The Necessity of Strangers
I am a huge DC fan. Know DC. Love DC. Live DC. Growing up a 25 minute metro ride away was always a burden (aka unwanted family trips to museums) until I was in high school and could really appreciate the culture and history of the city. Suddenly I was forcing my parents to go to DC rather than the other way around.
Our journey started with three new friends and one super long drive to DC.
Our journey started with three new friends and one super long drive to DC.
We Started Our Journey at the National Museum of Natural History...
We were overwhelmed by the innovation that surrounded us, so we did what all good students do, we started taking notes and exploring all the information. We found the 5 innovations for our project but we didn’t stop there. We decided to interact with the exhibit and take advantage of all the information presented. For me, I really enjoyed seeing the progression of the digital camera because of my interest in photography. I also enjoyed learning about the graphic user interface on computers because that kind of technology is such a big part of my life. |
Next we went to Cava…
For our coolest business in DC we decided to go somewhere very close to my heart, CAVA!! It was interesting to dissect their business model and look for innovation within their brand. The things we noticed were that Cava was really specialized in customization, transparency, affordable luxury, efficiency, and a customer centric model of operation. Having worked with the company for so long I was able to provide insights about some of their processes that set them apart. They are very progressive in their social media approach to marketing, staying very current and very active, something a lot of fast casual restaurants lag. Additionally, they prioritize local sourcing and healthy eating, something a lot of less expensive restaurants can’t accomplish. Cava establishes a bond and sense of community with its customers through customer experience gifts, community donations, and the positive environment of each restaurant. I was really excited to get to look further into Cava as a business and I think this will help me when I intern because it will allow me to understand all parts of the company, as well as how it's perceived from an outside eye. |
Then, because one restaurant isn’t enough, we went to Chopt for dinner...
From Chopt we learned three main lessons- take a customizable concept and make it customizable, variety is key, and Transparency creates trust with the consumer. Chopt is innovative in that it saw an opportunity to take salads, where individual preferences range greatly, and allowed for every consumer to design exactly what they want out of a meal. It maximizes consumer utility and the resources of the brand. The company created “salad for dinner” and gave consumers the ability to build their own meal. Chopt’s menu is primarily salads, but the company has developed other bases that allow for a greater number of choices and therefore opens the door to a greater market. The company offers salads, with over 20 toppings including proteins, vegetables, grains, and chips, warm grain bowls, warm vegetable bowls, and wraps. Their diverse menu puts them in a larger market than if they specialized in a single sphere. They locally source ingredients and advertise where ingredients come from and how they’re grown. There is a big focus on fresh and local. All three of these, customization, variety, and transparency, establish a sense of reliability and loyalty with consumers. When a customer can see that they influence the product, have choices, and understand how the company functions they are more likely to establish a relationship with the company and market the company in a positive way. Any business should be reliable to consumers in order to grow a high demand and dependable market. Tesla
I think we all loved the Tesla store for its contribution to innovation, but also because of the seating area that gave us a chance to rest our legs. While we wandered around the store and talked to the associate we determined 5 major lessons from their launch that are key takeaways for future innovation quests. First, superior Design is essential to achieve high numbers of sales, communicating that all companies should place a lot of emphasis on design thinking, like Tesla does. Next, the best way to create a better product is to challenge the status quo. By straying away from the customary combustion engine, the company created a vastly superior vehicle, in a way that they never could have if they had stuck to the status quo. Also, focus on the customer and use empathy when creating products. This ties into design thinking. Next, keep your mission in mind. All of the decisions Tesla Motors makes as a company always keep the mission “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible” in mind. Lastly, break major goals into achievable steps to progress more efficiently. |
Off to the National Portrait Gallery…
Here we reflected on the mind of an artist and how that can apply to innovation. As the world’s number 1 worst artist ever I was super impressed and intrigued by the work on display. We decided that artists are in a constant state of creation and challenge the status quo. They create things that reflect their values while still making art that connects to other people as well. They are not afraid to think big and take risks. These concepts all apply to the innovators and innovative businesses we’ve studied in BMGT289B, especially Steve Jobs. Jobs exhibited the mentality of an artist and that allowed him to create really original, impressive products. |
We weren’t done with the food scene yet, so we went to Whole Foods…
I’m always up for a Whole Foods trip. The store is so soothing and has a lot of my favorite healthy foods that most grocery stores don’t carry, think organic peanut butter and 10,000 types of tofu. At the store we noticed that Whole Foods seeks to make every facet of business sustainable and eco friendly. They use compostable materials for in house eating and use environmentally friendly lighting throughout the store. One thing that stood out to us what the sense of community the store creates in order to inspire customers to invest more time into staying in the store. An example of this is having in house dining and an in house shop.
I’m always up for a Whole Foods trip. The store is so soothing and has a lot of my favorite healthy foods that most grocery stores don’t carry, think organic peanut butter and 10,000 types of tofu. At the store we noticed that Whole Foods seeks to make every facet of business sustainable and eco friendly. They use compostable materials for in house eating and use environmentally friendly lighting throughout the store. One thing that stood out to us what the sense of community the store creates in order to inspire customers to invest more time into staying in the store. An example of this is having in house dining and an in house shop.
Here's the takeaway:
There were a lot of key takeaways from getting out of my comfort zone and exploring DC without a solid purpose. Normally I go into DC with a mission, to go to a certain food place, to visit a music or food festival, or go to my internship. The project really allowed me to slow down and use the resources the city offers to understand more about innovation. My favorite stop on the trip was probably the National Museum of Natural History because I’d never been before. I think being in groups with people we didn't know forced us to get to know each other and start conversation. I personally really enjoyed having to ask for help from strangers because I agree with Alan Gregerman that they are often perceived more harmful than they are. Don't get me wrong, I won't be asking a sketchy guy for help in the dark at night alone, but as for directions and advice, I think they offer a lot of interesting insight. This kind of plays into the idea of building a diverse team in order to inspire innovation. I think I can apply the principles from The Necessity of Strangers to my internship by seeking out people I don't know and trying to see the company through their eyes and their jobs. I think another useful thing is talking to customers at locations to get feedback and hear their perspectives on how the company should run/runs in order to understand their experiences better.
Civilization is the encouragement of differences. — Mahatma Gandhi