 I'm Jay Fidel. This is Community Matters. And we're talking to the Schuyler College of Business today. We're talking to Professor Constancio Paranal. And he's a professor in the business school, but he's doing something that's a little unusual. He's got a class which he teaches marketing to and he teaches marketing in creative ways to develop and address programs that will deal with climate change. This is very important in our world. It's very important in business. It's very important in Hawaii. It's very important for the Schuyler College of Business. And I think it's very important for Constancio too. Welcome to the show, Constancio. Well, thank you so much for inviting us and for giving us the opportunity to speak with you and to your viewers, Jay. Why don't you introduce your two students who are here with us today? Yes, we're joined by two of my students, Marina, Kasimina, and Marisa Pangan-Kosakawa. It's a pleasure to be here today, Jay. Okay, welcome, ladies. So we're going to talk to Constancio first. Any objection? Good. I didn't think there would be. You want to stay in good relations with the professor, you know, right? Okay, Constancio, can you tell us, you know, what the scope of your course is and what the scope of the special program, you know, to get teams involved in finding creative solutions and ways to deal with climate change? Right. So the course itself is, the name of the course is Imagination and Entrepreneurship. And really the focus of the course is to enable and engage our students to think creatively, to use their creative thinking skills to address problems and solve problems. And, you know, when you think about entrepreneurship, it's really about defining the pain points that our customers and our clients are experiencing, right? And we see that a lot in marketing. And so we're using this course in order to help facilitate and engage our students in their creative thinking process and their analytical thinking process. And also understanding that, you know, a lot of the problems that we're dealing nowadays are very complex. And what I like about this class is that it's a very interdisciplinary course. So you don't need to major in marketing in order to take this course. You could be an engineer, you could be a lawyer or in law school and still be able to take this course. Another thing that is interesting about this class is that it is different levels, you know, in terms of who can take the course. So you could be an undergraduate student, a graduate student, an executive education student, and you can be a part of this course, right? So in some ways, the class itself is a representation of what an actual organization looks like in the real world, right? You have executives, middle managers and entry-level students or professionals working together. So that's what's interesting about this course. So why do I want to take this class? Is it easy? Is it hard? Do I have to write a paper, take a final? Do I have to make an oral presentation? What's it like? Well, the class itself is very holistic in terms of the approach, right? So we do a lot of case studies where we look at different companies and how they use creative thinking in addressing the problems they're experiencing. So it takes that approach, that case study approach. We also do a lot of activities and workshops that would enhance the students' creative thinking. So it's from six o'clock to 9.45 and we meet twice a week. And you can imagine that in that three and a half hours or so what we're really doing is engaging with each other, learning from each other and using our creative thinking to address different problems that we're experiencing in the world. No, I was thinking about this whole approach and it stands here. And it struck me that the United States of America at the home of modern capitalism, although some people wonder about that these days, you know, it's all about the bottom line. And the business school has to be concerned about the bottom line because if you get out there into the business community and you forget about the bottom line, the company will forget about you. So, you know, the problem is how do you deal with climate change and the bottom line and integrate those two approaches without losing your job? Well, I think we're seeing a different sort of environment now in terms of how corporations are evolving and the way our consumers are also evolving. Our consumers are a little bit different in terms of how they evaluate companies. They're more discerning in terms of the companies that they would like to support. And frankly, it has to do with whether they are adhering to sustainable practices. And we're seeing that a lot, right? A lot of consumers are supporting companies based on their value systems, whether they care about the environment depends on the processes and the manufacturing protocols that they have, right? And corporations have to adopt to that style. And that's one of the things that we would like to infuse to our students here at the Scheider College of Business. You know, we're particularly in marketing sustainability has been a big kind of core discipline that we're trying to integrate into all of our core courses because we believe that it is important, right? And like what you had mentioned, and I think a lot of people would agree, climate change is one of the most consequential and an existential problem that we're facing and that we are already facing and will continue to face. And so it's important to continuously think about that and include that in our way of thinking and our approaches. I think that's so important, not only here in Hawaii, but everywhere. We have to tap into this generation and get them to start thinking differently. They are our future, our global future. So it's really important. And if the boss comes to them and says, you're not making enough money, you have to have the strength to speak power to the power. And they have to tell the boss that there's some things that are more important, like saving the world. So in this, go ahead. I'm sorry, and there is this new concept too of the triple bottom line, right? Where you're not only looking at profit, but you're also looking at how your company is impacting the planet, right? And also the people. And so you're looking at those three things altogether. So a very holistic view and also a new type of companies are emerging now. We're in this concept of doing well by doing good, right? That you as a company continue to do well, right? By doing good things for the environment, good things for the community and for society. I want that. We all want that. We want to be able to speak truth to power. Okay, so this class has various teams and projects. And these two ladies are from one team and one project. Am I right? They are two different teams. Yeah, two different teams, two different projects. Yes. Okay, well, let me go to them for a minute. I'm going to Raina first. Raina, what team, what project are you on? And how did you get on that team and project? Did your professor select it for you or did you select it your own self? I'm from team three. We are called Team LSR double M, which stands for all of my teams, Stephanie, Lester, Raina, Maki, and Mariah. For our teams, I think professor parallel children. That's like the redheaded club or something. You have to have an M in your name to be on the team, right? Never mind, go ahead. But at the beginning of the class, we took a creativity quiz, I believe it was. And then with the results, we put it into a spreadsheet and from there, professor parallel chose our groups. Okay, why? Why did you enter this class? And why did you enter this team? I entered this class because it was part of my program for my master's program. So I'm part of the Charlotte College of Business Masters of Science and Marketing Management. And this was one of our courses that we have to take. And then this team, it was pretty fun. All of us are from different backgrounds. We have some, two of us are in the restaurant industry. One of us is a doctor. The other one is in the airline industry. And our other member is in the makeup industry. So yeah. Just to have those people around you, pretty valuable. Mix them up, Constancio, because they all learn from each other, yeah? Yes, I think that's the whole idea behind it. Like what Raina had mentioned before we started the class, I had them take the creativity quiz, just to understand and see what their skills are and also what their backgrounds are. And so I really made it a point that every team is diverse and they bring in different skills and they learn from each other, right? They may not be alphabetically diverse, yeah. Yeah. Okay, we try the best we can. Okay, so what is your team doing? What is your, I guess your project and did the team select the project? Did Professor Constancio select the project? How did you focus on this project and how does that comport with your direction in life? So our project is called the Laulimo Society Cookbook. When we were discussing a project name, one of my teammates, Mariah, she came up with the name because Laulimo means many hands of cooperation and the society part comes from our aim at bringing the community together to help each other reduce their daily carbon footprint. So we originally wanted to do a social media page in which we'd bring awareness about climate change and the things we could do in our daily lives. However, after some talk, the idea was pivoted to become a cookbook concept. This being that a cookbook is essentially a guide with like numerous recipes on making a variety of dishes with the Laulimo Society. It would be similar in nature, but rather than providing food recipes, we would provide recipes and guides for reducing carbon footprint in our everyday lives. We is a very important term in this modular class. So my question is, how does your team function? A, is everybody on the same page? Are you pulling in different directions? Is there a leader or a leadership group that takes you down the road on this? How do you make decisions? How universal and unanimous are those decisions? For a group, we had a group chat. We would often talk after class as well. If someone had an idea that we all agreed upon, everyone would just add their own ideas and pivot to make it ourselves, like incorporate each other's interests into our book. So when we're designing our overall book, everyone took a specific section that they were most interested in. And then we did our own parts, but then came back together to put the book together. So does Professor Farnell stand by and alert on you? Does he come around and look over your shoulder and give you and Kibbutz with you? How do you interact with him? Do you need him? For this project we had- I'm sorry, Constancio. I just needed to ask that question. For this project or like every project for Professor Farnell, we do it in phases. So each phase would be a different progress. And then we would check with him after each phase and get feedback, which we could incorporate into our projects. Okay, and how are you going to be graded? Is it on the basis of your participation in the group? Is it on the basis of a presentation or a test? Or do you not yet know? I think it was graded mainly on creativity at late, our efforts into the project. I'm not too sure though. I don't really remember how it was. Why do I feel you're going to find out? Yeah. The class already finished, so I got a good date. Okay, so all of that considered, you know, entrepreneurship and the bottom line in the childhood college of business and making the world, making Hawaii more profitable. How does that comport with climate change? In other words, if you took the best lessons that you learned with the team and you projected them into the Hawaii state legislature and those guys listened to every word you said, okay, how would our state change and how would our world change? What, you know, what are those lessons mean to the world? So like with this project like increased me and my groups knowledge of both like environmental sustainability and climate issues tremendously. When we were doing research about the issue as well as finding like different recipes and activities that we would incorporate into the book, we learned a lot of new things like such as how much carbon emissions, different items that we use in our daily life emit such as like, I believe a single plastic bag emits about 1.58 kilograms of carbon emissions during its productions. We also learned about various local businesses that have business models that advocate for sustainability and climate change. Just to name a few, there are melly wraps which promotes a plastic wrap alternative, Sundays bikinis that reuses plastic and repurposes it into bikinis. And there are much more businesses that are like shifting their business models to promote sustainability and climate change which I think is very significant and amazing in our generations. Being that like people from my generation, we're always about promoting climate change and finding brands that fit the values that we have. You think you'll be able to speak truth to power when you get out there in the business community and say to the boss, hey, you're wrong. I learned a few things with Professor Parnell and I wanna just repeat them to you now because I expect that our company will follow these lessons. Are you gonna be able to do that? It's a hard question, Constanze. I almost want to answer it for her. Personally, I think, yes, for me, I work in a small organization and my boss really amplifies like speaking out what we believe in and putting our actions into words or like putting our words into actions. So when we give him an opinion or like something that we think would be a good idea, he puts it into action and he helps us bring our idea into the business model. But for other organizations, I'm not too sure being that like, of course there's different hierarchies in the organizations and to get to the top it would take a lot of words and messages to get my message all the way to the top. Would you quit? It depends, like if my values for the company doesn't match, then yes, but if I feel like in the future, I could make a change, then I would wait. Okay, all right. Okay, Marissa, let's go to you now. How much of what Reina said, do you agree with on a percentage basis? Probably all of the Reina's very smart and I worked with her in classes too and she always has very good ideas. And so, I also believe like in companies, I believe in unity and I believe in values and me personally, if I had to work in a place that it didn't really match my values, I would wanna speak up like Reina said, hierarchy is still kind of runs big businesses, so that can be an issue too. Sometimes you just have to wait for your moment. Yeah. Sometimes you have to wait to get into a position where you can speak truth to power and you can tell them to get off the train, you're in charge, because we want you to be in charge. On the other hand, you can always quote our discussion here on ThinkDecAway and your discussions with Professor Parantho in class where you assured us that you would speak truth to power. You know, you said to your boss, I'm sorry, sir, but I promise to speak truth to power. So get off the train. Yeah, it takes a lot of guts to be able to speak to your boss about something you really believe though and I think it does make it worth in the end to speak your mind. Well, you know, we only live on the planet for so long and be able to turn around and say, I did good, I did good. So what have you learned in this class so far? What are the profound lessons that you've picked up? And here's a question I did not ask Reina. The question is, how has the class changed you? This class really emphasized on creativity and you would think creativity is only in like innovation in new technologies, new art forms and things like that. But really show me that creativity can come in so many different ways. It can come if you're like an HR in ways you manage people, it can come in product development, things like that. And I think just being open to seeing what's around you and really taking that in and then developing something that people need that might not be there, it might be something little and things like that and kind of transforming. I think it's my takeaway in that class and what Professor Paranel taught me and it really changed how I view certain aspects and how I can incorporate my own creativity like trying something new can be a new creative outlet or trying to cook something off of Reina's recipe book. It would be a new creative outlet for me. So that's something that I really appreciated taking away from the class. So how are they doing so far, Constancio, here in the program? Are you impressed? Are you impressed with these students in class? Are you impressed today? Oh yes, yeah, definitely. I think I'm really impressed with both Reina and Marissa and how they handled being in their groups and the outcome of the projects. I think I've had them in other classes as well and so I know their capabilities and I've seen them grow and I know their potential and I look forward to what they're gonna be doing in the future. And I'm glad that the class really inspired them to speak to their truth and also know themselves in ways that they have never really known themselves before. So let's say it's 2025 or six or seven and one day Reina or Marissa come to see you at the shine of the college of business. You know, I've got this issue in my company. You know, I thought it was a good job but I don't think they properly respect the environment and all the lessons I learned, you know, I'm trying to make that come true and I need some advice from you, professor because I will always come and ask you advice. You touched me when I took that class and I wanna know what you think about this. Do you see that happening? Well, I think for any professor, I think that's always like, you know, part of let's say what you anticipate or maybe not anticipate but that's what you want to happen. And so if they come back to visit me and to just share with me their stories and what they're doing, I would be so thrilled and excited because I've always wanted to see where they are and I think, you know, maintaining that connection is very important and that relationship is very important. So, you know, yeah, I hope that day happens and that we continue to remain in contact and yeah, I'm really looking forward to what they're gonna be doing in the future. Yeah, as and when that happens, you should bring them back on the show here. I want you to explore exactly what's going on. But I think just like any other professor, I think for me personally, my commitment to my student does not end when the course ends and I tell them that all the time. I think my commitment to them is, you know, for a lifetime, you know, until, you know, whenever they need me, they have my cell phone number, they have a way to contact me because I think that's what's important. You know, being in the classroom is not just about, you know, me instructing them and lecturing, it's really about creating that relationship and building that relationship. Hawaii is such a small community, right? And that's what I always tell them. It's like, it's such a small community and I think, you know, building that relationship will take us far in life, yeah. Oh yeah. So, you know, Marissa, you know, what to, by the way, what is your project and what is your class? If it's different from Reina's class, is it a better class? Is your, are you team members better? No, we're- Let's start on ask, you know. No, my, I definitely love my group and, you know, Reina loves her group, but my project, my group project was called repurposing with the purpose and our emphasis was on upcycling and creating or giving new life to something that might be at the end of their life cycle. So what we did was we created a blanket out of our old t-shirts. So there was five of us in the group. We all contributed five shirts and a needle and the string so that we can all sew together. And so we all came together one class and after class and we just sewed up the blanket and we really wanted to emphasize the effect of like a linear life cycle of a product and then creating it into a circular life cycle of a product so that it, a lot of times clothes and micro plastics go into the trash, they go into the oceans, they get burnt and we wanted to find a way to reduce that and give new life. So we created, we stitched up a blanket and it was all of our first time sewing. So it wasn't, you know, like grandma's blanket, super nice and cozy. It was amateur but still usable and very, it was more heartfelt because we all came together to make this project and then we donated it for someone in need so they could use it maybe if they're homeless or if they just need an extra blanket and just give the clothes that we had that we would probably just throw away into something that someone else can find useful. Yeah, there's many lessons in that. So, you know, just as I asked Constanze or if he would hang around for you years later and be available to you, what about the team members? Are you gonna stay in Hawaii? Do you think you're gonna stay in touch with them? You think you might, are you ready for this one? Okay, are you sitting down? You think you might go into business with them? Me personally, I really love them. They were super cool. I'm sure we would be acquainted later in the future. I would do business with them because I know how they work and that really helps to, you know, having some background to know how to move forward. But intentionally, I'm not too sure but the relationships I made with them, I'm very grateful. You wanna stay, are you gonna stay in Hawaii and do business in Hawaii? I'm probably, yes, my family's based out of here so I would love to stay. Yeah, well, the rest of the world is falling apart so Hawaii looks better every day, as a matter of fact. Yeah. Thank you. So, Rain, I wanna ask you, I mean, do these teams talk to each other? In other words, have you spent any time with Marissa's team, ever get together? You know about her project, does she know about yours? Does there a time during the cycle of this course, if you will, where the teams all get together in a room and compare notes? This project was pretty, our classics essentially was really different. There were activities, we mainly worked in our own groups but occasionally during class, when our discussions, we would all come together to talk. We also would talk after class too to gain those relationships but when it comes to working with our projects, we kind of just stayed with their own projects but we didn't know about what others were doing and how their progress was going. You think you might do business with the members of your team? Yes, however, we do have different passions. One of us is a doctor and she's doing so well with her research. Another one is he's working with his company and he loves it there. It would be hard to find a passion for all of us because we are so different but if there ever comes a time, I think that working with them would be fun. Constancio, I want to tell you a story. There's a place called the Newford Simmons. Formerly it was a military hospital, just like Kripler, even painted in the same color and it's near Denver. The federal government decided they wanted to have a big pharma research facility in this old hospital. So they appointed a guy named Robert Olson to bring big pharma together and his problem was that the researchers who were coming with their various companies and doing research in the various laboratories needed to talk to each other and the problem in that regard was everybody was afraid of giving up intellectual property by talking to each other about, so what he did is food, he did food. He had, you're laughing, I know. He did food and every day or two we would have this great big breakfast and he would organize them, all these people, all these researchers to come and share breakfast and eat and speak to each other and they shared their secrets on a trust basis and they didn't violate any intellectual property rights and so forth but it was the magic recipe to bring all these companies together and I just wonder if I can send some sandwiches over to the Charlotte College of Business and help do what Robert Olson did. What do you think? Well, I think that's definitely one of the things that we stress in the class is that one of the things that I mentioned to the entire class when I created that spreadsheet in the beginning is that this is not just an ordinary class, this is our support system, this is our network and I want them to feel that when we get out of this class that we will continue to remain in touch and we can count on each other because this class is gonna create and solidify those relationships that we're gonna form in six weeks and part of what we did, like what you had mentioned it's building that trust that would formulate that relationship. One of the things that we did is sharing our stories and I think there is power in our stories that allow us to connect with one another, that allow us to identify with others and relate with others. Our stories resonate with each other and in a way that we finally understand that we have more similarities and more things in common that what differentiates ours. And so I definitely agree. I think what you had mentioned, I think sometimes there is fear in terms of working together because whether you're protecting your own department, protecting your own ideas and you don't want others to gain hold of what you have because we're operating in a very competitive environment. But I think what we're stressing is that in competition, there is always cooperation, right? Where we can all win together and be successful together. Okay, we're almost out of time. So I would like to ask for a closing argument here. Doesn't have to be an argument. Let me go to you, Rayna. Same question. Can you give us your advice, give the people of Hawaii your advice to people who care about these issues about environment and education and blending it with entrepreneurship and design and careful development? What's your advice? So on behalf of my team, we just wanna emphasize that there are so many things that people can do in our daily lives that can help with climate change. Though these effects may seem minimal now, in the end, if we come together as a community and we put our words into actions, we can make a difference. It can be as simple as cutting electronic usage to supporting sustainable brands, whatever a person may decide to do may be beneficial in the long run. Okay, you know, this is important in the sense of the future of our state and more. Marisa, you didn't answer my question yet, so I'm gonna give you the chance to do that now. What is your closing comment, everybody? Enhance their awareness. Help them understand what they can do for the planet. I know, my internet just got super nervous for me, but you know, even if you have like a small idea to change something, it can grow into something big. So like, it's good to foster your thoughts, it's good to foster ideas into something that could be useful in the future for your kids for generations. It doesn't matter if it does, it might not apply now, but put it into works and it would pay off in the long run. That's what I believe. Okay, you know, just like Professor Paranal said, you know, it's a family. You guys are in a family, but you're in the think tech family too. I'm sorry, that's forever. That's the way it is. Okay, you will always be with us and we will always think of you. Constancio, you know, you're the guy who set this up, you figured it out. You put, you know, these elements together with a very LMO's and you know, public-minded approach on things. I'm not sure that anybody else that I know at the university is doing exactly this because you're situated in a great place. The Schuyler College of Business to do this. So I wonder if you could explain from your point of view why it's important that we have this kind of program, not only with Schuyler, but elsewhere, why is it important that we teach, you know, potential entrepreneurs about these things and why is it important that we take every opportunity to raise awareness? Yeah, well, like I had mentioned a while ago, I think the problems that we're experiencing now, it is really because of the actions that we've taken, right, and whether it's the pandemic, you know, when we think about it, it really is driven by human actions. And so I feel that as, you know, a professor of faculty at the Schuyler College of Business, I have the opportunity to influence and to inspire students and I take that responsibility to heart. And so I use my platform to, you know, to provide not just some level of education, but to allow my students to also find their voice and to promote whatever advocacy and causes they support. I think climate change is very dear to all of us, especially here in Hawaii. We have a very unique place, we have a very unique environment, a very diverse ecosystem. And I think we want our children and our children's children to experience what we've experienced. Like what Marisa had mentioned and Reina also echoed, you know, it may not, we may not think about, you know, what this would mean to the future generations, but I think those future generations do not have a voice at this current time. And we are their voice. And so we need to use the power that we have, you know, the knowledge that we have and the experience that we have to be able to provide for those future generations because they too have a right to experience what we've experienced to this place and to this planet. And I think it's really up to us to provide them that right and to provide them that future that they deserve. Reina and Marisa, I hope you were either memorizing that or writing it down. That's really the core point. And the core word that I would leave with you in my comment about all this is advocacy. We need all the advocates we can find. We need to raise awareness and activate people and keep them focused on this. And you guys are in a great spot. Furthermore, you know, students, doesn't happen all the time, but students graduate and they don't know how to speak to the public. And you guys obviously do know how to speak to the public. So please carry on forever. Thank you very much. And thank you, Constanze. I want to do this again with you, okay? You know that. Thank you so much. I'm looking forward. Yes. Thank you so much everyone. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.