5A - Identifying Local Opportunites

Opportunity 1

·        Title and Link: Miami Beach to Spend $75,000 to Eradicate Invasive Iguanas

·        Description of the story: The story written on 1/30/20 describes how the City of Miami Beach is trying to reduce the number of iguanas in the city since they are an invasive species.

·        Description of the problem: The iguanas are invasive and are causing damage to the city and are being a nuisance to the city’s inhabitants.  

·        Description of who has the problem: The City of Miami Beach, the city’s inhabitants, and the city’s business have the problem.

Opportunity 2

·        Title and Link: Angry Miamians Launch Effort to Oust Commissioner Joe Carollo

·        Description of the story: The story written on 1/30/20 is part opinion and part factual about local Miami inhabitants working to remove their Commissioner.

·        Description of the problem: The group of Miamians believe that Commissioner Joe Carolla has done nothing to improve their situation and that he has in turn made things worse for them by several controversies he has been a part of.

·        Description of who has the problem: Former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Juan Cuba and a team of local activists are launching a petition drive and political action committee to remove Carollo from his post as a city commissioner.

Opportunity 3

·        Title and Link: Miami-Dade Cop Acquitted of Battery Despite Video of Him Hitting Handcuffed Teen

·        Description of the story: The story written on 1/29/20 details how a local Miami cop was acquitted of battery despite their being video evidence.

·        Description of the problem: Per the story, the problem is the lack of trust in anyone holding cops accountable for their actions.

·        Description of who has the problem: The teen who was handcuffed and hit and the local people who do not trust cops and the judicial system.

Opportunity 4

·        Title and Link: The Miami Herald Cuts 70 Jobs and Closes Its Printing Plant

·        Description of the story: The story written on 1/29/20 details how the struggling Miami Herald newspaper company is struggling financially and had to reduce staff and shut down some production.

·        Description of the problem: The problem comes from there being far less newspaper subscribers paying for the actual printed version of the Miami Herald.

·        Description of who has the problem: The Miami Herald has the problem. Consumer preferences are changing, and technology is making it more difficult for local newspapers to stay relevant and financially viable.

Opportunity 5

·        Title and Link: Miami Feels Tremors From Earthquake Near Cuba and Jamaica

·        Description of the story: The story written on 1/28/20 details how Miami felts some effects from the 7.7 earthquake that struck near Cuba and Jamaica.

·        Description of the problem: The problem is that tremors were felt in Miami.

·        Description of who has the problem: Local businesses and residents have the problem of being impacted by the tremors.

4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe there is an unmet need to have a special turn signal option in cars to indicate making a U-turn. I have personally experience and have seen other drivers experience frustration when behind a vehicle making a U-turn due to having to wait for a longer window of cars coming from the opposite direction in order to make the U-turn. I’ve also been behind cars in a turning lane where I have had to slow down more to accommodate them making a U-turn and I ended up having to wait until the next green turn arrow to make my churn. I think the need for the additional turn signal option has been there since the commercialization of car travel and when electric street signals were first used in 1914. I feel drivers making the U-turns have a need for this in order to be a safer driver and the need would also benefit making drivers on the road safer that are interacting with drivers making a U-turn. Currently, drivers are either using their normal turn signal or no turn signal at all to make U-turns. At this point, I’d say there is a 60% chance that this opportunity exists.

Customer 1: Amazon delivery driver

·        Have you driven behind someone who makes a U-turn?

o   Yes – I experience this multiple times a day since my job is 90% driving.

·        Do you make U-turns on a regular basis?

o   Not typically. We use technology to map out the smartest/quickest routes for our deliveries, an U-turns are rarely a part of the route unless I miss a turn.

·        Have you ever been frustrated when observing someone or you yourself making a U-turn?

o   The only time it frustrates me is if the driver making the U-turn is not aggressive enough to make the turn and it slows me down in making my normal left turn.

·        Do you see this as a need that needs to be met?

o   It certainly is an issue that is frustrating, but our own technology tries to keep us from making U-turns, so I assume that trend will grow moving forward.

Reflection on Customer 1: I honestly was not aware that there was technology being used when mapping out their routes that would keep Amazon drivers from making U-turns. I looked more into this, and UPS has been using a technology platform built around drivers only making right turns in order to speed up their delivery service.

Customer 2: Mid-40s father of 2

·        Have you driven behind someone who makes a U-turn?

o   Yes – This happens a couple of times a week, mainly when I am running errands.

·        Do you make U-turns on a regular basis?

o   On a regular basis, no. I typically only make them if I miss a turn or if the place I am turning into does not have an entrance with direct access to turn in from a light.

·        Have you ever been frustrated when observing someone or you yourself making a U-turn?

o   I have from time to time, but I know it is a necessary evil.

·        Do you see this as a need that needs to be met?

o   Not particularly.

Reflection on Customer 2: It was interesting how this customer was not as frustrated as I’d thought he be. I assumed that since it is frustrating for me, that it would be for all other drivers as well. This customer seemed resigned to the fact that U-turns will happen for everyone and it is not a big deal.

Customer 3. Police officer

·        Have you driven behind someone who makes a U-turn?

o   Yes – I give out multiple tickets a month as well for drivers making illegal U-turns.

·        Do you make U-turns on a regular basis?

o   I make most of my U-turns after getting notified by dispatch that I am needed for a situation that is in the opposite direction of where I am heading.

·        Have you ever been frustrated when observing someone or you yourself making a U-turn?

o   I certainly get frustrated when I see drivers making illegal U-turns which endanger other drivers. I have been called to multiple crash sights caused by illegal U-turns. When I make U-turns, my police lights are typically on, so I usually have no issues.

·        Do you see this as a need that needs to be met?

o   No – The bigger need is continual safe driving courses and education. We need safer drivers on the road that will adhere to driving laws in place.

Reflection on Customer 3: I was initially excited thinking this customer had the same frustration as me. At the end of the interview though, it was apparent that this customer was frustrated in more general terms of unsafe drivers and not one small piece such as U-turns.

I do not believe there is a true opportunity for my original needs. It seems like the need is more of a stylistic preference than a true need. There were two specific counters to the need – technology and continual education/training. I do believe the opportunity is more accurate and refined now after conducting these interviews. I think feedback from customers does need to be considered and used if the feedback is objective and measurable.

3A - Entrepreneurship Story

My first exposure to entrepreneurship was in 6th grade when I tried to start my own lawn cutting business. One of my normal chores assigned by my dad during the summer was to cut my lawn every other Saturday. The neighbor living to the left of our house approached me one Saturday after I finished cutting my lawn and offered me $20 to cut hers. I excitedly said yes and immediately started cutting her lawn. When I was halfway done with her front yard, my lawn mower ran out of gas, so my dad drove me to the nearest gas station, and I used $5 of the $20 I just made to buy 3 gallons of gas. I quickly learned that it cost money to operate a business. The following Saturday, I went door to door to offer lawn cutting services for $20. I ended up with 3 additional neighbors as customers and I maintained the 4 customers for the summers of 7th and 8th grade.



"Pull to start" by wasabicube is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 

I am taking ENT 3003 due to having a desire of starting my own talent acquisition consulting company. I have 6.5 years of experience as a headhunter with recruiting agencies and 3 years of experience in corporate talent acquisition for a Fortune 500 organization. I currently act as an internal consultant to our business leaders to help develop talent strategies to meet our current and future business needs. Working on the agency side, I was hired by companies with broken talent acquisition programs in order to find and hire people for them that they could not get for themselves. I feel with my experience and consulting capabilities I can carve out a solid book of business consulting with companies to help them improve their talent acquisition programs. 

2A - Bug List

1. Vehicle turn signals don’t signal for making a U-turn.
1. Why it exists: It would take up too much space to add another turn signal light on the back of a car.
2. Ceiling fans only have standard speed settings and can’t be adjusted to in-between speeds such as lights with dimmers.
1. Why it exists: It’s an easier electrical setup with standard speeds.
3. Toys for kids don’t come with replacement parts.
1. Why it exists: Toy companies want new toys to be purchased to replace broken ones so there are more sales.
4. The letters D and S are next to each other on the keyboard, causing me to accidentally type aSS instead of aDD all too often.
1. Why it exists: The original design of the keyboard was probably done so based on letter usage.
5. Toothpaste dribbles down my toothbrush sometimes while brushing my teeth and gets on my hand.
1. Why it exists: There is no barrier or rim to catch the dribbling toothpaste.
6. The hand railings for the steps in my apartment complex are always wet and dirty.
1. Why it exists: The stairs and hand railings are not covered so they are always exposed to the elements.
7. The Power Rangers swords I bought for my son are both made for right-handed kids, so he can’t hold one in his left hand without it being backwards and ineffective to use.
1. Why it exists: Most people are right-handed, so toys are designed for right-handers.
8. Crayons break too easily.
1. Why it exists: They are wrapped in thin paper instead of a protective layer.
9. Bathtubs are slippery.
1. Why it exists: The materials used to make bathtubs are designed to have minimal friction to encourage proper water drainage.
10. “Reply All” to an email does not come with a warning to confirm you wanted to reply to all on the original email.
1. Why it exists: It would make sending this sort of email a slower process.
11. Google Sheets does not automatically spellcheck.
1. Why it exists: It was designed to be primarily used for numbers and not words.
12. New iPhones don’t come with a car charger.
1. Why it exists: To force customers to spend more money by buying a separate car charger.
13. The Publix where I shop puts the slowest cashier on the Express lane.
1. Why it exists: They may feel it makes sense to put the slowest cashier with the least amount of groceries to ring up.
14. My windshield wipers on my Toyota RAV4 do not cover the entire windshield.
1. Why it exists: They are designed to clean the normal lines of sight for the driver.
15. Dunkin’ Donuts does not offer Stevia as a sweetener option.
1. Why it exists: This would create another option for customers, causing a longer decision time.
16. Waist sizes for the pants I buy only come in even sizes.
1. Why it exists: The store would not be able to hold enough inventory for every size.
17. City Furniture salespeople in Boca Raton stalking me when I am looking at furniture in their store.
1. Why it exists: They are paid on commission, so they want to ensure another salesperson does not take the sale.
18. Comcast is the only company I can use for internet in my apartment complex.
1. Why it exists: The apartment complex probably gets a kickback from Comcast for not allowing other internet providers as options.
19. The smoke detectors in my apartment do not have a digital battery icon to show when the batter is low.
1. Why it exists: They are old and designed much differently than today’s electronics.
20. The Amazon Echo device I bought comes with factory settings that allows it to hear my conversations even when I am not using it.
1. Why it exists: Amazon can collect more customer data.

Reflection:

In full transparency, the actual list of the 20 bugs was easy to come up with. I have discussed a lot these bugs before with friends of mine, and we shared stories of how they impacted our lives during the moments we encountered them. The difficult part was providing a succinct answer of why it exists and not why it bothers me. I feel with anything, it can be difficult to remove emotion from the situation and truly think logically about the root cause. I am a solution-oriented person and my job as a Sr. Talent Acquisition Advisor for a multi-billion organization reflects this. In my role, I am continually looking for “bugs” in my company’s interview processes, candidate capabilities, and long-term talent planning. Once I identify these “bugs”, it is my responsibility to act as an internal consultant to figure out the root cause of the issue and then develop a plan to overcome the identified “bugs”.

My first...

...and certainly not my last!