Update

In this Issue:

  • ESA Expands Use of So what? who cares? why you?®
  • WKI Certification Program
  • WKI Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary!
  • The Power of Storytelling – FLC Virtual Forum
  • Monthly Tool Talk Session Kicks Off January 15th

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Next In Person Certification

Join us in sunny Orlando Florida, February 18-19th 2015, for our winter certification session. 

Register here for Orlando, Florida - February 18-19th, 2015.

Not able to travel?  Consider Our online certification option.

 

WKI Coach Approach Infographic - Download Now!

Download the WKI Coach Approach Poster

WKI is proud of the exceptional talent of its coaching community and their commitment to develop founders with new ideas. This poster celebrates the excellence of our Certified Coaches and showcases their collective best practices through 9 core values.

Download this poster

 

Monthly Tool Talk Session

Our very first "Tool Talk" session will be held on January 15th, 2015.

WKI Certified Coaches — Accept the invitation to our the Google Group to receive the dial in details.

 

WKI Celebrates 10 Years

Tell us your story – share your experience using So what? who cares? why you?®

 

WKI Winter Newsletter

European Space Agency (ESA) Expands Use of So what? who cares? why you?®

WKI has just completed its latest development project for the European Space Agency. The project was to develop an online version of So what? who cares? why you?® branded for the European Space Agency General Support Technology Programme (GSTP). This platform of online tools will be used by industry to develop project proposals submitted to the GSTP programme for funding consideration. There are now five online toolkits at ESA using
So what? who cares? why you?®

You can view a toolkit here.

WKI Certification Program

Certification Program Kick-offWKI kicked off its Fall Certification program in Indianapolis, Indiana in October.  Participants spanned the globe from Asia to America, with expertise reaching from corporate innovation to university commercialization and incubation.

It was a great two-days of information sharing, tool modeling and mapping and pre-incubation program planning.  These Certified Coaches “in training” are now engaging with Wendy through web conferencing to complete their certification requirements. 

Here’s what some of the participants had to say:

“Wendy, I just wanted to thank you for the excellent WKI training in Indianapolis! It has provided me with a solid foundation to implement within my organization. The tools are rich and very practical for insight generation and determining next steps within a fast paced business setting. In fact, I believe the “gold” in the WKI program for me was the tools themselves, they holistically funnel creative ideas into real world application. It’s all about making real impact as an innovation professional.” 
Peter Holocher, Director of Innovation, FONA International.

"The WKI Certification training is inspiring, engaging and high-energy.  I had no idea of the power of these simple tools until I spent time exploring them with Wendy.  I came away with a real-world framework for coaching our clients, and for them to coach and be coached by their peers - the very essence of effective business incubation."  
Scott Koorndyk, President, TEC Dayton.

Next In Person Certification:

Certification ProgramJoin us in sunny Orlando Florida, February 18-19th 2015, for our winter certification session.  You’re guaranteed two days of engaging tool training and hands-on practice in the WKI Coach Approach.  The WKI certification program is hands-on and high impact, with a “standing room always” style.  Most important, you’ll come away with a suite of program materials and step-by-step guidance to launch your pre-incubation program.

Register here for Orlando, Florida - February 18-19th, 2015.

Not able to travel?  Consider Our online certification option.  Join with others online in live sessions hosted by Wendy and earn your WKI certification at your own pace and from your own office.  Register here.

What’s Your Story? The Power of Storytelling – FLC Virtual Forum

FLC Virtual ForumNothing makes a great idea shine better than a compelling story.  That was Wendy’s soapbox at the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Virtual Forum last month where she presented a session on how to write compelling technology fact sheets. Sessions like this are great to get your juices flowing to think about familiar topics in new and different ways – and for Wendy, it was an opportunity to share some ideas about how to make the value proposition of new ideas more compelling through storytelling. 

Below are 3 take aways from Wendy’s presentation.  If you’d like to listen to the one-hour session, you can access it at the FLC Virtual Market Forum .  There’s a wealth of information and resources available at this forum, so take a moment to visit. 

What’s Your Story?  3 Take Aways

At a certain point, the outputs of your So what? who cares? why you?® tools will need to weave their way into written form – a technology “two-pager”, a “ten-slide” presentation, or whatever format your audience requests. Here are some simple yet powerful techniques you can use to transform these documents from dense technical briefs into captivating stories:

  1. More Story, Less Information – Stories resonate more than facts, so invest time to think about the storyline for your idea. Make a human connection inside your document by telling stories about users and how they would interact with the idea. People become engaged when stories are told about personal experiences, or use case scenarios because they create a real-world context.  Facts about your idea are important, but it’s the story that will people will remember and repeat.

  2. Categorize Things into “Threes” - Most of us have trouble remembering more than three things, so help your audience by categorizing things into three main buckets. I suggest to articulate a value proposition, you use “So what? who cares? why you?®”  You can form full sentences for each of these questions in this way:
1. What is Your Concept?
2. Why is it Valuable?
3. How is it Different?? 

Next, organize your points into these three areas.  I also like to use a technique here called your “three words” – what are the 3 key points you want the reader to retain.  What 3 words best articulate the value proposition for the idea – these 3 words should be repeated throughout each of the 3 sections – make it simple for people reading or listening to your presentation to recall it.

  1.  
  2.  
  3. Make Words & Data Points Visual – Your choice of words are instrumental in painting a mental picture in the minds of your audience, so invest time to select visual words.  Analogies and metaphors are one technique to create this visual connection.  Sometimes it’s a simple as the words and phrases themselves:  “the bony part of the eardrum”, “the size of a smartphone” or “the size of a football helmet” – these phrases create the type of mental picture that helps an audience to recall.  Finally, make your data points visual also.  For example, replace whole numbers like 385,000, with ratios such as “3 out of every 10”. Data points presented in this manner help people quickly comprehend and retain them. 

Join WKI’s Monthly Tool Talk!

Starting January 15th, Wendy will host a live monthly “tool talk” discussion online, focusing on tips and techniques to harness the power of each tool in the So what? who cares? why you?® methodology. 

These short 45-minute “tool bursts” are open to anyone looking for a refresher on best practices for using the So what? who cares? why you®? tools. The format will be a “lunch and learn” style, informal and conversational.  And best of all, they’re FREE.

The first “Tool Talk” session will be held on January 15th at 12:00 noon EST – the topic will be “The Value Chain Mapping Tool”.  Sign up here to be notified of the ToolTalk sessions and to receive the dial in details.  (Note: WKI Certified Coaches will have access to archived recordings through the Coaches Library).

Follow us on Twitter (@wendykennedycom) for “Tool Talk” notices.

WKI Celebrates 10 Years & The Launch of a New Toolkit

10 Year Anniversary2015 marks the tenth anniversary of WKI and So what? who cares? why you?® – it will be a year full of celebrations and also the release of a new edition of our flagship book, So what? who cares? why you?® 

What We Need From You:  Tell us your story – share your experience using So what? who cares? why you?®  We’re looking for examples, nuggets, testimonials, pictures and more to sprinkle throughout the new book.  We want to include as many customer stories as we can, so please send us yours!

Email Wendy directly at: wendy@wendykennedy.com or follow us on Twitter @wendykennedycom

 

The Last Word – Robin Williams

“No Matter What People Tell You, Words and Ideas Can Change The World”

 

Wendy's Signature

Wendy Kennedy

Founder & President
WKI – wendykennedy.com inc

www.wendykennedy.com

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