Archive for category MNN Guests

MNN student Katy Flores had been assigned by one her professors to contact an expert in a given field to help her with her shoe design project. Katy did some research on the web and finally decided to contact John Moore, former marketer that worked inside the marketing departments of Starbucks Coffee and Whole Foods Market.

John not only responded Katy’s request, but he also agreed to come and visit us at the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Said and done. The John Moore business talk took place on April 22nd in the Campus Monterrey.

In a conference entitled “Expresso Shots of Business Wisdom” John gave ten good pieces of advice, which we now wish to share with you:

1. Strong brands are build inside out
The example of Starbucks shows us that company founders and employees have the power to reinforce a brand every time they interact with their customers.
2. Make the common uncommon
When it comes to coffee maybe one could rephrase this by saying: “Turn a commodity into an uncommodity”
3. Remarkable things get remarked about
No efforts will remain unperceived. The word of mouth is the best marketing tool. Just make sure you are a talkable business!

4. Only three strategies exist to drive sales
Acquire new customers, get current customers to buy more and raise prices
5. Pricing tells a story
Pricing says everything about your business. Usually, high priced products deliver a great story.
6. All profit is not created equal
Good profits are earned when the customer is satisfied and bad profits are earned with the expense of customers.
7. Brand management is reputation management
A good brand is a brand that lets customers understand what the business does.
8. Marketing has two audiences: customers and employees
Marketing is too important to be left out to the marketing department! As for employees, treat them with respect and dignity. Because “Jazzed employees will jazz customers”.

9. Passion attracts Passion:
Think about the qualities that you want your business to personify!

10. Failure is a cost of being in business
A business that has never failed will never succeed. If hard times arise, stay close to what your business does well.

…and a bonus 11:

Make your company something to believe in! The reason of existence of any company should be to change the world, to make to world a better place. So John’s final question was:

If your business went out-of-business tomorrow, would anyone care?

This week’s MNN guest of honor was David E. Goldberg from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Let us tell you how we got to know David. Two months ago in our class of “Innovation, Design and Strategy” we discussed a presentation of David about the missing basics in engineering education. We then realized that he shares the same thoughts as we do and we contacted him by mail in order to explore possible ways of collaboration between our department of Business Landscaping at the Tecnológico de Monterrey and the iFoundry, the Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education.

Who would have thought that we would be so privileged to have David as our guest at the Tec so soon? Right on his arrival day he gave us a talk about philosophy and engineering.

Asking what engineers can learn from the conceptual rigor of philosophers, David invited us to go back in the history of thought and to start at the human beginnings of conceptual clarity.

Why isn’t there a philosophy of engineering? David’s interest in this question led him to establish a forum gathering philosophers and engineers. By the way, the 2010 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology (FPET-2010) will be held on 9-10 May 2010 in the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, and is open for submissions.

Engineering hasn’t cared much about philosophy for a long time, yet this is changing. As for philosophy, it only punctually gave attention developments in the world of technology.

But why is philosophy important to engineering right now and vice-versa?

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