is one she is adjusting to. “There’s a lot of things that are great about owning your own business. Certainly having the pride of really looking after something and fostering it, and hoping that it grows into something is very fulfilling, especially if it is something that you’re passionate about and you really care about so that aspect of the business is really rewarding for me. I’m happy and I’m lucky that I get to do that.”

The patchwork nature of the clothing gives the label a strong point of view. It’s earth-friendly component is almost secondary as it perhaps should be, as an eco-chic product. The Buena Vista Blazer for example has a mode of sophistication “it’s very San Francisco in terms of it’s look, its very basic but it’s also very striking.” Since the swatches are remnants sourced from upscale designers, material costs are minimized. There is also an inherent scarcity, which makes for a luxury garment that can command a higher price point. “It’s a great way to make something truly unique each time” says Brunner. Every item is practically bespoke and somewhat laborious to produce so how does the business expand? One answer came in the form of patterns.

Like most new businesses raising awareness has been the main challenge “there’s a lot of hurdles you have to jump in terms of just getting people to pay attention to what you’re doing.” For upcoming designers Brunner has this advice: “Really believe in what your doing, and what is your story?...Piece x Piece took me, really two years to come to a state where I felt like it could be viable business and then another two years to launch it. So you really have to believe in what you’re doing, and have a good story to tell because people are interested in stories. I feel like if you have a good story, and believe in what your doing that takes you very far.” n

http://ww.pxp-sf.com PHOTOS BY PIECE X PIECE Follow us @the_thinkery

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learn more

BRANDABLE

The Cookie Department

the cookies that brand like a beverage By. Michelle Badejo Photos bY Dan Ostergren

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he Cookie Department, based in Berkeley CA, have a lot to celebrate. They’re going national and what they’re serving up is not your grandma’s recipe. Their Chocolate Chip Nookie cookie, for example claims to be an aphrodisiac thanks to being infused with Maca root, and there is something about the glint in co-founder Akiva Resnikoff’s eye that alludes to it’s efficacy but the best way to know he suggests is to try one. Resnikoff founded the business in 2009 has been building it up batch by batch with the help of co-founder and mentor Pam Marcus. The product is sweet and satisfying but judging by the number of cookie swaps happening this season there are no shortages of cookies, so how do you set the product apart we asked. Each cookie has a function they explain. Tough Cookie for example, is a peanut butter toffee cookie with ten grams of protein, good for rapid energy burners and does well in gyms.

“

I guess I just take chances

Having a function is key element of the brand strategy. Resnikoff entered the high octane world of energy drink marketing and borrowed a few ideas. “I noticed that there was this crazy influx of energy drink companies and water beverages. All these different beverages that were hitting the market so fast, and they kept copying each other but the problem was they were kind of the exact same thing, all the time. Same flavors, same marketing.” Deciding against yet another energy drink or the ubiquitous protein bar he opted for cookies. “If you’re going to eat a cookie you might as well make it beneficial in some way or another” he reasoned. Perusing the cookie aisle he saw that Follow us @the_thinkery

every individually wrapped cookie was either gluten free or vegan. There were no additional, health or booster attributes. This observation meshed with another thought that was lingering in his mind. His favorite coffee shop served cookies; why not combine two functions to have a caffeinated cookie? “So I started testing it out and it started becoming a hit. I got random people on the street recognizing me from coffee shops that I would attend and sample cookies for employees, and they started ordering cookies from me, and I thought hey I’ll make it a business.” Marketing would be baked in from the get go, each cookie would match its name

and ingredients to lifestyle. With the help of his brother, and sister-in-law they came up with the names and a distinctive brand concept. They wanted the brand to be clever, a little provocative and reflective of his generation. Awaken Baked for example is a nod to the stoner culture. There are no scantily clad women on hand though, unlike the Rockstar energy drink but like the famous Red Bull cars, there is a vehicle. The milk white HHR that brazenly displays The Cookie Department’s logo can be found zipping about the East Bay streets. “The car is definitely is stand out vehicle to begin with and I’ve kind of been deemed cookie guy in Berkeley, just because whenever someone sees the car they’ll e-mail me oh I saw your car!’ or THE THINKERY | DEC 2012 / JAN 2013

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someone will say ‘oh I see your cars’ – plural – ‘everywhere!’ No, there’s only one.” Resnikoff laughs. Energy drinks don’t typically taste as appealing as your average soda, so they are marketed on brand image. In this regard cookies have an advantage. Nevertheless, The Cookie Department is not resting on those laurels, in a crowded market the brand strategy is all important. Undaunted and confident in the product Resnikoff builds loyalty by catering to one customer at a time. “I guess I just take chances, you know, and it’s not necessarily about the taste, it’s about how you sell yourself too. When I go to demos I’m really sociable and really active in getting new customers. Really trying to make a lifestyle around our products. Like if I see someone walk up in gym shorts I’ll try to sell them on the protein cookie.” What is daunting is “Going from like a small cafe product to a big national brand

in a year, that’s scary but its the kind of thing that has to be done and that’s where Pam came in to help me. I had to take that leap of faith.” And he did, launching a successful Kickstarter campaign that funded the packaging required for national distribution. Rensikoff met Pam Marcus at coffee shop. She was compelled by his passion for the product and the fact that each line of cookies had its own story attached. “What’s key in new products is that you’ve got to be first to market in something, and it better be a good idea that people like. So the the fact that it was a functional cookie...there was no other cookie out there that had that.”Marcus also emphasizes that differentiation and solid product is fundamental. Having gained national success with her first company “Life Factory”, Marcus has brought just the kind of midwifery magic, need to grow to the business. While Resnikoff is the spry creative, Marcus the steady hand. Though she is just as emphatic about getting you to try a cookie. For the holiday season they suggest the “Grateful” cookie a sweet potato , cranberry, oatmeal cookie that tastes like thanksgiving and christmas combined.n

“

What’s key in new products is that you’ve got to be first to market in something, and it better be a good idea that people like.

http://www.thecookiedepartment.com

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01//have a story

02//go where they gather

03//engage

04//be active

While you may not be able to pull off a record setting sky dive from the edge of space as Felix Baumgartner’s did for Red Bull, you can create a story around your product line. Think about who uses your product, which familiar aspects of their lifestyle could you tap into? What can your brand inspire?

It’s about being a big fish in the small ponds where your customers gather. Red Bull, on its way to becoming a world renown brand chose get there through sponsorships of extreme sports and events over big media spends. As that business cliche goes think global but act local.

Having a street style marketing strategy means authentically engaging with your customer one on one. Suprise and enchant them, let them sample you! This applies online too. Instead of one way tweets about your company or pushing ‘interesting’ links engage in conversations.

They’re not called energy drinks for nothing. There is is a hustle to this type of marketing that you can’t escape. Do lot’s of events and trade shows. Don’t give up after just a few events your hard work will pay off in the end, soon it will feel to your customers like your brand is everywhere, and that’s a good thing.

05//Brand boldly Brand with strong visuals. Subtly is not an option, brand big or go home.

WAYS TO MARKET LIKE A ROCKSTAR ...OR AN ENERGY DRINK

Companies like The Cookie Department, drop the darker side of the energy drink sector’s marketing tactics, and embrace the more effective aspects. The sector itself, borrowed from the grassroots marketing of touring musicians. Whether you want to market like a rockstar, rockstar drink or a red bull here are some notes from the playbook.

photo provided by red bull stratos Follow us @the_thinkery

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Power 2 Switch How do you build a business around a service concept no one has heard of? by michelle badejo

By.Stephen Joe

ou toss down your keys and shuffle through the bills, zeroing in on the boxes with the number. On your electricity bill you find an astronomical amount that makes you wonder if the kids are running an arcade palace in the basement. Only then do you ponder the worthiness of your utility provider which subsequently earns several demerits as you hang on for customer ‘care’. As consumers we don’t give much thought to the energy provider as long as the lights turn on and the mobile devices are charged. Deciphering crazy traffic structures is no one’s idea of fun, and few of us realize that we can choose alternatives. Like the lawn, the energy supplier came with house but unlike the lawn, you don’t have to be stuck with it says “Power2Switch”, a company that makes switching to an alternative energy supplier easy. Lowering monthly bills is the biggest draw. There are several deregulated states that give consumers a choice of supplier. Making ‘the switch’ can result in significant cost savings, in some states up to 27% annually. Consumers also have the chance to support renewable energy such as wind, solar or biomass through their choice of provider. We sat down with Power2Switch CEO Seyi Fabode to talk about his experiences and challenges starting a business around this little known fact. He spotted the gap in the market having worked in the energy sector in Britain, where enterprises would seek to cut costs by changing providers. Moving to Chicago, and wanting to save money on his own bills,

he discovered that the market was deregulated in Illinois but there was no easy way to find and compare providers, so he set about building a way. Finding a partner in COO, Phil Nevels a fellow MBA classmate at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Together they would make comparison shopping for electricity as easy as finding cheaper flights. Revenue would be generated from agreements made with energy suppliers for delivering customers willing to make the change to a new supplier. Power2Switch would be tasked with ensuring a painless transition and the ongoing customer care. Their goal; to help consumers make responsible decisions about energy usage, control their costs and experience better customer service. The idea was nifty enough to win them a coveted spot at Excelerate Labs Chicago’s seed start-up accelerator. It was second time lucky for the duo. Not succeeding with the first application meant a lot of reflection, “we learned a ton and realized the things we needed to give ourselves a chance”. Namely, customers. In the year between the first application and second, Power2Switch had gained few hundred customers from which they could mine data and get a some realworld consumer insights. There’s nothing like paying customers to whet an investor’s appetite. Gaining a place Excelerate Labs was another comeback-from-the- brink story that Fabode had to share. Like many start-ups, there were times when the team was unsure of how they could keep the lights on. Though they never gave up on the idea, they were

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POWER 2 SWITCH sometimes weary of their ability to make it happen. In one such moment, a life line came when a prospect, who owned a string of thirteen McDonald’s franchises, finally put pen to paper and signed the contract, giving Power2Switch the power to continue for the next two months. The Excelerate opportunity came in a similar, right on cue fashion. “It was good because we’d gone from a few months of not knowing if we could make it to standing in front of VCs” says Fabode who remembers those moments as a divine signs to keep plugging away. In December 2011 the pair raised $1.3 million their first round of funding led by OAC Ventures, with New World Ventures, I2A, Hyde Park Angels and other angel investors including Troy Henikoff and Sam Yagan (Spark Notes Co-founder). Adding Michael Polsky a seasoned energy sector entrepreneur as an investor and advisor. The influx of cash has allowed Power2Switch to grow as a team and accelerate expansion to other states but not too fast Fabode cautions. “I think the best way for us right now is to take however many thousand plus customers we have now, layer additional services and make ourselves indispensable to a certain bunch of people and then take that to however many states we want to take it to; fully understanding what our customers want...especially because in the energy industry there’s so much competition that expansion is great but a product offering that makes you part of people’s lives I think is the path I want to go...I want to have impact. A million people or something, that absolutely love what we’ve provided.” The ongoing challenge for the Power2Switch team is raising awareness. How do you build a customer base when few people know they can shop for electricity? A prime source has been property management companies in Chicago who want to save money. By managing their electricity sign up process for new tenants, it becomes a word of mouth generator because the new users are “engaging with an entity they trust, they use the service, they find it works and then we introduce ourselves to them and they are like ‘oh this is really great, I have to tell someone else about it. ‘ It’s really very

http://www.power2switch.com

grass roots the way we approach it.” he explains. It is about adding users “One customer at a time. Educating one customer who then becomes an evangelist.” Prior to the interview he is stopped by a customer whose excitement ushers them into a coffee shop as he tells of how he used Power2Switch and thought it was great enough to e-mail a recommendation to friends, who e-mailed back with questions. Lots of questions. The customer was surprised that he felt knowledgeable enough to give answers with ease. Intrigued by how naturally he was marketing for Power2Switch he was now suggesting, incentivizing customers like himself. Getting to the meat and potatoes of what makes a customer want to spread the word, the answer for Fabode is straight forward; “We make it simple. “ Simplicity and transparency is important to the brand strategy. “So the same contract they would see from the supplier, which would be a six page document that is convoluted because some lawyer wrote and the whole point is to confuse you, we boil it down to six elements. The six elements you have to really know to make that decision, and make that as simple as possible for each [user] to sign the contract online and walk away comfortable with the decision.” When a customer goes through the process of ‘making the switch’ it plays double duty. Solving a problem and equipping the user with key information on an almost secret way to save money. You come away with the kind of story that makes you look smarter in front of your peers, so why not share? In effect you’ve digested the script. Next on the agenda for Power2Switch is the launch of Killowatts of Kindness an initiative that lets users share a portion of their savings from making the switch, with people who are unable to afford electricity. The winter months can be less than festive for low income families, seniors and those with disabilities who struggle to pay rising energy costs. Perhaps with this kind of help the only thing they’ll need to be daunted by this holiday season is untangling the string lights. n

“

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gastro jazz Eleven Madison Park: Where fine dining met the spirit of jazz and found it’s raison d’être. by michelle badejo

Image:Flickr/ Whey by Kent Wang

Caraway gnocchi, fresh curds with spring herbs and garlic flowers.

ne line changed the tenor of “Eleven Madison Park”, the upscale New York city restaurant, forever. It came from a laudatory three and a half star review from the New York Observer. Mere mortals would be cracking open the champagne and nursing the hangover the next day but for Head Chef Daniel Humm, who has been bathed in accolades since making his mark in San Francisco, and general manager Will Guidara, the next day meant looking for areas of improvement. The only cause for pause in the entire review was that “the place needed a bit of Miles Davis.” This one line illuminated the missing ingredient, the dash of something that could lift the restaurant into the stratosphere. Humm and Guidara were tasked with reinventing the restaurant and when taking on such a mission your first objective is to scope out the Follow us @the_thinkery

competition. Sift out the attributes to emulate, and discover what you can do better. They studied the great restaurants they admired. They studied what was in existence. However, to be innovative you, “don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there” as Miles Davis said. So they fixated on what was missing and compiled a list of descriptors commonly associated with the legendary jazz musician. The list included terms like cool, endless reinvention, forward moving, collaborative, and fresh. They became words to live by. It was the first time Humm and Guidara had drawn inspiration from a source other than restaurants. It became the extra pixie dust that added to an already storied location, rich with a history of its own. What they had found in Miles Davis was the “Ethos”, the themes that governs the personality of the business.

The Ethos is the characteristic spirit at the core of your company. It is the collection of the company’s beliefs, values and aspirations made evident through all your business practices and offerings. In other words it guides everything your business does. The term ethos shares it’s root with the word ethics. There is always an ethos at work in a business whether it has been recognized or overlooked. Eleven Madison Park found it’s ethos and decided to run with it.

just as a place for fine food and conversation but as gastro-theatrical experience. When you provide the tools, skills or experience needed to participate in that movement then you really have something worth selling.

“

don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there”

The beauty of knowing your company’s ethos is that you will understand your customers better than anyone else because you inherently know what feeds them.

You will pick up on the nuances that your competitors don’t. And because your business is geared in service of the ethos you will frequently be one step ahead. Customers will feel a much stronger connection to your work because you are tapping into something much bigger - their beliefs. n

- Miles Davis

The restaurant is currently ranked number ten of “ S. Pellegrino’s World’s Best 50 Restaurants”. If your ethos resonates with others then you have a movement: say people who live for restaurants not

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FEATURE

Michael E. Gerber talks to us about

Why Most Dreams Fail and What to Do About It Interviewed By Carrie Beal Amaro Text by Michelle Badejo

ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA NINONA Follow us @the_thinkery

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FEATURE

Having worked with over 70,000 small businesses over the past 30 years, Michael E. Gerber, author of New York Times best seller and book series “The E-Myth”, talks to us about the limitations that confine and immobilize entrepreneurial dreaming in a sea of possibilities. Sky Castle: For those who are in business but don’t see themselves as ‘business people’ which should you focus on first when you dream about your business the money or meaning? Michael E. Gerber: “Meaning comes first; meaning has always come first. Meaning is at the heart of the E-Myth, meaning is the heart of every book I’ve ever written. Meaning is at the heart of the businesses I’ve created. Meaning is the message that I share with every single individual I ever speak to because without the meaning what’s the point? It’s all about meaning. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t have a structure, if it doesn’t organize itself into a method, a process, a system the meaning will never be fulfilled. “The meaning is more than just ‘me’. The meaning is just more than ‘the creator’. The meaning is in fact for the audience, for the other, and no creator is there to create for himself or for herself. If they are that’s called on the extreme edge narcissism and on the other edge, stupid!” Right, so you must have the meaning but also be able to communicate the vision.

“Absolutely. It’s absolutely essential.”

we’re born to create. And so God creates through us.”

Once you’ve created that vision there’s a tendency for fear to set in. How do you overcome the fear?

What do you think helps with that state of mind where you’re able to create?

“I have a little post-it framed sitting in front of me, in my office and it says ‘Michael Gerber: I create my way through fear.’ So how do I handle fear? I create my way through it, which means I go beyond it. Fear is invariably a symptom that I’m living in the past. I’m trying to hold onto something that I’m afraid I’m going to loose. I’m trying to capture something I’m afraid is going away. If I start to write a book I’m afraid that I’m not going to be able to achieve the stunning success that I achieved with my first book, and that’s going to then limit my ability to seize the day and so I’m afraid. So every single one of us are living with fear all the time. It’s simply symptomatic of living in the past.

“I have a model of how it works. I like to say that we’re born with ‘original mind’, so before we come to the earth we’re born with original mind. Our mind, that original mind, is the totality of us when we’re born. Obviously, we don’t know what that original mind knows or what that original mind has the capability of seeing and being, and doing. “We know however as children everything is new so we perceive everything to be new from the very beginning but what also happens from the very beginning because we’re born in a box... Born in a box of our associations, our parents associations. We’re born in a box of our society’s associations, our beliefs - its beliefs, its opinions, its prejudices, its need, fears etc... What happens, original mind becomes gradually translated into what I think of as ‘ordinary mind’, and ordinary mind is simple.

“In my frame of reference, life is...my life is, your life is, to the degree we are capable of seeing it and experiencing it this way, is what I call a blank piece of paper and beginners mind. With a blank piece of paper and beginner’s mind we are incapable of experiencing fear.” How can we possibly

have this endless

The reactive mind that’s been shaped by all the influences that impact upon us as we begin to grow up. It happens at the very beginning from the moment we’re slapped on the butt when we’re born. And we continue to get slapped on the butt so to speak, from the moment we’re born by all of the influences around us, and that shapes ordinary mind.

This is not because we have creativity, this endless pushed aside or wiped blank joy, extreme, infinite our negative experiences. Gerber explains that what capacity to see out of we resist will persist, instead the box if in fact we’re “Ordinary mind, is significantly different he advocates dreaming with looking from inside of it from original mind but original mind a beginner’s mind, fresh and is where the creator lives. Original mind ready to test the assumptions is where this blank piece of paper and made by the various “I’s” or versions beginners mind as I speak about it lives and of ourselves that compete to be thrives. The problem with each and everyone of heard while asking yourself the central us is that typically we’re taught not to create question “who am I?” because creating is almost always aggravating what “The eternal creator and the internal creator am is. And what is, is the subset of all the opinions, attitudes, I” says Gerber, suggesting that this particular merger of ‘I’s prejudices etc. and so forth that the world in which we’re ought to be triumphant in order to fulfil a creative destiny. “I thrust, as beginner, as a child, with original mind, to attempt like to say if we’re born in God’s image, and I believe we are;

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FEATURE to shape us so that we become good members of that box that we’ve been born in. And each and every time we rail against that we’re punished in one way or another. And each time we’re punished in one way or another, we burn our finger on the stove metaphorically. Each and every time that happens it shapes us to become the personality we become.” While the E-Myth was about establishing the turnkey prototype, conforming to a box of systems that would produce predictable results, the Dreaming Room is about smacking the entrepreneur out of a rut, or as Gerber puts it, awakening the entrepreneur within. The 12 week incubation program launched in 2005 shows Gerber evolving with his clients who might be asking the question, now that my business is systematized what next? Answer, build upon success by starting over. Recapture some of that hunger, and that useful part of naïveté you blissfully started out with, and dream up something extraordinary, perhaps even unpredictable. What have you learned by doing the Dreaming Room? “Oh, I’ve learned that people are terrified of creating. People are fearful of stepping out of the box they live in. I’ve learned that people are tremulous to a degree beyond anything I would have believed. And I’ve learned that people can discover this capability, this capacity within them and when they do it blows their minds. I’ve learned that people are stuck. I call it the cycle of stuck. People are stuck, people are stuck in what? Ordinary mind. “People are stuck even if they are creators. They’re burned out. They don’t know how they don’t when they don’t know if. They’re stuck economically, they are stuck socially, they’re stuck religiously, they’re stuck spiritually, they’re stuck emotionally, they stuck physically, the whole notion of this is to become unstuck! “So how do they become unstuck? How do they become the center of their universe? How do they become someone who truly can invent a life as opposed to being stuck in a life? Invent a life that they never could imagine they could invent.

Well there has to be process for that. “There always has to be a process. There always has to be a system available for each an everyone of us and that’s what my focus has been over the years is to discover what those systems are. First how to fix a broken business, I’ve learned that I’ve done that over seventy-seven some odd thousand clients, millions of readers through the world, I’ve done that. In twenty-nine languages we’ve done that so I know how to do that. Now what I wanted to do was to create the platform for creating a business that in fact begins at the very beginning and that’s what the Dreaming Room does. It begins at the very beginning. It’s like we become reborn, to discover anew something we just didn’t know about ourselves.” Still we wonder, when we do un-glue ourselves to create a vision, why do our most profound dreams remain caged in our minds? You know, the good ideas that eventually show up in the world, executed by someone else because they were never acted upon.

“That enables me to bring something to the world that enables others to see themselves completely unique and original way then they’ve ever seen themselves before, and until that happens, until that actually transpires they can’t transcend themselves. They’re completely consumed by themselves, and it’s that being consumed by ourselves that is constantly inhibiting us. So how can we possibly have this endless creativity, this endless joy, extreme, infinite capacity to see out of the box if in fact we’re looking from inside of it. We can’t! It’s that simple. n

Minute Snippet with Michael Gerber

“It’s fear, and its fear of loss. There’s a great guru of the Tibetan Buddhist kind who wrote a book called ‘What’s going to happen to me?’ What’s going to happen to me, he called the perennial question. ‘What’s going to happen to me...!’ Everybody’s terrified something’s going to happen to me! What he went on to suggest is there is no me this is going to happen to” he chuckles as though he is dispensing a ridiculously obvious truth to overly frenetic patients. “This is a figment of your imagination and it’s not your imagination based upon the Disney kind it’s the imagination based upon the Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj kind in his book ‘I Am That’. So understand, the influences that have brought me to where I am at the this ripe old age of 76 are not business influences, though I’m thought of as the world’s number one small business guru” A moniker that amuses Gerber. “They are spiritual influences, they are street influences, they are world influences, they are all manner and forms of influences that have enabled me to integrate a completely unique perspective about business, about work, about our lives, economy, about spirituality etc.

The Dreaming Room™ www.michaelegerber companies.com/solutions/ dreaming-room

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MAKE OVER YOUR BUSINESS Tools, Resources and Courses for Designing Better Businesses Business Design & Coaching

THINKER TOOLS

//Case Study Builder

A case study represents the story of a problem solving situation. The case study will be the closest experience that a potential client will have of your company before actually working with your team. You want your reader to step into the shoes of the ‘client’ character and understand how you will work with his or her organization, what your approach to problem solving will be and the potential results. Case studies can be factual but remember that the purpose it to take the readers through the journey so that they have a feel of what to expect. Use story techniques. Imagine the client asking the questions: “ Does this company work with people like me ? What’s it like to work with them? Can they really tackle my problem - can you give me a real-world example?”

Get in touch

The start of the year is a great time to reflect on went right and showcase your work to secure future business. Use the Case Study Builder to organize your thoughts.

Name Email Message

Send Follow us @the_thinkery www.skycastlethinkery.com

415-326-4SKY (4759)

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THINKER TOOLS Explain your next steps in meeting the challenge. Show a unique approach.

Client Section 1: The Situation State the problem you were trying to solve as question

Section 3: Results Show any quantitative or qualitative results. Use graphs, screen shots, photographs and/or anecdotes to support your claims.

Describe the stakeholders. How do they relate to the problem?

Section 2: What we did Describe your first steps in tackling the problem

Section 4: The Impact Describe the impact the results had on the community or the organization.

Describe a key challenge

Impact is different from res ults.

For example Marie drank cam omile tea before going to bed, to cure her restlessness. The res two extra hours of sleep which ult was that she got was the result she wanted. Th e impact was that she was more to her staff, which meant that alert and responsive when a star employee seemed unhappy she was available to THINKERY | DEC 2012 / JAN 2013 //19 So results for the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wider suppoTHE rt the employee. impact.

Cross Pollination

“By Madeline Trait”

Madeline Trait is tired but relieved. It’s the type of lingering eustress that happens just after a major project. “I’m happy. It turned out how I wanted it to turn out” she says with the kind of reserved satisfaction the mother of a bride might have after a wedding.

Trait started off her career in architecture but soon found that ratio of creativity to technical know-how was too lopsided. She wanted something more tactile and more immediate so she switched to interior design. There was just one tiny problem with this track - the economy crashed. Her interior design job dissolved as work dried up and it was time to head in a new direction. So “I decided to get into flowers!” A move

“

Event Design & Flowers san francisco

leap of faith into floral and event design business. She loves the rush and variety that event design brings, interpreting each client’s ideas. And by deciding to launch “By Madeline Trait” has committed Holding onto the common thread of the to discerning their needs and behaviors. process and skill set you enjoy mastering means that you can move into an adjacent Brides on a budget may not be able to afford a lavish venue but may be industry with confidence. From the Sky open to leasing the creative mind that Castle perspective your business is the could transform an ordinary venue into skills sets, competencies and customer something extraordinary. behaviors that you understand better than anyone else, not simply the widget for something creative out there and kind of went for it that way I didn’t really over think it too much.”

way is a very large form of sculpture and that has a lot of components I feel like taking that into the flowers, and building arrangements, I can think about these elements and bring them into one composition using the flowers, as far as colors and textures and height all that” says Trait. In the recruitment world she would be using her “transferable skills.” In entrepreneurship, cross-pollinating

When your idea turns out how you wanted it to, it’s just like yes!

that seems at first glance like parachuting your way from frying pan to fire but Trait didn’t see it that way. Going into floral design was a strategic move that would eventually open up doors to event design, and from a creative stand point it was the dream job that would feed her soul. “I can do something for the money for a while but it has to be something that I love to do so I just figured there’s always a need

you sell. This simple shift in how you see the business makes pivoting easier when the business really needs to evolve and grow. As market conditions change you can adapt the offering because it’s not about the widget is about the know-how you can apply. For Trait the design process was the one she was willing to master, taking a

Taking inspiration from famed New York City event designer David Stark, who is never bashful about adding unexpected elements into his work such as giant laptops for a Huffington Post event or paper frog princes at a book launch, Trait thought about what would happen if she were to apply her architectural design sensibilities to flower arranging? “Architecture in a

best practices , techniques and plain good ideas from other industries is differentiation. To adapt constructs from one field to another takes some nifty thinking and offers the risks that come with trying to be original but as Trait comments “when your idea turns out how you wanted it to, it’s just like yes!”

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Sometimes you are borrowing ideas from cousins – interior design’s spacial planning to event design’s staging aspect. In other cases a practical skill set from another field will serve you well. Pragmatically, Trait’s disciplined architectural background helps her with the project management side of business, “it’s really helped me be organized in what I’m doing” she attests. Running the business “ is a learning curve and definitely challenging. And taking that architecture background where you have these huge projects and you really have to be cognizant of, how much time you’re

daily life “it’s impossible to turn off. I’m always thinking about it.” Her work is the type that demands a constant stream of creativity. “Sometimes I think that it’s hard. To be so creative on cue is really hard but I feel like when I’m just walking around or just doing other things I’ll think about ideas, either something I’m working on or it could be a new idea, I’m constantly thinking of things.” As the official florist of Locally Grown Weddings, a San Francisco group of event businesses, Trait sources and strives to make her creations as eco-friendly as

It’s not about the widget is about the know-how you can apply. spending on each project. Either you’re billing hourly -- or you have the budget and then you know what you’re spending as far as materials, so that [architectural training] helps I think, the management side.” One thing in her role as solo entrepreneur Trait wasn’t prepared for was how much time the business would take of her

possible. We asked her what would be a quick tip for adoring the dinning table this season, she suggests using herbs. Make reefs out of fresh herbs that you can lay on the table for a festive accent. It will look amazing and the aroma will be incredibly fresh, and inviting. Once you are done the reefs can be dried and used later for cooking or even given away as gifts. n http://www.madelinetrait.com

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FIELD NOTES by rachel mann

the lazy gifT- giver’s guide The Companies Helping You Run Rings Around Santa

Are You a Lazy Gift-Giver? Maybe you’re tired of spending hours picking out Christmas gifts, only to find out later you’ve given your mother the same type of scarf three years in a row? Perhaps you hate the pressure of picking out the perfect gift for your significant other? Maybe you’re slammed at work and feel like you don’t have time to go looking for presents at all. Or, possibly, you just hate shopping. If any of these descriptions sound like they’d be a good fit for you, then relax. You’re in luck. Instead of picking out the perfect gift for your parent, spouse, or friend, you can hire a service to do it for you—and this guide tells you how. Once you’ve located the right service, finding the right gift is surprisingly easy. It seems like a whole mini-industry has sprung up around gift subscription services. These aren’t just for magazines or fruit by the month clubs any more. Instead, there’s a service out there that will create and deliver a small box of just about any type of product you can imagine for three months, six months, or even a year. All you have to do is identify the type of product your recipient will enjoy.

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FIELD NOTES

Ladies Your female friends and sisters might enjoy receiving boxes full of makeup and skin care samples. Birchbox was one of the first to offer subscription boxes each month, but it has plenty of competition: GLOSSYBOX is a more expensive, “glossier” version, while Goodebox makes a good gift for the environmentally conscious.

Gentlemen And what about the men in your life? Those interested in personal grooming (or who need a nudge in that direction) might like the Dollar Shave Club, which sends razors on a monthly basis. One of the priciest services is Svbscription , which sends out gift arrangements according to rotating themes. Bespoke Post, substantially more affordable than Svbscription, would suit any gentlemen you might know.

Boys and Girls There are plenty of companies that offer subscriptions for children too. The BabbaBox offers craft ideas and supplies for kids under seven, while Wittlebee sends out clothing packages for babies and toddlers. Finally, GiftLit , which sends out monthly assortments of books, is great for kids of all ages, and grownups too.

Concierge Services If you’ve tried out all these alternatives and can’t figure out which subscription service to use, that’s okay too. You may just need a gift concierge. Turn to one of these gift-giving experts and put your feet up, secure in the knowledge that you’re about to give someone the perfect gift. Gift Side Story, for example, is designed specifically for men shopping for women. (User warning: this service still involves some shopping. Gift Side Story provides users with a curated list of presents to select from.) Typically, when you use a concierge service, like Pink Olive’s Gift on the Go , you provide some information about the gift recipient in a brief questionnaire. British-based company Gift Owl makes things easier by taking its questionnaire directly to the gift recipients. They get to explain what kinds of things they like directly, saving you, the gift-giver, any worry about giving the wrong info or messing the instructions up. Check out our interview with Gift Owl mastermind Amy Yates. The one danger we see in using these services is simple: you might want to get yourself one of these presents, too! n

If you can’t decide which subscription service to get, there’s even a site for that. Check out Subscription Boxes, where you can compare searches according to user reviews, price, and category (including vegan, food, and pet-themed services).

the lazy gifT- giver’s guide Follow us @the_thinkery

shopping list This holiday season, try one of these suggestions instead of just heading to the mall. You’ll save yourself time and angst—and have a much easier time than Santa Claus. BabbaBox, http://www.babbaco.com/ Bespoke Post, http://bespokepost.com/ Birchbox, http://www.birchbox.com/ Dollar Shave Club, http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/ GiftLit, http://www.giftlit.com/ Gift Owl, http://www.gift-owl.com/ Gift Side Story, http://www.giftsidestory.com/ GLOSSYBOX, http://www.glossybox.com/ Goodebox, http://goodebox.com/ Pink Olive, http://pinkolive.com/concierge.html Subscription Boxes, http://www.subscriptionboxes.com/ Svbscription, https://svbscription.com/#home Wittlebee, http://wittlebee.com/

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FIELD NOTES

Sky Castle: How did you get the idea for Gift Owl?

Wiser Way

gift OWL text by rachel mann

Concierge gift-giving company “Gift Owl” makes giving presents even easier. Gift Owl takes over the hard work of finding your recipient the perfect assortment of presents. We talk with Gift Owl’s founder, mother-oftwo and entrepreneur Amy Yates about her curated gifting concept and gift-giving tips.

more they fill in the better. We also say if you don’t have a favorite, don’t fill anything in. It gives me a bit of a chalYates: After I had my first daughter, I wanted something to do to lenge! I always try and make sure I send something out that keep occupied that wasn’t all about the nappies. I’d always loved I really hope they’d love to open... Recently we had somepicking out presents for people, trying to find something that one who, all they talked about was their favorite football was a bit different from the run-of-the-mill present, something team...I managed to hunt down a program for match that that you wouldn’t find in any shop. I came up with the idea that was played the day that they were born, we got some feed there are a lot of people who are difficult to buy for out there, back that they really liked it. people who have everything… The person who knows best about what they like is the recipient. And our card and questionnaire is a fun way of the recipient giving that information. How does it work for the gift-giver? You go onto our website (http://www.gift-owl.com) and you buy a Gift Owl card for someone. The card can come to you, the giver, first but ends up going directly to the recipient. The card has lots of fun questions about their likes, their dislikes, how crafty they are… They send it back to us. Then we hunt down things we think they would like and send them back in a package of lovely

We’re trying to get lots of press releases out, speaking to blogs, and getting people to know about us. We’ve got a couple of specials coming up for early shoppers; we’ll probably find that from November to December we’ll be pretty busy getting the cards out, and then in January we’ll be busy getting them back. We went live on December 5 last year, so this Christmas is really our first one.

How do you find the items?

Do you have any tips for people giving their own gifts, apart from going to Gift Owl?

things, wrapped up in brown paper and string.

I’ve always got my eyes open for interesting things that I think might fit with someone. When I get cards back, I try to look out for personalized things, handpicked items. I look everywhere. I use Etsy quite a lot; you get a lot of individual designers, craftspeople, and one-of-a-kind pieces. I have vintage shops I go to. Have you ever gotten a Gift Owl Card back and been stumped? Sometimes the recipients don’t fill in very much, and obviously we don’t know the person we’re buying for… so the

How do you prepare for the holidays? Is this your first Christmas season?

Well, that would be giving my secrets away, wouldn’t it? … Try to get something that’s a bit different—not the run-ofthe-mill socks and aftershave. Think outside of the box a little bit; try and get something you think the person would be really excited about opening. Put a bit more thought in; start early. Find something you think they would like, but put your twist on it. You want them to remember who it’s from. n *Interview transcript has been edited.

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show up. A holiday party is an extension of the business day. It’s considered good business etiquette to attend, so carve out the time and show up.

Don’t

overdress. Follow the dress code on the invitation if there is one, otherwise err on the side of conservative. Feel free, though, to spruce up your office day wear with an accessory. A red tie with a bit of sheen, or necklace and earrings but don’t overdo the bling this not the time to make a Lady Gaga fashion statement.

keep conversation light and fun. Off the clock is not off the record so watch that casual shoptalk doesn’t spill any sensitive information. It is technically a party so avoid any soul-bearing or heavy issues like politics. A safer tact might be to ask about your co-worker’s holiday plans.

Office Party Survival

By Carrie Beal Amaro and Michelle Badejo

he holiday office party is a great opportunity to get to know your co-workers in a more relaxed environment but don’t fool yourself, this is not the type of shindig where you want to let loose like you did at your cousin’s wedding. These parties are primed make or break your reputation so follow our seven tips to avoid a festive faux pas at work.

Don’t

drink until you are drunk. You want to remembered as pleasant company not as the infamous star of a viral video. Inebriation from any source can result in dismissal, so enjoy the event but keep yourself together. Alternating your alcohol with soft beverages or water can help moderate your alcohol intake.

be aware of boundaries. Flirting is fun, lawsuits not so much. Charm from a distance by being attentive and personable. Avoid innuendos, and in all cases of conversation, avoid the temptation to bond over gossip.

Don’t Do

let your freak flag fly. While you don’t have to dance like grandpa, dance in a manner that won’t embarrass your kids.

socialize. The office party is a great opportunity network, so schmooze like a rockstar. Ditch the Blackberry for the evening and engage with your co-workers. Do some reconnaissance work on their interests, it’s always useful to know what team members value and what makes them happy.

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BOOKS

or those of us that think we aren’t as innovative as we could or should be, Anthony’s book provides a practical approach to developing your innovation capabilities. Drawing on years of experience practicing and teachinginnovation, he presents his perspectives in a four-week program of actions designed to help you discover opportunities, tests and asses those ideas, and develop a plan for moving them forward.

It’s time to make note of those new year’s resolutions! If you want to go beyond trimming down a few belt holes try hunkering down with one of theses books to add some pragmatic, creativity skills to the list, and perhaps an extra shot of inspiration

The book opens with “The Innovation Imperative.” Anthony posits that for 21st century businesses to achieve and maintain success, innovation is a must-have skill that should be cultivated and ingrained in the DNA of an organization.

The Little Black Book of Innovation: How It Works, How to Do It

By Scott D. Anthony

A true culture of innovation must be created intentionally, though, and in chapter four, “Innovation’s Seven Deadly Sins” the author shares sage advice about how to identify and deal with common obstacles. The section titled “Find Compensating Behaviors,” is devoted to the central question, how can I find non-obvious opportunities? This advice instantly changes your mindset from attempting dream up something big, to one of examining what’s out there already and

where it falls. We all subconsciously use compensating behaviors. A silly example that pops into mind involves my morning coffee. I take my coffee with milk and sugar, and invariably when I pour the milk from the big plastic gallon sized container, into my cup I spill a little bit, no matter how careful I try to be. I compensate for this by keeping a sponge nearby for wiping up. These mishaps are no big deal but highlight an opportunity for a spill proof container. If it can be done for laundry detergent - why not the milk jug? Structure and innovation can seem paradoxical but “The Little Black Book” addresses the gap between creative thinking and the realization of tangible results, with purpose, while also busting the myth that creativity and innovation are reserved for people with a special gift for artistry or imagination. Even the most prolific innovations come up against the dreaded “creative block,” and others may be great “idea people” but have challenges when it comes to execution. This book offers a simple path; it is not only smart and practical but also refined in its simplicity and ability to make innovation accessible to anyone.

REVIEW by Melissa Gena

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BOOKS

How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen , James Allworth & Karen Dillon

If you’re a student of innovation, you’ve likely read something Clayton Christensen has written; perhaps The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution, The Innovator’s Prescription, or The Innovator’s DNA. _Christensen is considered one of the world’s foremost thinkers on innovation, particularly in disruptive innovation, and he has advised and taught many, from students at Harvard Business School to the CEOs of powerhouse companies, like Andy Grove of Intel.

reader hooked from the first page to the last.

His latest book represents something of a departure from his previous writings, though; it is much more intimate.

When he closes his MBA course, Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise, Christensen puts three questions to his students:

In “How Will You Measure Your Life?”, Christensen masterfully applies leadership and innovation theories and principles to his life. He raises powerful questions for personal and professional reflection, that by extension are put to the reader, while he shares his thoughts and experiences along the way.

“How can I be sure that: I will be successful and happy in my career? My relationships . . . become an enduring source of happiness? I live a life of integrity . . . ?”

The use of stories about his interactions with top military leaders and successful businesspeople combined with simple lessons illustrated by the fascinating history of how certain companies accidentally came to dominate a particular market keeps the

Perhaps the most important thing this book offers is a thoughtful reminder that many things contribute to our success in business and innovation, and some of those things are personal in nature. The relationship between our personal and professional lives is vital, and the shorter the distance between those two worlds, the better off we will be in both arenas.

In his book, he shares with us how he has mulled over those questions and he reminds us we should all reflect upon these things from time to time. Read this book and I think you’ll agree it’s on its way to becoming a classic.

REVIEW by Melissa Gena

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