 Introduction
Who is this MicroModule most useful
for?
The
Creating a Virtual R&D Team MicroModule is useful for anyone who
is excited about the process of creation and would like to compress
time while expanding their innovation and reach. And, it is particularly
useful with individuals who:
1. Have a lot of ideas and not
enough time or personal RAM to follow through on all of them.
2.
Thrive on change and creation.
3. Value input and opinions from a
wide range of perspectives and backgrounds.
4. Are not so
attached to their ideas or way of implementing them that they cannot
hear constructive feedback.
5. Have an idea and want validation.
6. Want to test-drive a product or idea to determine market
viability.
7. Enjoy brainstorming and like hosting an e-community.
8. Need or want focus, accountability, or structure on a project.
9. Are creative and need some support and encouragement to keep
going.
10. Have a project (book, course, teleclass, etc.) and need case
studies and examples to flesh out the idea.
What
are the benefits of creating a Virtual R&D Team?
 You'll never feel alone.
You'll increase your creativity by
25-500%.
You'll improve the quality of your
work.
You'll receive a lifetime of ideas.
You'll complete your product/service
2-10 times faster.
You'll expand your professional
network.
You'll become known.
Your R&D Team members may become
your best paying customers.
You'll waste far less time
"testing for value."
You'll get the bugs out of your
product/service at every stage.
You'll learn e-collaboration skills.
You'll become a much more open
person.
You'll learn to handle
criticism/negative input better.
You'll always find SOMEONE who
"gets you."
You'll expand your thinking in
general.
You'll become an expert a LOT
faster.
You'll evolve given the stimulating
e-environment you've created.
How
could I use a Virtual R&D Team?
You want to create a new product or
program but you need to test our your concepts first.
You have an idea and want to get some
validation that it's a good one before you invest your time, money,
and energy in it.
You enjoy the focus, accountability and
structure the R&D Team provides.
You enjoy brainstorming and you want to
host an e-community of similar people.
You want to learn how to coach so you
offer to host a support group where individuals are helping each
other.
You want to create a Best Practices (or
other) database and want ideas from lots of different people.
You have a business idea and aren't
sure how much commercial interest there would be in it.
You own a company and want to host a
forum of 1% or 5% of your customers willing to be on an ongoing
R&D Team so you can create new products or improve current ones.
Your company is having problems so you
create a turnaround team of employees, vendors, and customers who
want to be change/agents.
You are an expert in X and want to
create a Q & A database, so you invite people to submit
situations and questions that might occur with X.
You enjoy working with people who have
a particular trait (highly creative, supersensitive, lack
self-confidence, are cancer survivors) and you use R&D Team to
create a network of these people, creating solutions, tools, classes
for them - some being free, some being fee.
You want to create an online learning
community or professional group like CoachVille.
The
3 Steps
How
do I get started on your R&D team?
There
are 3 steps...
Step
1. Get clear about why you want to start a Virtual R&D Team.
I
want a Virtual R&D Team because
[fill
in the blank here].
Sounds obvious, but until you have an idea why you want a team and
what you would use it for, it doesn't make much sense to create it.
You could go ahead, but if you don't have something to send to the
team fairly quickly, they'll wonder what happened. The way in which
you use your R&D Team will evolve over time - a natural process
as you and the Team learn more about each other - but you want to
have an initial idea in place to start.
Not sure how you would use it? Answer these questions for some
ideas.
Project or ideas...
What are 5 projects or ideas you have
or have been working on?
1.
_____________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________
Examples of how a
team can help...
If you had a team of expert thinkers
and doers working with you, what would you want them to tell you
about the project? How could they help?
Some examples are:
- Not very hot idea because of X, Y, & Z.
- Great idea, have you thought about these angles...
- Here's a story to illustrate what you're talking about.
- I'd pay $X for this product.
- I wouldn't buy it, but my grandmother probably would.
- This has already been done by X - how is your different from
theirs?
Questions to ask....
Brainstorm questions you could ask your
R&D Team about each of the 5 projects/ideas identified above.
1. _____________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________
Purpose or Mission of your Team?
What is the purpose of your Team - what
do you want from them? Sort of like a mission statement. You will
use this in Step 3.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Step
2. Inviting people to your team.
Now
that you've identified the project or idea your Virtual R&D Team
will be used for and how you'll
use it, you want to invite people to join your team. There are a couple of
points to think about here - who you want on your team, who you
don't want on your team, and how you want to invite them to join.
The people are the juice that makes the Team really thrive.
Who do you want on your team?
What would your ideal team member look like? Think like? Act like?
What are the essential qualities and characteristics of your team?
Some examples: direct thinkers who tell it like it is; smart people
who give feedback in a mature, kind way; people who articulate well;
people who express through free-association, etc.
It's OK to have contradictory qualities and styles on your team - in
fact it's preferably. You'll get a broader range of input that way.
1.
_______________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________
5.
_______________________________________________
6.
_______________________________________________
7.
_______________________________________________
What would be unacceptable to you in a team member?
Not to focus on what you DON'T want too much, but if there are
absolute NOTs for you, it's good to know them - and to be upfront
about them with your team. You will use these responses in
describing how your R&D Team works, what the ground rules are,
and how you like to operate. This way there won't be any surprises
or hurt feelings - or at least fewer of them.
Some examples: smart alecks; unethical behavior; cruel responses,
etc.
1.
_____________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________
How do you want to invite people to
join?
Since it's a virtual team, it makes sense to invite them to join
virtually, though you may find yourself making personal, face-to-face
invitations as well. Use virtual means as your primary method - it
trains them, and you, early on.
What key elements do you want to include in your invitation letter?
1. Why you are writing to them - how they were selected.
2. What an R&D Team is.
3. Benefits to them of joining.
4. Benefits to you of them joining.
5. What they can expect - time commitment, frequency of requests,
summaries, etc.
6. What you expect - (i.e. responses every time, responses only when
they are moved, etc.)
7. How to sign up - this is a biggie!
8. Thanks.
Sample RD Team
Invitations...
RD Team Invite
This was the original invite to the CoachVille R&D Team. Went out
to our first 2,000 CV Members back in Summer 2001; 500 folks joined
within a week.
CoachVille
Invitation to join
the R&D Team
This email is about joining the
CoachVille R&D Team. If you already know about it and wish to join,
just address an email to subscribecrd@coachville.com.
If you were on the 'old' R&D team, you will need to resubscribe now.
Thursday evening
Dear CoachVille Member:
Every member of CoachVille is, in effect, part of our R&D Team,
given you are usually the first to test and use our programs,
concepts, products and e-services. CoachVille members are quite
generous with their time by responding with suggestions, ideas,
corrections/typos and solutions.
And, that said, some of the CoachVille members want get a bit more
involved in the alpha and beta side of the new stuff we come up
with. These members join the CoachVille R&D Team.
If you elect to join the CoachVille R&D Team, here's what you can
expect:
--You will receive between 1 and 5 emails a week asking for input,
advice, suggestions, reactions, corrections, strategies, content,
quotes and other stuff like that related to ideas and project we are
working on for the general membership of both CoachVille and other
upcoming Villes.
--You have the option of responding to these extra emails -- or not.
But please don't join the CoachVille R&D Team unless you intend to
be an active respondent and contribute your brain and creative power
to CoachVille.
--We generally don't respond on a 1-1 basis to emails/suggestions
received by R&D Team Members in response to a request for input.
(Sometimes, 100s of emails are received, and while we look at every
one, we don't respond.) So, you'll need to have the contribution of
your ideas/comments be enough for you. You won't get many strokes
from us, even if we end up incorporating your idea or suggestion.
I'm not trying to talk you out of becoming a CoachVille R&D Team
member! But I want you to understand how the flow/exchange works.
Before you decide, here are a couple of important notes...
1. When you share an idea or strategy, you're letting us use, adapt,
incorporate it into stuff we come up with, without attribution.
2. You may join the R&D Team now, or later if there is room. (We
will cut off registration in the R&D Team when it reaches 1000
members, given the logistics.)
3. You must have an email account other than AOL. This, because ALL
of the emails that go to the R&D Team are HTML and sometimes larger
than the 30K file size limit imposed by the AOL gateway. Even if you
have AOL 6.0, you cannot join the CoachVille R&D Team. However, you
can always set up an email account at hotmail.com and join the R&D
Team from that email account.
4. The ideas and strategies we present, asking for feedback, are
confidential to the R&D Team, until we formally release the product
or project.
5. We SOMETIMES have special TeleDiscussions for members of the R&D
Team related to projects we are working on.
6. You may unsubscribe at any time.
7. The CoachVille R&D Team is for members only. Please do not give
out the following subscribing email address.
8. PC and Mac users are both welcome and able to fully participate.
9. It's very likely that I'll be crafting
intellectual property by weaving in some of the suggestions,
feedback and content shared by team members. I generally share the
resources created via input from the R&D Team for free to R&D Team
members, at least for a period of time. And, many of these
projects/programs/ebooks, etc., will be available commercially
(meaning for a fee to the public). Legally, I will be the copyright
holder/owner of this material. If you are not comfortable with this
approach, please do not join the R&D Team at this time.
Interested in being a part of the R&D Team?
If so, please address an email to:
subscribecrd@coachville.com
That's it! Nothing is needed in the subject line or in the body of
your email message. You'll receive back a confirmation within 5
minutes. Please cut and paste that email address you see above into
your email window. If you mistype it, you won't be subscribed to the
CoachVille R&D announcement list.
Best,
Thomas
RD Team Invite/Dave buck
Here's another, really friendly approach that Dave Buck uses.
Invitation to join
the Dave Buck R&D Team
Hey there! Dave Buck here.
I’m working on an exciting and IMPORTANT new project and I need your
help!
I’m working on several exciting projects (who isn't right?) like
creating a brand name for my coaching business and creating client
programs. In the days and weeks ahead I’m going to be generating a lot
of ideas and trying to find the perfect way to describe what I do and
the value I bring to my clients.
That’s where you come in! I’m going to be CRAVING a lot of feedback
from people who know me so I’m putting together a research and
development team (R&D team).
Here’s the game…
As I'm working on creating new programs or different aspects of my new
brand image, I’ll send you an email requesting your feedback, thoughts
and ideas. Any time you can give me (even 5 minutes) could spark and
idea that really works. If you get inspired and want to call me to
share a few thoughts all the better!!! The point is that I need and
value your thoughts and opinions.
It will be super-valuable for me AND (I hope) fun for you! Hey when
was the last time someone actually wanted to hear your opinions! ;-)
If you’re willing to play, simply reply to this
email and I’ll put you on the team!
Thanks so much, either way!
Dave Buck
Dave Buck
Brand Strategy Coach
"I help professionals create a distinct brand image that leverages
their talents, experiences and passions into a service with RELENTLESS
demand!"
website: http://www.davebuck.com
-> Visit me sometime!
Phone: 973-601-9444
The Dave Buck Brand:
Technology Savvy
Unabashed Enthusiasm!
Perceptive Facilitator
Compassionate Catalyst
Intuitive Strategist
email: dave@davebuck.com
About my rd team
You could post something like this at your website so folks can read
about your R&D team while visiting your site.
The CoachVille R&D Team
Overview, How to
Join, Guidelines, R&D Team Types
Overview
The CoachVille R&D Team is an intellectual factory and provides
significant levels of feedback and strategic input in the design,
crafting, testing and perfecting of the intellectual property -- and
operations -- of CoachVille.
Any CoachVille member may join the CV R&D Team. As a member, you
receive an email 2-5 times a week with ideas, questions, examples and
you are asked to comment on the topics you wish to.
How To Join
To join, first read and agree to the guidelines which are
described below.
(Note: If you have an AOL email
address, you'll need to get an alternate one in order to join the
CoachVille R&D Team, given our memos are always in html and are larger
than the 30K file size limit imposed by AOL.)
Guidelines
The R&D Team takes on some controversial topics, some of which
are virtually guaranteed to push your buttons. Which is fine, but the
only rule as a member of the R&D Team is to be, at all times...
CIVIL
&
POLITE
We have had a problem with R&D member being so upset by something we
are planning to do, or a project that we have taken on, or a
thought-provoking question, that they have emotionally reacted and
lashed out at me/us.
Not okay.
For example, when I asked for feedback on the "Everyone's a Coach"
tagline, I got lots of negative response (no problem -- we like
critical thinkers) and several personal attacks i.e., "You are ruining
the coaching profession," "CoachVille is cheapening the industry,"
"You are evil" etc., etc. It's fine to disagree, but when it
becomes personal, it hurts.
Part of what I and CoachVille do (does?) IS to be a disruptive
influence in our industry. Disruption is good. Currently the
industry is moribund. We're shaking it up so that it can evolve at
the pace it was meant to evolve at. This ruffles feathers.
So, some tips...
1. Before you share an opinion, FIRST challenge yourself to see what
the bigger place is that I'm coming from. If you think from where you
usually think from, you won't be much help on the R&D Team (or to
yourself).
2. When you receive an R&D email from us that you react negatively to,
just hang out with the idea/topic for a day or two before firing off
an email to me.
3. Use the process of being on the R&D Team to evolve and expand
yourself. Every single time you receive an email from us, use it as a
catalyst (or a cattle prod) to think bigger and be bigger. Don't be
the same person you were before you read it.
4. In your comments/feedback, be honest, fully communicate, and point
out what you like about the project/idea and where you see the flaws.
Write from YOUR experience/preferences, not what you think "coaches"
will like/dislike. You are the only one who matters here.
5. And, make sure you phrase your comments -- especially the
criticisms -- in a positive, helpful tone.
Good form for criticism:
--I can't imagine that I would buy the new product as you are
describing it because the price point is too high for me.
--I like the general idea but here's the flaw as I see it...
--I don't have a solution, but something isn't right about this idea.
--Here's what I suggest that you consider...
Bad form for criticism:
--That idea sucks. [thank you for sharing]
--That's not going to work. [instead, tell us how to fix it]
--You don't know what you're doing. [needlessly insulting]
--You shouldn't.... [not helpful]
--That idea needs work. [this is assumed, yes?]
Which Type of
R&D Member Will You Be?
Here's a summary of the 'types' of coaches who are on the R&D team. I
am asking you to move yourself to Type 1 as soon as possible. While
we can benefit from all types, our best work is done by Type 1's.
Type 1. The
Creatives
They can hear my idea and
quickly come up to speed with it, integrating it into what they
already knew/felt about the topic, see the potential AND flaws in it
and come back to me with why it's good (far beyond what I had seen)
and what's flawed about it (flaws I hadn't been able to see myself).
In other words, whatever idea I share with them is a catalyst for
their thinking/creative process and/or evolution. They 'work it' and
grow from it. It's more than them doing an analysis. And,
sometimes, The Creatives totally TRASH my idea but they are nice about
it and they ask me questions or point out missing links in my thinking
process so that I can learn vs just being told it's a dumb idea. They
help my understand a bigger place to look/listen from, so it works
both ways quite nicely.
Usefulness: I read these emails first, both for the validation
and for how they will evolve/expand my thinking quickly.
Type
2. The Cautionaries
They can hear my idea, and
while they sense/inkle that it's an interesting one, it takes them
some time to come around see exactly how it's a good one. So, they
wait for a couple of days and then when they do see how the idea
could/would work, they can become quite enthusiastic. But there is
this buffering/arms-around-it time, that takes time.
Usefulness: This is the bulk of the coaching community, so I
enjoy hearing from them and hearing what it takes to 'come around' to
see the potential/value of an idea I shared. I am most curious how
they make this shift because this is where most folks in the world are
-- processing information, especially disruptive or paradigmical/paradoxical
information, and integrating it into their now-broader way of seeing
life.
Probable Source: The buffer thing. Why is it there? Why is
there delay? Where's the bottleneck?
Type
3. The "You-Should-ers
"
These are mostly R&D members
who have very strong opinions and who generally think I'm pretty
stoopid. (Which, granted, I definitely am, from time to time.) They
are quick to give advice from a rather limited place. They see the
world through a single eye. Theirs. Their theme/mantra is "THIS IS
THE WAY IT IS." No peripheral vision, much less 20/20. Yawn.
Reaction city.
Usefulness: They are tiresome but sometimes I find useful
nuggets because they ARE pretty smart in their narrow area.
Probable Source: I'm not sure what the source of this one is.
They definitely have a strong desire to help and protect me from
failure. But the motivation doesn't seem very clean.
Type
4. The Repeaters
They respond to my idea with
comments/ideas based on ideas/situations that they already have had in
their past and repeat what they FELT in the past about their original
idea. In other words, when they heard my idea, they go into their
heads and "find" a similar situation they had faced professionally and
then share comments/advice from THAT place, instead of using my
idea/question to look freshly and upgrade their past experience to be
directly fitting to the idea I emailed them.
Usefulness: These contributes are usually VERY smart and
experienced. Perhaps too experienced. And, they miss out on the
pleasure of experimenting with the ideas I present. They jump into
'expert or solution mode' too quickly and miss out on the richness or
potential of the idea and instead insert themselves/their experience
too soon. Not a lot of room for fresh thinking, but the feedback is
VERY valuable because I learn so much of the expert/technical side or
potential ramifications of my ideas.
Probable Source: Inability to recognize subtleties. Most of
my ideas are laced with subtleties. If one jumps too quickly into
repeat/analytical mode, they miss the underlying subtleties.
Subtleties are quite rich.
Type
5. The Fear
Barometers
Whatever idea I have, they
first process the idea through their fear-barometers and THEN they
give me their feedback (usually fear-based). They look at the
negative/consequence side. They look to see where they or other likes
them could 'lose' if I moved forward with my idea? They have
self-appointed themselves as the watchdog of what was.
Usefulness: There is definitely some value in this type of
input because probably 25% of coaches think/process information/ideas
in this way. They don't have the freedom/ability to think
conceptually; the value of something is measured mostly by its
potential risk to their status quo. Or to 'coaching in general,'
whatever that means.
Probable Source: An inability to think/experience ideas --
even disruptive ideas -- on a conceptual basis. They route the idea
through themselves first and thus it brings up reactions.
Type
6. The Contrarian
Indicators
There are some coaches who
email me (from the R&D Team and in general) that are incredibly
consistent on being on the other side of the flow. In other words,
when they say an idea is lame or fatally flawed or that I "definitely
should not do that!" then I KNOW the project is going to be a
success. And when they love an idea quickly, I know to get real
cautious real quickly with that idea cuz it's probably going to fail
in its current form.
Usefulness. Of course, I never tell the person they are a
contrarian indicator!
Probable Source: Behind the times, big time. But they don't
know it. They are living in a carefully constructed world with few
fresh influences.
Still want to
join the R&D Team?
Click here
to join.
(You will need the generic CoachVille Member Area username and
password.)
Thanking Your New R&D Team Members!
Of course, once people join your
team, you want them to receive a thank you email reminding them of
the benefits, what they can expect, and any ground rules.
Ezine Welcome letter
When someone subscribes to my R&D Team announcement list/ezine, here's
the email they receive within seconds, automatically.
R&D Team Memo
Wednesday, July 18,
2001
To unsubscribe, email
unsubscribecrd@coachville.com
Welcome
to the R&D Team
Dear ~field:fromName:1~,
Welcome to the ~field:listTitle~ newsletter from ~field:listOwner~.
Please save a copy of this message for future reference. Your address
has been subscribed as:
~field:fromName~ <~field:fromAddress~>
This ezine is EXCLUSIVELY for CoachVille members. If you are not a
CoachVille member, please unsubscribe immediately by addressing an
email to unsubscribecrd@coachville.com.
If you are a CoachVille member, then welcome to the CoachVille R&D
Team! We'll be emailing you periodically (sometimes twice a day,
sometimes only twice a month depending on our R&D cycle) with ideas
and requests for input. Please respond as you can, but note that we
won't be able to respond individually or personally to your comment or
idea, given the volume of emails that come in. Please understand. But
you will see the projects we work on take shape thanks to your support
and input!
VERY IMPORTANT!
We have one ground rule that you'll need to honor in order to be in
this group. That ground rule is civility.
We have had two significant problems on the R&D Team; thus is ground
rule.
Problem #1. Invective & Personal Attacks.
I periodically receive emails from R&D Team Members who don't just
disagree with a project, idea or approach we're taking with some
aspect of CoachVille but become so incensed that they email me
cutting, personal, mean, and even cruel comments. (I can't explain
this either but it happens enough that I have to make it clear that
this is not okay.) It's quite likely that you will completely
disagree with something I'm working on or an approach I've taken.
(Example: The "Everyone's a Coach" tagline at CoachVille has been
quite controversial.) I'm very open to hearing WHY you don't like
something but no name-calling, assuming that I'm the devil and ruining
the profession, etc. Be big enough to see -- and even enjoy -- both
sides of something you feel strongly about.
Problem #2. Adamant, Reactive Opinions.
When you disagree with a direction we've taken you're going to have
to agree to disagree and then move forward. Remember, I'm managing
the input/flow form an R&D team of at least 500 coaches with a wide
variety of preferences, needs, opinions and values. We all have views
on things, but if you find yourself getting ticked of and wanting to
shoot me a "ruff-ruff-here's-the-way-life-is-dude" email, please
don't. If you get hot under the collar, the first step is to ask
yourself WHY? And, when you figure it out, THEN please email me with
your concern, criticism or view. --All of which are most welcome, but
you gotta be civil to play on this team.
NOTE: It's very important that you have two pieces of software in
order to view and make the most of your experience as a CoachVille.com
R&D Team Member. Both software's are free but you MUST have the most
current versions of each in order to access the files you'll be
receiving.
Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or 5.0.
Version 1 or 2 or 3 won't work correctly. Download free reader at
http://www.adobe.com. The win98 version does works with winME. There
is also a mac version.
RealAudio Player version 7 or 8 or higher.
Earlier versions simply won't play the RealAudio files we have
created. Download free player at http://www.real.com. They'll push you
to buy the $29 version, but look carefully part-way down on the page
and you'll see the link for the free version.
You also need to download the most current version of your browser.
To cancel this subscription at any time, you may send an e-mail from
your above address to:
unsubscribecrd@coachville.com
Again, welcome!
Thomas
Step
3. Managing your Virtual R&D Team.
OK,
now you have a team, you know how you're going to use them, and
you're ready to get started. Learning to managing and use your Team
will be a process of trial and error. Here are some trials and
errors others have already gone through for you - it will help you
compress your learning curve even more.
 Send them something.
Even something little. Involving your R&D Team early on after you
initially format it engages them. They feel valued, and it gives you
the chance to test out your systems.
Teach them how to respond to you.
In order to help you organize your responses - the flood of emails -
let them know how to respond, and whether or not they can expect an
individual response from you.
Examples are:
- "just reply to this email by hitting the reply
button";
- "send a message with "X" in the subject line
- reply to "X@yourwebsite.com"
(put the link IN the email - or better yet, send it from that
address)
Create systems to help you manage
the flow.
If you are not used to getting hundreds of emails on a subject in a
short period of time, this will be a shocker! Designing your systems
to manage the flow for you will help keep you from experiencing
overwhelm. You may still get overwhelmed by emotions - it is
remarkably how much people are willing to share.
Some examples are:
1. Set up folders in your email program. You can create rules to
send emails to certain folders automatically based on different
variables.
2. Set up a special email address only for R&D Team
correspondence. (Just note that sometimes people will think of
things and send them to whatever email address they think of first.)
3. Have someone else, like a Virtual Assistant, weed through the
emails and pull out key points, then summarize and send to you.
4. Weed through them yourself, quickly pulling out key points then
delete.
5. Use a "digest" service to condense everything into one
email and
send to you at certain intervals.
Follow-up with your Team.
This is critical! When your Team responds, you want to let them know
the results. Use your own style in determining how much detail you
give them. You can give statistical reports or summaries of
responses, or just the general jist. Always tell them what your next
steps will be.
The key is that you want them to know you get their input, that you
are thankful, and how you will be using it. This 360-degree approach
- closing the loop - is essential for conditioning them to want to
continue responding.
What
mistakes
do coaches make with Virtual R&D Teams?
Focusing on Selling to the Virtual R&D Team
While many people on your team will be customers, or become them,
remember the real reason you set up the team and use it for that
purpose. It's OK to offer special deals as thank you's or early-bird
options, just be clear about this and don't overdo it. If team
members sense that your main purpose in having the Team is to sell
to them, they leave - at best - and bad-mouth you at worst. Be
genuine, act with integrity, and express your appreciation often.
Not closing the loop
If your Team doesn't know how their input is being used, they don't
know whether it is valuable or if they are doing it
"right". You want to reinforce their desire to respond by
letting them know where they and the projects stand. And, of course,
always let them know when you launch the new project or product -
they'll be excited for you and take pride that they played a role.
They may even sign up or share it with their network.
Not demonstrating appreciation
People like to help for a number of reasons (see Benefits in Client
Guide above). The primary reason for continuing to contribute is
that they feel valued. This doesn't always mean warm fuzzies -
though those work, too. A clearly articulated email, identifying how
the Team's feedback has contributed to your business and your
evolution as a coach or creative thinker, can be the greatest
reward. Free gifts are nice, but not necessary. Sincere gratitude is
the name of the game.
Fear of negative feedback
If this is you, chances are an R&D Team isn't right for you - at
least not right now. You will get negative feedback - after all, not
ALL of your ideas are great ones (yet). The feedback you get will
help you decide whether and how to go forward. If an idea stinks,
wouldn't you rather know BEFORE you put weeks and months into
developing it?
Perfectionism
This one will tend to keep you from sharing the idea until you've
got it close to finalized, hence defeating the primary benefit of
having an R&D Team. If you wait until it's perfect, you've
eliminated the chance for full co-creation and input from your team.
You've probably also become overly attached to the idea and you run
the risk of looking like you are selling them something versus
seeking R&D input. Remember, the "D" in R&D stands
for "Development". This means they need to be involved in
that phase.
License
Rights and Restrictions
This Creating a Virtual R&D
Team Module is
an original work product owned by CoachVille.com, and is part of a
large collection of 3 Step Training Modules available at 3steptraining.com.
Each of our 3 Step Training Modules is licensed
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attending your CV Study Group CV Chapter meeting are licensed to use
this process/exercise with their clients, on a one-to-one basis,
with no license fee.
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weave this exercise into a workshop or presentation, or work with
companies or groups or groups of clients, there is a
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Other
Resources/Classes to Consider
coming soon.
Transcript of Training
Session
Class
#003 - Creating a Virtual R&D Team
January 23, 2002 - 5:00 p.m. EST
Thomas J. Leonard, Session Leader
(from which transcript was crafted)*
*Please note that Thomas J. Leonard gets sick part way through this
class. We've chosen to keep the entire realaudio file intact.
MP3 File of call | here
(to download put
mouse over file and RIGHT click)
**Please note, you will want to stop
the call after about 15-20 minutes, when you are playing this for
your study group, to break into small groups and have them work on
the design of their Virtual R&D TEAM.
TJL: Hello, fellow coaches! My name is
Thomas Leonard and with me is….
DB: Dave Buck!
TJL: Dave buck is here! We have about 10 other folks who are study
group hosts on this call. Dave and I and the group will talk for about
10-15 minutes about what a virtual R&D team and how you can benefit
from it, and what you can work on with them. After we're done setting
up the stage for this, your study group hosts will tease out the topic
with you and help identify a project you might want to work on - e-zine,
a teleclass, an e-book, or one of many other projects. The study group
host will work with you later on, to actually buddy up and come up
with some ideas.
We know how valuable an R&D team is - Coachville wouldn't be here
without one, or wouldn't be very productive without one. A lot of
people have emailed me that they love the idea, but don't know what
they'd work with one on. Today we're going to be talking about that.
There's no real trick to run one - you're the host of a group with a
common interest; it's very simple. I'd like to start with Dave -
you've launched your own recently and we'd like to hear about your
experience.
DB: The reason it's worked well for me is because whenever I'm
creating a new program or new teleclass - I used to try to come up
with all the ideas in my own head. I thought I had good ideas, but
many times, they didn't work. Then, I started using an R"&D team of
people interested in me and my subject. When I used the team, the
quality of my ideas got significantly better, and gave me the
opportunity to cast off all the ideas that weren't so good. I could
much more quickly get to the right idea.
TJL: If you're a creative person, you're going to have a lot of ideas
but not know which ones are good ideas, and the R&D team can help you
figure that out.
DB: That's exactly right.
TJL: Because you're going to want to create something someone else is
going to want to buy, or should buy….
DB: Or something you think is really neat!
TJL: It's important to use your R&D team to weed out those ideas that
just aren't that interesting. The team can also really polish your
product.
DB: Yeah! There's another little piece I found is that - in most
businesses, 50 years ago people made stuff, but now we don't make
stuff, we make choices. We're now making hundreds of choices every
day, and the R&D team is here to help you make the right choices.
TJL: Well said, and rather than waiting for the quality team to come
in after the engineers have done their work, you want to bring them in
right up front. You can not only share what you've created, but share
the creating with them. For me that was a real ego brush! It's great
for all the folks to share with you, for example, all the books
they've read. That's been great for me, especially, because I don't
have time to read all the self-help books out there.
DB: I think the biggest thing out there is the perfectionism trap -
people don't want to share things until they think they've got them
perfect. In this situation, you want to share it before it's almost an
idea. For a lot of people, that's the hardest thing.
TJL: And the most important thing - rather than hording the ideas you
have, you can use the R&D team to realize not only those, but a ton
more. There are also other ways in which you can use an R&D team.
Somebody can just make an offhand comment in an email, and Boom!
DB: That's another key thing about this - we talk about needs and
environments. If you have an R&D team, you're always surrounding
yourself with new ideas. Like you said, an offhand remark can really
trigger something. Having an R&D team is like having a group of
collaborators that are interested in your and your topic, and that
creates this whole ecology of ideas and makes you more productive. Not
only do you have more ideas to choose from, but the quality and value
added will be increased because you'll be in touch with the
marketplace.
TJL: Yeah, and often creators are in touch with the mountain top! You
also mentioned earlier about evolution and environments; they really
do becoming an evolving environment. Those evolving environments are
going to evolve you individually as well, as long as you're open.
Dave, how did you make the leap?
DB: It's a very interesting thing. Part of being a good R&D receiver
is - I think it's being welcome and open to all kinds of input. I've
found recently that when they tell me an idea stinks, it's actually
kind of welcome. It's like, 'I'm glad I fund out now, rather than
spending so much time on this idea!"
TJL: Yes, it doesn't mean you're not going to do it, but you just have
to find a way to make it work.
DB: Another thing is that the team doesn't say it stinks too often,
but they do say, 'I haven't a clue what you're talking about!" (laugh)
TJL: And that forces you to be what? (laugh)
DB: Much more clear! That brings me back down to earth.
TJL: Yes, they're a lot like translators that way. The creative
process is messy, but you can get better with the R&D team.
TJL: I agree. You also need to manage yourself in terms of how you
respond to things. Some people are good at being organizing and being
affected by a lot of input, while others really tend to get to
'overwhelm'. For some people, you have to grow a new capability of
handling lots of input - sifting through lots of emails, organizing,
and collating.
We're not really used to getting 200 emails on the same subject within
24 hours!
DB: Yes; it's not a normal thing!
TJL: And you can hire someone to go through and organize it, or what I
do is, go through the first 50, look for the one key thing in each
email - which takes about 15 seconds- and then just delete, delete,
delete! You're really looking for the gold among the ore. Also, for
some other personal benefits - besides more and better products - that
I've experienced. There's a certain virtual comfort in people sending
emails on things I'm interested in. I'm never short on ideas, and I'm
never short on things to toss out to them because of it. And you know
what? 9 times out of 10, there are at least 5-10 percent of the people
in my group online at any given time, so often, I'll get at least 5-7
responses back within just a few minutes! If you don't get any email,
you know it's a REALLY bad idea! Any personal benefits of your
experience?
DB: On the personal side, the biggest thing for me was being able to
share ideas before I thought they were perfect. It's about not being
so much of a solo operator - it's just a big thing.
TJL: And a lot of creative people are solo operators - they're not
really collaborators, and you can really develop it through the R&D
team. Another professional benefit is that you can become known
better; I've become known better and I know Coachville has too. If
you're creating intellectual property, you're going to be developing
and enhancing your own reputation. You want people to know what you're
up to - you're going to get business from it, and people are going to
be forming positive opinions about you and looking to you for
leadership in a particular topic.
Why not start with an R&D team and have them educate you about what
you don't know? You'll become an expert in a hurry. You don't have to
be an expert in a topic to start an R&D team.
DB: That is true - when I first started working on branding, I didn't
know much about it, so I led free teleclasses for 50 weeks. I didn't
call it an R&D team, but that's really what it was for me - I learned
so much about the subject.
TJL: That's great! We're going to have the study group hosts to lead
their group at this point lead the folks in their group through a few
exercises that are in their manual. We'd also like to suggest if
you're listening to this on Real Audio, we'd like to think abut having
your group work on this one question - What would I like to work on
that would merit having an R&D team? Most folks will really be
attracted to your topic, not just you. What would be so exciting for
you to learn about or create that you'd want to start an R&D team?
Dave, thanks for being with us. We'll have the study group host turn
off the Real Audio player, and we'll wait for just a moment while
that's done.
(Thomas asks Dave to take over the group for a few minutes at this
point)
DB: Well, how is everyone doing? Okay, why don't we work on that
exercise for a bit? What would be something that would compel you to
start an R&D team?
Donna: I'm actually in the process of creating both a workshop and an
e-book on making yourself over from the inside out. I think an R&D
team would be really valuable for the workshop and workbook portion of
that.
Yes, very good! That's a great example.
Joyce: I'm just starting to do teleclasses on feng shui and I want to
switch that into an e-book. I think starting an R&D team would really
help me with the e-book.
XXX: I'd join that R&D team
DB: I think a lot of people would - it's an interesting idea! For
example, if you were doing a teleclass, they could help you with the
title of the class. That's the key t get people signing up for the
class.
Joyce: I got that from taking your class. Someone in the group came up
with the name for me! I'm doing my first 5-day next week. Basically,
your class served as the R&D team.
DB: I appreciate you saying that. One thing I hope to accomplish in
that class is to have people set up an R&D team for all aspects of a
program - the title, the slogan, the description, and the content. All
that, you can come up with it yourself, but it's great to have an R&D
team. That's a wonderful thing to use an R&D team for. And, the next
level of this is that if you get into the practice of using an R&D
team in your first teleclass, then you can just make that process the
way you do things. Part of your process of inventing things is the R&D
team.
TJL: Dave, I'm back.
DB: We were just talking about what we'd use an R&D team for.
TJL: Great! if anyone else wants to come up with an idea, and you want
us to walk you through the process, we can do that with you. We can
also do a Q&A for managing the process.
DB: We went through with Joyce on how to use the R&D tea, so that
would be great.
XXX: How would you respond to someone who's interested in the concept
but has the fear around somebody taking their idea and running with
it?
TJL: And you've got a client that you'd like to suggest an R&D team
idea to?
XXX: Well, as a study group host, I'm thinking there might be some
participants - I'm on one of your R&D teams myself so I see how it
really works, but it's an interesting question on how you're able to
share so much and still really own it.
TJL: Well, ideas really aren't copyright-able. Often, I've had people
working on the same idea I was and neither of us knew it. The 2nd
thing is that if someone is going to take the execution ideas and
re-format it, that's a legal issue. Are you talking about how someone
doesn't want to release something because it's going to be the
cornerstone of their business?
XXX: Yes, and sometimes people will seek out your advice, but won't
give you any details to help them. They want to just horde the
information.
TJL: If they're coming from that place, I wouldn't bother. They'd have
so far to go to really embrace the R&D team concept. If you're open to
the idea, you understand that you have lots of ideas so you won't
worry so much about just one. It's just human nature, so I wouldn't
push it. An R&D team is really for someone who wants to create
something in a hurry and have it be good. My focus is really never on
the idea or the product; it's really on the end-user. If you can get
them to switch their focus, that may take them off the control issue.
Who else has any question about the process?
XXX: My big question is that I have a big list of people I email
regularly, but it's not in the hundreds. How would I add people for my
R&D team?
TJL: I would start with people you know and give them an incentive for
joining. Find a topic that they would be excited about, and let them
know you're going to be working on it for about 6 months. You'll give
about 5-10 percent of your list to come in with you, but make sure
they have a real reason to join. Make sure they see the benefits to
them. Also, one of the resources we'll have for this module is a
document on understanding the benefits of an R&D team that you can
include in your letter. I think you can be passionate about the idea,
but always be coming from their perspective.
XXX: Great; thank you.
TJL: Who's next?
Allison: How do you make sure that your R&D team is representative
enough of your target market so the feedback is truly valuable?
TJL: It's almost always truly valuable. You can certainly pre-qualify
people who come into your team, but I generally don't try to do that
too much. I think if you get a wide range of folks on your team -
those with lots of knowledge and those who don't have a clue - you
never know who's going to give you the best advice.
Allison: Do you ever find yourself second-guessing the feedback from
your team?
TJL: What does that mean?
Allison: Maybe you really have a sense of where you want something to
go and the feedback is challenging that, do you have a sense that you
still know better?
TJL: Yes. You can tell in how they're phrasing their comments where
they are on the continuum of evolution. I've got people on the team
that when they really hate something, I know it's going to be a huge
success - and it always works! Some people just don't get it, and they
never will, but they're great to have on the team. On one topic, I got
35% negative, which is unusual for most of the team. I knew I was
going to move forward with the project, but I am also mindful that
it's going to turn off a lot of people.
Allison: So you don't just accept all the feedback you get?
TJL: Yes, it may be useful, but it's not gospel.
Susan: If you start your R&D team around a product, and it has a
shelf-life and you want to move on to something else, do you invite
them to a new team or find new people?
TJL: I generally just have one team that's an ad-hoc group. What you
can do is invite them to join the new team, and offer them the
opportunity to either stay on or opt-out.
XXX: Thank you.
Katie: Could you talk a bit about converting an existing group to an
R&D team? I have a focused group that I've been using for a couple of
years as an informal R&D team, but I'd like to use them much more in
that way. Can I move into R&D with them, or should I just continue
using them informally like that?
TJL: Okay, they've been acting as an R&D team, but you haven't labeled
them as such?
Katie: Not really, because the kinds of things I share have been few
and far between.
TJL: I would make a big deal out of the fact that you're starting an
R&D team and invite them. Let them know if they'd rather not, that's
okay, but that you'd love to have them. Maybe you could educate them
in their new role, too.
Katie: I think the quality of responses would be better too.
TJL: Yes, and they're really competing with each other to get your
attention - that is part of what's happening. They want to be
recognized, make their point, and change your mind. Talk about
evolution!
Katie: Thanks!
TJL: We have just a couple minutes left; I'd love to get feedback from
you about the notion of R&D teams.
Donna: I think it was very helpful to think about the benefits to
them, as opposed to just yourself.
TJL: Great; who's next?
XXX: I have more clarity in how to communicate to others about an R&D
team.
TJL: Thank you. Who else?
Joyce: I like the feedback I got on my idea.
Katie: I like the idea of being more formal with the R&D team - that
helps me understand and focus my thinking even more.
TJL: Yes, and they'll be able to talk about it better too! It gives
them a more formal role.
DB: I just wanted to highlight the same point about helping them
understand the benefits of being on an R&D team.
TJL: Yes. We need to educate them on why they'd want to bother at all.
Thank you for joining us - bye now!
end.
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