Technical Module - The Five Disciplines of Innovation

Trainer: Assoc. Prof Dr Khairudin Damhoeri

Date: 7 - 9 April 2010 

The FIVE disciplines of Innovation 

• Discipline 1 - Important Customer & Market Needs
• Discipline 2 - Value Creation
• Discipline 3 - Innovation Champions
• Discipline 4 - Innovation Teams
• Discipline 5 - Organizational Alignment 

1# Your product or service must target a customer value (as opposed to a company, shareholder, employee, or public value). A customer's value = benefits - cost. You can optimize either the benefits or the cost to achieve high value. 

2# You need a value proporsition. High customer value results from providing superior benefits per costs compared to the competition and alternatives. Quantitative value of proposition is the core of your "elevator speech" (ie NABCs = Needs + Approach + Benefits + Competition) that addresses:

• What is the important customer and market need?
• What is the unique approach for addressing this need?
• What are the specific benefits per costs superior to the competition's and the alternatives?

3# Success require teams lead by Champions which are committed and passionate. To bring innovative concepts to fruition, Champions exemplify the Five Disciplines of Innovation while serving the best interest of their enterprise.

4# To innovate, you need collective intelligence. Innovation teams must have a shared vision, complementary skills, and shared rewards. 

5#  Upper management needs to remove barriers and provide organizational support. This is the advantage of smaller businesses. Align your team first, then the overall enterprise - everyone can create new customer value. Continuous Value Creation (CVC) requires alignment of structure and process throughout the enterprise to maximize customer value.

 

Technical Module - Creative Thinking Skills

Trainer: Prof. Dr. Barjoyai Bardai

Date: 2 - 6 April 2010

Anyone can start thinking creatively, and we all have the potential to think up great new ideas. However, many people haven't had the opportunity to discover that capacity among themselves. Therefore, I am so lucky to have Prof. Dr. Barjoyai Bardai to share his knowledge about this topic. His lesson was interesting and full of beneficial inputs.

What is creativity?

 Creativity is a lifestyle, a personality trait, a way of perceiving the world, a way of thinking, a way of living and a way of growing.

Let's test your mind:

What do you see in each picture after it is flipped?

Look Closely !

The Art of Creative Thinking

Creative thinking skills show you practical ways to become a more creative thinker. It develops your understanding of the creative process; overcomes barriers to create new idea; broadens your vision; builds on new ideas; develops a creative attitude; becomes more confident as a creative thinker. The basic rules in creative thinking are:

• Be imaginative - promote imagination
• Have initiative to provoke your mind by "Thinking Wrong"
• Defer judgement -  better still bt pass judgement
• Use movement in thinking - all the time

The Innovation Process

Technological innovation is a critical factor for the survival and growth of most industrial enterprise, and should not be left to chance if it can be planned and controlled in a meaningful way. The most critical factors in technological innovation process are:

• A marker orientation
• Relevance to the organization's corporate objectives
• An effective project selection and evaluation system
• Effective project management and control
• A source of creative ideas
• An organization receptive to innovation
• Commitment by one or a few individuals

How does one deal with a road block that springs up in the middle of an innovation development process?

•  increase the amount of relevant information available to the problem solver
• increase the number of potential alternative that are generated and thus improve the chances of finding a very good solution
• Increase competitive advantage by producing more unusual solution

Once the team has ideas on how to approach the problem, rank the solutions and select the best approach. Develop the solution or solutions to the problem and select the best solution. During the development process, don't forget to keep the marketplace in mind because for an "invention" to become "innovation" it must succeed in the marketplace.

Communication Module – Week 5

29 & 30 March 2010 - Powerful Presentation Skills

Trainers: Mr Najmi and Miss Amira

Once again we had Mr Najmi and Miss Amira as our trainers. The first task he asked to discuss was the statement 'TIME IS MONEY' by applying creative thinking and presentation techniques that we had learned previously. We are not able to say whether time is money or not. Some people will always believe that time is only money but nothing else; others will defend the opposite stand. As far as I concerned, all of us should realize that the material around us makes time money. Although I do not want to agree with this statement, I confess all of us should be realistic. No one can lead normal life without enough money. People constantly work in order to earn. And they need TIME. It is mainly MONEY for them.

31 March and 1 April 2010 - Presentation

Trainers: Mr Hisham and Miss Amira 

We had an individual presentation today. We need to ensure proper time management, material use, voice quality, content and closure of the presentation. After presentation, Mr Hisham gave his feedback on our presentation. Following is my script for the presentation:

Communication Module – Week 4

22 March 2010 - The Art of Negotiation Skills

Trainer: Mr Hisham Ab Karim

Negotiation is truly an art that involves give and take from all parties involved. Negotiation take talent and skill which has been covered in today lesson by Mr Hisham. We had negotiation activity in the class and it was very interesting. Negotiation is the most vital skills any entrepreneur must have and it is difficult to achieve agreement where there is no consensus between the individuals involved in the negotiation. However, I personally think that negotiation can be better with experience and exercise.

23 & 24 March 2010 - Writing an Article for Publication - Techniques and Styles

Trainers: Mdm Liew Suet Fun and Miss Sarasvati

Everyone can write, but to write an effective article need to be learned and practiced. An expert in this field which is known as Ms Suet Fun had shared her knowledge and experience freely. There are several steps need to be followed in order to produce a good article writing.

Here's the process:

1. Topic - you'll never write a feature article, for any publication, unless it is highly targeted toward a unique subject in the field.
2. Title - You need to have a gripping and thought provoking title when you are writing a feature article.
3. Writing style - Powerful layman technique, commanding authors, whose opinions are original are good writer.

Following these steps is the first step to learn how to consistently find yourself writing a good article. The best and important part is 'PRACTICE' then you'll find yourself writing a good article easily every time.

25 March 2010 - The Role of NLP in Communication

Trainer: Mr Faizal Kamal

Mr Faizal is one of the well known people who have certified qualification in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) in Malaysia. This is one of the best classes that I ever had. He helps me a lot in improving the way I think and act by using NLP techniques. NLP was specifically created in order to allow us to do magic by creating new ways of understandinng how verbal and non-verbal communication affect the human brain. The basic principle in NLP is that success can be achieved by increasing the positive habits and reducing the negative ones. Therefore, think positive all the time!

26 March 2010 - Communication Concepts and Skills

Trainers: Mr Najmi and Miss Amira

Communication is a necessity as we use it to network, spread ideas and promote. It is easily overlooked, but the ability to communicate effectively is necessary to carry out the thoughts and visions of an organization to the people. All it needs is the concepts and skills which have been covered thoroughly by Mr Najmi in today lesson. In general, effective communication can be achieved if we understand the other person's point of view, avoid one right way communication and be a good influence.

Communication Module – Week 3

15 & 16 March 2010 - Interview Techniques

Trainers: Mr Farizal and Miss Sofea

The interview is the critical factor that can MAKE or BREAK your career. I have learnt some of the beneficial rules about job interviews: interviewers decide about you in the first few seconds, and you have to make a good "first impression". You should ask insightful questions, learn as much as you can about the company, they will probably ask questions designed to trip you up, so have some quick answers ready. I also had an opportunity to join mock interview session and I believed that "Practice make Perfect".

17 March 2010 - Body Language for Presentation

Trainers: Mdm Fatimah and Mr Najmi

We're lucky because today we had another very special celebrity guest, Ms. Fatimah Abu Bakar. Her lesson was extremely interesting and fascinating. Her lovely personality also contributed to the success of her lesson about body language presentation. The usual and easiest advice to give any newcomer to public speaking or business presentation is to stand up, speak out, handle the questions asked, and sit down. That's the easy part. But how do we handle the nerves and how we do we stand and use our body language? I discovered that, body language must be in tune with the message. Confidence and sincerity are the absolute basis for this process.

18 March 2010 - Grooming and Dining Etiquatte

Trainers: Mr Farizal and Mdm Noraini

This lesson is very interesting because 'you are how you eat and dress'. In other words, the way you eat and dress demonstrate your manners and can either invite disgust or leave a good, lasting impression. Therefore, this lesson helps me a  lot in how to eat and dress properly. I have learnt about the do's and don'ts during dining, usage of different cutlery and glassware, table layout as well as how to dress and makeup properly.

19 March 2010 -  Advanced Report Writing

Trainers: Mdm Norliza and Mdm Farahiyah

Today we have to prepare a survey regarding to BeST programme. Preparing a survey can take a lot of thought and testing to be effective. Our group has decided to conduct a survey about module satisfaction. The results will be presented on 29 March. See ya.

Communication Module - Week 2

8 March 2010 – Effective Meeting

Trainer: Mdm Suzelina and Mdm Iris D’ cruz

In general, in order to run effective meetings we need to establish goals for the meeting, set realistic agendas and works with other on meeting etiquette. The trainers have given me many useful examples about good and bad meetings. Bad meetings drone on forever, as you never seem to get to the point, and you leave wondering why you were even present. Effective ones leave you energized and feeling that you've really accomplished something. Therefore, if you structure your meeting planning, preparation, execution, the result will be an effective meeting!! Interesting right?

9 March 2010 – Effective Resume and Impressive Cover Letter

Trainer: Mdm Farahiyah and Mdm Norliza

Both of the trainers are my favorite. Their class were extremely interesting, efficient and absolutely fascinating. Honestly, they help me a lot in improving my previous resume and cover letter because this lesson is designed to assist the trainees who are prepared to look at their accomplishments, skills, and experiences in relation to a job targets.

11 March 2010 – Public Speaking Techniques

Trainer: Mr Farizal and Mdm Tara

I've certainly experienced "butterflies" about being on stage or speak in front of public. However, Mr Farizal gave me many beneficial tips and techniques how to speak in front of the public because if we want to be leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.

12 March 2010 – Entrepreneurship

Trainer: Professor Patricia Greene

Believe it or not, today was a very special day because we had a guess speaker (Prof. Greene) from Babson College, Massachusetts. Her lecture on entrepreneurship was well organized and interesting. According to Prof. Grenne, an entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise while entrepreneurship is the process of discovering new ways of combining resources. A successful entrepreneur is the one who expand the size of economic pie for everyone.

BeST programme (intake March 2010)

Salam and Hello everyone !!  

(as promised...)

I am here at UniRazak City Campus because I have been chosen as a Trainee for the Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Special Training (BeST) Programme. This programme is a six-month intensive that combines classroom training, laboratory and industry internship.

Personally, I feel grateful to be selected as one of the participants in this programme because it helps me a lot to graduate essential skills and knowledge for entry-level positions within any biotechnology-related companies.

On academic side, this programme can be divided into three sections: Section 1 - Communication Module, Section 2 - Technical Module and Section 3 - Entrepreneurship Module. The tasks provided especially in communication module has improved my confidence level and skills when communicate in front of other people.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed in this programme, with everything being positive so far.

UniRazak City Campus

Good day everyone..!!

Yeayyy..finally I have a blog..

Thanks to Dr Khairuddin because he helps me a lot about this blog..

Ermm..my 1st impression about UniRazak???

Just one word it can be described.."WOWWW..!!"

The building and beautiful surroundings were both overwhelming and exciting..

All the lecturers are all knowledgeable and professional..

Overall, Unirazak City Campus is EXCELLENT..!!

************

Oh ya, I am sure most of you are wondering why I am here at UniRazak..

I promise, I will tell you guys later in the next entry..

See ya..