Learning to Innovate
Learning to Innovate
Despite popular belief, learning to innovate and ideation can be taught in a systematic way. Just as easily, business ideas can be vetted in a systematic way. Rob Ryan took his career into orbit when we discovered a business development model which he calls the sunflower model. He built his company- Ascend Communications- using the sunflower model and helped take it from the point of bankruptcy to selling for $24 billion. Today, Rob has his eyes fixed on the up and coming generation by teaching high school students skills in entrepreneurship.
Rob helps people understand their core competency- or what they’re really good at. Once they see the strengths that they have, they can learn how to leverage them and vet out ideas that can turn into profitable businesses.
The 5 main steps that Rob teaches students are:
- How to identify your strengths?
- How to rank those strengths?
- How to ideate (create ideas) off of those strengths?
- How to systematically rank those ideas to see where your competencies will take you?
- How to go out to customers to validate this whole process (test your hypothesis)?
What is all comes down to is that Rob is trying to let everyone know that they can be successful by learning to be creative. He says that these skills aren’t just limited to Steve Jobs and Elon Musk- they’re in each and everyone of us and just need to be developed and brought out.
We hope you found this article about “Learning to Innovate” helpful. If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page or our website at www.GROCO.com. Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.
To receive our free newsletter, contact us here.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more updates.
Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com. GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.
Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio
GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.
The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.
Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.
The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.
They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..
American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world’s most successful individuals about their secrets to life’s success. Topics from guest have included:
Creating purpose in life / Building a foundation for their life / Solving problems / Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service / Becoming self-reliant / Enhancing effective leadership / Balancing family and work…
MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness. It’s mission statement:
In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.
Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.
Communication Between Managers and their Employees
By Emily Topham Communication Between Managers and Their Employees Managers have a daunting task—finding the right level of communication between them and their employees. It can be difficult for new managers to transition into the level of communication that is required by a leadership position. But discovering how to communicate well can make or…
Which States Are Good, and Bad, for Taxes?
How attached are you to the state you live in? Although most people would rather not relocate, where a person lives can actually make a huge difference in his or her tax bill. That’s because Kiplinger recently released its list of the most and least “tax-friendly” states when it comes to taxes. The business publisher…
How Are Some Big U.S. Companies Shrinking Their Tax Bill?
Every company wants to save on its tax bill. Although tax inversions have been making a lot of news lately, there are many other methods that corporations use to cut back on their taxes. In fact, seven companies in the S&P 500 index, including some big names that everyone is familiar with, have been able…
Democrats Take Dead Aim at Tax Inversions
The democrat lead U.S. Senate has been making a lot of noise lately regarding tax inversions, the practice of U.S. companies moving their corporate headquarters overseas in order to avoid the high price of overbearing U.S. corporate taxes. Those senators have apparently made good on a recent promise that they would look to put a…