Great ideas

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Great ideas

• Successful meetings

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The best way to have a good idea is to have a
lot of ideas. What do you think about the
following?

• There are no new ideas.
• Most of the best ideas are discovered by
  accident.
• Research and development is the key to great
  business ideas.
• There is nothing wrong with copying and improving
  the ideas of others.
• The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a
  meeting.

3
One good idea for successful business is
corporate venturing

• It is the process of two companies entering into
  a partnership
• Usually a larger company invests money or goods
  into the smaller company in return for access to
  technology or skills
• Corporate venturing is a good solution for
  companies in crisis (uniting makes them stronger)

4
Another good idea for business is to introduce
innovations

• It is the introduction of new ideas, goods,
  services and practices which are intended to be
  useful
• The main source of innovation is often the
  courage and energy to better the world
• An essential element for innovation is its
  application in a commercial way
• A number of innovations have changed human history

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A great idea is also called a breakthrough

• It is usually an important discovery which
  changes the history of something
• Very often a single innovative breakthrough is
  not enough there has to be continuous
  improvement
• For example the producers of mountain bike have
  eliminated something form the original model by
  providing comfort, easy gear changes, a fun
  ride etc.

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The initial idea for a product is first made as a
prototype

• It is a model of a future product and every
  successive product is based on it
• It is a physical model of the new product concept
• It includes designs, software and devices
• It is used for making observations and for some
  necessary adjustments

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The final prototype is called the beta version

• It is a product in its final stage of testing
• A beta version of a product (beta product) is
  often available to the public for general use and
  real life testing. It allows people to start
  using new tools as soon as possible

8
Many inventors had good ideas but only a few
brought them into life

• For example Leonardo da Vinci who drew fantastic
  pictures of parachutes and helicopters but never
  developed them
• Sometimes the technology of a certain time is not
  yet ready to accept and materialise an idea (the
  growth of supermarket chains depends on the
  people having cars to go shopping)

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Here are some ways in which the ideas are
generated

• Sometimes a company exploits an opportunity to
  offer more to its customers by extending the
  product range.
• Another good idea can allow a company to enter
  the market which was closed to it before.
• It a company spends a lot on RD they might make
  a breaktrhough with a original idea.

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• On the other hand, some products come from
  customer ideas. These products meet a real need,
  they are exactley what the customers demand.
• A product can also enhance the status, i.e.
  represent something that makes people feel
  important.
• Some people buy a green product just to reduce
  waste and protect the environment.

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Isis Innovation company

• It is a company owned by the University of
  Oxford.
• Their job is to take the ideas that have
  developed in the universitys research and turn
  them into commercial opportunities.
• They do that either by negotiating licences or by
  helping researchers to start new comapnies.

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• Some of the companies that they have recently
  started use technology developed in the
  engineering department to make car bodies more
  quickly.
• Another company makes houses for bees for people
  who have orchards to grow fruit more efficiently.
• They have also started a company for
  archaeologists which trains them in the use of
  computer techniques.

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• To build a company you have to bring together a
  number of components.
• First, you need a business plan.
• Then, you use this business plan to raise the
  investment the cash you need to start the
  business.
• You also need people to manage the new comapny.

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Great ideas 1 Double your money

• Alka-Seltzer is a company that manufactured a
  product for acid indigestion, sour stomach and
  headaches. At that time the advertising for the
  product showed a hand dropping one tablet into a
  glass of water. Herta Herzog, a psychologist,
  made a suggestion. She said that the hand in the
  photograph should drop two tablets into the
  glass. The advetising was changed and the
  companys sales doubled.

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Great ideas 2 Buying without shops

• In 1891, when American farmers were complaining
  about high prices in shops in the countryside,
  Richard Sears had an idea.
• His idea was to use the new national railway
  system and post office to create a new way of
  selling mail order.
• Sears bought in bulk and so kept prices low. He
  was also good at attracting customers with
  advertising. By 1895 his catalogue had 532 pages!

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Great ideas 3 Pay before you talk

• By the 1990s many people were using mobile phones
  for both business and pleasure. They had a
  contract and received a bill for calls they had
  made in the previous month.
• Vodafone, a successful UK mobile phone company,
  was already making good profits when it
  introduced its new Pay As You Talk service in
  1997.

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• This allowed customers to have a phone without a
  contract and monthly bills. Instead, they have a
  top up card to extend calling and service
  credit.
• The advantage for customers was that they could
  carefully budget the amount of money spent-very
  useful for parents who gave phones to their
  children. Thanks to this, sales increased.

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Successful meetings

• Some useful language and examples

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Beginning the Stating the aim
meeting

• Can we start please?
• Right, lets begin.

• The main aim of the meeting is to ...
• The purpose of this meeting is to...

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Asking for Changing the
comments subject

• What do you think?
• How do you feel about this?

• Lets move on now to...
• The next item on the agenda is...

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Clarifying Summarising

• What do you mean by...?
• Sorry, I dont quite understand.

• Ok, lets summarise.
• Right, lets recap...

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Giving opinions Making suggestions

• I think....
• Im in favour of...

• Perhaps we should...
• We could....

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Agreeing Disagreeing

• I think youre right.
• I totally agree.
• Interrupting
• Hold on a moment.
• Can I say something?

• I dont know about that.
• Im afraid I dont agree

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An example of a meeting Freestyle

• Right, can we start, please? The main aim of the
  meeting is to decide the date of the launch.
  After that, well talk about our marketing
  strategy and decide which sales outlets we should
  target.
• OK, when are we gong to launch the goggles?
  Katharina, what do you think? Should it be early
  next year or should we wait until the summer?

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• Im in favour of February and March. Theres a
  gap in the market for our products. Why wait any
  longer?
• Thanks, Katharina. OK, lets hear a few more
  views. Kenneth, whats your opinion?
• I dont know about February. Its a bit early in
  the year. I suggest we launch in May or June.
  People go on holiday then. Its a peak period for
  buying goggles.

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• Thanks, Kenneth. Nadia, whats your view? Youre
  a keen swimmer, I know.
• In my opinion, February is the best time. We
  could promote them in swimming pools and
  opticians. The price should be high. Id say, at
  least 50 pounds.
• Hold on a minute. I thought we were talking about
  the launch date, not about promotion or price.

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• Youre right, Katharina. Lets get back to the
  point. OK, everyone, we agree we prefer the
  earlier date. Lets move on to marketing. Julia,
  which outlets do you think we should target?
• I think we should start with the specialist
  stores. Thats where most swimmers buy their
  goggles. They sould be our main target.

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Stress (vocabulary)

• Past simple and present perfect

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Which of these situations are the most stressful
for you?

• Going to the dentist
• Queuing in the supermarket
• Being stuck in a traffic jam
• Going to the hairdresser
• Finding a place to park
• Organising a party
• Having an interview
• Making a speech

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In your opinion, which of the following apply
more to men or women. Why?

• Are better time managers
• Are less worried about details
• Have more pressure outside work
• Are less ambitious
• Worry more about making mistakes
• Pay more attention to details
• Are better at doing many things at the same time
• Are more likely to become angry when stressed

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Present perfect

• Form I have worked. He/she/it has worked. They
  have worked.
• I havent worked. Have I worked?
• Use we use the present perfect to
• - talk about actions that continue from the
  past to the present
• (We have been in this business for over 50 years)

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• -talk about past events that have an impact in
  the present
• (Recently profits have fallen sharply because
  of strong competition.)
• -talk about life experiences
• (He has worked in a number of different firms.)

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Present perfect versus past simple

• - We use the past simple for completed actions
  that happened in the past
• Capricorn opened its first store in 1984.
• - the decision to use the past simple or the
  present perfect depends on how we see the event.
  If we see it as related to the present, we use
  the present perfect. If we see it as completed in
  the past, we use the past simple

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• I have known Bill for many years.
• (We are still in touch.)
• I knew Bill when I was at college.
• (We dont keep in touch.)

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Cross out the incorrect sentence in each pair

• Stress levels have incresed in recent years.
• Stress levels increased in recent years.
• The role of women changed dramatically over the
  past hundred years.
• The role of women has changed dramatically
  over the past hundred years.

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• 3. He has worked as a stress counsellor since
  1999.
• He worked as a stress counsellor since 1999.
• 4. I resigned two months ago.
• I have resigned two months ago.

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• 5. Have you ever been to a stress counsellor
  before?
• Did you ever go to a stress counsellor
  before?
• 6. I have seen a stress counsellor last week.
• I saw a stress counsellor last week.

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Put the verbs in brackets in either the past
simple or the present perfect

• This is my house. How long you (live) here? I
  (live) here since 1970.
• He (live) in London for two years and then he
  (go) to Edinburgh.
• You (wear) your hair long when you were at
  school? Yes, my mother (insist) on it. But, when
  I (leave) school I (cut) my hair and (wear) it
  short ever since.

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• I (not see) him for three years. I wonder where
  he is.
• He (not smoke) for two weeks. He is trying to
  give it up.
• You (have) breakfast yet? Yes, I (have) it at
  eight oclock.
• Here are your shoes I just (clean) them.