I&E Coursework

gateway Elective

EGR 121: Engineering Innovation is a technical course for Mechanical Engineers. Technical details can be found under the Projects tab here. I took this course because I thought its combination of valuable engineering skills and emphasis on imaginative solutions captured the heart of what I hope to do in my career. My most important takeaway from the course was how to work with and lead a group under pressure. I was the Project Manager for our final design challenge team, and led 4 subteams of three people each to build an integrated Rube Goldberg machine. Although we planned ahead and set clear expectations, final project execution came right down to the wire. Learning how to organize peers is an invaluable skill, and a very tricky situation. I had no authority, only a mandate to keep us on track. I was able to keep us progressing by praising teams for a job well done (and bringing snacks to the meetings).

My artifact from the class is a group project for which I did the design and CAD modeling, a grinch happy meal toy. It has spinning rings which align when a puzzle is solved (akin to a bike lock), allowing the head piece to slide up and the prize to be removed. This is the result of a detailed design process, from brainstorming to sketching to draft modeling and then eventually a final model. It was 3D printed, post-processed, and presented to the class. The design was difficult, especially getting the tolerances exactly right. We consulted with alumni mentors to consider key factors in the design to make it the best possible.

Keystone

Final Reflection from I&E 352

One of the strongest lessons that I took away from this course was to absolutely, under no circumstances, be Clive Sinclair with the Sinclair C5. I learned to stay humble, to test early and often, and to always check to make sure that you are solving a problem for a customer, not yourself. People who could be called “experts” often lack the critical information when evaluating problems. That does not necessarily mean that we should ignore their opinions, but rather that experts need to dedicate themselves to continuous, conscious learning. This lack of self-awareness doomed his venture. Take Dr. John’s Products as an example of a success. Osher certainly had the experience on his side between his previous ventures and his vastly over-qualified team. However, critically, he had the right entrepreneurial mentality. He learned from his previous ventures, keeping an exhaustive list of past mistakes. He tested his products, gathered customer input, and avoided the arrogance trap.

    Another problem that the C5 ran into was a lack of a customer base. Innovative products, by definition, need to be something more than just an upgrade. A significant shift from the status quo, while often a crucial attribute of a revolutionary idea, is often difficult to pitch to skeptical consumers. Henry Ford once said “If I asked people what they wanted, they’d have asked for faster horses”. Consumers may not always recognize the unique value proposition of a product. However, in most cases, these wildly innovative products just completely miss the mark. Overcoming this initial inertia is very difficult, and a founder’s belief in their idea does not necessarily correlate to public acceptance. The only way to see if people would buy your product is to actually test; by giving them the opportunity to buy your product, let them take it on a “test run”, and actually quantify willingness to purchase. Minimum viable products, focus groups, and willingness to pivot also contribute to the probability of future success.

    I spend a lot of time developing my leadership skills through sports, group projects, and everyday activities. I was captain of various sports for a combined 4 seasons in high school, so I have a lot of experience in leadership. After coming to Duke, however, I had a minor reset. I often took leadership positions due to being the most skilled within the group in a particular subject, but that is not always the case at Duke. Additionally, as a first-year the focus is on joining new groups, not leading them. I adjusted by leading by example rather than authority. By thinking deeply about the ramifications of my actions and modeling positive behavior as a teammate, I can influence the team culture without a formal leadership position. I applied this to working with our team: with just three people there was no need for an explicit description of roles, the work was more fluid. Our team was very successful in that we consistently completed the assignments and were able to have great discussions about the case. I always saw the case slightly differently after our discussions, which meant that I actually learned from the other team members. We were all accountable to each other, and contributed equally. While I am generally most comfortable and productive in a leadership role, teamwork in this class has helped me embrace being an active member of a group without dominating it. This is valuable in the future because if I did not know how to function without being in control, it would be an undesirable team member because I would constantly be struggling for power.

Mentor Conversation

I often hear “relationships are key”, but what does it really mean? Is it supplier relations so you can receive inventory before revenue comes in? Is it public relations to avoid dissatisfied customers? But now I get it: how else could someone leave a top position in a company with a near-monopoly (90% market share), work with many different smaller companies and not lose a single client across 13 years? Ms Free was on a rare vacation to Costa Rica, and had emailed all of her clients to not contact her unless there was an absolute emergency. Sure enough, on the first day she got a call from one of her clients with an absolute emergency. She was the only person who could help, so she stayed in her room for hours straight negotiating over the phone. The client felt so bad to have disturbed her vacation, and valued their relationships so highly, that they sent a bottle of Dom Pérignon to her hotel room.

    Tamara Free went to Duke for her undergrad degree, graduating with majors in Art History and Biology. Her main focus after graduation was business school, specifically Fuqua. However, Fuqua required experience. Her solution was to go to law school, rather than work. It seems strange, but was actually a loophole that allowed her to be a student at both Fuqua and the Duke Law School. She graduated in 1999 with a JD and MBA then was hired by the very prestigious Silicon Valley firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, which advised IPOs of Apple and Google.

She then began the next chapter of her life at Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic division, negotiating the contracts between their SFX department and major studios. After a few years she founded the Law Offices of Tamara Free to negotiate the contracts for the 10% of scenes made by “everybody else”. Her unique value proposition was that she knew exactly how much the studio was allowed to spend per scene and could negotiate deals in her sleep, so although her hourly rate was high the overall cost of hiring her was quite low relative to the increase in value she provides. She possesses unique skills, with only 5 JD/MBAs graduating Duke with her. Her business model is simple: she works on a contractor basis, serving as a negotiator or even de-facto general counsel for SFX companies usually based in California or Quebec (due to a recent tax credit increase). With her 17 years of experience, rare dual-degrees and great relationships with studios and animators alike, she is irreplaceable. As such, she could demand an egregious hourly rate. However, since goodwill is so critical to her success, she benefits more from happy clients. When she has to raise her rates, she rewards longtime clients by keeping theirs constant. She needed little market research because it was actually the small studios who asked her to leave Lucasfilm and represent them so she knew the demand would be there, and the contract lawyer business model is widely practiced.

Her primary challenge has been how much rests on her; she is effectively a one-woman operation and the work can go from a week with barely any contracts to all-nighters. Additionally, a prolonged period of sickness would leave her without revenue and endanger her clients. The flexibility of being freed from a corporate environment has been a major plus: as a mother, having the flexibility to drive kids to school whenever necessary is huge. I would love to one day have such an important, flexible and engaging position. I learned so much from our call, but mostly the importance of relationships in the business world. We clicked immediately and there was no awkwardness in the call, which made both of us so much more comfortable. In a pitch or boardroom, being friendly, fun and knowledgeable can be just as important as the details you are about to present.

Second Mentor Converation

In our second call, Ms. Free and I talked extensively about what life looks like post-Duke. As someone considering the 4+1 Masters program through Pratt, it was immensely valuable to have to opportunity to hear from someone with not one but two advanced degrees. Granted, neither are in engineering, but it was valuable to hear about the doors they open. I explained my reasoning for considering an advanced degree, mostly due to my aspiration to do more than just engineer. In past years I would have likely said that I would love to go into industry for a few years then come back to school for a MBA. However, my dad (who holds a MBA himself) advised me that in the current business climate MBAs are declining in usefulness, as most essential skills are either increasingly easy to learn on your own or through mentors and also because MBAs are a traditional business education in a world that rewards innovation. That in no way means that they are not valuable, but are best used in specific cases and I currently have no way of knowing if that best fits my career plans. Tamara agreed with this and said that for her a MBA was an excellent supplement to her JD and helped her navigate the business world but by no means is a one-size-fits-all solution to advance a career. 

    We also discussed the process of finding mentors and resources once you leave school. I feel that I would benefit greatly from talking with people who have been through this process of asserting themselves into the real world and figuring out how to accelerate their career from the early years. As someone who dreams of a leadership role, having mentors with experience in leading business units would be invaluable. I have had the privilege of interacting with many excellent leaders throughout my life and have found that by surrounding myself with people who have qualities I aspire to possess I become a better individual. She talked about how important networking events like conferences and trade shows are, and urged me to go to as many events as I can while I am on a campus buzzing with opportunities. Unfortunately, a busy schedule precludes me from so many of these. I did find a way to attend the summer opportunities fair just before a class and I can directly point to takeaways from our interview that convinced me to attend.

    Entrepreneurship takes so many forms, and I really got to appreciate that through our conversations. At face value, what seems so innovative about a law firm? As it turns out, it can be a great deal. Innovation is less about the qualities of the product itself but rather the positioning and creative value proposition that makes an idea exceptionally viable. There are plenty of contract lawyers around, but one with experience in every possible facet of the SFX contact negotiation process and great relationships with every industry player? By being the only person with that unique set of skills Tamara was able to create a uniquely viable company and succeed as an entrepreneur. I am very glad we were paired, our phone calls were fantastic.

Elective

I&E 261: Social Innovation taught me about how to create ethical change in the world, and the difference or overlap between social innovation, social entrepreneurship, and social enterprises. My team researched oportunities for social innovation in Duke’s COVID response, reporting on the thought process behind students faking tests and how to balance strict enough policies to protect students with loose enough policies to actually be followed. I took this course as part of my pathway to balance out the technical nature of EGR 121, and because I one day aspire to become a social entrepreneur.

My artifact from Social Innovation is my group’s final presentation on aligning Duke COVID policies with student interests. It may be found at the link here. Of particular concern to us was the phenomenon of students faking COVID tests. From a rational perspective, there is no reason to want to fake a COVID test. It would only cause potential harm to more people, and denies the student access to Duke’s wellness resources. However, we learned that many such problems have many layers and we listened to stakeholders share their perspectives. We also investigated the practice of disregarding rules that held little respect, like outside dining distancing. For the safety of all students, we wanted to find ways to avoid arbitrariness in rules while protecting Duke community members in the high-risk environments.