The title is incredibly cheesy and the cover design doesn’t help. This is definitely a self-identified self-help book (you can cringe now). But regardless of how much I detested the way it looked, I picked it up and I’m happy that I did. Long story short: it works. Within a few hours of practice, I’m able to recall 24 randomized playing cards (number and suit) in the exact order just by looking at each card once.

It sounds pretty amazing and it’s definitely a nice party trick, but the theory behind it is quite simple. This brings me back to my undergrad days as a psychology major.

1. Memories with more links and associations are stronger than memories with fewer links because your brain has more points of access
2. Memories of people are usually stronger than memories of objects because people are animated and with each interaction associations are strengthened

So to not spoil the book too much, the author provides a series of exercises to strengthen memory links and sometimes it’s a little bit scary as to how fast memories can flood into your conscience. People, places and things that you haven’t thought about in years resurface and all of your memory becomes more vivid.

Of course it’s not all about real-world associations, but also about linkages that bend reality and this is where it gets interesting. Some exercises force you to think outside of the laws of nature. For example, imagine a leather basketball that feels like ice, sticky like toffee, smells like lavender, and pops like a balloon when you bounce it. When you’re reading this, you’re probably having a hard time grasping all of these concepts into one visualization because like I was, the description breaks all the conventional rules of how I identified a traditional basketball.

The purpose of these visualizations is to lower the confines of creativity and let outrageous linkages take place. And when you need to draw upon out-of-the-box thinking, new linkages will literally defy the laws of physics. And it was for this reason that really drew me to developing a better memory. As children, our creativity was limitless, but as we grew up, the rules of science, nature and society began to box in our creative abilities.

But don’t take my word for it, go get the book.

I wrote this thesis for the fulfillment of my Master of Science degree at MIT. Not to bore you with the details, I was interested in the methodology of sparking innovation within established firms. There are countless articles that rave about the “innovativeness” of startups and how established companies are in danger of extinction. However, we all know that some companies (e.g., Microsoft, Apple, 3M) have stood the test of time and I began to uncover the methodologies behind their success. I pieced together a lot of prior research and came up with a 3 part methodology of sparking innovation within large organizations that was also sustainable.

If you haven’t fallen asleep yet, the full abstract is below and you can click here to download my thesis.

Abstract
Past research has solidified that breakthrough innovations are often prevalent in the context of entrants rather than incumbents. However, market leaders have been able to survive the disruption caused by market newcomers despite the irregularities of breakthrough innovations within incumbents. This paper will connect current research in corporate intrapreneurship from all perspectives including organizational behavior, corporate governance, incentive programs, and cultural relevance. Drawing from published literature and case studies this research will substantiate the following claim that the success of leading intrapreneurial organizations is due to their capability to support an ecosystem of innovative organizational choices in accordance with their goals and objectives. This paper will propose that there are three main steps to fostering a sustainable startup mentality within an organization. These phases include idea generation, supporting new corporate ventures, and creating a positive learning cycle. Within each phase, the firm has to pay special attention to important aspects of the organization including organizational culture, corporate structure, venture selection, team formation, venture programs, supportive infrastructure, sustainable venture development and positive learning cycles.

How did you do it?
This is by far, the most common question I get. Many people ask about the formula that we used to achieve our Kickstarter goals, but the important thing to recognize is that campaigns like this one can’t be replicated with a simple formula. The strategies that we used specifically fit our project and the personalities of all those involved. The campaign was essentially a creative experience that let our supporters know who we are and the passion project that brought us together. That is, formula highly depends on the people and the project and for all those who are thinking of launching a Kickstarter campaign need to first ask themselves “what kind of experience do you want to convey to your supporters?”

How long did it take to reach your $50,000 goal and what type of work was involved?
The project was listed on Kickstarter for 60 days, however, we took the first 30 days to plan and test different strategies. And we didn’t officially launch our social media and publicity campaigns until the 30th day, which was the turning point for the campaign.

During the last 30 days, we hit the social media avenues including, Facebook and Twitter. We also ran countless fundraising events around Toronto including talks, parties, and the ever so popular Epic Garage Sale, where countless supporters donated and bought items in support. Our family and friends were also a huge component of our success. They were the ones who generously donated their time and resources to help us spread the word that got us off the ground and eventually lead to the 3000+ Facebook likes, and over 100,000 visitors to our Kickstarter site within just 30 days.

What were your backer prizes and why did you choose them?
We came up with a series of prizes that really spoke to our audience, the film we’re trying to make, and the personalities behind the film. Since Tiffany typically breaks the ice with these grandmothers via the international language of food, she’s been able to learn some delicious recipes from the grandmother’s whom she met. So for one of our prizes, we are making recipe videos where Tiffany and some of her team will prepare some home cooked meals. We’re also in the process of collecting books and dvd’s from comfort women related organizations to send to some of our pledges. At the higher levels, we provided limited edition prizes such as getting the pledger’s name in the credits and tickets to the premier.

Who were your backers on Kickstarter and how did they hear about the project?
Just about everyone came out in support of the film. Though initially, it was our family and close friends who really went out of their way to help us spread the word and when all the social media and press hit a critical mass, the campaign just took off over night. Individuals, groups, organizations all started to support us throughout our campaign. We’ve had an amazing set of volunteers whom dedicated their weekends to help us strategize, write emails, design brochures and help us at all of our events. Majority of our supporters on Kickstarter were complete strangers who read about us through blogs, facebook, the news, twitter, and our events. The extent of how fast social media allows information to be spread was contagious.

What is required post-Kickstarter campaign?
There is still much to be done. The down side of a film project is that many of the deliverables won’t be ready until the film is complete. However, we are aiming to send out parts of our pledge prizes in the next two months. We are trying to engage our supporters as frequently as possible. Answering their questions and keeping them posted on the production process promptly is important to us. Social media has been a great tool to help us bridge that gap.

Would you do it again?
The Kickstarter experience just further proved that new avenues of funding such as online crowd-funding can give people (i.e., artists, film-makers) more options and approaches to financing their projects, which would have been impossible before. For example, investors would typically be hesitant to a take chance on first-time filmmakers. However, platforms like Kickstarter enabled us to speak directly to the audience and that changed the game completely. Involving our audience in the filmmaking process not only gives our supporters a sense of ownership over the film, but it also lets potential funders know that this film has a following and that they can’t wait to see it.

I can definitely see myself working on other Kickstarter projects to help strategize and brand the project. As for the Within Every Woman project, we wouldn’t do the same campaign for the film again, since it was an experience that can’t be replicated and we are still feeling the momentum of that success. However, we’ve always wanted to extend the project past the life of the film with an interactive component that will educate people around the world about the Comfort Women history. In conjunction with the film we would like to make available the interviews of all the grandmothers that we have collected over the years and provide an online story-telling platform that will help to tell their stories to future generations. And at that time, we may consider using Kickstarter again.

Dating aside, social discovery is all about creating serendipitous experiences by allowing individuals to find people via similar interests. This mode of finding and connecting via similar interests are surprisingly rare. Even the three main social media platforms lack a solid social discovery tool. LinkedIn is focused on building professional networks and provide profile details that only pertain to job hunting (e.g., education, work experience, etc.). Facebook and Google+’s find friend function is purely based on common connections and not interests. Meanwhile, Twitter only allows searches via known names, handles and more recently hashtags.

More importantly, social discovery based searches will be especially significant within existing organizations such as large corporations and associations. In the age of the 3-year career, employers are scrambling to lower employee turnover and their expensive onboard training costs. Meanwhile associations are losing members to other accreditation organizations in a grossly saturated market. Organizations that will stay ahead in the coming years will be those that can create a sense of belonging for their members. People long to feel part of something in large estranged cities; we just need a platform to enable us to have that small town feel again.

1. Business Analytics for the Masses

Analytics has always been intimidating to the average business owner, but since the introduction of Google Analytics and startups focusing small business analytics (e.g., Hubspot, Optify, Genius), harnessing the power of social media is no longer a daunting task. Going into 2013, we predict that there will be a host of software launched at integrating social media with on-premise and on-demand systems at the store or vendor level. Imagine flash sales dictated by Facebook likes or new weekly items commanded by Twitter.

2. Socializing with your TV

Last year, we witnessed the popularization of social media interacting with television shows and news broadcasts. From tweeting in your questions during the presidential debate, to voting for your favorite chef on Top Chef, to joining in the conversation on Oprah’s Lifeclass, social media has brought TV viewers back to the live TV experience. This coming year, TV will allow viewers more interaction with each other via apps like Zeebox and Miso. And with the recent partnership between Nielsen and Twitter, a new standard for Social TV Audience Metrics will soon be established.

3. The Validity of Mobile Advertising

Everything went to mobile in a big way 2012, but companies such as Facebook still struggled with monetizing mobile advertising. Yet, this space has been saturated with mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAds, and JumpTap, just to name a few. This new year will usher in real-time mobile ad bidding, hyper-local mobile campaigns, while predictive big data drive analytics will allow for smarter advertising. Imagine, push notifications for products and sales catered specifically to you as you enter your favorite store.