Through the past 15 years my colleagues and I have wrestled with disruption in many contexts. That’s no surprise, since Clayton Christensen co-founded our company in 2000, five years after his Harvard Business Review article with Joseph L. Bower “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave” introduced the idea of disruption to the mainstream market.

When a company decides to pivot, staff layoffs are often inevitable.

So it is with Gawker Media, which laid off at least seven people as the New York Times reported it taking a turn to focus on political coverage. Founder Nick Denton communicated this to staff in a memo that touted the 2016 elections as fodder for "sensation and satire," and that the new editorial director will "redirect the Gawker team to hump the campaign."

In the popular imagination, life in a dual-income family is "Stressed, Tired, Rushed," as a recent New York Times headline put it. A just-released Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of working parents say the balancing act is difficult.

Look at the upper ranks of professions, where the hours are long, and it seems the situation must be more dire. At one of my workshops recently, a woman mentioned a rule of thumb that any given couple (particularly those with kids) could work 100 hours a week (total) before things fell apart. In theory, that would mean that only only person per couple could have a big job. If someone’s working 80 hours, the other person could only work 20.

So you want to start your own business, but before you do, there are some steps you need to take to get in the right position and mindset to become an entrepreneur. I know because I was once in your shoes.

Here are some of the steps I took when I was a pre-entrepreneur that positioned me for greater success when I was ready for the role of entrepreneur:

It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, and the haystack keeps getting bigger. Crowdsourcing and Google searches are shotgun approaches to idea gathering and can take huge amounts of time to sort through the information, as well as large sums of money. Smart organizations use methods of technology scouting that rely on strategic thinking and leverage advanced tools to focus their energy.

First, let’s clear up one misconception: crowdsourcing doesn’t live up to the hype! In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Guido Jouret, CTO of the Emerging Technologies Group at Cisco, wrote about the twin pitfalls of cost and time: “The evaluation process was far more labor-intensive than we’d anticipated; significant investments of time, energy, patience, and imagination are required to discern the gems hidden within rough stones,” he wrote. “Anyone attempting to do innovation on the cheap should look elsewhere.”

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced technologies are shaping the future of manufacturing, according to a study conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited's (Deloitte Global) Global Consumer & Industrial Products industry group and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness (CoC).

The Deloitte Global and CoC study – drawn from dozens of face-to-face interviews with chief technology officers, chief research leaders and nearly a dozen directors of national research facilities – highlights the strengths and future vulnerabilities of the U.S. innovation ecosystem. It also identifies 10 of the most promising advanced manufacturing technologies:

By Laura Gaze

Which companies are turning creative ideas into commercial, industry-changing success? The fifth annual Thomson Reuters top 100 Global Innovators recognizes innovators and organizations that have created breakthroughs that shape the future and generate economic success, encouraging and driving more innovation, more jobs and more revenue.

Government grants for cutting edge robotics research and development typically favor large military contractors. But a lot of the development in robotics these days comes from individuals, startups, and university labs capitalizing on developments in 3D printing and falling sensor prices. Because hardware has entered a phase of rapid iteration, the government risks missing out on cutting edge technology if it continues focusing on long-term contracts to the exclusion of short-term innovations.

The era of incubators has official dawned not now, but years ago. More and more startups are coming up every day. Just like the startups, there are many incubators popping up every day. For the startups to be competitive it is important to pitch in as early as possible. With too many incubators in the market, it may be little confusing for a young entrepreneur whom to choose. Plugging into the right incubator is important for the startup to receive right support and guidance and thereby, helping the startup grow. So it is vital to consider few factors before circling down to one for their startup. The list of factors are listed below with details:

Image: http://www.thetechbulletin.com

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has announced the availability of approximately $100 million in grant funds under the TechHire partnership and grant program.

The program is designed to provide individuals with the skills they need and connect them to well-paying, middle- and high-skilled, and high-growth jobs across a diversity of H-1B industries.

These grants will pilot and scale-public private partnerships among the workforce investment system, education and training providers and business related non-profit organizations.

For more information please see the White House fact sheet and the funding opportunity notice on Grants.gov.

The 2015 John I. Rucker Community Innovation Leadership Award was presented to the Madison County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) for their development of the Mississippi Bio-Medical Business Collaboratory.

The Collaboratory is the first healthcare focused entrepreneurial-based facility of its kind in Mississippi, housing a variety of healthcare technology companies and a state-of-the-art advanced surgical simulation laboratory. The overall goals of the facility are to foster the development of the bio-medical business sector in Mississippi as well as to help improve and advance the practice of healthcare through technology and training. The project will create significant job opportunities in Madison County and beyond as a result of both the ongoing operations at the Collaboratory and from companies that spin off from the Collaboratory.

Image: From left to right: Bubba Weir, vice president of Innovate Mississippi; Tim Coursey, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority; Tony Jeff, president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi

Mike Rothenberg, founder of Rothenberg Ventures, says a common trait among good entrepreneurs is an ability build supportive relationships in an unfamiliar environment. He also describes how being authentic and engaging are key to building a network, as is ensuring alignment with others by explaining how the relationship will benefit them.

Consulting firms sell expertise, and their currency is trust. Large consultancies like Boston Consulting Group, Bain, McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture and others make their money from being a trusted advisor to companies around the world. Why do companies trust them?

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is calling for public research universities to formally consider technology transfer issues in tenure and promotion decisions where applicable. In a report out today, APLU defines technology transfer loosely as “entrepreneurship, innovation and technology-based economic development activities,” and says that faculty members who participate in it should be credited in personnel decisions.

When you meet the CEO of a small business, you're likely shaking the hand of the CFO, COO and CMO — and the intern who does all the coffee runs — all at once. That's the nature of entrepreneurship. The best businesses are defined by their ability to do the most with the least amount of resources possible. And that often means one person doing the work of many.

Progress is often driven not by the accumulation of small steps, but by dramatic leaps. The television wasn’t an iteration of a previous device, it was a new technology altogether. Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity didn’t tinker with Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, it replaced it in almost every detail. Likewise Dyson’s dual-cyclone vacuum cleaner was not a marginal improvement on the conventional Hoover that existed at the time, it represented a shift that altered the way insiders think about the very problem of removing dust and hair from household floors.

How many times have you heard or suspected that a certain entrepreneur was just lucky? Without fully discounting that random good things sometimes happen, I’m a firm believer that great entrepreneurs make their own luck. The smart ones get some extra support early on critical decisions, and work a bit harder on issues that are common startup killers.

The American public does not trust technology companies with personal health data, according to a survey from Rock Health, a venture capital firm focused on digital health.

Venture investors have poured record amounts into health apps, electronic medical records, and wearable devices, including $4.3 billion last year. But Silicon Valley’s touch with consumers hasn’t yet translated into many big successes.

Image: http://www.technologyreview.com

Congratulations Chris Costello, CEO and co-founder of blooom, of Leawood, Kansas, who was awarded $10,000 as the winner of the Kauffman Foundation’s One in a Million contest!

blooom is an online registered investment advisor designed to help underserved investors manage their employer-provided investment accounts.

Image: http://www.kauffman.org

At first, it seemed pretty straightforward. I met this guy, Andy Levitt, who had started a vegan meal kit company called Purple Carrot. He wanted me to join as a partner because, as our key investor said, "You move us from black-and-white to hi-def."

I did know I was ready for a change. After 20 years of weekly deadlines, including the last five as a New York Times Opinion columnist, I was tired. I felt I was repeating myself ("industrial agriculture is poisoning our health and the planet," written ad infinitum in myriad ways). I was frustrated by my inability to convince people to act, and eager to accomplish some new things myself. It was time to work on changing the food system from within.

Image: Mark Bittman Photo: Eric Tanner