By: Ted Leventhal, NCIIA As the video opens, we see a mouse emerge from a hole, trot across the floor and come upon a traditional spring-loaded mousetrap with an outsized piece of cheese for bait. The mouse nibbles away contentedly, oblivious to any danger. Karen Carpenter sings: “Such a feelin’s comin’ over me/ There is wonder in most everything I see/ Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes/And I won’t be surprised if it’s a dream….”
By Ted Leventhal After a midmorning break, as participants returned to their seats with second and third cups of coffee, instructor James Barlow again greeted them with a mysterious challenge.All were told to stand and take one blank envelope from grinning NCIIA staff, then open it and quickly read the brief piece of text inside:“Maximum performance is the result of laser like focus, adopting a fizzy of certainty and operating from perceptions that guide us towards the achievement of our desired outcomes.”
by: Ted Levethal, NCIIAIt was barely 9 am on Sunday morning. As the caffeine was still taking effect, facilitator James Barlow told everyone to get a pen and piece of paper, find a partner and start to sketch a portrait.As puzzled participants sketched away, Barlow got to the point: Like art class in school where students focused on the most familiar features while distorting the portrait as a whole, innovators make similar mistakes with their business plan.
Our third and final day of the 2014 DevelopmentXChange was an exciting one! Investors, global health experts, donors, media, and international organizations toured almost 100 innovations in a bustling, high-energy Marketplace.
By the second day of the DevelopmentXChange, things were in full swing! Our expert panels and presentations shared knowledge on a variety of topics, from scaling and student engagement to branding and beyond.
