Friday, June 20, 2008

6-17 Meeting Wrap-up and Next Steps...

Hi guys!

A few of us (Paul, myself, Chris, Maria and Megan) met on Tuesday night at TUCC to kick off our new club. We found ourselves addressing a few key questions, so I thought that might be the most appropriate structure for this posting (as opposed to boring meeting notes).

What's the problem?
  • People don't get it. Design isn't seen as an important part of the MBA curriculum or of many professional settings - therefore, we feel like we "get it" and no one else does. How can we change that, and help people understand what we understand?
Why are we forming this group? Why now?
  • We want to sustain and nurture the sense of excitement and eagerness to learn that began with Professor Yoo's course.
  • We want to introduce new students to design thinking.
  • We have an itch (to learn more) and want to scratch it.
What kinds of activities define us as a group (e.g. what do we do)?
  • Share information and foster discussion about personal and professional dilemmas which might benefit from design thinking.
  • Read design- and innovation-centered books, perhaps as part of a monthly book club (or some variation thereupon)
  • Visit local companies with a design focus
  • Brainstorm collectively - ideate to help each other solve problems
  • Document our activities - tell our story
  • Network with similar groups at other universities and companies
  • Provide hybrid consultative advice, incorporating our business-smarts with our design savvy
What do we believe? What is our mission?
  • Design should be a part of the MBA toolkit, and is equally important compared to economics, finance, accounting, marketing, etc.
  • Design should be a part of every company, and is equally important compared to Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities Services etc.
What's the next step? What can we do now to get started?

Meeting again on Tuesday, 6-24 at 6:30 PM (location to be announced)
  • Goals:
    • Apply design thinking to our club and our main problem
    • Brainstorm and ideate around this group, trying to answer all the questions above and determine the best design for this group
    • Leave all options open - encourage crazy ideas - fail often to succeed faster!
I hope to see you guys at the meeting! I will let everyone know when the location has been finalized.

-David Sutton
brinserdave@gmail.com

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