My name is Norm and I'm a thirty-something year old single male hailing from London, Ontario, Canada, which is about 2 hours due southwest of Toronto. I am well educated and have undergraduate degrees in both science and engineering, so yes, I'm very savvy and well versed in technology, and yes, I'm also a geek... but in the best possible way. I worked as an engineer for a health sciences company (MDS) that specializes in developing and manufacturing mass spectrometers, devices used to diagnose really anything in nature down to a part-per-trillion concentration - to give you an idea of the instrument's precision, this would be akin to locating a bottle of wine in Lake Ontario. I know. Crazy, eh?
So what brought me down to Texas? Well, after working for many years at the same company, in the same role, with the same people, at some point I decided that I wanted to move into management and have a greater amount of influence over a company's direction, at least relative to an engineer's. Moreover, I desperately needed a change as I had gone through an extraordinarily brutal relationship break-up. McCombs seemed like a logical move.
That's my brief... very brief, "history of time".
So what are some of the key themes that are important in building my persona? First off, an important caveat is the axiom that the only constant in life is change. I write the disclaimer now that this is snapshot of me in time and certain interests and desires may be subject to change in a few years, a few days, or heck, maybe by 11 o'clock tonight once I have a few beers in me.
Yeah. Go team.
Let's start begin with the most important item and everybody's favorite subject - relationships. I'm single, in my thirties, and therefore much of my time is devoted to observing, thinking about, and chasing members of the opposite sex.
As a result, interests such as fashion, staying healthy and fit, and actively seeking and participating in social events are natural extensions of this passionate pursuit. Gym workouts, tennis games, b-school social events, and legendary nights out in Austin are all routine activities for me. All supported by student loans. Yikes.
This brings me to the next important issue. Money. I am one seriously leveraged man. Although I have a passion for new technology and the latest gadgets, eating at nice restaurants, and driving nice cars, I have severe cash flow problem. It's all negative. Price sensitive is not a strong enough phrase to describe me.
Time. I have little free idol time. I find I'm always busy doing something: Homework, looking for a job, attending a social event, doing some form of exercise, sleeping. Things that waste my time or are inefficient uses of my time frustrate me.
And who could forget sports?? Just like ice cream there's always room for it. Hockey? Love it. Basketball? Love it. Football? Love it. Baseball? Meh... it's okay. Yes, I'm also a jock.... but in the best possible way.
So there it is folks. Girls, money, time, sports. Nutshell.
So what does it all mean?
This week in customer insights we talked about the music industry and how an object at rest tends to stay at rest. To this date I don't believe the music industry has reacted to the characteristics and needs of its customers. I love to listen to music when I'm working out or doing homework, but guess what? 99 cents is far too much for me to pay for a song that I could download illegally for free, with only being hit by a minuscule moral pang. Music industry? Wake up.... or die in your sleep.
The I-Pad was announced this week. What I find most interesting about this product is that I don't what the heck its purpose is! The price doesn't appear to be outlandish ($499 US for the basic model). As we discussed in class perhaps its not just the functionality of the device, but maybe there's an entire experience associated with it. Further investigation warranted.
