Cisco Systems and the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts announced Wednesday an urban renewal strategy built on an Internet-based, connected community model intended to fuse vital parts of the city’s government and economy. The proof-of-concept, technology-infused renewal program is the latest investment by Cisco to turn Holyoke into a hub of innovation for the western half of Massachusetts and the region.

Last fall, Cisco was among a host of city officials, academics and tech industry leaders to announce the development and planning of a Green High Performance Computing Center (GHPCC) in Holyoke. The public-private partnership was designed to show how an industrial-based economy could be driven by green technology, clean energy and scientific development.

The latest announcement will position Holyoke as the first Smart+Connected Community in the United States, creating a flagship innovation district downtown. The Smart+Connected Community model seeks to improve education, healthcare and streamline collaboration among city, state and regional officials with their citizens. The modernization project seeks to generate economic activity and bolster population retention through redevelopment that can be eventually rolled out to other parts of the city’s neighborhoods, officials said.

The H.J. Heinz Company Foundation Fellowship is managed by the Global Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for International Studies. It provides fellowship for individuals from developing countries annually during which fellows are provided with “one year of practical, professional, and non-degree educational experiences through the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA.”

“The goal is to improve, early in a career, the fellows’ capacity to contribute to the development of their country and to enhance their understanding of the United States. This is accomplished through a year of sitting in on selected courses and participating in practical professional activities while based in Pittsburgh. Upon acceptance of their final report, fellows will receive a program certificate from the University Center for International Studies. This is non-degree program. Courses are observed on an informal basis, and do not earn credit towards any academic degree.”

“Fellows will receive a living stipend of $18,000 (paid in monthly installments), mandatory health insurance, round-trip transportation to and from Pittsburgh, and a $2,000 program and professional activities fund.”

These days, almost all of my clients are talking about the need to establish a culture of innovation.

Some, I'm happy to report, are actually doing something about it. Hallelujah! They are taking bold steps forward to turn theory into action.

Still, the challenge remains the same for them as it does thousands of other forward-thinking companies - and that is, to find a simple, authentic way to address the challenge from the inside out - to water the root of the tree, not just the branches.

In today's process-driven, OD-centric, Six-Sigma savvy organization, the tendency is to focus on systems as opposed to people - as if systems were sufficient to guarantee change.

How can people do the right thing and cash in on it?

Green tech startup RecycleBank rewards households for their recycling habits with points credit they can use at over a thousand stores such as Whole Foods and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The customers have online accounts where they can verify what items are recyclable, track the points they've earned and where they can spend them.

While saving the environment might seem like a good enough reason to get people to recycle, RecycleBank CEO Ron Gonen found that changing consumers' behavior is more effective when people receive immediate, tangible rewards for their efforts.

The startup was in a tizzy.

One of its largest partners who sourced the startup’s products, bundled them with other offerings and sold them to customers had decided to make the products itself.

The partner was much larger than the startup, had more money and reach. About 10% of the startup’s revenues came from this large partner, albeit at a lower margin than if the startup sold products directly.
On the other hand, it did not have to incur additional sales and marketing costs. For the partner, the revenues from the startup were a tiny fraction of its current revenues but the market opportunity was large and fast growing. It was quite possible that the startup would be in direct competition with its partner before long. The startup was therefore understandably nervous – should it continue to supply the partner or should it stop supplying products? Should it aggressively cultivate other comparably large partners while continuing to do business with this partner?

Syracuse, NY -- Mike Haynie is assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and national director of the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities, a national training program for post-9/11 veterans with service-connected disabilities.

Mike Haynie is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Staff Writer Michelle Breidenbach interviewed Haynie about the challenges of starting a business.

When is a good time to start your own business?

When you feel like you’ve done your due diligence, you understand the market, the customers that you’re going to serve and the nature of the competitive environment. Ultimately, you just have to pull the trigger. I think there are more potential entrepreneurs — folks out there thinking about launching a business — than there are entrepreneurs. To get people beyond the fear, especially if this is their first venture, is a tough thing to do.

Why two heads are better than one.

Do you have a best friend at work? This question, strange as it may sound is part of an internationally renowned study by Gallup, which investigates the correlation between employee attitudes and company profitability. Over the course of nearly ten years they have whittled their findings down to 12 questions, (The Gallup Q12) which have proved to be key indicators of increased business performance.

This question has always intrigued me. Aren't we looking at the corporate world rather than the primary school playground? Did the Gallup people run out of ideas? Does Q12 just sound better than Q11?

Apparently none of the above. The serious souls at Gallup appear to be on to something. In a new book (The Power of 2) (which can be purchased from the Moneyweb Shop) Rodd Wagner  and Gale Muller outline why two is the magic number if we really want to make a so-called "dent in the universe" (as Steve Jobs of Apple puts it).

These great start-ups prove the "it takes two to Tango": Apple (the two Steves- Jobs and Wozniak); Microsoft (Bill Gates and Paul Allen); HP (Bill Hewlett and David Packard). Emerging research in the entrepreneurship field indicates that start-ups are much more likely to succeed if driven by a partnership. Based on this, cutting edge entrepreneurship courses are being redesigned as I write this, focusing on the teaching of an entrepreneurship pair as opposed to a lone (albeit talented) individual.

It doesn’t matter how many blogging ideas you’ve got stacked up. Sometimes you just get in a rut. You feel like you’re writing the same thing over and over again. You feel like you’re not providing any value and you’re so bored with what you’re writing that YOU don’t even want to read it, let alone anyone else. So what do you do? How do you get back in your blogging groove?

You put some spice back into it by getting out of your comfort zone and incorporating different kinds of blog posts. You give readers something fresh and that they maybe weren’t expecting.

Here are some different blog post varieties that you can count on to put some flavor back into your blogging.

The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), a national network for "angel investing", has commenced creation of investment syndicates to provide support and financing for local companies operating in the life sciences sector.

The principal aim of HBAN, a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, is to focus on increasing levels of angel investment in the technology and lifesciences industries in Ireland and is committed to establishing upwards of 10 new investment syndicates to facilitate the required investment.

According to HBAN, the formation of syndicates of angel investors - private individuals who invest in start ups or early stage enterprises - will be an important means of increasing the number of indigenous operators in the life sciences industry, which is worth around €44bn annually to the Irish economy.

Diane Roberts, National Director, HBAN, said, “What we’re really looking to do is to facilitate the development of an ‘Angel Capital’ Industry in Ireland. Scotland
has a very vibrant Business Angel Community that contributes approximately £21.8m (€24.8m) annually of investment into indigenous industry.”

The Guardian asked several writers to list up to ten rules for writing (inspired by Elmore Leonard's little book, 10 Rules of Writing). The result (in two parts) is, by and large, excellent advice. I especially like "Do back exercises. Pain is distracting" (Margaret Atwood -- amen); "A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk" (Helen Dunmore); "Do it every day" and "Have regrets" (Geoff Dyer); "Don't wish ill on your colleagues" (Richard Ford); "The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator" (Jonathan Franzen); "Are you serious about this? Then get an accountant" (Hilary Mantel -- amen!); and best of all, "Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy their plots and characters in order to tell your own story, just as people learn to draw and paint by copying the masters" (Michael Moorcock). Also: "You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished" (Will Self).

Every company needs a board of directors – even startups.

Well, OK, maybe not every company. Raw startups – two people in a garage kinda thing – shouldn’t waste their time with anything formal. But young companies – those that are established and on their way, regardless of their size or level of funding should, as should any company more established than that.

It seems that we frequently relate having a board of directors to some kind of funding event. Of course, it often happens that way. Investors require one or more board seats, which becomes the impetus for creating a formal board – at least one with non-employees on it. But even without funding, companies should establish and use a board of directors made up of people from inside and outside the company. A board of qualified people can offer great benefits to a company, its management and its founders.

To me, the most important of these is that board members, unlike informal outside advisors, have a fiduciary responsibility to the company and, therefore, offer advice that is often better thought out and more responsible. After all, it’s their job.

I MAY NOT TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS POSITION ON SMALL COMPANY BOARDS OF DIRECTORS....I GENERALLY RECOMMEND AN ADVISORY BOARD APPROACH UNTIL YOU HAVE PROVEN RELEVANCE AND ARE THE REAL SCALABLE DEAL .IF YOU PICK THE RIGHT ADVISERS THEY WILL BE COMMITTED AND WILL NOT HAVE THE EARLY STAGE LIABILITY WE WE ARE ALL TRYING TO AVOID TODAY. THERE IS NOT PERFECT FORMULA, BUT JUST GET THE BEST AND MOST EXPERIENCED ADVISERS YOU CAN FIND..... RICH BENDIS

Today, email is nearly as ubiquitous as the computer itself. It offers a simple process that "just works" for most users and it has become a defacto communication process for enterprises and individuals alike.

YouSendIt found its place in the evolution of email by providing existing email users a solution to a common problem - sending large files. Along the way, the company has leveraged its position in cloud based solution to offer additional benefits to its users.

Consumers know Google primarily as a search engine, but for years the company has been trying to diversify into new products, including email, Web apps, mobile phones, and YouTube.

But in reality, Google is still the world's biggest ad-driven media company. And the vast majority of its ad revenue still comes from ads on Google sites, mostly Google Search. (Gmail and YouTube also contribute, but not much).

Private investors are crucial to the success of high-growth startups that create jobs and tax revenue. Kay Koplovitz describes a new way to encourage them

While Washington wrestles with a jobs bill and a bill to nurture small businesses with tax credits, hiring incentives, and the like, it is neglecting to address the fundamental engine for economic growth: private investment in early-stage companies with big potential.

I propose that the federal government tag along on the tax incentive programs already in place in 30 states meant to stimulate this kind of investment. These programs' purpose is to encourage the development of high-growth business, create jobs, and ultimately return greater tax revenues to the states. The federal version would do the same but increase the scale.

There are 225,000 angel and seed-capital investors in this country, according to Angel Capital Assn. They, not government, will drive the creation of innovative industries that need capital before revenue and certainly before profitability. No bank will lend to these pioneering entrepreneurs, no proposed tax-credit program will help them, as these early-stage companies have losses on the bottom line and no profitability on which to take the small business incentives now proposed.

Late last year I quoted a statistic that said that 80 percent of small businesses were one-man [cough. Or woman] shops and that 50 percent of SMB owners worked from their home. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why so many small business owners and entrepreneurs have taken to the Web to chat and commiserate with others “like them”. But the Web can be intimidating. If you are a small business owner looking to connect with other entrepreneurs, where should you go looking? Where can you hang with fellow SMB owners online?

Entrepreneur-Themed Communities

It seems fitting that as the Web continues to spur Internet entrepreneurs, it’s also spurred communities targeted toward helping them. Web communities like StartupNation, Young Entrepreneur, Brazen Careerist, and EntrepreneurConnect give solo entrepreneurs a place to talk about common problems, share resources and help one another out when possible. These communities often have associated knowledge hubs where people can tap into expert articles, download eBooks, create networking events, and have real discussions. And, of course, they also offer the ability to establish friendships, both professional and personal.

Related to these communities are social voting communities where small business owners can submit and promote their content. Doing so helps others find information that may help them and they can also use it to brand themselves in a particular area. BizSugar.com [disclosure: This site is owned by Anita Campbell] is one example of a site allows SMB owners to promote themselves and others through their content. There’s even an associated BizSugar Twitter account they can connect with.

We like to think that success in the Olympics is all about athleticism, talent, and hard work.

But using the right gear is also a huge part of the equation. Innovation in the design of athletic equipment has completely transformed many Olympic sports, in some cases forcing major changes to the strategy or even rules of the game.

We've highlighted some of the most dramatic ways in which innovation impacts the sports in the Winter Olympics.

An organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Europe wants a rethink of EU funding for regional projects to make them more accessible to small firms.

Financial tools and funding opportunities from the European Investment Bank (EIB) should be redesigned as part of a forthcoming review, according to the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME).

Gerhard Huemer, director for economic and fiscal policy at the association, says the existing instruments are "often too large and too complicated to be helpful for SMEs".

Huemer recognises the key role of EIB funding in regional and local initiatives, but fears smaller companies are not benefiting from the schemes.

His remarks come on the day the EIB publishes its annual report (25 February) and in the wake of comments by EIB President Philippe Maystadt, who flagged regional funding as vital for the EU's economic recovery.

You're probably among the millions who have experienced it: driving in a car, listening to the radio, and suddenly this song comes on. It is not just any song--this was your favorite song when you were a teenager. As the first few notes strike up, you’re transported back in time. Everything is so vivid, and your mind wanders to parties, first kisses and sweaty palms. It's as if time stands still and you suddenly realize that for the entire duration of the song, you haven’t seen a single thing on the road.

There's no doubt about it, sound is immensely powerful. And yet 83% of all the advertising communication we're exposed to daily (bearing in mind that we will see two million TV commercials in a single lifetime) focuses, almost exclusively, on the sense of sight. That leaves just 17% for the remaining four senses. Think about how much we rely on sound. It confirms a connection when dialing or texting on cell phones and alerts us to emergencies. When the sound was removed from slot machines in Las Vegas, revenue fell by 24%. Experiments undertaken in restaurants show that when slow music (slower than the rhythm of a heartbeat) is played, we eat slower--and we eat more!

Is this just coincidence, or does sound make us buy more, want more, dream more and eat more? Any 50-year-old American can sing a whole range of television jingles from the 1970s--they are all well stored in the recesses of our brain. Yet if you were to ask the same of those who have come of age recently, you will find them stumped. Has the magic of a television tune disappeared, or has the advertising world lost sight of the fact that people do indeed have speakers at home? I decided to put these questions to the test.

One of the biggest obstacles to discussing the concept of innovation is the perception that innovation can only involve unique ideas. Ask someone you define what innovation is, and they'll usually give you an explanation that indicates you have to have a mixture between Edison and Einstein to be considered innovative.

Of course, that's crap. Some of the best innovators around take the ideas of others and make them better or simply more marketable than others. The ability to tweak a product or service and make it more palatable to the masses is a keyNirvana skill in the world of innovation.

Malcolm Gladwell knows this, and after thinking about it, isn't even convinced that plagiarism, long thought to be a crime of ethics, is a crime at all because there aren't many original ideas left these days.  From What the Dog Saw, Gladwell's latest book that is a compilation of his columns from the New Yorker, specifically a passage where he's talking about the feeling that his work had been stolen for a Broadway play:

It’s a rough time to be a start-up seeking funding. More and more entrepreneurs are looking for angel or VC capital, but the number of firms out there looking to invest is shrinking.

The numbers are startling. 90 percent of the VCs polled in a recent survey by the National Venture Capital Association predicted that the number of venture capital firms will decline, with 72 percent predicting the industry will shrink between one and 30 percent.

What does this mean for start-ups? In a nutshell: It’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd – especially if you’re running a technology company. At Dolphin Equity, we receive about 500 business plans per year from technology companies. We tend to invest in about one percent of those.

I’ve been in the investing business for over 20 years. Here are five surefire ways I’ve seen to make your company memorable to a Venture Capitalist: