Course: Introduction to Personal Branding
Though the concept of personal branding isn’t new, the questions remain about how to create one and, more importantly, what it means to maintain and inhabit that brand. In the quest to improve my Professional/career brand, I took a course – “Introduction to Personal Branding“ on Coursera.
The main lessons for me that I would like to share are summarized below:
- Branding is holistic, it covers not just Professional but also Personal. The brand should be compatible with your beliefs and values (Your Three Cornerstone Words); those two You’s must be able to exist harmoniously.
- Setting up a search alert (e.g., Google search alert) for your name/key words, so that anytime it is mentioned you will be notified.
- The 80/20 rule: 80% of what you put out on social media should be content that is of interest to the people who follow you. 20% should be self-promotion.
Course: Circular Economy: An Introduction
A Circular Economy cycles valuable materials and products, produces and transports them using renewable energy. In the living world, one species’ waste is another’s food, and energy is provided by the sun. This is considered the inspiration for the Circular Economy.
The ‘rules’ or ‘principles’ that govern these natural systems and used to inform a Circular Economy; Waste = Food, Build resilience through diversity, Work with energy from renewable sources, and Think as a system.
I also learnt about the different views of the roots of the circular economy, and How can the circular economy provide solutions to the challenges our current linear economy.
I learnt about the three main business processes required to close loops: Acquisition, Reprocessing, and Remarketing. If any of these key processes fails, we do not have a closed loop.
Also, the different business value in a circular economy; sourcing value, environmental value, customer value, and informational value.
The three general barriers for refurbishment: Perception, International trade barriers and other regulatory barriers, and commitment from top management. Closing the loop through refurbishment needs to be a strategic business decision.
The three different categories of product-service business models: Product-oriented, Use-oriented, and Result-oriented. However, the transition from a product-oriented model to a result-oriented model is difficult. Typical barriers are the need to pre-finance the products that are offered as part of the service contract, the need to organize maintenance, repair and acquisition, and the need to change the “sell more, sell faster” culture of the organization.
The smaller the loop, the greater the profitability of the system. The two ways to extend the life of a product are either keeping the product in use for longer period, or by giving a product a second, third, etc., life. A product’s life can be extended by making it durable, easy to maintain and upgrade, and by making it repairable. Refurbishment and remanufacture also extend a product’s life.
The “Inertia Principle“ – Do not repair what is not broken, do not remanufacture something that can be repaired, do not recycle a product that can be remanufactured.
Thinking about remanufacturing upfront, during product design, can make the remanufacturing process more efficient and thus save a great deal of time and money. There is not much scientific knowledge available on the engineering and business aspects of remanufacturing. Remanufacturing is considered more ‘art’ than ‘science’, which is a missed opportunity.
This was a really interesting course and I would recommend it for any circular economy enthusiat.
