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The Challenge is revealed!
Just a quick post to kick the Challenge off! The wait is over and this year’s challenge question is now posted at http://www.rbc.com/innovator/innovators_challenge.html From recent discussions with students about Financial Services I believe there are aspects of the challenge which truly resonate with our potential entrants- and this will let students really dig in, get passionate, get creative and come up with innovative solutions that make it easier for clients to do business with us.
A few NEW things to note about this year’s Challenge:
- The timeline has changed to better fit the student calendar, but this means you must register your team by Oct 22nd to be able to submit a proposal.
- You can sign up for text alerts to remind you of milestones.
- Check out the "high definition" host on the challenge details page! http://www.rbc.com/innovator/innovators_challenge.html
- This year you can add an (optional) team profile and search the profiles as they are published; you can set yours up at http://forms.rbc.com/teaminnovator/login.asp.
I’m most exited about the team profiles feature. It is optional, and in no way affects your chances of becoming a finalist, but why not take a few minutes to build a profile and show off your team? Shout out to other schools who might be a rival or even to other teams from your own school. Why not add a personal touch to the Challenge this year and help make it more even more fun?
Finally, don't forget you can post comments here on the Innovator blog, and you can send any questions to nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com.
The Challenge is closer…
In only 1 week we’ll unveil the challenge for this year’s RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge. It’s great to see people dropping by the website this early to check out the new features we’ve added and begin to prepare to tackle the new Challenge. Be sure to come back on Monday Sept. 17th for the unveiling!
Just to get you all thinking about innovation I thought I would share a very simple meme I came across in my regular newsfeeds on innovation. This was originally published by Don The Idea Guy as part of his blog, at dontheideaguy.com. Innovation crucial these days but it is a kind of “slippery fish”; hours and hours can be consumed debating a definition, the function (or functions) of innovation and how to measure the effect of or return on innovation- the latter being a very hot topic right now. But regardless of where innovation takes you and what it can produce it has to start on a solid foundation of thoughtful (if not inspired) inquiry. Think about applying Don’s outline to your next opportunity for innovation:
• The six most important words for innovation: "This process really drives me crazy!"
• The five most important words for innovation: "Why do it this way?"
• The four most important words for innovation: "What do you think?"
• The three most important words for innovation: "What if we..."
• The two most important words for innovation: "Why not?"
• The one most important word for innovation: "How?"
As a parting note I’ll leave you with another insight from one of my inspirations, the great Peter Drucker. On Innovation, Drucker said: “Marketing and innovation are the two chief functions of business. You get paid for creating a customer, which is marketing. And you get paid for creating a new dimension of performance, which is innovation.”
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The Innovator Blog is your inside source for advice and guidance on the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge™.
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