JD, MBA, LEED AP FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Transcription

1 JD, MBA, LEED AP FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

2 Successful innovation is a dance. It requires openness to the unknown, skillful application of established forms and the determination to forge a magical connection with the audience. That connection, that synergy, ensures a joyful and enduring relationship. It is the difference between good and great dance. It is what keeps the audience coming back and it is what will keep your customers buying the product or service I create for you. CALL ME LESLIE. If you want to build a ship, do not gather all your men in order to cut down trees, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY An innovator by training and talent, I invented a computer keyboard that is now bringing comfort to millions globally through sale by Logitech. A team builder, I created new relationships between environmentalists and developers that resulted in the application of innovative clean wastewater technology at UCSF-Mission Bay that protects San Francisco Bay. Attracted to new industries, I recently devised a financial product that turns energy savings into positive cash flow with zero upfront cost for the energy customer and high returns for investors. A real innovator is never done. There is always a new dance, a new audience and new music. My innovations will redefine your industry and introduce new solutions that make your customers want to dance with you forever.

3 INNOVATE THE WAVE KEYBOARD

4 A KEYBOARD FOR THE HUMAN HAND? SERIOUSLY. An innovator by training and talent, I honed in on the imperfections of the computer keyboard, observing that while our fingers are different lengths, the keys lie in rows on a plane. The Wave keyboard was a human-centric design project from beginning to end. It began in my living room on Prosper Street, the namesake of my company Prosper Street Technologies, when I happened upon a customer pain point because it was my own. The pain was in my hands and it was coming from my computer keyboard. My journey to global distribution took me through a discovery-driven planning process, an assessment of value propositions for consumers and corporate partners, and the founding and managing of my company. Insights into three market contexts public health, product lifecycle, and consumer expectations supported the business case for developing a new user experience for the keyboard. In the public health context, the incidence of computer-related pain, and fear of it, created an enormous market. In the product lifecycle context, the product was so mature that companies were giving away the keyboard. In the consumer expectations context, consumers were embracing products designed for harmony with human body. So, I embarked on a discovery-driven planning process. The novel, useful and non-obvious innovation that won me a utility patent came from the observation that while keys on the keyboard lay on a linear row in a plane, human fingers were of varying lengths that formed a V shape when straight and a U shape when relaxed. Keys shaped for the human hand offered two value propositions: increased comfort and accuracy. To explore and define the opportunity, I constructed a series of prototypes, iterating based on my acute observations of, and conversations with, users. My openness to difficult or unexpected feedback was a key to success.

5 PHASE 1: Stationary silicone model PHASE 3: Refined operable prototype PHASE 2: First operable prototype PHASE 4: Presented at first Logitech meeting Simultaneously, I began discovery to uncover the challenges of innovating in a mature and commoditized market. While the value proposition for consumers was clear, keyboard retailers and bundlers did not intuitively see value of a radical change to a product stalwart. The challenge was to break into a highly concentrated industry by convincing one of the major keyboard retailers to stretch its capability to sell users a new philosophy of computer keyboarding. keyboard manufacturer in the world, NMB. The business model made sense for both companies. NMB stood to gain a competitive advantage if its customers adopted a new and novel product over which it had exclusive manufacturing rights. Prosper Street gained a channel to decision-makers at Logitech. While iterating the prototypes and defining the business model, I formed Prosper Street Technologies with a team of key influencers in the keyboard industry. Since a channel to market was the critical obstacle, I formed a partnership with the largest Together, we communicated our vision successfully, introducing the product that has redefined the way millions of users touch technology and received accolades around the world. CHECK OUT VIDEO AT: FINAL: Logitech launches the Wave keyboard

6 DEVELOP CAPABILITIES GAME PLAN FOR MISSION BAY

7 What do we want? No overflows to the Bay. New technology that separates waste and storm water. Result Everybody wins! What do we want? Project approval. Community support. Environmental stewardship. Risk reduction. LESLIE represents NGOs in negotiating with Catellus How do we get it? PROMOTE GOODWILL FIND COMMON INTERESTS FOSTER COLLABORATION PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR SUCCESS DEVELOPERS & NGOs INNOVATE TOGETHER. COOL. San Francisco Baykeeper is part of a network of Keepers that grew out of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr s. Hudson Riverkeeper. My role as Attorney and Director of San Francisco Baykeeper s Waterfront Project was to reduce the projected negative environmental impacts of two popular redevelopment projects covering over 400 acres the San Francisco Giants Stadium and UCSF Mission Bay Campus. I was armed with a slew of federal, state and local environmental laws that I considered a very last resort. My success came from creative negotiating and overcoming old animosities that allowed developers and environmentalists to solve shared problems together. The initial barrier to negotiation was the developers concern that an agreement with BayKeeper would open them up to the demands of many other San Francisco NGO stakeholders. I responded by convincing 26 NGOs to be represented by one umbrella organization. As head of that organization, I formed a technical committee that, working with developers, identified an approach to sewage management that eliminated sewage-related impact on the Bay. San Francisco adopted the new technology as best practice for the multi-billion dollar rebuild of its 150-year old wastewater system. I achieved this result by applying my standard three-part approach to business and legal problems: 1. assume all parties share goodwill and find their common interests; 2. look at the whole system and, where necessary, create a new structure that fosters collaboration; and 3. provide the resources for the collaboration to succeed.

8 BUILD BUSINESS CREATING VALUE IS AN INSIDE JOB

9 TEAM BUILDING. EVANGELISM. SUSTAINABILITY. METRICS. LET S TALK. Sustainability is a mission and a practice. First and foremost, it depends on people. I create strong sustainability cultures and business models that leverage shared values and goals to secure measurable business success. Seeing an opportunity to pass the high yields delivered by cost savings from small and medium size energy efficiency projects along to investors, I devised a portfolio approach. The energy customer receives the benefit of an instant increase in cash flow for no upfront cost. The investors receive a percentage of the energy savings, creating returns in the high teens. Building on Sports Basement progressive culture, I communicated the theory and behavior of environmental sustainability to over 400 employees and hundreds of thousands of customers. One result was a broad reuse, recycle and compost program that diverts thousands of pounds of waste from landfill and advertises, through action, the Basement s commitment to its community and the planet. Leading an enthusiastic team of San Francisco W Hotel staff and student LEED professionals, I instituted green processes to operate and maintain the hotel, and collected and submitted documentation to secure the hotel s LEED certification. Now, guests can eschew cars as city transportation and use the W s loaner bicycles! The resources buildings consume impact customer comfort and employee productivity as well as energy costs. For Cisco Systems, I developed an innovative financial model that allows the finance team to calculate the dollar value of the impacts of green building on employees. The information allows Cisco to make more informed decisions about capital allocations.

10 SUCCESFUL INNOVATION IS A DANCE. TAKE MY HAND. LET S DANCE. JD, MBA, LEED AP San Francisco, CA USA leslie@lesliecaplan.com linkedin.com/in/lesliecaplan lesliecaplan.com