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Getting started on the Next Great Innovator Challenge: Questions?
With registrations complete you and your teams are starting to develop your innovative ideas for the Challenge. I’ve had a few questions come in to the email, nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com so I’ll post a round of answers here. Don’t be shy about asking your questions! Either ask by email or post them here as comments. In the spirit of fairness we answer questions publicly but chances are good if you have a question about something so do other teams! I’ll start with competition specific questions and work out into some of the more general things students have been asking.
How many teams registered? How many from my school?
We’re just validating the registrations now, keep an eye on the blog and on our Google maps mash-up for details.
We want to add or change a team member- can we do that?
Yes, up to the point you submit your proposal. Just email the new/changed team member(s) information to nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com and we’ll update the registration. Of course teams can only have 3 or 4 members!
Do we have to complete a team profile/we completed a team profile but can’t see it?
Team profiles are optional, but we hope you will fill one out. Show off a little! If you have completed one they are reviewed and approved before they are appear in the team search. We are reviewing and approving team profiles as they are completed! http://forms.rbc.com/teaminnovator/teamprofile_search.asp
When is the proposal due and how do we submit it?
November 23rd and you submit by completing the proposal template http://www.rbc.com/innovator/innovators_tips.html and emailing the completed work to nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com
What areas are other than the ones listed with the Challenge is RBC is looking to Innovate?
This is a bigger discussion and I’ll be writing about it later- but try not to think just in an RBC context. The Challenge is about financial services in Canada so you can look in any area of financial services where you think the industry can make it easier for clients to do business with us. The question is open ended on purpose as that’s exactly what Innovators face- big, tough, open ended questions.
We have offered some areas of interest that students could work with- but we want to stress that you can certainly look at ANY client segment or any definition of client as you work out your innovative ideas. As “fresh eyes” on the state of financial services you offer a brand new perspective and might see things we are all missing. That’s a HUGE part of Innovative thinking. You can even look “inside” Canadian Financial Institutions if you think some innovation to operation, process or structure will have the ultimate output of making it easier for the clients.
Does the Innovation have to be technology based?
Not at all! We know that technology is a great tool and certainly is more and more present in all out lives, but innovation and good thinking are often “technology agnostic”. They solve a fundamental problem in a creative way and select the tools as needed instead of anchoring on a technology or tool. Your innovation could be a process or technology or a multi-faceted plan incorporating many types of change and change agents.
What’s our definition of Innovation?
Wow, that’s a biggie- and another good topic for a full blog entry. Innovation has a multitude of definitions, so I won’t try and nail it down in a one line definition. But I will say this as a thought starter for you “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.” (Peter Drucker)
How can we make out team’s proposal really stand out?
Of course it all starts with a quality innovation or idea, but I can offer some other ways you can make your proposal really great:
- Find a mentor or advisor. Any team can get a mentor, advisor or subject matter experts involved as long as the final work is the original work of the team. This is especially important if you are thinking about pairing up an innovation from another industry or country with an opportunity in Financial Services.
- Edit, review, edit, review and edit and review. One of the best lessons of my academic career was a very insightful prof who, when reviewing a paper and presentation, told my team “It’s good but it seems like it was one revision away from really being ready.” He was absolutely correct- we had finished up last minute and done a good job, but having one more round of constructive editing, especially from outside of our team, would have made the difference between an A- and an A+. And if your proposal can stand up to you peers you’re in great shape if you make it to the final round.
- Use the Appendixes creatively. Remember your target audience for the proposal is a group of top executives. Some detail is important in the body of the proposal but it really is the core of your innovative idea we want to hear. Push the support elements, background and minutia into the appendixes so you have lots of room for the “wow” or “eureka” elements of your innovation.
That’s it for now, but please check back here regularly for competition updates and entries about Innovation and Innovation resources!
Thank you for registering!
The Challenge now feels like it is really underway. The Innovator Challenge team would like to thank all of the students who took the time to get their teams registered. We also want to thank all of the professors, program administrators, student councils and clubs who contributed so much to getting the word out about this year’s Challenge.
We’re very excited to see teams from across Canada and from some very innovative schools. There are even some teams with students from different schools coming together in a terrific sense of open innovation and “coop-tition”.
What Next?
Shortly (if not already) all registered students will receive the kick off email with updates and suggestions. We recommend you keep an eye on our blog to stay up to date; you can even set up an RSS feed.
A few other suggestions:
• It’s a short time to proposal submission so get your group structure and roles worked out as soon as you can. Will you meet regularly or collaborate remotely? Do you need or want to have a coordinator? Getting the little things out of the way can make you much more nimble down the road.
• Get researching and brainstorming. You may already have your area or areas for investigation picked, but dig a little deeper, toss some ideas around and get creative. Who knows what innovative combinations you can find?
• Ask questions. Please ask us anything you think is important, either here in the blog or through nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com. Keep in mind we will answer the question publicly in a blog post, but chances are if you have a question so do other teams.
• Find a mentor, coach or subject matter expert. Teams can use whatever resources they deem fit, as long as the final proposal is solely the original work of the team. A prof, innovation practitioner or even an ace editor could help you make your innovative idea come to life.
Finally, just for fun, find out what type of innovator you are. This year we’ve adapted the Innovator Quiz into a Facebook application. You can take the quiz, guess your friends' and teammates' innovator types and earn points to evolve your powers of innovation!
http://apps.facebook.com/rbcinnovator/rbc-main.php
Register your team soon!
The challenge is revealed and from the feedback lots of students are thinking about participating in this year’s Next Great Innovator Challenge. Remember you have to register in order to be able to submit a proposal for the November 23rd deadline. Registration closes October 22. There’s no cost to register and it only takes a few minutes to input your team information. Why wait? You can return any time after registration to complete your optional team profile.
http://forms.rbc.com/teaminnovator/register.asp
Still waiting to register?
I’ve been in contact with a number of last year’s finalists and here are a few reasons they gave to be part of the Next Great Innovator Challenge;
• Working on the forward looking, real world challenge was much more interesting than “classic” business cases.
• The competition day in Toronto was an experience unlike any other business competition, especially being able to meet and interact with the other teams and so many senior RBC staff. (The all expenses paid part was nice too…)
• The Challenge was the most asked about part of their resumes.
• The exposure to RBC Financial was terrific and a number of the finalists have made connections regarding potential careers with RBC.
And believe it or not, the Challenge has brought one of the finalists fame! He emailed us to mention that it was great to see the promotions for the Challenge appearing on his campus and noted that a number of students had approached him as they had seen him on the web page. He was famous as an innovator and for being part of a team representing their school at the top level of competition! Not bad things to be known for. Not bad at all.
Will that be you in 2008?
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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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