Future Studio
NOTE: Assignments and readings are listed on the day they are due. This schedule is a guide and will change over the course of the term–check back often!
Session 1: February 19
-Introductions
-Course overview and expectations
-Discuss videos shared prior to first session: Marjorie Kelly, Niki Okuk, Enspiral/Doug Rushkoff
-Collectivity and collaboration: Enspiral
-Wiki Demo
-Traditional business learning vs. Future Studio
-Full Circle Leadership
View / Read:
-The Business Ownership Revolution with Marjorie Kelly (ignore the food reference at the start). 27 minutes
–TED talk by Niki Okuk on worker ownership. Found here. 13 minutes
–EP. 113, Ensprial: Better Work Together, Team Human podcast interview with Ensprial members Susan Basterfield and Anthony Cabraal. Doug Rushkoff. 01:14:10 minutes
Session 2: February 26
-Discuss Kate Raworth video and readings
-Where we are at now: global conditions (group brainstorm and discussion)
-Threeing
View / Read:
–Kate Raworth talk from Regenerative Futures. 34 minutes
–Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world, Stephen Metcalf, The Guardian.
-Handout: Anthony Cabraal, “All things being equal: when community is the business” from Better Work Together, pages 89-100
-Handout: Alanna Irving, “Full Circle Leadership”, from Better Work Together, pages 132-141 (please fill out and upload a scan of your map to your wiki–you can use a scanner in the POD computer lab in VAPA–ask Anna Kroll for help, if needed).
Session 3: March 4
-Discuss readings/video
-Possible, plausible, probable futures
-Watch Donella Meadows on visioning (View in class)
-Primer on idea development and areas of interest.
-Remote visitor: Susan Basterfield from Enspiral.
View / Read:
–In a World of Systems, Donella Meadows Institute, 9 Minutes.
–Enough With Problem Solving, Let’s Start Creating, Robert Ransick.
-Handout: Francesca Pick, “Welcome to the age of participation” from Better Work Together, pages 62-80.
OPTIONAL: Handout: Joshua Vial, “More People Working on Stuff that Matters” from Better Work Together, pages 18-32
Session 4: March 11
-Discuss reading
-Presentation and discussion of ideas.
Read:
-Handout: “Creative Placemaking: How to Do It Well”, Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus
–Three Artists Who Think Outside the Box, By Nikil Saval, The New York Times.
–How Cooperation Jackson Is Transforming the Poorest State in the US, by Cat Johnson.
Due:
-Using visioning and preferred future work as a guide, articulate ideas for a new enterprise, business or organization. What do you want (vision)? What is it? What does it do? Who is it for?
Long Weekend (no class): March 18
COVID_19 Disruption (no class): March 25
Session 5: April 1
-Discuss reading
-Idea revision and feedback
–Business Model Canvas
–Value Proposition Canvas
***NOTE: Individual meetings with Robert sign-up for Monday, April 6.***
View / Read:
-Acumen, Module 1: Lean Startup Principles.
–“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries (Book Summary)
–MVP: Quickly Validate your Start-Up
–Design for Action, By Tim Brown and Roger Martin, Harvard Business Review, 2015
Due:
-Further revision and sharpening of your enterprise idea (moratorium on new ideas)
Session 6: April 8
-Value Proposition Canvas
-Business and Impact Assumptions
-In class: Prioritize your assumptions and formulate your hypothesis.
-Introduction to the interview guide
-Guest David Zicarelli ’83, CEO Cycling 74
-Organizational models and leadership
Read:
-Excerpt from Reinventing Organizations, by Frederic Laloux.
Due:
-Value Proposition Canvas (do this first)
-Business and Impact Assumptions
Session 7: April 15
-Interview guide and interviews
-First iteration of MVP experiment (prototype)
-Remote visitor: Joshua Kit Clayton, one of the founders of the collectively run Tamarack Cafe, in Oakland, CA. Recent press.
Read:
-Handout: Acumen Guidelines for Building an Interview Guide(post all answers typed out on your wiki)
-Handout reference: Acumen Discovering your Customers (no need for wiki response)
– Handout-guidelines for designing and experiment (MVP)(post all answers typed out on your wiki)
-Reference: Acumen Minimum Viable Products (no need for wiki response)
–MVP for Physical product (1 Min-no need for wiki response)
–MVP for Web or Mobile (1.5 Mins-no need for wiki response)
Due:
-Create Interview Guide and Identify 3 Individuals and conduct Interviews with them (3 minimum, see handout—do this first)
-Clearly defined first iteration of MVP experiment to test. This should include detailed steps/actions needed and a timeline for implementation (begin the work and complete multiple iterations[suggest at least 3] by May 6).
Plan Day (no class): April 22
Session 8: April 29
-Working session
-Interview updates (if relevant)
-Present MVP experiments
Read:
–Competitive analysis and market research
–Porter’s five forces
Due:
-Report on your first iterations of your MVP experiments (prototypes) to date (documented on wiki pages)
-Use competitive analysis and market research to further refine your MVP or build the next iteration.
Session 9: May 6
-Present MVP experiment (prototype) work
-Remote visitor: Chelsea Mozen, Director of Sustainability at Etsy
Reference: Etsy Makes the Case for C-Suite Buy-In Around Carbon Neutrality
Due:
-Completed MVP experiment (prototype) work (including documentation).
Session 10: May 13
Readings/references in google drive.
-Basic budget for startup costs (SBA site + spreadsheet in google drive)
-SWOT Analysis
-Communication and presentation strategies (The Minto Pyramid Principle in drive)
Due:
-Business model canvas draft in google document (shared link on your wiki) that includes research from the prototype work and creative brief.
-First round of creative (wordmark/logo, color palette etc.–if relevant to your enterprise at this time).
Session 11: May 20
Drafts of final presentation deck and practice.
Due:
-Business model canvas complete google document (shared link on your wiki) that includes research from the prototype work and creative brief.
Session 12: May 27
Final presentations.