We are now accepting speaking proposals for CyberMaryland 2015. Speaker abstracts will be evaluated by the conference committee. Sessions based upon subject matter expertise, technological developments and best practices are encouraged. Most sessions will accommodate 30-45 minute presentations. We are very interested in government and industry speakers sharing their expertise and solutions in the Information Security field. Abstracts should contain subject matter for one of the following tracks:

• Track A: Cyber Threat Intelligence 
• Track B: Cyber Workforce & Education 
• Track C: Cyber Products & Innovation 
• Track D: Cyber DNA (digital health)

Wisconsin has emerged as No. 2 in the United States in its “mid-market” business sector in the inaugural Dun & Bradstreet/American Express Power Index survey of 19 million American businesses released last month, outshining entrepreneurial superstars New York, California and Texas. This may be particularly surprising in light of past reports that Wisconsin fares poorly among such measures as number of startups and access to venture capital (although Wisconsin is not bad; high in private equity). In fact, ranking so high in mid-market companies is a likely leading indicator of growth that impacts the wider Wisconsin community, and bodes well for Wisconsin's entrepreneurs, business owners and labor force.

Work is increasingly both everywhere and nowhere—more deeply embedded in our lives than ever before, but disappearing as a discrete activity.

The old rules of work applied to an economy of factories and offices, a world of "standard," stable employment with large employers, over careers with more or less predictable trajectories. The new rules belong to another universe—flexible, precarious, and entrepreneurial, less and less tied to specific times, places, and employers.

We work in an ever-changing, hyperconnected, world-scattered workplace. As the way we work changes, so too will the boss's role need to shift to meet those demands.

Take, for example, the very makeup of the U.S. workforce. One in every three Americans is a freelancer of some sort, according to a 2014 survey by Freelancers Union and Elance. This includes independent contractors, moonlighters, people working temporary or multiple jobs, and freelance business owners. Many expect this figure will increase to up to 50% by 2020, filling half the workforce with free agents.

It took Healey Cypher less than a year to realize his company, eBay, was missing out on a huge business opportunity.

While 75% of all consumer purchases happen within 15 miles of someone's home in physical stores, the company only offered e-commerce services for clients. As chief of staff of global product management, he met a lot of retailers, and he knew they would want products for physical retail as well.

California is undergoing profound change.  Most strikingly, people are leaving the Golden State, which was once the preferred destination of migrants worldwide.  California’s domestic migration has been net negative for over 20 years.  That is, for 20 years, more people have been leaving California for other states than have been arriving from other states.  The state’s population is only growing because of a relatively high birthrate, mostly among immigrants.

Download the full 2015 report (PDF), or download the data specific to your needs (to compare fitness levels over time). Metro area-specific info/PDFs are available below.

Based on conferences I attend, there’s an opportunity to see many “emerging speakers.” These are either executives inside corporations or ones having recently departed. They are in a different experience and style category compared to speakers on the full-time speaking circuit.

This speaking world of emerging speakers is both frustrating and exciting.

Change is an important part of any ecosystem. A forest fire may seem like a natural disaster that only causes destruction; however, it is the disappearance of older, larger trees that allows for younger ones to receive sunlight, and for seeds to sprout up from the ashes.

Such is the Venture Capital ecosystem, and in France, the ecosystem is in the middle of a forest fire. In the country’s capital, the past 12 months have seen a whirlwind of changes. Let’s look at what’s burning:

1. "It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." - Charles Darwin

2. "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

3. "If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, both are useless." - Darryl F. Zanuck

What keeps you up at night as a manager? Are you worried about hitting your numbers? How to boost the results of lower performers? What about how to keep top performers motivated?

We often believe that the most effective way to respond to these concerns is to directly tell our employees what to do. Directing a team is certainly one way to achieve your goals. But while it’s tried, it’s also tired. Several trends suggest that it’s no longer enough to lead by authority.

When it comes to social media, today’s CEOs have made a remarkable transition over the past five years. A recent analysis by my firm, Weber Shandwick, found that 80% of the chief executive officers of the world’s largest 50 companies are engaged online and on social media. The results, published in “Socializing Your CEO: From Marginal to Mainstream,” show that CEO sociability has more than doubled since we began tracking the social activities of chief executives in 2010, when only 36% of CEOs were social.

Matthew McConaughey stopped by University of Houston yesterday to deliver a commencement address to the university's graduating class. And the Oscar-winning actor did not disappoint (except $140,000 he bagged for giving the commencement address better have guaranteed a good speech). The True Detective star spoke at the university's new football stadium sharing his own personal experiences as well as life advice in 13 key points.

Image: : CINEMA BLEND

Disruption is the buzz word in business at the moment: how to do it, overcome or prepare for it, and more.

Sometimes a game-changer like Apple’s iPhone comes along, and for most industries, it’s not a matter of if but when that’s keeping company execs awake at night, wondering when their turn will arrive.

Damien Tampling, a partner in Deloitte’s technology and media team, has looked at 18 different industries on a digital disruption chart and revealed the findings at the Daze of Disruption conference yesterday.

When an entrepreneur first incorporates his or her business, he or she may find him or herself the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. It’s disconcerting for most to realize that these shares are initially worth nothing, and the challenge is to get that value up as quickly as possible, without losing it just as quickly to investors, lazy partners and taxation.

Donna Harris reaches for her bag, which is slumping against an overstuffed beige couch in the basement kitchenette of a Washington, D.C., theater.

“I’ll be back,” she calls to her business partner, Evan Burfield, a tall 38 year old whose forearm tattoo is hidden under a checkered shirt sleeve. He’s sitting at a nearby lunch table, simultaneously checking email and interrogating a nervous entrepreneur about revenue projections.

Image: Evan Burfield and Donna Harris, co-founders of 1776, the D.C. incubator and venture fund.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Supporting INVENT Penn State --  President Eric Barron’s vision of building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem around campuses throughout Pennsylvania -- six Commonwealth Campuses have been awarded seed funding aimed at enhancing local partnerships and entrepreneurial environments.

Penn State Abington, Behrend, Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley, New Kensington and Wilkes Barre submitted winning proposals to receive $50,000 in seed funding.

Despite all you’ve heard about the rise of the entrepreneur and the growing number of young job seekers striking out on their own rather than adhere to today’s workplace status quo, Challenger Gray & Christmas says not so fast.

The Chicago-based outplacement and career consultancy posted on its site recently a somewhat surprising report indicating job seekers today are actually risk-averse and are shunning entrepreneurship, even in this much-improved economy.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recently announced they've nearly completed development of a water-monitoring system that could help bring clean water to the developing world. This invention could potentially save millions of lives.

But such innovative scientific and technological breakthroughs are now under threat. Federal lawmakers are pursuing misguided legislation that would make it much harder for researchers to protect their intellectual property. Wisconsin's representatives in Washington must reject any new law that cripples local innovation and devastates the state economy.

Asians Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are the fastest growing racial group in the United States; their population is expected to double to more than 47 million by 2060. Yet the needs of these communities are rarely discussed,because AAPIs, in the aggregate, are also the highest-income and best-educated ethnic groups in the United States. A common perception is that they are the model minority: the doctors, techno wizards, and successful business owners.