Exploring the Appeal of Entrepreneurial Training Programs 

 Through the Design Thinking Visualization Tool 

 The Challenge 

 I am the Head of Communication at one of the leading private sector developmental agencies . As a   governmental entity , we play a pivotal role in the establishment , development & growth of SMEs within   the country . The support we offer is delivered through smart funding , export promotion & training   programs , which are at the core of the challenge at hand . In my current role I work closely with the   Learning & Development Department to promote our myriad training programs to local entrepreneurs ;   however , and despite the fact that our programs are offered free of charge , the number of participants   enrolling in these programs has dwindled noticeably over the last several months . And while our   portfolio of training programs seemed to be wide - ranging from a distance & the performance of our   marketing campaigns was reaching the primary audience , it became apparent that we had to take a   deeper dive into the challenge to unravel the root cause of the sluggish program uptake . 

 Tool Selection 

 The other challenge that we had to overcome was convincing the Learning & Development team ( L&D )   that the problem we faced was likely more complex than we had originally thoughts . It was obvious that   the L&D team would push back & focus on secondary issues that were unrelated to the training   programs themselves , thus I opted to utilize the Visualization Tool in order to achieve a sense of   agreement amongst the L&D team & align on a broader level with other relevant stakeholders . We had   to make sure that we were asking the right question before we even attempted to find the appropriate   solution . For this specific challenge , the Visualization Tool was used for the exploration phase , in order   to identify certain areas within the entrepreneurial journey that might have been overlooked in the   training program development phase . 

 Application 

 It was clear from the beginning that for the Visualization Tool to generate tangible impact & actionable   insights we had to secure a diverse group of participants in the Exploration Session . The session   consisted of the L&D team , members of the Customer Excellence team – that is responsible for gauging   the feedback of people that complete our training programs – and finally a diverse group of   entrepreneurs ( startup founders ) that volunteered to take part in the exercise . The session kicked - off   with each of the five entrepreneurs taking a few minutes to draw their daily “ entrepreneurial journey ”   on a whiteboard , while highlighting the key components of their business . Having each startup founder   illustrate how he or she view his or her own business gave everyone participating in the session a visual ,   inside peek into the mind of the entrepreneur . 

 The second step involved grouping each entrepreneur with two members of the L&D team , as well as a   member of the Customer Excellence team . In parallel , and on a separate whiteboard , we wrote down all   the current training programs that were on offer – roughly 15 programs – with a brief description of   each , for the teams to use as reference . We then asked each team to take a closer look at the   entrepreneurial journey that was assigned to them and try to match the programs with the various   components within each business , with the sole purpose of identifying which programs were relevant & 

 which ones were not . Each team was given 10 minutes to complete this task , and they were asked to   present their findings in a large table template that was hung on the wall for everyone to view . 

 The final and most important step required each team to go around the room for 15 minutes & assess   the various tables that were completed in step two , taking note of the programs that were relevant &   the ones that were not . They were then given 25 minutes to revisit all the entrepreneurial journey   illustrations in the room & identify at least three components that were not addressed by any of the   current training programs . Lastly , all whiteboards & tables were removed from the room & replaced   with five blank 3 - column tables , in which each team was asked to list the three programs they would   keep , the three programs they would remove and the three business areas that were not addressed by   any program on offer . Upon the conclusion of the session , the entrepreneurial journey illustrations were   recreated in PowerPoint – to be used as reference by the L&D team – and the final tables were   recreated in Excel sheets for the next phase of the Design Thinking process : What If . 

 Insight 

 The Visualization exercise , within an exploration context , was tremendously enlightening for everyone   involved , as the L&D team was able to visualize the entrepreneurial journey from the founder ’s   perspective . Numerous insights emerged from the session , including some key observations that could   potentially reshape the manner in which our training programs are both designed & delivered . We   quickly realized that a one - size - fits - all approach was outdated , as each entrepreneur perceived their   business differently , including the areas in which they required training . It was also obvious that the   entrepreneurs were at different stages of growth , and each stage presented its own set of unique set of   challenges that could be addressed through specialized training programs . Moreover , and through   engaging directly with the entrepreneurs , the L&D team realized the value of adopting a lean mindset   when developing new programs , and the importance of validating their purpose & modules within a   select group of key customers before putting them on offer to a wider audience . The team is now well   prepared to tackle the What If stage with confidence , knowing that there is room for improvement ,   optimization & innovation . 

 Approach 

 Considering that the session placed the entrepreneurs ’ journey at the heart of the Visualization exercise ,   and alternative tool that could be used to solve future challenges is Mind Mapping . While every   entrepreneur thinks & manages their business differently , the Mind Mapping tool would allow us to   efficiently navigate future challenges by enabling the identification of patterns & insights from large   volumes of data that are gathered from a large sample of entrepreneurs from within our database & the   broader ecosystem . The Visualization tool is most effective when applied amongst smaller groups of   stakeholders , while utilizing the Mind Mapping tool allows us to process data from a much larger sample   size , which could yield more tangible & diverse insights ( hundreds of entrepreneurs from various   industries & sectors ) . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Exploring the Appeal of Entrepreneurial Training Programs 

 Through the Design Thinking Visualization Tool 

 The Challenge 

 I am the Head of Communication at one of the leading private sector developmental agencies . As a   governmental entity , we play a pivotal role in the establishment , development & growth of SMEs within   the country . The support we offer is delivered through smart funding , export promotion & training   programs , which are at the core of the challenge at hand . In my current role I work closely with the   Learning & Development Department to promote our myriad training programs to local entrepreneurs ;   however , and despite the fact that our programs are offered free of charge , the number of participants   enrolling in these programs has dwindled noticeably over the last several months . And while our   portfolio of training programs seemed to be wide - ranging from a distance & the performance of our   marketing campaigns was reaching the primary audience , it became apparent that we had to take a   deeper dive into the challenge to unravel the root cause of the sluggish program uptake . 

 Tool Selection 

 The other challenge that we had to overcome was convincing the Learning & Development team ( L&D )   that the problem we faced was likely more complex than we had originally thoughts . It was obvious that   the L&D team would push back & focus on secondary issues that were unrelated to the training   programs themselves , thus I opted to utilize the Visualization Tool in order to achieve a sense of   agreement amongst the L&D team & align on a broader level with other relevant stakeholders . We had   to make sure that we were asking the right question before we even attempted to find the appropriate   solution . For this specific challenge , the Visualization Tool was used for the exploration phase , in order   to identify certain areas within the entrepreneurial journey that might have been overlooked in the   training program development phase . 

 Application 

 It was clear from the beginning that for the Visualization Tool to generate tangible impact & actionable   insights we had to secure a diverse group of participants in the Exploration Session . The session   consisted of the L&D team , members of the Customer Excellence team – that is responsible for gauging   the feedback of people that complete our training programs – and finally a diverse group of   entrepreneurs ( startup founders ) that volunteered to take part in the exercise . The session kicked - off   with each of the five entrepreneurs taking a few minutes to draw their daily “ entrepreneurial journey ”   on a whiteboard , while highlighting the key components of their business . Having each startup founder   illustrate how he or she view his or her own business gave everyone participating in the session a visual ,   inside peek into the mind of the entrepreneur . 

 The second step involved grouping each entrepreneur with two members of the L&D team , as well as a   member of the Customer Excellence team . In parallel , and on a separate whiteboard , we wrote down all   the current training programs that were on offer – roughly 15 programs – with a brief description of   each , for the teams to use as reference . We then asked each team to take a closer look at the   entrepreneurial journey that was assigned to them and try to match the programs with the various   components within each business , with the sole purpose of identifying which programs were relevant & 

 which ones were not . Each team was given 10 minutes to complete this task , and they were asked to   present their findings in a large table template that was hung on the wall for everyone to view . 

 The final and most important step required each team to go around the room for 15 minutes & assess   the various tables that were completed in step two , taking note of the programs that were relevant &   the ones that were not . They were then given 25 minutes to revisit all the entrepreneurial journey   illustrations in the room & identify at least three components that were not addressed by any of the   current training programs . Lastly , all whiteboards & tables were removed from the room & replaced   with five blank 3 - column tables , in which each team was asked to list the three programs they would   keep , the three programs they would remove and the three business areas that were not addressed by   any program on offer . Upon the conclusion of the session , the entrepreneurial journey illustrations were   recreated in PowerPoint – to be used as reference by the L&D team – and the final tables were   recreated in Excel sheets for the next phase of the Design Thinking process : What If . 

 Insight 

 The Visualization exercise , within an exploration context , was tremendously enlightening for everyone   involved , as the L&D team was able to visualize the entrepreneurial journey from the founder ’s   perspective . Numerous insights emerged from the session , including some key observations that could   potentially reshape the manner in which our training programs are both designed & delivered . We   quickly realized that a one - size - fits - all approach was outdated , as each entrepreneur perceived their   business differently , including the areas in which they required training . It was also obvious that the   entrepreneurs were at different stages of growth , and each stage presented its own set of unique set of   challenges that could be addressed through specialized training programs . Moreover , and through   engaging directly with the entrepreneurs , the L&D team realized the value of adopting a lean mindset   when developing new programs , and the importance of validating their purpose & modules within a   select group of key customers before putting them on offer to a wider audience . The team is now well   prepared to tackle the What If stage with confidence , knowing that there is room for improvement ,   optimization & innovation . 

 Approach 

 Considering that the session placed the entrepreneurs ’ journey at the heart of the Visualization exercise ,   and alternative tool that could be used to solve future challenges is Mind Mapping . While every   entrepreneur thinks & manages their business differently , the Mind Mapping tool would allow us to   efficiently navigate future challenges by enabling the identification of patterns & insights from large   volumes of data that are gathered from a large sample of entrepreneurs from within our database & the   broader ecosystem . The Visualization tool is most effective when applied amongst smaller groups of   stakeholders , while utilizing the Mind Mapping tool allows us to process data from a much larger sample   size , which could yield more tangible & diverse insights ( hundreds of entrepreneurs from various   industries & sectors ) .
### Output: 