Insights from the Global Sustainability Jam 2017 #GSusJam

Like in music, the idea of a Jam is to bring people together without pre-thought ideas or agenda. Simply, collaborate to create something together.

Innovate UK’s 2016/17 delivery plan – what SMEs can expect

Innovate UK is changing. The new delivery plan covers only 2016/2017 and anticipates more alterations for the following years. Here is what you need to know if you’re a SME looking for Innovate UK funding: 

Project Management Systems and SMEs – A Quick Guide

Not long ago, a small specialist-consultancy asked for my help in setting up an effective project management. They were quite busy, managing multiple projects with multiple partners at same time. They wanted to have more structure very quickly at lowest cost possible.

How did they achieve it all? Here I share this tested approach that can help you get there too.

What I learned writing successful bids for grants

Grants are very valuable for SMEs and small business. You can get the needed cash inflow to push your project or product further. You won’t have to pay back or give out part of your equity, even if the project is not successful or even achievable. The biggest challenge: they are highly competitive and making your message stand out is paramount.

Having successfully obtained grants for SMEs on the Horizon 2020 (SME Instrument) and SMART Awards (Innovate UK), I list below some tested lessons to increase your chances on these processes.

Invisible Boundaries – How to establish a health business relationship? Learn from Netflix’s #OITNB

Orange is the New Black is a rising start of Netflix with million followers and fans around the world. Nurturing the audience and being ‘liked’ by the fans is essential on their business. So how to deal with a fan trespassing the set? #OITNB’s response can shade a light on establishing business’s health boundaries.

Disrupting Wall Street with Tech

Let’s talk about the challenges for disrupting conservative markets – such as Wall Street – with technology.

This is not about Wall Street itself (and its confusing procedures, dark pools and trading ‘gymnastics’). Here I am much more interest on the forgotten tangible aspect of technology, how developers and algorithms are exploring markets gaps, and ultimately about the challenge of disrupting establish markets with huge players and barriers.

This is based on Flash Boys, a non-fiction book about what was happening on the backstage of Wall Street after
2009. It follows the efforts of a group of traders to understand how the technology and gaps within SEC rules were shaping the unfair advantage of high frequency traders. Their answer was to create a new model of stock exchange – dubbed as “A market that works for investors”. 

IUB#2: ‘Nothing’

What can we learn from nothing? New Scientist’s book compile curious studies and results coming from the concept of nothing.

Anti-matter, anaesthesia, superconductors, advanced calculus, placebo, wisdom teeth, male nipples, absolute zero. Some of the subjects of this book. In common, the concept of nothing, or the disruption of looking into things that are not quite there.

Isn’t it the principle of innovation – coming up with concepts that do not exist just yet? The book brings and interesting view of how humanity develop the concept of zero; and the barriers it faced in Europe. In this post, I will also explore this story’s parallels with the ‘modern’ clashes with Uber and taxis around the globe.

IUB#1: ‘An Astronaut’s Guide for Life on Earth’

IUB – Insights from Unexpected Books. Lessons about change and entrepreneurship from unconventional places. This week: insights from OUTER space

Chris Hadfield went to space. 3 times. He felt in love with the idea of becoming an astronaut when, at age of nine, watched the human first step on the moon. More than four decades later, he retired from NASA just after returning to Earth as the first Canadian commander of a mission to the International Space.

Chris HadfieldIUB

It seems simple and linear enough, right? Not really (as indeed reality often is). Making sense of his journey and lessons, Chris’ first person tale brings unexpected insights into reaching your big dream. Here are the favourite 4 insights for entrepreneurs learnt from his journey:

1. Expand your perspective

How do you become an astronaut? Well, among a trillion physical and intellectual tests, you have to demonstrate that can handle confined spaces. They throw you on a dark and small box and without knowing for how long you will have to be there. What would be your reaction? Chris’ reaction was “Awesome. Free time!”

Yes, it was a hassle and not the most comfortable, but was an essential part for achieving his astronaut dream. So why not enjoying the moment? Finding a new perspective to face challenges help to cope the inconvenient and hard tasks. And even may give you a new way of looking to you and what you can actually achieve.

2. Do you want to rock social media? It is all about the people behind it

On re-entrance module back on Earth, Chris was first of all greet with “Awesome video dude” by a Russian ground crew member. Yes, Chris is also a rock start – on YouTube. His cover of Space Oddity song has reached over 26 million views, receiving praises from David Bowie himself.

On the book, Chris tell that his son Evan (a social media strategist) had the idea and line up the entire plan, from selecting the vide editor, the date of release online to the rights licence. Chris may have got the fame, but his work was the easiest (and the funniest) to do. Recording small videos while flying around without gravity and playing guitar. The hard work was done back on Earth, by the team that had the view and resources to reach the ambition.

3. First impressions in a new team: are you a 0, +1 or -1?

On his life at NASA, Chris was transferred many times: between continents, between positions, between roles. One day, he was in charge of the NASA relationship management with Russia; few weeks later, he was chaperoning a colleague’s family while the fellow was getting ready to go to space. You train countless hours to learn how to flight a spacecraft, how to do small dentistry surgery, how to react automatically to life threaten situations and so on; so you can be assigned to keep an anxious family on schedule and well-fed while a loved member is quarantined before the space flight?

Being humble and knowing what your role is fundamental, Chris tell us. When you are assigned to a new activity and a new team, you have 3 options of behaviour.

(-1) You can be a pain and worsen the mood and the relationship with others. Sometimes, you are trying too hard and stepping on other’s toes in trying to show off everything each single time. You forget to listen first.

(0) You can be neutral. It means be positive and trustworthy, not invisible. It is about being proactive and effective, without crossing lines or personalities. A team only works when teammates have trust on each other. When people need you, they will call. Because they know that you are there, available and will solve the problem effectively. It is about finding the balance.

(+1) You are great, excellent, exceeding expectations, every single time. So why do you need a team? Reality is that you can’t do all by yourself. In a threaten situation, you will need speed and effectiveness, and the only way to achieve that is if everybody is trained and experienced well enough. Although, astronauts (and many other professionals) train to be excellent, you need to read the situation and learn when being a +1 is counterproductive, even if only at long term.

So, if you are getting into a new team (or starting your own), aim to be a 0. Develop trust and rapport, but without getting into the way with your pride and competitiveness. At long term, you all will find a balance. Then, you all can aim at being +1 and getting things done.

4. Finally, find the right people to be by your side

When Chris moved from Canada to USA to pursuit a flyer job (that would put him closer to his dream), his wife Helen left her high paying job and come along. When the family increased, and his job was not enough, it was Helen who made him focus on the bigger plan (instead of pursuing a better-paid job on civilian aviation). When he was in space for the third time, Helen changed her holiday plans (from hiking on Africa to Utah) just to facilitate the whole process in case some emergency happens with him. Not surprisingly, but people’s influences in our lives are often forgotten.

Science has even prove that at least your spouse’s personality influences your work life – for better or worse. So surrounding you with people that makes you thrive and keeps your perspective in check is the best approach. Specially nowadays that personal and professional are losing their boundaries; people on all your life’s instance will play a significant role in your dreams. So, surround yourself with great people, love partners, business partners, friends, teammates, collaborators, clients.

5. Bonus

What I learned from going blind in space (TED Talk)

What do you think? Check out the book for more anecdotes and a great perspective of persisting on an ‘impossible’ dream.  Sign up to our mailing list for news, insights and more

A brief tale of WE CAN

In the beginning (of the Western history, at least) God was on the centre of social life. Rules, moral code, hierarchy was governed by the Church and by the Bible.

But humanity was not satisfied. They questioned, they got furious, they got horny (outside the holy marriage) and change come on Church’s way.

Inevitable, humans took the centre of stage. The moral code shifted away from the religious credo and became much more reliant on human needs – and their comfort, of course.

But not all had such power or their needs (again, comfort) fulfilled. This ‘new’ centre became populated by those who controlled the access to info, to money, to education, to media, to decisions, to regulations, to …. (fill the blanks).

Again, humanity was not satisfied. They questioned, they got furious, they got horny (outside the holy heteronormative / monogamy thing) and change come on the Privileged way.

Human pride took over technology and broke the rules. Better, the access of those who made the rules. You want news, media, education, power. Here they are, for (somewhat) free, just few clicks away.

No, they may not even realised that they could not get to the centre. Because they have exploded the centre and replaced it for a far better idea: WE CAN.

Although the idea of CAN is not new, the definition of WE is.

WE can be entrepreneurs, anorexics, plus size, female, feminist, sexists, terrorists, gays, polygamous, ginger hair, clones, vegans, to name just a few. Yes, we reach the era of Networks.

Nowadays, more than ever, it is about who you know, which kind of access you have. Nowadays, more than ever, is not only a matter to be close to the centre, but understanding which centre is that.

With tailor-made content specially to your habits and web patterns, with ads and suggestions based on what you are (or were yesterday), you are much more likely to be confine on a cluster of ideas, people and views. Moral codes, social rules, habits, role models are constantly changing and adapting – together with and by the action of these definitions of WE. They are swapping and interacting among themselves, shaping new ways, and new questions. Intangible, those aspects can navigate much faster than people and societies ever will.

Disruptions and clashes are becoming the norm. People lose the sight that, by living in different spheres, their influence and morals are not entirely applicable to the next one – even though the new cluster member lives in your own street, share your food or your family name, or love your pet as much as you do. No, people are no longer divided by blood, genome, hair colour, skin colour, gender, sex, class, nationality or citizenship. It is all about who do you think WE are.

And then, the humanity take another leap towards the future, despite humans and their conscious actions. Humans, with their limited and habituated brain (in the sense of being built on old concepts and mechanisms), can only be pushed forwards – even if they will struggle, hurt and get hurt along the whole way.