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Vision to Execution: EMBA Alumnus Mike Knoelke
Mike Knoelke (Class of 2013), Managing Director of Spyre Group, graduated from Marquette University in 1981 and enjoyed a successful career as a civil engineer for Amoco Pipeline, progressing into sale management with companies such as: USG, Terex, and Altec Industries. In 2010, Mike partnered with his son, Patrick (also a graduate of Marquette), to launch a new venture: Spyre Group.
Mike joined the Bloch Executive MBA within the first year of launching this new venture and credits his experience in the program with the development path that their venture has taken. Class discussions exploring the challenges companies face in translating their vision into strategy, and their strategy into specific sales and marketing activities uncovered a need that many organizations have for expertise that can help them do this in a cost-effective manner. This awareness led Mike and Patrick to focus Spyre group on filling a need for small and medium sized businesses.
Spyre Group provides outsourced marketing services for small to medium sized companies along three pillars: direction and execution; design and development; and cloud collaboration and productivity. The company got its start in brochure and collateral design, but by 2013, they had transformed Spyre Group into a strategic marketing company that collaborates with clients to bridge the gap between “Vision and Execution.”
As they considered options for how to proceed in this new direction, the classes, discussions, and projects in the Executive MBA program provided the perfect environment for Mike to incubate ideas for their venture and test concepts within a community of peers. Mike says this “brought the learning to life” and helped him keep the entrepreneurial energy flowing.
Today, they’ve launched several cloud solutions that support the dynamic nature of sales and provide the sales teams with everything they need to sell efficiently regardless of where they are in the office or in the field. With a solid framework of services and solutions, Mike and Patrick are looking forward to focusing on growth, as well as giving back through guest speaking in Executive MBA classes to share their entrepreneurial experience and insights with others.
Bloch Executive MBA Alumni Feature: Wai Lee
Bloch Executive MBA alumnus Wai Lee (Class of 2016) is passionate about innovation. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and has more than 20 patents issued to his name. Currently, Wai is the A51 Director and Chief Product Architect at Garmin where his recent work has focused on Garmin’s wellness and smart wearables technology.
Wai isn’t the only innovator in his family. His wife, Olive Lee, also holds a degree in computer science and has a background in programming. Together, they have launched a new startup that could improve physician/patient interactions and health outcomes.
What is this new technology? Well…it’s a book. While it may seem counterintuitive for such a tech savvy couple to create a startup using good old fashioned paper and ink, it makes quite a lot of sense.
Through conversations with physicians and nurses, a common problem emerged: patients knew what changes they needed to make to improve their health, but failed at high rates to implement the recommendations made by their doctors.
From this problem, Wai and Olive designed a solution: My Habit Book, a small booklet that supports goal tracking and achievement. Co-created with input from physicians, My Habit Book is designed to meet three critical needs for forming new habits:
- Setting a simple, attainable goal
- Feeling a sense of progress
- Seeing a daily action-cue
The user decides on a simple goal to get started such as “walk 15 minutes every day.” This can be something they decide on in partnership with their physician and the book includes a prescription page to record the goal.
The book has a table-top stand backing and can be displayed in a place the user will see every day, such as a desk or countertop, and serves as a visual reminder to accomplish their goal. Stickers are provided to mark progress toward in 1, 5, and 25 day increments until the ultimate goal of 100 days is achieved. Once a goal is achieved, the user can set a new goal to continue on the path to optimal wellness.
My Habit Book is being tested in about 40 doctor’s offices and success rates will be evaluated when patients return for their check-up. So far, the response from physicians and nurses has been overwhelming positive.
As a low-cost, user-friendly tool, My Habit Book can serve a broad audience. It can work in partnership with smart wearables, but is also accessible to users who may not be able to afford or be comfortable using higher tech tools. Physicians can prescribe it to their patients to reinforce healthy behaviors, and individuals can use it to help achieve personal goals and upkeep New Year’s resolutions.
Wai and Olive are already working on the next version of My Habit Book, which will include a social accountability feature. Additional versions are in progress to support specific needs such as sleep wellness, spiritual wellness, mental health, and mindfulness.
If you’re curious to know more about this project – check it out at www.myhabitbook.com!