The reason am writing is an attempt to document certain issues that everyone faces or could possibly face during practicing entrepreneurship and the aspects that are not taught but are learnt during practice and also I was not motivated enough to write about other things such as Business Planning and Entrprenaurial Creativity related to with the course work due to what I have gone through . It the result of series of events which caused aggression in one team members and caused tears to the one subjected to aggression and also bringing me to almost quit working. This blog is an attempt to understand the cause of aggression and confusion and ultimately bringing hitches to a well progressed work, which I also think happens in most of project work related to many companies. Ofcourse a better handling of the situation either makes your project or breaks it. I felt as we are in the process of learning what entrepreneurship should be, and as I have always personally emphasized on practice rather than theory, I would like to drift a bit away from our main stream focus and write about the real lessons one must keep in mind during the hurdles through the process of entrepreneurial practice and the ways to deal with it. The names I have used are all real characters and I encourage readers to take this situation as only an example and as I have learnt from it wish the readers would benefit from it as well.
Actors: Liu Bowen,Asma Moinuddin,lu miao,Anup
Coming up with business ideas
Idea 1:Good for You (Promotion of healthy food)
Idea 2:Kung fu(Promoting Chinese Art)
Business idea chosen by majority in the class: Kung Fu
Comes up with a plan to execute the idea,
Liu Bowen ,Anup and Razzak come up the financial planning and calculate the pricing for fruit salads and Razzaks task of information about finding legal issues.
Asma Moinuddin and Miao are responsible for coming up with recepies and gathering calorific values of food and also questions to be asked in the survey on Friday
Asma Moinuddin task of website designing due until deadline that is Saturday morning
Incidents that trigger the drama
Thrusday 11:40: Booked a tutoring session with teachers. Feed back from teachers.
Leona states that the idea of fruit salad is not efficient enough as a venture idea and there are lot of food ideas and the idea must be more than just fruit salad.
The same day the group gathers right after the meeting and discusses further to develop the idea .
The idea is further developed into instead of fruit salad the concept of selling diet plan food to people registered under 20 to 30 day diet plans. And to integrate professional nutritionist into the website and diet plans. The group together also decides on design of the website.
Before we decided to divide task. The group also reconsidered the kung fu plan just in case to see what can be done.Asma moinuddin states that let us not waste the amount of time and effort we spent on good for you. However we still discuss the plan and come to a conclusion that its hard to draw financial planning and attract sponsors and Liu Bowen agrees to go ahead with Good for you idea.
Every one decides on what to do on their tasks and the tasks are divided as following
Liu: Financial statements and costs for finding a kitchen and legal issues
Miao and asma :finding nutritionist,diets plans and creating sample website.
Survay that’s was planned to be done the next day questions ready.
The mail that created PANICK
Thrusday from Leona Achtenhagen 09/30/10 9:43 PM
Dear Asma, Bowen and group
We discussed more about your idea today, and we felt that there were quite a number of other ventures related to food already. We would very much like to see that some of the groups take advantage of the diversity and many cultural backgrounds we have in the class, and we therefore wanted to encourage you to re-consider the kong-fu idea, in case you were still uncertain about how to move forward with the good-for-you idea. Of course, time is running, but you still have a couple of days to show full action to develop the idea.
The choice is your's, of course.
Good luck!
Leona and Bengt
Within 38 minutes after the teachers mail LIU Bowen takes initiative to change the idea and come with a plan and even send it all the team members in such a short time.
And sends the following mail
we change our ideas ,Kong fu idea
our kongfu idea step to develop
(1)find teachers (my job,miaolu)
(2)find sponsors(my job,miaolu)
(3)search AD,TV about chinese Kongfu (ANUP , RAzzak responsible) 4-7minitues long
(4)price location(tommorrow we discuss) but you guys write something like price prelocation
(5)website(ASMA job)
(6)find chinese kongfuschool for summer camp (tommorrow we discuss)
jobs should be done tonight, thank you
Asma moinuddin is unaware about this as she does not check mail in the night.
Meeting at 11:00 A.M
Thinking that we are going to a survey asma arrives and finds out the sudden change in plans.
Since the suggestions were from the teachers, everyone agrees that we work on kung Fu.
Discussions regarding kunfu start.
Liu bowen has a sleepless night and comes up with instructions to go about the kungfu plan
Asma moinuddin agrees to create the design for website
The group is still stuck with financial issues regarding kung fu
Liu bowen says “am tierd” and he had sleep less night, and the rest of us very confused.
Liu bowen says contacting schools in china are future plan.
Anup comes up with an idea of just presenting the idea and mentioning that the group has tried contacting people, without even contacting anyone.
Asma moinuddin states that it’s a lie and we should not present something we have not done.
Liu Bowen gets frustrated and shouts at asma saying “I have worked until 3 a.m in the morning and you have done nothing and we re not lying ”.
Asma says “Comon! We are all worried and we are also working”
Liu Bowen gets more aggravated and states”you were supposed to do website for good for you did you do it?”
Asma moinuddin “ Why are you talking like that?”
Liu Bowen” because I worked until 3 a.m and am angry with you and you dint even do the website ?” in a loud voice (the website which would have currently been of no use ,and also the dead line was until Saturday morning)
Asma moinuddin is in tears and the rest of the group tries to calm the situation. Asma still in tears tries to leave the table saying “I cannot work like this right now”
Liu Bowen says ”We can do website by ourselves ”
Scene 2 Outside the library
The group comes out and the rest of group is trying to calm the situation.
Asma moinuddin says that” I am only frustrating with his behavior and the way you spoke”
“and that is not the way you speak to team members”
Liu Bowen with his cigarette in his hand and more aggravated “you should do the website ..did you do the website.?”asma blankly looks at him in surprise. He shouts again “ Did you do website .Show me now …”in loud voice (even after knowing that its not done yet)in front of the library
Razzak and Anup try to calm Liu Bowen down
Asma states again ”and that is not the way you talk to me and in that tone ”still in tears
Lu miao comes close to asma to calm asma down and says forget about it
I say to miao“nobody spoke to me like that before and i do not need to take this crap from him and I don’t have the heart to take it ” In the back ground liu Bowen still rasing his voice ,Asma says I not talking to you and leaves with lot of questions in her head........
Continued Part 2.............
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