Learning curves by Gemma Townley

imagined him thinking about her as he read it, then shook herself.
    “Internal analysis will only take you so far,” the lecturer was saying. “As with people, looking inside yourself is not really going to help you decide your future. No, being self-aware may be a prerequisite, but then you need to start looking outside to the opportunities and threats on the horizon before you can work out your place in the world. And so it is for business. Consider the context of the business—who are its customers, what do they want, where do they live? Consider competitors— how strong are they and can you preempt their next move? What about your suppliers? Are they efficient? Cheap? What are the issues they’re facing? And then think about the wider environment—what’s happening in the world outside the business? Flood, famine, boom, bust, brain drain, immigration—they are all going to have implications for a business. It’s your job to identify those implications, and to devise a strategy to make the most of the opportunities, and minimize any risks.”
    Make the most of opportunities and minimize risks,
Jen thought to herself. That’s what she needed to do at Bell. Her opportunities included bumping into Daniel accidentally on purpose, spying on her father, and listening in on more conversations in the elevator. The risks included being accused of stalking Daniel, being found out by her father, and being asked why on earth she was in the elevator all day long.
    “So, introduction over, let’s look at some basic models,” the professor was saying. “The PEST is always useful—that’s Political, Economic, Social, and Technological influences. Would someone like to suggest a company, and we can work through the PEST on it?”
    A young man in the front row shot his hand up. “How about a condom company?” he asked with a slight smirk, and everyone in the room agreed vigorously. Jen cringed— she was never going to live this one down, obviously.
    The lecturer looked disconcerted. “A condom company, you say?”
    “We’re comfortable with condoms,” the young man said as seriously as he could manage. “They’re flexible enough to really analyze effectively, and you can really . . . capture the, uh, key issues.”
    A ripple of laughter spread around the room and the lecturer sighed.
    “Very well then. Political influences on a condom company?”
    There was silence.
    Jen caught the eye of the lecturer and immediately wished she hadn’t.
    “What about you,” he said immediately. “Give me a political influence on a condom company.”
    Jen thought frantically. “Um, how about the government’s commitment to reduce the level of teenage pregnancy?” she ventured.
    “Good!” said the lecturer with a smile. “That’s one. It’s an influence that could work either way—either the government could hand out free condoms, in which case our condom company has to make sure that they hand out its brand, or the government could preach abstention, which could mean fewer sales. If its brand is important and is about fun, like Mates, it may actively distance itself from government handouts because they’re seen as ‘responsible.’ So yes, lots of good stuff there. Who can think of others?”
    Jen felt a little smile creeping onto her face at the compliment.
    “AIDS awareness,” said someone else.
    “Yes, but that’s not political. A government’s attitude to AIDS is what’s political—do they acknowledge there’s a problem and want to tackle it or are they ignoring it? Both will have implications for our company. Okay, economic influences?”
    Lara stuck her hand up. “The cost of rubber,” she said with a grin.
    “Absolutely. Very big influence,” the lecturer said to a great deal of giggling around the room.
    He narrowed his eyes. “Social influences?”
    “How much people are shagging,” someone at the back shouted out, to more giggling.
    The lecturer sighed. It didn’t matter how old your