First Class designed for Idea Generation Program

Our first class will pull a little from the book The Art of Possibility. On day one we'll bring our student's fears out into the open and then guide them into a Universe of Possibility as described in the bestselling book by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

Students will be given the framework for the rest of the course on this day, which as stated before, is about living and working in a new environment, a new Universe. At least in a metaphysical sense.

On this day we'll also go over the work of two inspiring people, who against all odds, managed to build something lasting and meaningful because they too lived in a Universe of Possibility.

Sounds a little corny, but we definitely recommend the book. Its listed as one of 'the best 100 business books of all time' in the book by the same title.


IMPORTANT: We are currently deciding on how we would like to incorporate a student handbook into Idea School. While we would find it acceptable to simply pick a book that is already published, we feel that this would diminish the overall methodology that we are going for. No single book has what we would consider the 'right answers'. Therefore we are considering adapting many of the theories presented from a diverse set of texts into a student handbook which will be required of each student. Though, many of these texts may make up core reading material.

Finding a starting location for your school...

This is what we've experienced:

• If you want flexible terms, the best time to negotiate is during a horrible real estate downturn.
• Being that we're initially interested in daily rental, but at a somewhat prestigious building, it was best to talk to the property manager, not the real estate agent. 
• The real estate agent just wants to make a commission. He has no vested interest in any side deals you want to make with the building owner himself.
• The building owner/property manager, on the other hand, has 100% interest in making money on unused/unsold space while it's vacant.
• Just walk in and talk to somebody. In a lot of cases, the property manager is onsite and also owns the building. Calling is mostly a waste of time. These days it's so easy to blow somebody off on the phone. If you go in and see somebody in person, you're much more likely to get attention.
• Email should be avoided for the same reason.

Taking these approaches will allow you to obtain a space for a daily/hourly/weekly rental rate at a much lower price than a monthly lease. Be sure to let the property manager know that you have full intention use the space more often (meaning more money for them) as you ramp things up. Also, feel free to toss in a mention about how much you love their building and could see your business permanently housed there if the fit is good.

Website is up.

The Idea School website is up. Check it out here http://www.theideaschool.org

NY Times article. Colleges are "Failure Factories"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/business/economy/09leonhardt.html

An excerpt:

...Yes, inadequate precollege education is a problem. But high schools still produce many students who have the skills to complete college and yet fail to do so. Turning them into college graduates should be a lot less difficult than fixing all of American education.
“We could be doing a lot better with college completion just by working on our colleges,” as Robert Shireman, an Education Department official who has read an early version of the book, says....
- David Leonhardt, New York Times

The Hunt is On!

We have two great facilitators at the moment, though we are looking for 1-3 more outstanding teachers that possess these qualities:

• Loves ideas
• Encouraging and communicates well
• Loves written works by the likes of Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, and Jim Collins.
• Has a lot of experience teaching entrepreneurship and business principles
• Loves autonomy over tasks and is inspired by the idea of designing his/her own curriculum
• Loves to personally invest themselves in the progress of their students
• Loves to have fun

Lots o' love, it turns out, is a good qualification for a teacher to have. If you feel you're qualified please contact Ryan Chatterton at rchatterton@theideaschool.org with your CV attached and introduce yourself.

Onward and upward!

Elevator Pitch: Idea School.

Idea School helps students generate ideas.

It helps them refine ideas.

It helps them implement ideas.

It connects them with resources they didn't know about.

It eases and supports the ideation and building process.

For the student, yes, but ultimately for the idea itself.

Because the world we live in thrives on new ideas.