The diffusion of innovation & Kotter’s Process

In today’s class we discussed and went over two different processes to innovate people. The two processes were The Diffusion of Innovation method and Leading Change Kotter’s Eight Step Process. Both of theseprocesses are significantly the same and have the same end goal in mind to be reached.

The following is a illustration displaying the different sections involved in the diffusion of innovation method.

The diffusion of innovation

http://vmmba.com/images/111658-104310/DiffusionOfInnovation_2.png

The first 3 sections of this method are known as the innovators of the world. The first section in this method involves the innovators which make up 2.5% of the overall population. The innovators are people that are very well educated, knowledgeable, have multiple sources of information to help support their ideas and are not afraid to take risks in order to make their idea flourish. Section two is the Early Adopters that make up 13.5% of the overall population. The early adopters are people that are very respectable, opinion leaders, and like to try out new ideas but in a carefully planned out manner. The third section is the Early Majority section which involves 34% of the total overall population. This section showcases people that are respectable opinion leaders that serve as role models such as celebrities and are well known and respected by peers. The back section of this method is people that are known as bandwagon jumpers. The forth section in this method is the Late Majority people which also make up 34% of the overall population. This group of people consists of people that are skeptical, will use new ideas or products only when the majority of the population does. The last section in this method is the Laggards which make up 16% of the overall population. The people in this section are people that enjoy interacting with their peers and seldom hold positions of opinions over people that are leaders.

The Leading Change Kotter’s Eight Step Process is essentially the same as the Diffusion of Innovation method, but it goes through eight different steps to reach the goal of change. The eight steps that are used to reach this goal are:

1. Establish and/or reflect a sense of urgency

2. Create guiding coalition

3. Develop a vision and strategy

4. Communicate for understanding and buy in

5. Empower broad based action

6. Produce short term wins

7. Consolidate gains and produce more change/don’t let up

8. Anchor new approaches in the culture/create new culture

These eight steps are needed in order to implement change and establish a well known program. If innovation or change is something that you are trying to accomplish, I believe that if you follow the innovation curve or the Kotter’s eight steps, you will establish a well defined program and hopefully have people backing up your ideas and products.

Wiki Sites and Project Planning

http://www.ikiw.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/working-the-wiki-way.jpg

Today in class a lady by the name of BJ came in and did a presentation and walk-through on how to use a Wiki, and explained what a Wiki was, as most of the class has never done or heard of one before. A Wiki is basically a website that you can create and put on the internet and virtually anybody can go onto your Wiki site and edit and save whatever they please. In the end you have the last say of it the information others posted is adequate and reasonable for your website. We got introduced to doing Wiki’s as our project that we are presenting to the town of Colwood will be placed on a Wiki site and presented. The project that we are working on I mentioned in the previous post. There are two main tools that we have used in order to give the project a good structure. The first method that our group chose to work with was a website called tools of change (www.toolsofchange.com) this website was very helpful in the starting stages of piecing the project together. It sets up a nice layout and gave us a good idea of where we were heading with setting our objectives, developing partners, how to inform people properly, targeting the right audience, and choosing the right tools of change. Our group filled out these stages of the process, but realized in the end it was not the right approach for our project. The second tool that we used was called ADDIE. This stands for Analysis, Design, Develop, Implementation, and Evaluate. This approach seemed very easy and well laid out for our project. It is a very straight forward tool, the first step in the process is figuring out the analysis of the project by discovering what the real problem is. The second step is to design and to formulate processes. The thirds step is to develop the project and formulate the processes. The forth step is to implement the processes that you have developed. The fifth step is to evaluate the project by means of observations, intentions and suveys to see what happened and how successful the project was. My portion of the project entails working on the development steps of the ADDIE model, I will be looking at ways to make the project design details come to life. In this process of development I will be using a GPS system to map all of the trails around the Royal Roads University campus, enter the data into the computer and create a map of the trails. I will also be looking at grading the grade changes and elevations of the trails and rating them easy, moderate, or hard. I will also be looking at designing signs, names of trails, and walk the trails looking for historical facts that can be pointed out. The final part I will be looking at will be policies to see the possibilities of implementing lights and signs along the pathways to make it accessible to walk at night time. Through creating the development part of this project the team will be able to implement our trail map, and increase the amount of citizens that utilize the Royal Roads University trails.

Community Based Social Marketing

In today class Dr. Rick Kool talked about the concept of Community Based Social Marketing. This is a concept of reaching the community, not just by feeding them information for change, but for actually engaging the community in a systematic application of marketing way along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. Social marketing is a great concept, but with any outreach to a community there are advantages and disadvantages that need to be dealt with. The advantages of doing social marketing in a community are that it is most effective when it activates people, it targets those in the community that care and are ready for a change, it’s a strategic and requires efficient use of resource, and its integrate and works on the installment plan. Social marketing is not just another advertisement as a clever slogan or message is portrayed strategically so that it reaches everyone throughout the community. To strategically plan out your concept, you must first know who your audience is and put them at the center of ever decision that is made. Show that audience some action, don’t just walk the walk, but talk the talk. If someone is willing to change their behavior or accept a new one there must be an exchange by you making an offer that is appealing to them.

The making of a new concept is sometimes hard to start and there are ten important questions that must be asked in the initial stages. The ten questions to a successful plan are as follows:

1. What is the social and environmental problems that need to be addressed

2. What actions can be taken to address these problems properly

3. Address who your audience is and how you are asking them to take action

4. What kind of exchange does the audience want for adopting the new behavior

5. How will you make the audience believe what you are offering is real and true

6. Who is your competition and what are they offering opposed to your concept

7. What is the best time and place to reach and intrigue your audience

8. How often and from who does the concept have to be presented

9. How can I integrate the audience to influence their behavior

10. Do I have the resources needed to create this concept alone; and if not, where can I find useful partners

After these ten questions have been answered thoroughly, taking every situation into mind, then the planning for your community campaign can be started. The 5 steps of constructing a meaningful campaign are to identifying barriers and benefits such as literature, focus groups, community surveys, stakeholder meetings and by doing market research. The second step is to develop a strategy plan by selecting tools to address these barriers by making commitments, introducing incentives, and by persuasion. The third step is to run a pilot test, evaluate it and adapt to make it work. Pilot projects are they way of taking your strategies to the real world and testing them by measuring your results, evaluating the end result and adjusting to improve the project. The forth step is to implement your project by just doing it, you need to be committed, use prompts to remind your audience, use social norms, provide incentives, scope our your competition and strive to be better than the competition, and make your concept convenient and easy. The fifth and final step is to continuously monitor your concept and adapt it for any necessary changes. If all of these questions and steps are strictly followed and laid out properly, the concept that you are trying to portray to the community should be accepted and succeed. (Kool, 2010)

Kool, D. R. (2010, February 25). Community Based Social Marketing. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.