Can a Smart Young College Intern Make a Difference in Your Business?

For many years, The Mead Consulting Group has been assisting our clients with the identification of opportunities to utilize college students as interns. These interns have made big contributions and, in a number of cases, have been hired by the companies after graduation.

ACG Denver launches the ACG DENVER INTERN EXCHANGE.

ACG Denver has started an INTERN EXCHANGE – a clearinghouse to match opportunities for paid and unpaid internships and jobs for undergraduate and graduate college students and just graduated students with the needs of small and middle market companies and non-profit organizations. Members of the ACG Denver Intern Exchange committee will assist companies with the identification and development of positions appropriate for college interns.

While many of the university business schools have excellent structured-internship programs, there are a number of highly qualified graduate and undergraduate students that are looking to connect with the local/regional business community.

ACG Denver will post available intern/job opportunities for companies and facilitate an exchange where interested students can connect with the companies.

NOTE: The ACG Denver program is intended for students who are either attending college in the Colorado–area or who may be attending college outside of Colorado but who have permanent addresses in Colorado.

The program was launched on January 27,2010.

For more information on creating and posting internship/job opportunities, click on http://chapters.acg.org/denver/internexchange.aspx

How can an intern benefit my business?

• ‘Test drive’ potential future employees to maximize hiring opportunities

• Gain fresh perspectives and the latest knowledge

• Help with short-term projects

• Allow current employees to work on higher-level tasks

• Allow staff to develop management skills as an intern’s supervisor

If you have used interns in the past, this could be a new pool of talent. If you haven’t used interns previously, please look into this program. You will be glad you did.

The Top Ten Lessons Learned from Crossing the Chasm

(from Issues for Growth Vol.18, No.16)

At a recent ACG Denver (www.acg.org/denver) luncheon, Chris Carrington, CEO of Alpine Access Corporation spoke about Alpine Access’ eleven year journey to cross the chasm and achieve significant adoption.

Alpine Access provides 100% virtual call center services for 24 x 7 x 365 outsourced customer care for Fortune 1000 organizations. They handle inbound calls for customer service, sales, tech support, and collections with 2,800 employees working from home in over 1,100 cities across the country.

While Alpine has emerged as a successful company today, it has been a long journey from 1998 to date. Mr. Carrington used Geoffrey Moore’s 1991 book, “Crossing the Chasm,” to describe the sometimes arduous and time-consuming process of gaining widespread adoption of a truly disruptive innovation. He provided his top ten lessons learned about moving from concept to adoption to the mainstream market. While the book, “Crossing the Chasm” is now 18 years old, it remains the bible for adoption of new concepts, whether they are new technologies, new business models, or other disruptive innovations. Our thanks to Chris Carrington for allowing us to share this with you. –DPM


The Top Ten:

#10. However much capital you think you will need, quadruple it

- The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is not raising enough money

# 9. However much time you think you will need, double it

- See #10

# 8. Even the best business plans cannot account for market variables outside your control
- See # 10…again

# 7. Don’t underestimate the talent needed to cross the chasm
- You guessed it…see #10 again

# 6. There is no one way to cross the chasm…be prepared to change course
- See all of the above

# 5. No matter how different your start-up is, all successful companies have done what you are trying to do
- Read and internalize the blueprints of success

# 4. Chase really large markets
- Big fish, little pond…or little fish in a much bigger pond?

# 3. Differentiate yourself from your competitors
- Redefine the pond

# 2. Don’t underestimate the importance of informed intuition and gut feel
- Planning only gets you so far…much of success is being in the right place at the right time for when opportunity presents itself

# 1. Celebrate the wins

- Market traction is encouraging for your employees, your investors, and your clients

Is it time for your company to retool the offensive side of your business?
What steps are you taking? What is working for you? What is not working? Let us know your thoughts?