Report on Managing Innovation: Interview with John Paul Jones DeJoria

This report delves into managing innovation through an insightful interview with entrepreneur John Paul Jones DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell and The Patrón Spirits Company. The report covers DeJoria's entrepreneurial journey, key insights gained from the interview, and potential alternative strategies. It includes a personal innovation capability audit, reflecting on strengths and weaknesses, and a development plan to enhance innovative skills. Furthermore, the report provides an overview of various innovation models, selects an appropriate model for implementation, and justifies the selection. The analysis emphasizes the importance of understanding business, applying strategies effectively, and continuous personal development to foster innovation and achieve entrepreneurial success. Desklib provides solved assignments.

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Running head: Managing innovation
Managing Innovation

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Section A:...................................................................................................................................4
The reason behind selecting the entrepreneur for conducting this interview on....................4
The insights that were gained from talking to Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria..........................4
Things that could have been done differently based on the discussion of the interview.......5
The advice that could be offered to Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria..........................................6
Summary of the interview......................................................................................................6
Section B....................................................................................................................................6
1) Reflection...........................................................................................................................6
2) Planning.............................................................................................................................9
Section C:.................................................................................................................................13
Overview of models.............................................................................................................13
Selection of a model.............................................................................................................18
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................21
References................................................................................................................................22

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Introduction
This project is all about the innovation and entrepreneurship and will able to understand the
different aspect of the innovation. Innovation is one of the important facts in the business
process and also gives rise to the concept of the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a man who
adopts the innovation in their business to provide the new concept in the market.
In this project the interview with Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria is conducted. The experience of
this interview will be described in depth. In addition, evaluation of the strength and weakness
of my own activities in contrast with the interviewer will also be placed. Personal
development plan and several innovation models will also be described in this assignment for
a better understanding of the topic. Lastly, the suggestion of the implementation of model and
reason will be elaborated properly.

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Section A:
The reason for selecting the entrepreneur for conducting this interview on:
The respective interview was conducted to share experience and ideas from an entrepreneur
for understanding the skills and qualities an entrepreneur has to possess to achieve the
respective success of entrepreneurship. So for that purpose, Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria
could be considered as one of the best choices for the interview.
Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria is the co-founder of the organisation or the company named the
Paul Mitchell, which does the business of various hair products and hair care accessories
along with the company The Patrón Spirits. Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria is a self-made
billionaire. Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria is one of the well-known entrepreneur and a
philanthropist. Therefore, it would be very accurate to choose such an entrepreneur who
achieved the success all on his own to gain some valuable advice about entrepreneurship. In
the period of his struggling career, he experienced some very valuable lessons, sharing which
with all of the people looking forward to doing a start-up business and aspiring their dreams
could encourage them and enrich them with wisdom and knowledge about the challenges that
they could face in the process.
The insights that were gained from talking to Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria
Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria is one of the well-known faces of the entrepreneurs of the
modern American fashion industry. He has started from the small and developed his own
business into a giant modern business organisation. He went through lots of struggle and ups
and down, in this interview the history behind his success will help to learn lots of things.
At the earliest stage of his life, Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria worked even as a janitor, or as a
door to door salesman selling encyclopaedia and even as an insurance salesman. After this,
his first introduction to the respective business of hair care and hair care products started with

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the job as an employee of a local company where he started to gain knowledge about the
business. However, after a short period, he was fired from the job as he claims that there was
a disagreement about the business strategies between him and the authority of the company.
After this Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria founded own small business organisation. The
entrepreneur did market research, tried to identify the requirements of customers and then
based on the research has taken the risk to introduce hair care products that can fulfil the
customer requirements.
Thus, in his story, it could be said that the passion for one’s work and continuous hard work
will always reward the person with the success they deserve. Many people could be more
talented than the entrepreneur in the respective area of business, but an entrepreneur is the
one who builds the ability to recognise the opportunities at the right time and takes the right
steps for achieving success (Crumpton, 2012).
Things that could have been done differently based on the discussion of the interview
In the separate interview, Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria has shared some of his business
strategies an mindset, which could be useful in order to achieve success in the respective
business area, he works in. He said that the basic key factor to becoming an entrepreneur and
reaching the top of the business industry lies in the good understanding of the business and
applying the right process to the right place at the right time.
However, there are certain factors that Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria has mentioned in the
interview, which could be modified in order to get even better results. He concluded that he
refuses to change his signature strategy of doing the promotion of his business and keeping it
quite a low key and let the talent and quality of his products and services do the publicity
instead. But it would be even better to advertise his product more on the social media and in
other offline media such as the magazines, newspapers and many other media so that it could

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gain the attention of more people as well as the new generation which is becoming more
interested in the fashion industry day by day.
The advice that could be offered to Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria
It would be quite an audacity to give advice to such a big entrepreneur as Mr John Paul Jones
DeJoria about the respective business of hair care and products. However, it will be better for
him to take the more new initiative in the business as the public is becoming more interested
in the fashion and self-care industry day by day. He could introduce more innovative
technologies and modern techniques in his work to attract the modern generation even more.
Summary of the interview
Date of the interview: 15 September 2018.
Time of the interview: 1 pm.
Length of the interview: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The format of the interview: video calling.
Section B
1) Reflection
This part is going to deal with a personal innovation capability audit where I will reflect on
my skills as well as a plan for how I intend to develop these going forward. I can derive from
the feedback from my parents, teachers, and co-learners as well that I have enough innovation
capabilities. However, I do also have some flaws and weaknesses as well that I have to
rectify. As a student in the business management, I need to focus on my capabilities and my
weaknesses.
Strength: I have enough innovative capabilities. I can fix my goal very well. I know that the
goal should have a SMART approach that my goal has to be specific, measurable, achievable,

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and relevant and time-bound. From the experiences of my childhood, I know that I can take
the decision very quickly and confidently. The decisions I take have proved to be right. My
teachers observed that I have the creativity of my own to serve any job and I can focus on my
efforts. Good communication is another advantage. Through a work process, I can
communicate with everyone whom I have to deal. I collected the feedback from my co-
workers and learners about my communication skill, and they have conveyed that I can
manage it smoothly by extending the hands of cooperation towards others. My friends are
quite satisfied with my power of right decision-making, as it seemed to be advantageous for
them also several times. Therefore, in any crucial issue, they insist me to take the decision
and fix the goals. I possess a good assessing power for my activities. I can evaluate my tasks
and others. The ideas I generate have a clarification. My implemented ideas add value. I can
take initiatives with enthusiasm. My insights support my actions leading to achieve success. I
can go forward to my goals quite confidently. I know the importance of my goals and the
things that I need to accomplish to reach my goal (Aoun and Hasnan, 2017).
Weaknesses: Besides having the strength I do also have some weaknesses as well. In
accomplishing my tasks, I get confused sometimes. That shifts the focus of my goal. If the
resources are limited, I become tensed and nervous. If the time is limited and I have a short
deadline for the task, it takes my breath, and I become a little bit pessimistic about whether I
can end it up with time. In the examination hall, I face these problems very frequently. As the
time progresses and a little time left for writing the answers, I start making mistakes. I need
more practices and confidence in me to be developed for rectifying this. My friends and
classmates told me that I become panic-stricken even over a trivial thing. This nervousness
spoiled a number of my performances.
Opportunities: I am gifted with many advantages. I have good parents, and I have friends
who inspire me and help me in every task. My economic condition is not so poor that I

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cannot concentrate on my studies and jobs. I have a motivating and preferable ambience to
continue my study. My parents advised me that I should use every opportunity that comes in
my path to the fullest. My friends affirmed it that my creativity and sense of responsibility is
much than others. The success of any work is a reward, and it inspires me in my further
performances.
Threats: The risks of work seem to threaten me a lot. I need to predict the risks more and try
to solve it with innovative ideas. Therefore, I have to hold more insight and foresightedness. I
have to grow the power of risk analysis. In several past matters, if I noticed any major risk in
any project, I passed the act of decision making over to my co-workers. According to the
accumulated feedbacks from my teachers, classmates, colleagues and my parents, I lack the
capability of risk assessing and risk facing. I need to improve the behavioural skills for this.
The behavioural skills refer to the ability to solve the problems and manage the risks
(Vivarell, 2014).
Summary
Seeing, thinking and doing appropriately are three major factors in building the innovative
skills. The analytical power is also a necessary factor. The opportunities should be uncovered
through the Insight Questions. The ideas, tools, and team ideation grow actions should be
thought well by me. The main problem that I encounter is facing the risks, and that can be
avoided by doing actions in collaboration to reduce risks. While taking the interviews of the
persons like Mr John Paul Jones DeJoria, I should be allowed and encouraged to ask
questions adding my value and insight by the organisation. I need my organisation supports
me to explore and experiment with new ideas and opportunities. By helping others and going
towards achieving my goal can realise my full potential. The good communication is to be
built for growing my innovative personal capabilities. The SMART goal approach should be

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followed so that I can use my resources and time productively. It will clarify my ideas as
well. I have to be very sure of what I want in life. Setting goals for any project are important.
The cognitive skills, behavioural skills and functional skills as well as the technical skills
should be well developed for the improvement of my innovation skills.
2) Planning
Based on the personal swot analysis that I have conducted in the reflection section, I have
identified some strengths and weakness that will potentially create opportunities as well as
threats for me in my professional growth. To enhance my strengths and to overcome my
weaknesses, here I have developed a personal development plan that will outline the path to
achieve my development objectives. In the following section, I have developed my
development objectives using a SMART framework.
SMART objectives: SMART framework outlines objectives that are specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic, and time-bound. The following table outlines the SMART development
objectives.
SMART Objectives
Specific Unable to work under pressure and overreact in difficult situations. Achieving
the goals within deadlines is quite problematic.
Measurable To get the objective to be met within the two months of period.
Achievable To achieve the objective before the deadline set
Realistic To exercise the targeted and set goals within a time period and inculcate the
qualities in the concerned person.
Time-bound To pressurise thyself to check the position of the learning status
Table: SMART Personal Developmental Objectives
Source: (Developed by the author)

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Personal Development Plan (PDP): In order to accomplish the Personal Developmental
Objectives outlined in the SMART table above, I have created a PDP that will outline the
tasks, and the time and resources required, for me to accomplish those objectives.
Activities Resources Required Time required
Follow up meditation classes to control the
overreaction under pressurised situations
Meditating teacher One month
Set targets for small and day to day work Maintaining a diary to plan
the day to day working
Two weeks
Recheck the causes of the delay in achieving
targets and recording it
Presence of mind and
analysis of self-actions
One week
Penalising himself for not achieving the day to
day set targets, this would motivate for
achieving the targets within the deadline
The setting of penalties and
a monitor to take charge of
penalising
One week
Setting self-criticism sessions Colleagues and friends One week
Table: Personal Development Plan (PDP)
Source: (Developed by the author)
Innovation Strengths that I will capitalise on for going forward: Innovation involves
certain key elements such as teamwork and collaboration, ideation and implementation.
Teamwork and collaboration are integrated part of career management as often we are
required to integrate with a team and do the tasks assigned to us.
Similarly, for innovative project management, this skill is required. Actualizing the PDP
requires me to rely on my strength and capability of teamwork and collaboration (Dees,
2017). Overcoming personal weaknesses requires an integrated approach in which I must
work with my colleagues, my tutor, my friends, and family. I would listen and explore my
growth opportunities with the people who have provided me valuable feedback regarding my

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capacities. I would learn and adjust my ideas with their ideas. I would focus and align my
objectives with that of the objectives of others and then link them and leverage them. For
developing my innovation capacities further, I would use my strength of ideation or my
capacities of developing new ideas. Ideas that I develop must be economically viable and
socially significant in terms of making the most positive impact in society. I would use my
capacity of developing new ideas to think of new activities that I can accomplish for my
continuous personal and professional development and enhance my learning, which would
help me to accomplish my developmental objectives.
The personality development plan, which has been made if it is rightly executed, and a large
number of people are kept in order to acknowledge the developments or the failures then this
would help in improvising the weaknesses (Naranjo-Valencia et al. 2018). The weakness of
not being able to work under pressure and overreacting in such situations would result in
huge losses. The plan made for improvising and making up for the weaknesses needs to be
studied well and should be implied. The meditation classes would help in controlling the
anger and overreactions under pressure. This is the best tool to deal with a short temper,
which is one of the biggest drawbacks of an entrepreneur. The second plan of setting small
and day to day targets would help in teaching the quality and nature of finishing the tasks
within a timeline. If this quality were inculcated like the person then automatically he would
imply it in his every word. A record should be kept of the number of targets being achieved
within timeline and those being not being achieved within timelines; its analysis would help
in identifying the areas where improvisation is required, and the causes for the delay would
also be known. The solution to these identified problems could then be given specific
solutions. Penalising one would be the best method of correcting oneself as this would create
an environment for developing himself into something which is desired the penalisation
would act as a punishment which would have more of a mental effect than the physical effect.

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The last one is the self-criticising sessions which would act as medicine along with the
wounds which would be the best solution for correcting oneself. If one wants to develop his
personality, then he is the best teacher and critics, this is so because a person knows about
himself the most and he cannot lie to himself. The identification of the weaknesses and trying
to overcome it would help in rectifying himself.