I think this is going to be my most productive summer ever! I only have two days left of class before my "summer vacation" begins and I think I will be more productive if I document this list for all the world to see.
Back up and organize my computers and assorted digital media: I'm long overdue to index and clean up my files. If I don't do it now I'm just asking for trouble.
Purge and reduce my "footprint": Do I really need my notes and homework assignments from high school & college. No, I don't. I may scan some of the more interesting stuff but the rest needs to be recycled. I'll find a way to give away my old books (bookmooch.com, anyone?) and read the stuff that has been piling up.
Ebay, Ebay, Ebay: I've got a ton of stuff that I've been waiting to sell. This is the time to get rid of my old clothes, equipment, and junk that I've collected over the years. This is my chance for a fresh start!
Get some projects off the ground: Professor's Aaker shared some insights about how doing work that we're passionate about can bring us fulfillment. I'm going to test that by starting in earnest some 'pet projects' that I've been interested in. (And putting it down here and writing about progress updates is additional incentive)
Twice a day: I already take my vitamins and brush my teeth (at least) twice a day. It is an ambitious goal but hopefully I'll be at the gym twice a day during the summer.
Ok, that the first draft of the list. I'll be adding new things and revising it as I go. Unfortunately, I've still got two days to complete before we can tackle this list!
Showing posts with label innovation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label innovation. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Shanghai hustle (my mastery of the two-step)
After the Cheung Kong mixer, the group decided to head down to the Bund, the famous riverside area of Shanghai. As was typically the case it was quite a trial to get enough cabs for our group. Of course, the standard way of travelling anywhere via cab was by showing the cab driver the guide book (the Chinese characters specifically) or having the hotel staff write up the address where we wanted to go. (The key here is not getting your cards mixed up but that's a different story for a different day)
We decided to meet at a historic spot named Bund 18. The landmark bar, Bar Rouge, was under construction so we went to Lounge 18 instead. The place was very impressive and clearly designed for an expat crowd. The walls were all marble and the walls were impressively upholstered. The drinks were about $10 US and seemed a little rich for my blood. I was more interested in walking the Bund and exploring rather than a mellow lounge scene (that was mostly empty).
Adjacent to the Bund is Nanjing Lu, a busy street with shopping and neon lights reminiscent of Times Square. Some classmates and I headed down the street but I grew impatient with waiting for them after the first two blocks. I knew that I wanted to see some specific stores (Li Ning, Nike vendors) and that they shops would be closing soon so I started to distance myself from the pack.
Because I've spend some time in Asia, what happened next wasn't a terrible surprise. I started to get approached by vendors of every shape and size. Vendors selling toys, vendors armed with little cards with watches/purses on them, and finally vendors offering 'beautiful girls'. Now I wouldn't recommend walking alone by yourself in a shady area but I felt comfortable to walk through one of the busiest areas in Shanghai on my own.
I was now in a situation where every male on the street who was "hanging out" was now offering me 'girls'. What was worst was their persistence. Even though I was ignoring them they continued to walk next to me for 2 minutes a piece sharing whatever English they had learned to convince me to join them. I knew that this was a good opportunity to think outside the box.
I started to observe that they would always approach from the side and then pursue in a 'chase' position walking directly alongside. I decided to use some basketball skill and begin to walk directly towards the tout.
The first tout that I approached was clearly unsure how to walk with me and started to backpedal as I got closer. Right before reaching him I took a sharp step to the side leaving him moving in the wrong direction. It was a beautiful thing. Time after time I was giving them the two-step and reducing my time with the touts from minutes to seconds. A couple of them were clearly annoyed with my tactic but I didn't care.
I was able to see the Nanjing Road and the Bund with minimal disruption after that.
We decided to meet at a historic spot named Bund 18. The landmark bar, Bar Rouge, was under construction so we went to Lounge 18 instead. The place was very impressive and clearly designed for an expat crowd. The walls were all marble and the walls were impressively upholstered. The drinks were about $10 US and seemed a little rich for my blood. I was more interested in walking the Bund and exploring rather than a mellow lounge scene (that was mostly empty).
Adjacent to the Bund is Nanjing Lu, a busy street with shopping and neon lights reminiscent of Times Square. Some classmates and I headed down the street but I grew impatient with waiting for them after the first two blocks. I knew that I wanted to see some specific stores (Li Ning, Nike vendors) and that they shops would be closing soon so I started to distance myself from the pack.
Because I've spend some time in Asia, what happened next wasn't a terrible surprise. I started to get approached by vendors of every shape and size. Vendors selling toys, vendors armed with little cards with watches/purses on them, and finally vendors offering 'beautiful girls'. Now I wouldn't recommend walking alone by yourself in a shady area but I felt comfortable to walk through one of the busiest areas in Shanghai on my own.
I was now in a situation where every male on the street who was "hanging out" was now offering me 'girls'. What was worst was their persistence. Even though I was ignoring them they continued to walk next to me for 2 minutes a piece sharing whatever English they had learned to convince me to join them. I knew that this was a good opportunity to think outside the box.
I started to observe that they would always approach from the side and then pursue in a 'chase' position walking directly alongside. I decided to use some basketball skill and begin to walk directly towards the tout.
The first tout that I approached was clearly unsure how to walk with me and started to backpedal as I got closer. Right before reaching him I took a sharp step to the side leaving him moving in the wrong direction. It was a beautiful thing. Time after time I was giving them the two-step and reducing my time with the touts from minutes to seconds. A couple of them were clearly annoyed with my tactic but I didn't care.
I was able to see the Nanjing Road and the Bund with minimal disruption after that.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
So much for chewing gum (debunking intelligence ideas)
This month's Wired Magazine has a feature on Intelligence and methods of improving cognitive abilities. Among the "myths" that the article claims to debunk are that chewing gum doesn't help brain power by increasing blood flow to the brain and that games like Brain Age don't help sharpen the brain.
Talk about a buzz kill. Check out the issue on newsstands or this link to find out the "proven" ways of increasing your brain power and creativity.
Talk about a buzz kill. Check out the issue on newsstands or this link to find out the "proven" ways of increasing your brain power and creativity.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Adjusting to Shanghai
(From the events of March 22-23, 2008)
Arriving in Shanghai didn't turn out to be too bad. As I left my seat the back of the airplane and proceeded though to the baggage claim, I was glad to be standing erect. Jet lag has always been hard on me and I was looking forward to getting to the hotel and trying to get some rest.
Upon collecting our bags some of our classmates started to partner up and look for cabs. Josh and I had discussed taking the Maglev train into Shanghai previous and deviated from the rest of the group. The Maglev is a train that runs at exceptional speeds (300 mph) using electromagnetic force. Although we knew we would have to grab cab after reaching the destination station we had to experience the Maglev for ourselves. The fare was 50 yuan or about 8 dollars and was a pretty awesome experience. The video below shows the Shanghai landscape fading away and cars that can't keep up with our pace.
At 50 yuan, only the richer expats and tourists can afford the Maglev. It was the first of many experiences in Shanghai that demonstrated the disparity between economic classes. In talking with a friend after my China trip I discovered that the length of the track was based on the minimum length needed to for the train to hit its top speed -- and it was built as "demonstration" of the trains capabilities in other markets (read: they didn't really need it but they thought it would be cool to have one in Shanghai).
After lugging our bags off of the Maglev and waiting in a short cue for a cab we made our way to the hotel. We arrived literally as our classmates who had taken cabs directly from the airport. Although they spent less (split cab fare among 5 per cab) we had already taken one item off our 'Shanghai to-do' list. Plus we got into the hotel first which meant that they had to wait behind us to check in. :)
The hotel was pretty nice at first view. Although it was pretty far from everything else, the check-in area and rooms were pretty decent. After dropping our bags and taking a short break the more adventurous segment of the group were off to the French Concession to find some dinner. We ended up at a Peking Duck restaurant and our experience was underway.
Ordering when no one speaks especially good Chinese can be quite frustrating. I was the only Mandarin speaker of the group and did my best to both collect orders and communicate them to the wait staff. (Mind you, restaurants are often over staffed with people who avoid making eye contact as they know they will have to provide customer service if they acknowledge your presence).
The food turned out to be good -- but I think most of the group got filled on Heineken. Better to stay with something reliable than to try something new right? (Note to self, only order beer after you've confirmed that it is a brand that they refrigerate) Dinner turned out to quite cheap with all of the beers that we had finished.
After we finished dinner we went for a walk and a search for some nightlife. We found a couple of bars that catered to an expatriate crowd, Sasha's and Zapata's. Because it was a Sunday night both places were pretty quiet.
We engaged some women from the UK at Sasha's that was entertaining for a short while but when they started to blame us U.S. foreign policy they began to wear out their welcome. After about an hour at Sasha's (which had some entree items that were over $60 US) we moved to Zapata's which had a vibrant dance floor. My classmates remarked that all of the Chinese women were dancing with 'non-Chinese' men. I wasn't particularly surprised as this was a club that targeted a non-Chinese crowd.
After a short stay we found our way back to the hotel. Although the best way to fight jet lag is to immediately sleep at the "normal" time for the destination time zone I had a hard time keeping my eyes open during dinner. I fell immediately to sleep when my head hit the pillow. The first night of our trip was over.
Arriving in Shanghai didn't turn out to be too bad. As I left my seat the back of the airplane and proceeded though to the baggage claim, I was glad to be standing erect. Jet lag has always been hard on me and I was looking forward to getting to the hotel and trying to get some rest.
Upon collecting our bags some of our classmates started to partner up and look for cabs. Josh and I had discussed taking the Maglev train into Shanghai previous and deviated from the rest of the group. The Maglev is a train that runs at exceptional speeds (300 mph) using electromagnetic force. Although we knew we would have to grab cab after reaching the destination station we had to experience the Maglev for ourselves. The fare was 50 yuan or about 8 dollars and was a pretty awesome experience. The video below shows the Shanghai landscape fading away and cars that can't keep up with our pace.
At 50 yuan, only the richer expats and tourists can afford the Maglev. It was the first of many experiences in Shanghai that demonstrated the disparity between economic classes. In talking with a friend after my China trip I discovered that the length of the track was based on the minimum length needed to for the train to hit its top speed -- and it was built as "demonstration" of the trains capabilities in other markets (read: they didn't really need it but they thought it would be cool to have one in Shanghai).
After lugging our bags off of the Maglev and waiting in a short cue for a cab we made our way to the hotel. We arrived literally as our classmates who had taken cabs directly from the airport. Although they spent less (split cab fare among 5 per cab) we had already taken one item off our 'Shanghai to-do' list. Plus we got into the hotel first which meant that they had to wait behind us to check in. :)
The hotel was pretty nice at first view. Although it was pretty far from everything else, the check-in area and rooms were pretty decent. After dropping our bags and taking a short break the more adventurous segment of the group were off to the French Concession to find some dinner. We ended up at a Peking Duck restaurant and our experience was underway.
Ordering when no one speaks especially good Chinese can be quite frustrating. I was the only Mandarin speaker of the group and did my best to both collect orders and communicate them to the wait staff. (Mind you, restaurants are often over staffed with people who avoid making eye contact as they know they will have to provide customer service if they acknowledge your presence).
The food turned out to be good -- but I think most of the group got filled on Heineken. Better to stay with something reliable than to try something new right? (Note to self, only order beer after you've confirmed that it is a brand that they refrigerate) Dinner turned out to quite cheap with all of the beers that we had finished.
After we finished dinner we went for a walk and a search for some nightlife. We found a couple of bars that catered to an expatriate crowd, Sasha's and Zapata's. Because it was a Sunday night both places were pretty quiet.
We engaged some women from the UK at Sasha's that was entertaining for a short while but when they started to blame us U.S. foreign policy they began to wear out their welcome. After about an hour at Sasha's (which had some entree items that were over $60 US) we moved to Zapata's which had a vibrant dance floor. My classmates remarked that all of the Chinese women were dancing with 'non-Chinese' men. I wasn't particularly surprised as this was a club that targeted a non-Chinese crowd.
After a short stay we found our way back to the hotel. Although the best way to fight jet lag is to immediately sleep at the "normal" time for the destination time zone I had a hard time keeping my eyes open during dinner. I fell immediately to sleep when my head hit the pillow. The first night of our trip was over.
Think Gum and 'context based' memory
I came across something on the news that made me reflect back to this post about my creative flow. A former Cal student (and current Stanford grad student) has invented a product called "Think Gum," which promises to help boost the brain activity of those who chew it.
One important element of the way that the gum works is called "context-dependent memory". The following is quoted from the Think Gum website:
I think this is an excellent explanation to why music and the rhythm in my head coincides with when I'm successfully writing or taking an exam. Because I often study with music I'm building a "memory track" for the studied material and the tunes. Cool, explanation, eh?
One important element of the way that the gum works is called "context-dependent memory". The following is quoted from the Think Gum website:
One principle this functional gum relies on is called, “context-dependent memory.” This is the idea that if you learn something in the presence of a certain stimuli then when you are in the presence of the same stimuli later, your memory of what you learned will be stoked. A good example of this phenomenon is the aroma of pumpkin pie. The smell makes people happy, relaxed and just plain gushy inside. However, smell doesn’t “do” anything to you. It simply elicits the good thanksgiving memories that are ever so closely linked with the scent of pumpkin pie.
I think this is an excellent explanation to why music and the rhythm in my head coincides with when I'm successfully writing or taking an exam. Because I often study with music I'm building a "memory track" for the studied material and the tunes. Cool, explanation, eh?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Channeling some creative energy
So I'm behind on a couple of week's of blog posts. It appears that I haven't had a chance to recap my Spring Break trip to Shanghai, China nor the transformation of Cal Basketball. More on those subjects in future posts but I want to touch on my personal creativity tonight.
In a recent class we were asked to think about the times of the day where we are most productive or creative. Although getting up in the morning has never been my strong suit, I feel like I'm often most productive between the hours of 7-10 am. For some reason I always seem to 'charge it' (a Feliton saying) once my blood gets rushing. Whether it is knocking out errands on a weekend or getting my work to-do list-- I always feel like I've got the most energy in the morning.
I've never been particularly good at cramming or working deep into the night. I've been known to sleep soundly through allocated 'study' time. If I've got a deadline, I've got to have some hours in the morning to whip things together. There's nothing like a deadline and adrenaline to crack a bad case of writer's block, right?
Creativity for me is a different story -- I think that I often associate the hours following work as my "thinking" time. I think that most of my most creative thoughts come to me when I'm alone with my thoughts and that a lot of my solo time is spent commuting to work or heading to class. This quiet time gives me a chance to be with my thoughts, evaluate the day and plan or the future. I think my frustrating N Judah street car rides have probably hurt my creativity in the past year. My creative focus is probably wasted on staying upright on the ride home.
Just one more note on this subject. My productive and creative "flow" has always been enhanced by music. When I'm feeling particularly inspired I've found my leg or knee bouncing -- usually to a tune or song that is in my head. One explanation may be that my brain works well with rhythms and when my mind has that rhythm -- everything seems to flow naturally. On a related note, most of this blog was brought to you with some help from John Legend and his Once AgainCD.
In a recent class we were asked to think about the times of the day where we are most productive or creative. Although getting up in the morning has never been my strong suit, I feel like I'm often most productive between the hours of 7-10 am. For some reason I always seem to 'charge it' (a Feliton saying) once my blood gets rushing. Whether it is knocking out errands on a weekend or getting my work to-do list-- I always feel like I've got the most energy in the morning.
I've never been particularly good at cramming or working deep into the night. I've been known to sleep soundly through allocated 'study' time. If I've got a deadline, I've got to have some hours in the morning to whip things together. There's nothing like a deadline and adrenaline to crack a bad case of writer's block, right?
Creativity for me is a different story -- I think that I often associate the hours following work as my "thinking" time. I think that most of my most creative thoughts come to me when I'm alone with my thoughts and that a lot of my solo time is spent commuting to work or heading to class. This quiet time gives me a chance to be with my thoughts, evaluate the day and plan or the future. I think my frustrating N Judah street car rides have probably hurt my creativity in the past year. My creative focus is probably wasted on staying upright on the ride home.
Just one more note on this subject. My productive and creative "flow" has always been enhanced by music. When I'm feeling particularly inspired I've found my leg or knee bouncing -- usually to a tune or song that is in my head. One explanation may be that my brain works well with rhythms and when my mind has that rhythm -- everything seems to flow naturally. On a related note, most of this blog was brought to you with some help from John Legend and his Once AgainCD.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Firefox for me?
I've been on the Internet for a while. I can remember back to 1993 when I got my first email account (it was a California Technology project email). I used the original Mosaic browser and had gotten used to using Fetch to grab information from electronic databases.
I had a love affair with Netscape. The stars scrolling above the 'N' logo was like magic to me as I spend my days writing HTML and experiencing the early web. I was sad to see the company's fall (at the hands of Microsoft) but I didn't hold it against IE for long.
I've been open to trying new browsers -- I used code from the Mozilla project before Firefox -- but I wasn't impressed by Firefox 2.0. I felt it was a memory hog and although I liked tabbed browsing everything seemed slow. I've been pretty happy with my IE 7 experience despite everything and my work systems are primarily IE based so its been my browser of choice.
But I'm willing to give Firefox another chance. We were lucky enough to have Asa Dotzler from the Firefox community visit us yesterday and I was really impressed by the way that the community has grown. I've been a big believer in the power of open source. Although I've never been a contributor to open source I'm going to look for ways to help out. Asa promises me a better product with more security. Time to give it a shot. At the moment I'm writing this entry on a ScribeFire plug-in (integrated into Firefox) and I'll report back and let you know how things are working.
I had a love affair with Netscape. The stars scrolling above the 'N' logo was like magic to me as I spend my days writing HTML and experiencing the early web. I was sad to see the company's fall (at the hands of Microsoft) but I didn't hold it against IE for long.
I've been open to trying new browsers -- I used code from the Mozilla project before Firefox -- but I wasn't impressed by Firefox 2.0. I felt it was a memory hog and although I liked tabbed browsing everything seemed slow. I've been pretty happy with my IE 7 experience despite everything and my work systems are primarily IE based so its been my browser of choice.
But I'm willing to give Firefox another chance. We were lucky enough to have Asa Dotzler from the Firefox community visit us yesterday and I was really impressed by the way that the community has grown. I've been a big believer in the power of open source. Although I've never been a contributor to open source I'm going to look for ways to help out. Asa promises me a better product with more security. Time to give it a shot. At the moment I'm writing this entry on a ScribeFire plug-in (integrated into Firefox) and I'll report back and let you know how things are working.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Six word story
As an exercise in creativity and brevity -- famed writers like Hemingway have written six word stories. (Hemingway's -- "For sale: baby shoes, never worn") Here are some more examples (Smith Magazine / Wired)
In class we tried to come up with a six word story description of ourself. It isn't as easy as it looks. Below I've listed some attempts. I reserve the right to edit this list or to add new ones as I find inspiration.
Despite efforts, still searching for success (the one I came up with in class)
On journey to find Asian America
Applied fingerpainting to everything in life
Always ready for a laugh and smile
In class we tried to come up with a six word story description of ourself. It isn't as easy as it looks. Below I've listed some attempts. I reserve the right to edit this list or to add new ones as I find inspiration.
Despite efforts, still searching for success (the one I came up with in class)
On journey to find Asian America
Applied fingerpainting to everything in life
Always ready for a laugh and smile
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Quote in the Chronicle
The newspaper industry has seen difficult times with the growth of the Internet and online services. One of the few things that newspapers can offer is local coverage and a deep relationship with their readers.
I have been a participant of the SF Chronicle's Two Cents feature which collected opinions and feedback from readers on articles and subjects. It was a nice feature that allowed for real feedback before the widespread use of in page "comments" that are rage in web 2.0.
Interestingly enough, the Chronicle is using its comments feature to integrate feedback into its print editions. I left a comment about San Francisco's MUNI system and was surprised when a Chronicle editor asked if they could use it for publication. Papers may find using technology can help them become more relevant.
Here's the short blurb for your reading pleasure.
I have been a participant of the SF Chronicle's Two Cents feature which collected opinions and feedback from readers on articles and subjects. It was a nice feature that allowed for real feedback before the widespread use of in page "comments" that are rage in web 2.0.
Interestingly enough, the Chronicle is using its comments feature to integrate feedback into its print editions. I left a comment about San Francisco's MUNI system and was surprised when a Chronicle editor asked if they could use it for publication. Papers may find using technology can help them become more relevant.
Here's the short blurb for your reading pleasure.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Director of Ideas... that would be cool on a business card
Saw this job posting today and thought this might be a fun job that involved creativity and innovation. On the other hand it could just be a fancy name for the advertising agency's 'creative director'. Wouldn't it be cool if the position was a different title for their 'strategy or innovation director'?
JOB OPENING: SVP IDEA DIRECTOR/SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Drive exploration of consumer insights - focus on the creation new, bleeding edge media ideas and approaches. talent@zenithoptimedia-na.com
JOB OPENING: SVP IDEA DIRECTOR/SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Drive exploration of consumer insights - focus on the creation new, bleeding edge media ideas and approaches. talent@zenithoptimedia-na.com
Saturday, February 23, 2008
My trip to the Chinese consulate (or what how could you improve the chinese consulate experience)
I'm off to Shanghai, China at the end of March for a school-sponsored trip. Imagine lots of lectures at the local Chinese business school mixed in with company tours and karaoke and big banquets. Sounds like a fun way to spend spring break, right? Look for entries from China soon.
In order to get to China though, I had to apply for a Visa through the local consulate office here in San Francisco. (Although I've been to China twice before I've never went through the visa application process myself). Because Monday was President's Day and the Chinese government doesn't fawn over American presidents-- the office was opened and I made the consul my first errand of a busy day.
When I arrived at 9:30 I figured that there would be a short line-- I was quite mistaken. I entered to find a room that was completely packed with people waiting their turn to drop off their visa applications or to pick up their visas. I picked up my number (distributed neatly by a computerized machine) and began to 'case' the joint.
Some observations:
- About 40 mounted chairs in the main area of the room. These seats faced the electronic notification boards that alternated between instructions on the visa application process and status updates on what number was being called to which window.
- There was a separate area for picking up applications and filling them out (complete with applications in various languages). A tip for those of you are planning on applying for a visa-- download a PDF and do it at home first.
- There was a crowded information area which served dual duty as a passport photo station - There were about 9 windows, 2 dedicated for pickup and the others assigned for application drop-off.
- Office hours are from 9am to 3pm but between 12-1pm, the staff take a lunch break
All in all it took me an hour to drop off the application. I came across some other Haas students and was able to help them reduce their wait by submitting all of our applications together. The wait would have been 1.5 or 2 hrs for them. Interestingly, it only took 4 minutes to turn in our paperwork once we got the service window.
Understandably with the Summer Olympics in Beijing, there is probably abnormal demand for visas this year. There are vendors / travel agents who offer to assist in the visa processing system (a quick Google search shows the prices range from $20 to $150 for the convenience). Sounds like a business plan that I might have to explore some more.
***************
Some tips for improvement... (putting on my operations / innovation hat)
- Add a system for estimated wait time
- A television system (tourism clips, anyone?) to distract the room from the length of the wait
- Make a formal queue system for the 'free-for-all' information area
- Have a food/tea cart outside (they don't prohibit food inside the office but there were no nearby businesses)
- An online reservation system -- this has worked well for the DMV, I think it could also work well for the visa process. In many cases, acquiring a visa isn't a last minute thing.
- Creating a priority (premium priced) line -- wanna skip to the front of the line? Pay $50 and jump to the front of the line. Maybe they could use those funds to lower the average visa request ($130 now)
- Extending hours - I'm sure the consulate has statistics on the number of patrons served per hour-- but I think that expanding the business hours would probably shorten wait times.
As a final update, I picked up my visa 4 days after dropping off the application. I arrived twenty minutes before the 'lunch break' was over and got my number (not the one below but very similiar). The pickup line moved a lot faster so I was done after 40 minutes of patient waiting. Unfortunately for the people who were looking to drop off applications, there were only three windows open. I'd have to estimate that the majority of the room was looking at wait times of 2+ hours. Ouch!
I didn't have much interaction with the Falun Gong protestors as my goal was getting my visa approved with as little hassle as possible. :) That's the same reason I didn't take any pictures of the office. Photos and videos are strictly prohibited.
In order to get to China though, I had to apply for a Visa through the local consulate office here in San Francisco. (Although I've been to China twice before I've never went through the visa application process myself). Because Monday was President's Day and the Chinese government doesn't fawn over American presidents-- the office was opened and I made the consul my first errand of a busy day.
When I arrived at 9:30 I figured that there would be a short line-- I was quite mistaken. I entered to find a room that was completely packed with people waiting their turn to drop off their visa applications or to pick up their visas. I picked up my number (distributed neatly by a computerized machine) and began to 'case' the joint.
Some observations:
- About 40 mounted chairs in the main area of the room. These seats faced the electronic notification boards that alternated between instructions on the visa application process and status updates on what number was being called to which window.
- There was a separate area for picking up applications and filling them out (complete with applications in various languages). A tip for those of you are planning on applying for a visa-- download a PDF and do it at home first.
- There was a crowded information area which served dual duty as a passport photo station - There were about 9 windows, 2 dedicated for pickup and the others assigned for application drop-off.
- Office hours are from 9am to 3pm but between 12-1pm, the staff take a lunch break
All in all it took me an hour to drop off the application. I came across some other Haas students and was able to help them reduce their wait by submitting all of our applications together. The wait would have been 1.5 or 2 hrs for them. Interestingly, it only took 4 minutes to turn in our paperwork once we got the service window.
Understandably with the Summer Olympics in Beijing, there is probably abnormal demand for visas this year. There are vendors / travel agents who offer to assist in the visa processing system (a quick Google search shows the prices range from $20 to $150 for the convenience). Sounds like a business plan that I might have to explore some more.
***************
Some tips for improvement... (putting on my operations / innovation hat)
- Add a system for estimated wait time
- A television system (tourism clips, anyone?) to distract the room from the length of the wait
- Make a formal queue system for the 'free-for-all' information area
- Have a food/tea cart outside (they don't prohibit food inside the office but there were no nearby businesses)
- An online reservation system -- this has worked well for the DMV, I think it could also work well for the visa process. In many cases, acquiring a visa isn't a last minute thing.
- Creating a priority (premium priced) line -- wanna skip to the front of the line? Pay $50 and jump to the front of the line. Maybe they could use those funds to lower the average visa request ($130 now)
- Extending hours - I'm sure the consulate has statistics on the number of patrons served per hour-- but I think that expanding the business hours would probably shorten wait times.
As a final update, I picked up my visa 4 days after dropping off the application. I arrived twenty minutes before the 'lunch break' was over and got my number (not the one below but very similiar). The pickup line moved a lot faster so I was done after 40 minutes of patient waiting. Unfortunately for the people who were looking to drop off applications, there were only three windows open. I'd have to estimate that the majority of the room was looking at wait times of 2+ hours. Ouch!
I didn't have much interaction with the Falun Gong protestors as my goal was getting my visa approved with as little hassle as possible. :) That's the same reason I didn't take any pictures of the office. Photos and videos are strictly prohibited.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
President's Day @ the airport
So I spent President's day at San Francisco International Airport trying to catch moments of 'happiness' in a mundane place (think baggage claim). Armed with cameras and a camcorder our team "attacked" the airport in the hopes of good grades and our own little piece of happiness.
After spending about 5 hours talking to people flying home though SFO we got our fair number of happy (back from a long weekend in Vegas), sad (bags from New Orleans were no where to be found) and indifferent (some baggage claim staff).
I think we did okay. My own personal happiness at the airport can be summed up by the following two pictures -- sitting on the baggage claim (and not getting yelled at) for the first time ever and running into my pal Howie in the International Terminal (what are the chances of running into someone I know-- pretty darned good with my network, apparently).
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Fast Company's Most Innovative
In the past three years I've tried to pare down my magazine subscriptions but I still appreciate the value of Fast Company. The magazine generally does a great job of detailing the interaction between brand, innovation and management. As I read this month's issue on Friday I couldn't help but think about all of the stories that related to my strategy and marketing class.This month's cover story is the magazine's list of most innovative firms with Google topping FC's list again. I think that by remaining 'open' and using a creative approach to challenges and opportunities -- innovative companies place themselves in the best possible position for success. Powerful companies will continue to be outmaneuvered by fleet competitors or humbled by industry changes (see Borland, Kodak). The best they can do is stay focused on their competitors and flexible through innovation to survive.
The article poses an interesting question for the Google team-- if you could do anything for the world at Google-- what would you do? We addressed that question during our Six Thinking Hats marketing exercise last week and I think it must be really excited to work at a place where making a difference is a priority. As an additional bonus the magazine featured a great photo of Cisco's director of user experience, Irene Au, covered with colored post-its. The effective practice of 'brainstorming via post-its' at its best.
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