According to a recent Gallup poll, around 31% of U.S. employees were engaged in 2014. Why are employees less engaged? Some of the blame is due to burnout at work. This burnout, characterized by severe mental and physical exhaustion, is leading to a lack of interest, reduced employee engagement and less work being accomplished. Most of the theories that have been devised in this regard suggest that the main cause is too much work and strain, but this might not be the case.

I grew up in Trinidad in a very entrepreneurial family and always knew I wanted to run my own business. My grandmother ran her own vegetable stand and my parents were real estate developers. I came to Canada at age 20 to study business at the University of New Brunswick, and now live in Edmonton where I run my own personal and professional coaching and mentoring business, as well as an organization called Women Entrepreneurs Connecting and Networking.

Knowing all too well how hard it is to start a single new business, I’ve always wondered how several well-known entrepreneurs, including Richard Branson and Elon Musk, have managed to successfully lead dozens of startups to success, and thrive on the process. These special people are called serial entrepreneurs, because they have figured out how to do it over and over again.

For bacon lovers everywhere, the decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify bacon as a carcinogen — right up there with smoking and asbestos — has to come as deeply concerning. Ever since the first bacon Internet meme appeared more than a decade ago, there’s been one consistent truth embraced by bacon fans — just about any product, service or concept could be made better by adding bacon.

Image: Judges inspect bacon during a competition at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Unfortunately, bacon didn’t pass inspection with the WHO. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg) 

The University of Virginia’s provost, Tom Katsouleas, once told me that less than one percent, by his estimates, of basic research is commercialized and that there may be as few as one near-term commercialization for every $10 million invested in fundamental research.  This is an awful waste, especially when America is undergoing a reinvention in which entire industries are being wiped out and new ones are being created.

Image: Swallowing their pride and partnering with industry is a better option than irrelevance. (Photo by Frank Vinken)

In 1961, when more and more people were buying television sets to go with their radios, the BBC wanted to work out the best times to air its programmes. So its audience-research department decided to ask a sample of people across the United Kingdom to record what they were doing every half hour of the day, and to indicate whether the TV or radio was on.

Everywhere you turn, there’s no escaping the impact that digital technology has had on our professional and personal lives. From smartphones and social networks to cloud computing, big data, and now the Internet of Things, digital technologies have transformed organizations across every industry and in the process, have rewritten the rules of business.

In the span of a few short years, connected devices have entered the homes of millions of Americans, and are now poised for a new wave of growth. In this survey, approximately 2,000 U.S. households were asked for their views on the connected home, revealing distinct customer segments and key issues that need to be tackled in order to unlock growth.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has generated excitement for a few years now, with start-ups and established businesses placing bets on the industry’s growth.1 Some of the earliest investments have begun to pay off, with smart thermostats, wearable fitness devices, and other innovations becoming mainstream. With new IoT products under development or recently launched—ranging from medical-monitoring systems to sensors for cars—some analysts believe that the Internet of Things is poised for even greater gains.

I recently emerged from a hellish customer service experience courtesy of Comcast. The ordeal went on for about six weeks. But its details and lessons are for another blog. This one is a study in contrasts of two leaders.

The final Comcast technician I dealt with, the one who ultimately pulled me out of my nightmare, told me a story about Gerry Lenfest.

Over fifteen years Lenfest built a small cable company into Lenfest Communications with 1.3 million subscribers. In mid 1999 he sold it to AT&T who within hours put in place an arrangement to sell it to Comcast. This sale was finalized in January 2000.

It is counterintuitive to celebrate failures as well as successes. But that is precisely what needs to happen if companies wish to spark a culture of innovation, says Ganesh Ayyar, CEO of Mphasis, a major IT services company. Fear of failure can paralyze many firms from taking on the kind of experimentation needed to face smaller, nimbler digital competitors. At the forefront of this change is the CEO, who has to go through his or her own digital transformation to ably lead the troops. And the journey is worthwhile because analog companies can learn to become digital aggressors instead of victims, Ayyar says.

People ask me how I knew so young what I wanted to do with my life. Honestly, I never had a clue. I never knew that I wanted to be a telemarketer, a banker, an entrepreneur, or any of the things that made me who I am today. I only knew that I wanted to be wealthy and financially free. But like every other young person, I had no idea how or where to start. I faced a choice as a lost teenager: do something or do nothing. Although I didn’t think my first job at 15 was going to make me a millionaire, I knew it was better than doing nothing.

Washington, DC – Now is not the time for the United States to rest on its past successes as an international leader in advancements in science, technology, engineering, and innovation. That is the message that four industry leaders and key members of Congress delivered today at a public symposium on Capitol Hill.

Led by Norman Augustine, retired CEO of Lockheed Martin; Jeannette M. Wing, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research; Roger M. Perlmutter, Executive Vice President, Merck & Co., Inc., and President, Merck Research Labs; and John D. Evans, Vice President, International Science and Technology, Lockheed Martin, all took up the call to action to compel the federal government to return to consistent, sustainable funding for basic research, and recommit to restoring the United States as a leader in innovation.

Many people are proud of their states and the things that come from it — the food, the coffee, the movies and, of course, the beer.

We found the best beer in every state based on reviews from craft beer authority RateBeer.com as well as the opinions of beer experts.

Image: Timber Beast is a spicy, hoppy, boozy IPA from Mississippi's Lazy Magnolia Brewing. 

If you boast of never having a business that failed, most investors will assume that you have never tried anything innovative or you simply haven’t faced the truth. According to many reports, about half of startups fail in the first five years. What investors look for is that you wear your failure as a badge of courage and can talk positively about what you have learned.

The Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets were once startups, too, and their journeys to the World Series this season provide valuable lessons.

The Mets were a startup in 1962, filling a huge void in the market that was created when the Giants and Dodgers left New York City for the West Coast. The new team in Queens was in beta until 1969, when the Mets won their first World Series—and that was same year the Royals became a startup. Kansas City was in beta a bit longer, winning their only championship in 1985.

Image: http://www.fastcompany.com

As a kid, Charly Rok, 50, was always wowed whenever she visited the skyscraper where her dad worked as a partner in a law firm.

And much like him, she’s since climbed the corporate ladder to land an enviable position as the VP of public relations for a bridal brand based near Philadelphia.

But despite her high-caliber day job, she always finds time to do PR on a pro bono basis for charitable causes.

Now more than ever in your typical visit to a grocery store (and especially a natural products outlet) you’ll find a large number of products with certifications prominently displayed on the packaging: Kosher, organic, non-GMO, fair trade, and gluten-free are among the most common.

Image: http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu

Kamo Asatryan may very well be one of the best kept secrets in the startup ecosystem. He’s one of a small handful of people who have observed hundreds of mobile apps, thought deeply and scientifically about their mechanics, and determined what they could change to grow faster.

To demonstrate his particular brand of magic: Asatryan’s team recently worked with an app that required users to swipe through four screens explaining the product in-depth before they could sign up. Then the permissions screen literally begged them to let the app access their location data. 60% said no and went on to a dead-end experience.

Reports have warned for years of a critical gap of cybersecurity talent in the federal government.

According to conventional wisdom, the government simply needed to find a way to recruit more tech-savvy, smartphone-wielding, digital natives to help freshen up the ranks of the federal information-security workforce.

However, a new survey reveals reveals the majority of millennials across the globe haven’t received any specialized cybersecurity education and aren’t entirely sure of the typical range of responsibilities involved in a cyber career.