Experiential Education

2013 was started off right with an informative and diverse set of entrepreneurial themed speakers at the Venture Club of Indiana monthly lunch. This opportunity is an enriching offering of the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, Evening MBA and its Entrepreneurship Programs through Experiential Education with the venture community of Indiana and beyond.

The spotlight presentation by NitroMojo provided a confident perspective on the potential usefulness of its customer relationship software. As with most of these sales pitches, it created both positive and negative audience perceptions. Debbie Pierce described many aspects of the company in an impressive manner, including: the "Swiss Army knife" analogy of the software's performance; the detailed financial numbers of its fees, EBITA, and specific funding goals; the wealth of experienced internal players; and future focus on higher education. Of course, as mentioned previously, some components of her talk were a bit troubling, such as: the true viability of the ease of use differentiator, the strength and durability of the patents, and the productivity of targeting MBA students. Yet, the basic feel of the presentation was professional and well thought out, exemplified by the straightforward mention of their product aligning as a "good investment" because of the powerful dynamic of their: 1)Product, 2)Timing, 3)Need, and 4)Team.  In fact, overall, the fundamental impression remained one that motivated interest and further research to determine how applicable the product could be to audience members. Any funding presentation that leaves a positive impression and generates curiosity would seem at least partially successful.

The Purdue Enterprise Company presentation that was offered gave a brief introduction into their for profit LLC configuration of providing expert assistance for corporate engineering, communication, and business functions. Primarily a facilitator that connects faculty with specific companies and creating a higher level of cross-functional collaboration, their claim to have a unique approach to IP ownership issues offered intriguing potential benefit to the audience members. This interesting combination of streamlining access to faculty while also alleviating some of the headaches surrounding time management and liability insurance appears to be a key factor to utilize their services. However, as mentioned, the actual presentation fell flat through the rushed reading of slides with a lack of enthusiasm that bordered on disdain for having to be there at all.

 "A launch is always a leap." This quote and several other small anecdotes were the key takeaways from Robert Jordan's discussion of his book, "How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America". His book's collection of interviews from 45 corporate founders that grew technology businesses from startup to hundreds of millions of dollars in value was a great token to take home after the lunch was complete. A repeated theme of his stories returned to the common factors of success he observed: 1)Find a problem or need, 2)Have a passion to solve it, 3) THEN hone the skills necessary through self-taught lessons that rely on characteristics with high levels of curiosity, tenacity and commitment, while avoiding cynical stances on problems. Definitely a relaxed talk that provided some worthwhile tid-bits to most attendees.

On December 4th, the Venture Club of Indiana met at the Governor's Mansion for a holiday social that included networking conversations, a venture funding sneak peek, and festive fun with food and beverage. It was another example of the Kelly School of Business Evening MBA program offering valuable Experiential Educational opportunities to meet business leaders while practicing the soft skills needed to succeed. This annual tradition of gathering to casually meet at 46th & Meridian was an excellent opportunity to meet interesting members and guests of the venture community, as well as, hear the outgoing Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) leader speak on the future of Indiana's entrepreneur environment. Dan Hansler, also the Indiana Secretary of Commerce, gave an energetic talk on the recent accomplishments and current condition of this venture economy in the Hoosier state. He gave the crowd a sneak peak into the since announced effort to create a $30 million Life Sciences specific venture fund for entrepreneurs of that sector and focused on how to "elevate" the growth of Indiana's economy. The evening was enjoyed by all in attendance(including several Kelley Alumni and Friends), happily consuming the tasty appetizer buffet and refreshments and even taking home some holiday cookies from a local bakery as a f party favor, yum! This evening is sure to be a lasting memory of my time in the "IUPUI MBA", and the Entrepreneurship Programs specifically.

From Kelley Indianapolis' Breana Whitaker, Marketing and Supply Chain Management - Class of 2013

What exactly does it mean to be a VIP? For some it means exclusive access, recognition of status, and special treatment. A combination of Kelley student leaders and incoming Kelley students mingled with Kelley faculty, members of the Young Alumni Council, and the Kelley School of Business Deans at the Kelley VIP Reception hosted on August 26^th.  This special event is an example of how Kelley takes pride in celebrating the outstanding students that will soon join the ever expanding Kelley alumni network.

While having the opportunity to network with fellow attendees, guests sporting their best business professional attire enjoyed hors d’oeurves prior to devoting all attention to the honorary speakers for the evening. Featured Supply Chain Management Professor Peggy Lee Daniels spoke on civic engagement. She urged new and returning undergraduate students to get involved, indicating that community and campus involvement is one of the Kelley School of Business’s core values. She point out that civic engagement is what ultimately drives philanthropic business leaders and sparks the success in difference makers.

Following the outstanding Kelley School of Business professor’s words of encouragement to get involved, Young Alumni Council member and recent graduate Jesse Kilgore spoke on using the Kelley network. The Young Alumni Council is a young professionals group focused on networking and professional development opportunities for graduates of the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis. The council also strives to broaden and strengthen the relationships among Kelley School of Business faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Indianapolis business community through various volunteer, social, and educational opportunities. He advised the eager future business professionals to “Learn from those who came before you and be a leader for those who will follow.”

To wrap up the evening of celebrating outstanding undergraduate students, Dean Phil Cochran spoke on Kelley’s best attribute: the commitment to unique learning opportunities. The Kelley Indianapolis Dean shared that Kelley students are able to reach their highest potential through research, international experiences, service learning, and experiential learning. To be a VIP at the Kelley School of Business means to be highly regarded amongst business professionals globally. 

One truism in marketing is that the best way to get hired as a marketer is to show that you actually have had experience and success as a marketer.  If you buy into Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers (click here to learn more about this book), a person needs about 10,000 hours of practice to be successful at a particular skill.  Some people argue with the 10,000 hour number. I would suspect that for some skills, the number of hours of practice is both higher and lower. But, 10,000 hours still seems like a pretty good target to me.

So, how can you get your 10,000 hours as a marketer?  The hard news is that all the time you spend in marketing classes, working on projects, and possibly even in an internship probably don’t count in those 10,000 hours – in these activities,  you are mostly learning about doing as opposed to really doing marketing.  If you get hired in a marketing job after graduation, it will take about 5 years of working to accrue those 10,000 hours assuming you are doing more than just managing projects (that’s assuming you work 2,000 hours a year).  It’s interesting to note that a large number of marketing job postings even require 5+ years’ experience in marketing.  Okay, so that’s the tough news.  Here’s the good news—there are at least 3 great ways to get marketing experience. Your time at the Kelley School can include experiential education on your way to a marketing degree.

1.  Student clubs – the Kelley School and IUPUI have 14 and 300+ clubs, respectively.  Almost all of these clubs have large needs for new members, websites, fundraising and even executed programs.  Pick a topic that interests you, roll up your sleeves and put your skills to the test.  Make sure you document the impact or your efforts in terms of new members, website traffic, dollars raised and program attendance. Your goal should be to show the impact of using your marketing skills to help this organization.

2.  Local Non-Profits – The Indianapolis Business Journal annually compiles a list of  local non-profits. Get a copy of this list and scan the wide variety of non-profits. Find one with that aligns with your passions. Call them up and volunteer to help. You’ll probably have the best luck with non-profits between 10 and 30 employees. Less than 10 employees and they may not be established enough for you have impact. More than 30 employees and they may already have sophisticated marketing programs. You can also check out InternMatch, which lists open internships with non-profits. When I checked today, they had two openings for marketing communications help. Finally, Charitable Advisors publishes a weekly newsletter with non-profits looking for volunteers in Indianapolis.  Again, your goal should be to use this time to practice your marketing skills and demonstrate impact.

3. Market yourself online. One of the advantages of being an IU student is free access to a wide variety of web software (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite, Frontpage, etc.) and a whole bunch of training options to teach you how to use it. So, you should download all the software you can and use it to make yourself an online portfolio – brand yourself and use digital marketing tools to build your own fan base.

Remember that the clock starts when you are actually using your marketing degree and know-how. So, the earlier you start the sooner you’ll be an expert.

As a marketing professor, I am always keeping my eyes open for examples of strong marketing. At the same time, I try to think of ways to help my marketing degree students experience these examples for themselves rather than having me just tell them about it.

For the last several years, I’ve kept track of TOMS Shoes. Actually, one of my students first shared the story of this company with me. He was one of those students who cared both about business and doing good. His team did a presentation about TOMS’ dual focus of making a profit and giving back to the community. In case you don’t know TOMS story, here’s the elevator pitch: With every shoe you purchase, TOMS gives one to a child in need. As part of his Amazing Race experience, Blake Mycoskie (TOMS’ founder) discovered a lot of children without shoes. He set up his company to help change that.

There are many things from a marketing perspective that TOMS does right:

• Product – the basic shoe is comfortable and interesting. They constantly change up the designs to keep customer interest. They work with designers to add extra cachet. They even have seasonal offerings. But, the basic shoe is great. Product also includes packaging, which again is a hit for TOMS. Check out the photo below from Savannah Smiled’s Tumblr(http://savannahsmiled.tumblr.com/). The box reminds you of the cause and TOMS story. Inside, there’s a shoe bag, a logo sticker and a letter from Blake.

• Price – these are definitely not the cheapest shoes around. But, that’s not really the point is it? Instead, the price point is acceptable (basic shoes are $44 - $58) especially when you realize that you are really buying two pairs – one for you and one for another. TOMS does little discounting; the most frequent is free shipping.

• Place – TOMS is primarily sold in their own online store. But, they can also be found online at Amazon and in select bricks & mortar stores including Nordstrom’s and independent specialty boutiques.

• Promotion – this is where TOMS excels. Great website. Having received TOMS emails for about 2 years, great email marketing strategy. TOMS also does all of the social media – twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. This year, they’ve direct mailed one catalog (which I know got my mom to buy another pair after seeing all her choices). And, the blog is very engaging. TOMS doesn’t rank in organic search for shoes, but that’s a highly competitive category. The cause marketing initiative “One Day Without Shoes" is where TOMS’ efforts are unparalleled. One April Tuesday every year, One Day Without Shoes asks people all over the world to take off their shoes to see what those without experience every day. This initiative has its own website, highly linked to TOMS of course. The website itself has a lot to offer – a robust story; an event locator and ability to register your own event; a national challenge to get organizations to register their members with a Blake party for the winner; downloadable event materials including rally signs, street stencils, DIY shirts, pocket cards, stickers, banners, displays and toolkits; an iPhone event locator app; videos; a photowall; even a way to do it virtually via Sims and all of the social sharing integrations you could want.

So, this year I asked my undergraduates to participate in this event for extra credit. Although they thought it was a way to earn bonus points, I hoped they would experience the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Lucky for me, my class meets on Tuesday so they could come to class without their shoes. Naturally, I too went without shoes for the day – yep, those blue toenails are mine.

Afterwards, they have to reflect on the day and share their thoughts with me. Their reflections covered a couple of key themes:

1. You become a champion of a cause and play a key role informing others:

“Fortunately, right before my M450, while walking through the hallway between the library and the business building, a student stopped me and thanked me for participating, claiming she did not have the courage to do so. It made me feel amazing. It’s funny how one person can make that big of a difference.”

 “Also, I realized that very few people are aware of this issue. With many people unaware of TOMS or the event, I found enjoyment in explaining my slightly kooky appearance in the middle of the library. I felt like I was an insider with great information about a good movement/cause.”

“I love being able to explain to people why I am walking around looking like a crazy person, it brings a spirit of humility upon me.”

“One thing that I learned during my experience of “One Day Without Shoes” was how much awareness that simply one person can make by going barefoot. I never believed it until I did it on April 10. More and more people kept on asking me about why I wasn’t wearing shoes and just like the website had mentioned raising awareness can be achieved by drawing attention to certain things.”

“It was cool how people would ask you the reasoning behind being barefoot, because I was able to spread the word about one day without shoes.”

2. Without shoes, you spend more of the day looking down to try and protect your feet:

“Before this experience, I didn’t realize how much I took shoes for granted. Every step I took was calculated and not one went without me looking down to see the next. I think it was a good experience to essentially walk a mile in someone else’s shoes... Only walking that mile barefoot. When I was walking barefoot outside, it was the thing on the top of my mind. Whereas when I have shoes on, I think about what I’m about to do next, what I have to do later that day, etc. I never think about the next step I’m going to take.”

“Today, I was without shoes. I spent a great deal of my time looking down in order to make sure I didn't step on anything sharp or jagged. Walking without shoes also made me walk a little slower than normal.”

3. Without shoes, your feet get dirty and they hurt:

“At times it was painful and agonizing to think about how dirty my feet were getting.”

“At the end of the day, my feet hurt in spots that don’t usually hurt!”

“My feet became very dirty and they were starting to ache after awhile.  I also realized that you use different muscles in your feet when you walk without shoes.”

4. We take our shoes for granted, worrying about which ones to buy rather than being glad we have them

“Sometimes I spend so much time shopping for the 'perfect' shoe when in all actuality I should be grateful to have shoes period. It is important at times to step back and be thankful for the basic needs of life.”

“We as Americans don’t realize how good we have it in our country. We take for granted the fact that the many people in the world do not have one pair of shoes while we all tend to have several pairs of shoes for different occasions.”

Dear TOMS Shoes –

Kelley School of Business Indianapolis undergraduate marketing students and I want to thank you for giving us an opportunity to undertake a worthy experiential education activity. 

We vow to go “One Day Without Shoes” again next year!

(FYI – in case you didn’t know, IUPUI won The Challenge in 2011 and Blake will be visiting our campus on April 30, 2012 to celebrate our efforts and share his story)

Unbeknownst to the man on the bench, this place will soon be a place for change. Our community will come together to acknowledge those who go to bed night after night, feeling forgotten. 

This grown man, like so many others, has no other option but lying down on a metal bench for the night. Wrapping his arms around himself with his knit cap pulled down securely as he sleeps. Eyes shut tightly, deep lines engrained in his face, revealing the many struggles he has faced. This low point in his life is all observed and captured by someone through a lens.

One can only imagine the various scenarios leading to this last resort. Has this man lost his job, his home, his loved ones? Maybe this man is mentally ill, an addict, or a forgotten vet. Maybe all three? Was he unable to find a warm bed? Were the homeless shelters full?    

The sign high above his temporary bedroom read two words, Market District – acting as a spotlight illuminating the irony of his position, unfamiliar with its promise of prosperity. Those two words reiterated the detachment between the two worlds creating a sleeping contradiction of the message portrayed. Those words indicative of success, within his own community, he no longer belonged.

Unfortunately this man is only one of many walking in these shoes. Our hope is that by highlighting this prevalent issue, we will raise awareness of homelessness and take steps to put an end to it. We’re beginning with the Homeward Bound 2011 Walk to Prevent Homelessness. Together businesses, the community, students and families will make strides to initiate this change.        

Is homelessness a rarity, as several individuals portray it to be? Or part of our everyday life and simply goes unnoticed? Have we become so used to homelessness that it has become part of the Indianapolis landscape? 

Strolling down New York Street enjoying the crisp autumn air and the familiar city scape, you come upon a man, a man pushing a shopping cart. This would be mundane and uninteresting if you were in a grocery store parking lot but in the middle of downtown Indianapolis you begin to wonder where does this man belong? Instead of stopping to help him or even to shoot the breeze, you continue on your way as he blends into the landscape. A miniscule part of your day, already fading into the past. But had you stopped to talk with him, what would you have learned? Would you have found out that he loves the Colts and wishes he had a TV to watch them on? Would he have told you his favorite food is chicken and dumplings? His grandmother used to make them every Sunday. You may have heard part of his story. That he had a family once, a job, a home, and a car but one small moment, one huge tragedy ripped all that away from him, leaving him where he is now. 

So, the question now switches to, how can I help this man regain control of his life, restoring his happiness? The answer to several remains a mystery, but to some it may be an obvious answer but lack the support of the community. Although you, personally, may not possess the ideas to change the world, but you, as an individual can support those who do and, therefore, can change the world through your actions. 

The photo represents the power of a diverse body of individuals collaborating to achieve optimum social outcomes. The strength that comes from wide varieties of backgrounds, personalities, and skillsets is the core theme of this photograph. Instead of highlighting a unique social issue, we instead chose to focus on the “bigger picture” – the effectiveness of true collaboration that goes beyond mere “teamwork” in the traditional sense. It’s true that individuals can – and do – change the world. But sweeping social change stands a much greater chance of realization if the talent, resources, and skills of individuals are organized and directed toward a common goal. The photo represents the people of a tightly woven segment of society that have made conscious choices to be the agents of change across the globe. They have sacrificed pieces of themselves to further the common cause. Individually, they could be effective. But together, each change agent forms part of a cohesive whole. Each hand is a necessary part of the photograph. And without each one, the picture would be incomplete.

Welcome to the fall semester. We are looking forward to a great semester. This week we celebrate Back to Business with different activities on the second floor each day this week. Last week we welcomed over 90 new graduate accounting program students (Tuesday), over 70 new MBA students (Thursday), and over 300 undergraduate students (Sunday orientation).

I enjoy hearing about the dreams of each student as they embark on their journey with the Kelley School of Business. At the MBA program dinner, one of the students commented on how the new technology enhanced MBA cohort was going to make better use of her time while still providing the value of interacting with faculty and students in the classroom. Several asked questions about our Finance MBA classes and I spoke to several graduate accounting students and MBA students this week about the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA, www.cfainstitute.org ) program and how it can enhance their credentials and open interview opportunities for students interested in investment careers.

At the undergraduate orientation, I spoke with each of the club representatives representing students interested in finance degrees, accounting degrees, human resource degrees, and supply chain degrees as well as broader based organizations such as Kelley Indianapolis Cares (organizes service projects in the community), the Entrepreneurship club, and Delta Sigma Pi Fraternity. I give the same advice to new students each year, but this year it seemed even more important as two of my children will also be freshman at college. Get Involved!!!! It’s a great way to make networks, increase the amount of fun you have at college, and get involved in experiential education by applying what you learn in the classroom to the groups that you are involved in. You can see all the Kelley School of Business undergraduate organizations at   http://kelley.iupui.edu/undergrad/studentLife/organizations.cfm

Make it a great school year!

Earlier in August, I wrote about being excited to start thinking about classes again. Well, it's the first week of classes and it's even better than I anticipated. So, here's what I like about being in the classroom:

• Seeing and feeling the enthusiasm of the students. Simply put, we have the best MBA students and best undergraduate business students. Standing at the front of the room, I can see and feel their enthusiasm (of course, it's all fresh and new this week - by week 8 or so, some of that newness has worn off - but, I'll take what I can get for now). They might not realize what we profs see in their eyes. Some faces smile. Some are expectant. Some even look like they are ready to burst at the seams. Who wouldn't get jazzed up to see all that variety, right in front of you?

• Talking about the possibilities of what they might learn. I warn the students that I believe in quantitative marketing. At this point, they are not exactly sure what that is. So, they nod their heads anyway. But I know that over the semester, they will get to actually play with data themselves and see what it feels like to make data-driven decisions. And if you don't have data, figure out how to get or make a decision anyway. Time keeps moving.  

• Setting the tone for the experiential education they will encounter. This last one is more true in my undergraduate marketing class. This semester, they are organizing and implementing the annual fund-raising walk for Homeward Bound, an initiative to generate $ for homeless agencies, right around Christmas. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. But so far, the creative ideas are just spilling out of them. They seem excited. I am really excited. It's great to see what kind of an impact their marketing efforts can have in the community. So many possibilities.

So many of us today are experimenting with the various social media networks – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and now Google+. As any quantitative marketer would, I too have been experimenting. Like many others, I’ve found that each network has its own purposes and benefits. Likewise, each network has its own culture. For me, the hard one to wrap my hands around was Twitter. 140-characters? Seems like either more than I want to say or not enough. After watching Twitter feeds for a few weeks, I was sure I should do it but didn’t know where to start. So, I created my profile. And, that was it…for 4 months. I still couldn’t quite figure out where to start. So, I want to say a quick thanks to local marketing consultant Doug Karr at Marketing Tech Blog for this “How to Twitter Infographic”.

"Focus on the Journey, not the destination. Joy is not found in finishing an activity but in doing it!" 
Follow my journey on twitter @jckilgore 

I have to admit that as a professor I do appreciate the summer – time to refresh, recharge and recover from the last school year. But when the first of August rolls around, I get excited. Time to start planning fall classes. Time to think about the students again. Time to figure out what to keep from last year and what to add as new. At some level, it’s like planning a marketing campaign – a 16-week campaign where the behavior you want is active engagement and learning.

Now as a business professor, I have a few highly motivating  tools that the average marketer doesn’t – namely assignments and grades. These can be more incentivizing than your average coupon and rebate, after all. But if you overuse them, the negative impact is even worse than constant price drops. So, how does a marketing professor approach this? Here’s what I do.

First like any good quantitative marketer, I look at the data: what did students say they learned a lot from and what did they say was a waste of time? Every semester, I have my tried-and-true activities and my experiments. Over time, I’ve found that not all experiments are successful. So, customer feedback is the place to start. One tool I use to find insights is Wordle.net. As the picture below shows, you enter a bunch of words and it produces beautiful word clouds.  Basically, this Wordle tells me I need more examples and to spread out deliverables across the semester better. Good insight about what to do different. Next, I look at student performance – what activities did they nail and what were the misses? Then, I consider why they were misses: Was my message off? Was the promotion off? Was the desired behavior just asking for too much? We want students to have an experiential education but we don't want it to overwhelm them.

With all that insight, I now start working on my syllabus. A syllabus is like an ad, product packaging and the contest guidelines all rolled into one. I want to excite the students, make sure they have all the facts and explain the rules, waivers, and exemptions. Unfortunately like some marketing materials, I fear the syllabus is often more focused on what I need to say than what they need to hear. I suspect I drown them with details without having fully sold them on what they are going to get out of the class. So, this year I vow to work backwards (like a good sales proposal should) – excite them first and put the legalese in the back! Let’s see if it works. I’ll let you know.