Summary

This article is an interesting case study that looks at resurrecting an industry that had previously all but disappeared.

Getting Started

Appropriate Subject Area(s):

Retail management, marketing, target market, entrepreneurship, business administration

Key Questions to Explore:

  • What are the risks inherent in a restart up?
Study and Discussion Activity

Introduction to lesson and task:

Students can apply a case study method to this article.

Action (lesson plan and task):

  1. Ask students if any of them have vinyl records or if they know what vinyl records are.
  2. Distribute the article for reading.
  3. In groups of four, ask students to identify the challenges Doug Putman and Sunrise Records face in resurrecting this business concept.
  4. Ask each group to sort the challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex or chaotic.
  5. Have students brainstorm solutions to each of the challenges.
  6. Working together, have students evaluate each of the solutions and determine the best way forward by answering the following question: what degree of certainty do they have that the solution will address the challenge?
  7. Have them evaluate what the risks are if the solutions do not address the challenges.

Consolidation of Learning:

  • Ask students to write on an index card or half a piece of paper the answer to this question:

If you were Doug Putman, what bold idea would you implement to garner success for your business? Have students mill about the room exchanging cards until you call stop. Then, in pairs, have students discuss the ideas that are in their hands. Once discussed, students should individually rate the idea on a scale of one to five. Repeat this four times, so that each card has four ratings on the back. Have each student add up the score on the card they currently hold. Identify the ideas with the top five scores and post the cards on the board.

Success and Additional Learning

Success Criteria:

  • Students have ideas on how to resurrect a business concept.

Confirming Activity:

  • In groups of four, have students take one of the top five ideas from the Consolidation of Learning Activity and develop an action plan for the idea.  Have them share the action plans with a walk about.