Day 5: June 2, 2009

We kicked off the day at 7:00 AM with a “Strength Finder” Breakfast in the Owen lobby. Students focused on their Top 5 strengths from the profile assessment.

Shifting our focus a bit, we began the day immersed in Economics with Prof. Luke Froeb – and his famous “Rational Actor” paradigm. The Kerr Magee and Christie Auction cases are always a hit with the Accelerator teams. Next, Prof Clark continued our work with the teams on project management skills.

Following these AM Studios, we moved to the team rooms to continue our work on the Nashville Chamber of Commerce projects. Teams, using the FOCUS Model, are now in the “C” stage where we clarify the data and develop the teams Top 3 recommendations for the client.
After lunch, Prof. Owens continued his sessions on creating innovation. Prof. English then continued his teaching sessions on preparing for public speaking. Prof Pace ended the day with a session on Personal Brand – we had a blast hearing the students’ “elevator pitches” – a 30-45 second way they introduce themselves to others. They will all have the opportunity to use them on Friday morning – we are expecting about 40 Nashville businesses to join us for a 7:00 AM networking session.

After dinner, or teams spent the evening finishing their Presentations, Storyboards and Research Bibliographies for Video Gaming Technologies. It was a VERY LATE night. Team 4 (Brown, Cooper, Foley, LeBow, Quinn, Shesser, Stigerwald, and Tang) shut down the building, finishing their final work just prior to midnight.

Tomorrow, we launch a project with one of County Music’s most well know stars – Kix Brooks. It will be another amazing day!

If you want to see our photo library, you may do so at http://picasaweb.google.com/VanderbiltAccelerator

Michael Burcham
Faculty Director, Accelerator 2009

Day 4: June 1, 2009

We kicked off the day at 7:00 AM with a Continental Breakfast in the Owen lobby. Prof. English lead a studio at 8:00 AM on presentation skills – the central theme of which involved the methods used by Aristotle in speaking: to persuade your audience that your ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else's. The Greek philosopher divided the means of persuasion into three categories--Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

Next, Prof Clark led a studio on Project Management – sharing with the participants a Bain & Co. method of crafting the “story” for the client.

After an early lunch, we boarded everyone on 2 charter buses and headed for the offices of Waller Lansden in downtown Nashville to launch our project with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. The view from the 27th floor is amazing.
Janet Miller, the Chamber’s Chief Economic Development & Marketing Office and I launched the project. Panelist included: Ralph Schutz, Mike Shmerling, Mark Montgomery, Butch Spyridon, and Tod Fetherling. Joining us from the chamber was Blewett Melton, Cartyle Carroll, Courtney Ross, and Judith Hill.

After an overview of Nashville, the Chamber team issued the following challenge to the Accelerator teams: Determine how to brand Nashville as an entrepreneurial city and as an entrepreneurial leader in America. This campaign must leverage the “Music City” brand (the world-wide known brand of the city) which is used in external marketing campaigns for tourism, conventions, and economic development. The teams met in individual rooms at Waller Lansden offices to frame the opportunity and assign team roles, frame the issue, and begin the process of creating a viable solution for the city. Our teams will present their ideas in 1 week.

At 4:00 PM, we boarded our charter buses and headed back to Owen for a session with Prof. Owens on creating innovation – the subtitle: “Create People Must be Stopped…” After dinner, or teams spent the evening working on solutions for the Nashville Chamber.

We ended the day about 10 PM.

If you want to see our photo library, you may do so at http://picasaweb.google.com/VanderbiltAccelerator

Michael Burcham
Faculty Director, Accelerator 2009

Day 3: May 31, 2009

We kicked off the day at 7:00 AM with a Peer Breakfast an opportunity to meet with other team members who are in similar roles on other teams – Team Leaders met at one table, Research Leads at another, etc.

Prof Griffith continued our studio session on team dynamics. Dr. Furse led a studio on new product development. We studied the attributes and conditions that drive wealth creation within companies: the need for products and services to be Valuable, Rare, Difficult to Imitate, and the firm must be organized to exploit these attributes.

Professor Pace continued our Personal Branding sessions. Using the “StrengthsFinder” assessment, Accelerator participants developed their strengths profiles and shared insight with these traits with one another. After a short break, Hilary Craiglow, Rahn Huber, and Brad Cayer led the teams in a studio on research methods. Each team must produce a full bibliography of research-based support for their proposed recommendations to our partner corporations.

This group of young men and women are fully armed with i-Pods, i-Phones (some Blackberrys) and laptops – they are connected – virtually and constantly. They walk around with volumes of information (and tunes) in their heads and even more information at their fingertips. I saw this phenomenon first-hand today while they researched data for the VGT project. With lightening speed, fingers were gliding across keyboards, data was flashing on the laptop screen, and global data searches were initiated.

This afternoon, the Accelerator teams worked to finish their presentations for VGT to design a new casino game. In 3 days, these 8 teams of young men and women will present their design to the VGT executive team. We’ve begun the journey of transformation.

If you want to see our photo library, you may do so at http://picasaweb.google.com/VanderbiltAccelerator

Michael Burcham
Faculty Director, Accelerator 2009

Day 2: May 30, 2009

Project Management, Team Dynamics, Process Management and Project Story Boarding ruled the day. Teams defined individual roles and began the process of understanding the current customers vs. the desired customers for our corporate partner on Project 1: Video Gaming Technology (VGT).

After 3 morning studios (Accelerator overview by Burcham, Project Management by Cherrie Clark and Team Dynamics by Brian Griffith), the teams immersed themselves into understanding the data available on the gaming industry as they work to address the challenge provided by the VGT executives.

We returned to Averbuch auditorium for 2 additional teaching studios – one on Personal Branding with Kimberly Furse; the other on “Strategy 101” with David Furse.

After dinner, the teams divided tasks – sending some members out to collect information, capture images and complete research. Others began working on storyboard and final presentations. Lots of Dasani water, Coffee, Soda, and Post Its.

The teams clocked over 14 hours of work today and consumed (while working) over 200 bottles of water, 4 gallons of coffee, a 3 flats of chips, 8 cases of soda (plus 3 full meals). “Twenty somethings” do get hungry!

If you want to see our photo library, you may do so at http://picasaweb.google.com/VanderbiltAccelerator

Michael Burcham
Faculty Director, Accelerator 2009

Day 1: May 29, 2009

Arriving in their best “Business Professional” attire – we launched Accelerator 2009 this evening with some of the country’s top young minds. Our participants this year come from 27 different universities and 4 countries. Collectively they have held over 300 leadership experiences, awards and internships as students.

Our Immersion Experience model sets Accelerator apart from any other summer internship or opportunity out there. Where else can a 20-23 year old:
- Consult with some of America’s leading companies to solve problems,
- Be given honest critique of your work,
- Receive just-in-time training and studio-based education by Nationally Ranked faculty, and
- Create their own “Personal Brand” and Authentic Voice?

Jim Bradford, Dean of the Owen Graduate School of Business, gave the welcome address to this year’s participants. We were joined by the Executive Team from Video Gaming Technology: John Yarbrough, Jay Sevigny, Doug Edwards, Aaron Milligan and Dave Marsh. Immediately following the opening dinner, we all moved into Averbuch auditorium where the VGT team unveiled their corporate challenge for the Accelerator teams.

By the end of the evening (10 PM), Accelerator participants were organized into 8 teams, had framed the opportunity for working with VGT, and assigned the various team roles to the team members. These teams will have 20 work hours to develop their recommendations for VGT.

If you want to see our photo library, you may do so at http://picasaweb.google.com/VanderbiltAccelerator

Michael Burcham
Faculty Director, Accelerator 2009

Accelerator 2009 Begins!

The big day is here – we launch Accelerator 2009. The months of work leading up to today seem a blur. Amid the flurry of last minute details, my mind is already racing toward tonight’s opening dinner. I see in the faces of our arriving students (who tonight become the “apprentice”) -anticipation, excitement, and a bit of worry. I know what lies ahead for them. The next 30 days will be an amazing adventure of self discovery, learning, and growing. They will “do more then they ever imagined.”

Before we “officially” begin, I’d like to thank the many individuals who have worked so tirelessly to make Accelerator 2009 an amazing experience. First – the core team: Greg Harvey, Kimberly Pace, David Furse, Cherrie Clark, Brian Griffith, David Franklin, Jeff Schwartzenberg, John English, Paul Frankenberg, Greg Stielstra, Matt White, Amy Wolf, Coco Chalfant, Erin Anderson, Thomas Bernstein, Akadius Berry, Eric Bilbrey, Macee Bumpus, Brad Cayer, Kyle Clay, Jeff Freude, Dave Thomas, LaDonna Thornton, Brad Lawrence, John Morrison, Ethan Dunham, and A.J. Axelrod.

Next, a special thanks to the many great Faculty of Vanderbilt who will be leading our “get-it-and-go” learning modules that surround our Corporate Challenges. We have a great lineup of faculty for Accelerator 2009: Froeb, Clark, Hoeffler, Lapre, Hyer, Franklin, Victor, Furse, DuBois, English, Moye, Griffith, Pace, Frankenberg, and Owens.

We appreciate the support and participation of our Corporate Partners – who create with our faculty the “real world experiences” that define the Owen Accelerator experience: Video Gaming Technology, The Nashville Chamber of Commerce, BlueCross BlueShield of TN, Arrington Vineyards, Gordian Health Solutions, Sony Music Entertainment, Abeo Partners, Cisco, Presidio Networked Solutions and Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Now it’s time to - Learn it. Apply it. Live it. Let’s roll.

The 7th Corporate Partner Firm for Accelerator 2009: BlueCross BlueShield of TN & Gordian

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee & Gordian Health Solutions have teamed together to have Accelerator participants development of a Strategic Plan to add Social Media as a key tool to promote health and wellness for the population insured by BCBST and its subsidiary Gordian Health Solutions in a Business to Consumer engagement model.

The Challenge for the Accelerator Teams:

To create a Social Media strategy for BCBST and Gordian that protects an individual’s right to privacy while providing the opportunity to link to others either at the work place or from home to share relevant information about wellness and illness.

The strategy should utilize social media tools and applications to engage individuals interested in specific topic areas on an opt-in basis. The strategy’s overarching concept should be on transforming BCBST and Gordian’s interaction method from a Business to Business (B2B) methodology to a Business to Consumer (B2C) methodology.

About BCBST:

For more than 60 years, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has been centered on the health and well being of Tennesseans. Today, more than 2 million people across the state turn to us for health plan coverage and insurance products. And more than 5 million people nationwide benefit from the services we provide.

About Gordian Health Solutions:

Gordian Health Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BCBST, is a leading, national personal health coaching company. Blending health science, coaching and technology, Gordian is pioneering the next generation of integrated health solutions to deliver a personalized, interactive service promoting healthcare self-improvement and long-term wellness.

The 6th Corporate Partner Firm for Accelerator 2009: Presidio Networked Solutions

Presidio Networked Solutions and Cisco have teamed together to have Accelerator participants create an integrated marketing and communications program to develop market opportunities for the Cisco WebEx and TelePresence solutions to Presidio’s customers and prospects. Presidio is the customer facing entity for this solution and will be the channel marketer of the work created.

The Challenge for the Accelerator Teams:

To create a marketing message and go-to-market program on the "intersection" of WebEx and TelePresence technology as an effective business tool by leveraging the Social Media aspects of the “connected generation” of workers today.

Challenge Questions:

1. How can Presidio most effectively communicate the business relevance of Cisco WebEx and TelePresence technology to motivate customer to purchase and fully utilize the solution?

2. How can the WebEx and TelePresence technology itself be used to delivery the key company and product messages and to what extent can business-to-business social networking be used?

3. Can this product be made even more relevant by leveraging it as a method of B2B social networking?


About Presidio Networked Solutions:

Founded in 2004 Presidio, as a Cisco Gold Partner, is a leading professional & managed services firm at the forefront of creative collaboration, data center & IT infrastructure solutions. Presidio is made up of a team of expert technology professionals who assist clients in transforming the latest innovations into meaningful productivity enhancements:
- Enabling seamless enterprise-wide communication
- Connecting work teams to all vital information
- Controlling costs related to energy, travel
- Realizing greater efficiencies via a collaborative work environment