BY ANN DUNWOODY

When I returned to Fort Bragg in 2000 as the first female general officer ever assigned, it was a big deal in the local media. At the change of command ceremony where I took command of the 1st Corps Support Command (COSCOM) I saw row upon row, column after column of soldiers—of all races, genders, and ethnicities. They were proud, they were a team, and diversity was obvious and thriving.

Image: Gen Ann E. Dunwoody, Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command

BY MARK C. CROWLEY

Have you ever quit a job just to get away from a bad boss? If you have, it turns out you’re in sizable company. According to a April 2015 Gallup study, one in two U.S. workers have at some point in their career felt compelled to make that same difficult choice.

That the business world may be filled with managers who unwittingly drive their people away is at the heart of Gallup’s 50-plus page report "State Of The American Manager: Analytics And Advice For Leaders". What the research reveals is that organizations consistently choose the wrong people for management roles, and pay dearly for it through poor engagement and costly turnover—and the inevitable decline in overall performance.

BY NEAL UNGERLEIDER

It’s no secret that tourists love to snap pictures on the Staten Island ferry. Or that photographers will wander the side streets of east London capturing the latest street art. Everyone knows that Paris’s visitor-friendly arrondissements are flooded with selfie sticks on weekends. Now, a new visualization of more than a decade of Flickr photographs shows exactly what paths photographers make when taking pictures.

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/24431382@N03/4621770959

A recent study measured the annual economic impact of UW–Madison at $15 billion – and highlighted the creation of 311 UW-related start-up companies supporting nearly 25,000 jobs.

Upon release of the study Chancellor Rebecca Blank said, "The University of Wisconsin has thrived because of the investment Wisconsin’s taxpayers and leaders have made over many generations. In turn, we are now a major economic driver. This study shows that there is no doubt that a strong UW–Madison is essential to the growth of Wisconsin’s economy.”

In the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, one new force changed everything. Today our world is undergoing an even more dramatic transition due to the confluence of four fundamental disruptive forces—any of which would rank among the greatest changes the global economy has ever seen. Compared with the Industrial Revolution, we estimate that this change is happening ten times faster and at 300 times the scale, or roughly 3,000 times the impact. Although we all know that these disruptions are happening, most of us fail to comprehend their full magnitude and the second- and third-order effects that will result. Much as waves can amplify one another, these trends are gaining strength, magnitude, and influence as they interact with, coincide with, and feed upon one another. Together, these four fundamental disruptive trends are producing monumental change.

Image: http://www.mckinsey.com

How do you know if you’re an entrepreneur? Well, if you’ve already started your own business, then that’s a pretty big giveaway!

But what if you’re just considering it, but you’re not sure you’re cut out for the task. If so, then read on for the following list of the top 10 qualities that, in my experience, define an entrepreneur.

If you see yourself reflected in at least a few of the items on this list, you’re likely on the right track!

Being an entrepreneur is all I've ever known. After a failed stint at college (it was too slow and all I wanted to do was get out there and make my own way), I started my first business at the age of 18. Back then I don't think I even really knew what an entrepreneur was. It certainly wasn't presented to me as a career choice. In fact, I'm sure my parents lost sleep over my decision, and prayed each night that I'd either go back to college or get a 'real job'.

Starting a business is similar to raising a child; sans a manual for what to expect. As a marketing executive and entrepreneur myself, here are a few pieces of advice for those looking to start their own company–many of which I wish I had heeded early on:

It happens. Maybe you got a great job offer that you’d be crazy to turn down. Or your business partner is getting married and needs to move on. Or, there’s just no path to profitability even after exhausting all available possibilities. Whatever the reason, when the time comes to close your startup, there are a few legal steps you need to take to properly dissolve the business:

Since April is Worcester's Innovation Month, I hope there are readers who have ideas for new businesses. And when entrepreneurs' minds turn towards business ideas, their next question is: How can I raise the money to get my idea off the ground? This topic is of more than academic interest to me. Last week, a Babson student asked me to help him answer this question for his startup, which wants to build an app for connecting employers and workers in a labor-intensive industry that I will not name to protect his idea. And what I have found is that there is no simple answer to his question.

By Beckie Supiano

The Brookings Institution joined a crowded market of efforts to classify colleges with the release on Wednesday of its new "value added" rankings.

The rankings consider how well colleges’ alumni performed on three economic measures: midcareer earnings, student-loan repayment, and "occupational earnings power," the average salary of occupations in which alumni work.

Image: http://chronicle.com

When it comes to becoming your own boss, there are often some misconceptions floating around. Let’s banish a few of the ones that you might be told so that you’ve got the right picture of what to expect as you launch your own business. Don’t Believe These Startup Lies Lie #1: You Don’t Need to Be an Expert in Your Field Yes, you do. Don’t start a restaurant because you like to eat. Make sure you know how to run a food establishment. Being well-versed in your industry is important, otherwise you will learn many expensive newbie lessons. You must be eager to learn. No one can know everything. So invest time in learning the business before diving in.

Image: Pinocchio by Enrico Mazzanti (1852-1910) - the first illustrator (1883) of Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino - colored by Daniel DONNA

I’ve often been asked what I look for in employees — not an unusual question. The answer could get long and drawn out, too. I’ve dealt with hundreds of employees over the years I’ve run my business and, if asked, I can say a lot about it.  What I’m looking for in an employee boils down to these three things: 1. Tell Me the Truth — Always — And Fast Standard boss-employee relationships are (unfortunately) conducive to people telling me what they think I want to hear instead of the truth. It starts early, during the job interview.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the new Apple Watch. This anticipated wearable device has been in high demand and companies are already jumping on the Apple Watch bandwagon. MiTagg is one such company that is looking to not only cash in on the Apple Watch hype but also solve a possible frustration Apple’s new product presents. Namely, that frustration is having yet another device to charge every day.

Just because you have a prototype, you don't have a product. Trust Ayah Bdeir, founder and CEO of littleBits, who knows the challenges that it takes to to go from idea to mass market product. 

LittleBits is a circuitry set that has been stripped of the scary wires and traditional yellow colors and turned into a simple set of modules that anyone from kids to entrepreneurs can use. Some people using littleBits have made everything from a marble sorter to a voice box that plays back a father's recordings.

Image: Wikipedia - Ayah Bderir of LittleBits

By Antonio Regalado | Photographs by Ken Richardson on April 21, 2015

Various powerful new tools for exploring and manipulating the brain have been developed over the last few years. Some use electronics, while others use light or chemicals.

At one MIT lab, materials scientist Polina Anikeeva has hit on a way to manufacture what amounts to a brain-science Swiss Army knife. The neural probes she builds carry light while collecting and transmitting electricity, and they also have tiny channels through which to pump drugs.

After 10 years of helping startup organizations get their footholds and develop their companies, JumpStart’s leaders saw a new need in Cleveland’s economic climate: to help the region’s "scale-ups." These growing small businesses are too big to qualify for start-up funds and expertise from business accelerators but too small to be able to secure loans from banks.

Image: http://freshwatercleveland.com

By The Washington Times - - Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Conservatives and many academics are stepping up their opposition to a Republican-backed patent-reform bill in Congress that they warn will trample on American inventors’ rights in the name of stopping frivolous lawsuits.

Two dozen prominent conservative political groups, led by the influential American Conservative Union, the Club for Growth and the Eagle Forum, sent a letter earlier this year to House Speaker John A. Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Democratic leadership seeking to block floor votes on the so-called Innovation Act.

In the eyes of Americans without college degrees, higher education seems necessary but too expensive.

That is one of the main takeaways in a report released on Monday by the American Enterprise Institute, "High Costs, Uncertain Benefits: What Do Americans Without a College Degree Think About Postsecondary Education?"

The report was based on a survey of more than 1,500 people who lack college degrees about their perception of a college education. It echoed some of the findings of a public-opinion survey, released last week, of broader views of higher education.

On March 25, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules amending Regulation A to implement the provisions of Section 401 of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act). The new rules confirm most of the rules that had been proposed by the SEC in December 2013.

Regulation A+, as the amendment has been called by market observers, expands the current Regulation A exemptions. All offers and sales require registration of the securities offered under the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) unless an exemption applies. Regulation A is such an exemption and, consistent with the intention of the JOBS Act, is an attempt to make it easier for small businesses to raise capital. ”