When the Japanese computer scientist Yukihiro Matsumoto decided to create Ruby, a programming language that has helped build Twitter, Hulu, and much of the modern Web, he was chasing an idea from a 1966 science fiction novel called Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. At the book’s heart is an invented language of the same name that upgrades the minds of all those who speak it. “Babel-17 is such an exact analytical language, it almost assures you technical mastery of any situation you look at,” the protagonist says at one point. With Ruby, Matsumoto wanted the same thing: to reprogram and improve the way programmers think.

One night in 1982, John Mumford was working on an avalanche patrol on an icy Colorado mountain pass when the van carrying him and two other men slid off the road and plunged over a cliff. The other guys were able to walk away, but Mumford had broken his neck. The lower half of his body was paralyzed, and though he could bend his arms at the elbows, he could no longer grasp things in his hands.

Image: http://www.technologyreview.com

You are faced with tons of decisions every day. Sometimes, you need to think quickly and make an immediate call, while other times, it’s more prudent to push the pause button and give the matter more thoughtful consideration.

However, the best option in any given situation isn’t always crystal clear, and may vary depending on issues like the community or work culture or even your mood. Before you make the wrong call, consider these eight questions to help you figure out when it’s best to make a decision on the fly and when you should take your time.

March 20, 2015 Scale Up Milwaukee celebrated regional economic growth with a full-house graduation event of the 15 graduating ventures from the second Scalerator program. The finale featured the graduates from the first Scalerator program, as well as a plethora of VIP supporters, including Mayor Tom Barrett, Barry Mandel, David Lubar, and many others. Unlike other graduation luncheons, this one did not celebrate only the 15 companies who participated in the program; it honored all the actors in the entrepreneurship ecosystem who have positively impacted the growth of the region including large corporations, regional banks, the city, county and state governments, and the region’s universities. John Robinson of the Kauffman Foundation also attended. Many of the nearly 100 participants remarked that having such a broad spectrum of leaders from different sectors gave them a new appreciation of the roles that each played in fostering a much stronger entrepreneurship ecosystem that supports rapid growth of ventures of all sizes and ages.

What's the future of architecture? Ask any architect and you'll probably get a different answer. But the future proposed by architect Marc Kushner, also the founder of Architizer.com, is an attractive one. Breathing buildings, treehouse-like structures—they're all there.

Kushner spoke about his vision, laid out in a new book called The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings, at a lunch during this year's TED conference in Vancouver. During the lunch, he echoed many of the themes from his TED talk in 2014—namely, that we, the general public, will shape that future.

Image: Metropol Parasol, by J. Mayer, is a wooded structure in Seville, Spain. FERNANDO ALDA/DAVID FRANCK

What transforms a conversation from casual advice into a constructive experience? Listening.

Hearing is a basic human function, but listening is an essential tool that a leader uses from the start and develops as she grows. It involves attentive observation of what we are hearing and then the ability to make a judgment about it.

When Lori Senecal offered KBS+ employees a course in venture capital several years ago, the then-CEO wasn’t suggesting they quit to start their own companies. She wanted to ignite their entrepreneurial mojo so they could shape the ad agency’s business model.

Tapping employees to create change is a notion that has been around since managers set up suggestion boxes in break rooms. But turning employees into innovators takes a lot more than collecting a bunch of random ideas on a whiteboard or giving an inspiring speech.

I passed on something referred to us by a close VC friend (who I’ll call Joe) who I’ve done a bunch of investments with over the years. A few minutes later I got the following email from the entrepreneur.

hey brad – 

if you get a moment, i’d love to hear your unvarnished reasons for the denial. thanks for the time…- i remain a huge fan of your blog…….

I get asked regularly for feedback on why we pass on something, especially when we pass after a single email interaction. As with many things, it’s useful to start with your strategy, assuming you have one.

Sure, things may look great now, but it wasn’t long ago that Kendall Square was a biotech ghost town—and the good times might come to an end if we’re not careful. Meanwhile, gene therapy, cell therapy, and microbiome research look poised to make an impact on healthcare—just don’t overlook the hurdles that remain, or underestimate how long it’ll take to clear them.

In other words, we’re making progress. But people should be realistic about that progress—biotech isn’t as easy as making iPhones.

Image: http://www.xconomy.com

When Brenna Haysom took to the stage at the first Capital W: Boston Women’s Venture Capital Summit, it was clear that this gathering of VCs and entrepreneurs was no ordinary conference. The founder of a startup that makes a hangover remedy, she introduced herself by noting,” I am the founder and CEO of Blowfish. And I’m also very pregnant. So if I get a little breathless, don’t be alarmed.” The audience erupted in laughter, with one woman in the audience hooting.

Image: http://fortune.com

Anybody who has kids — or hopes to — wants them to stay out of trouble, do well in school, and go on to do awesome things in the professional world. 

While there isn't a set recipe for raising successful children, psychology research has pointed to a handful of factors that predict success.

Image: Image credit: Personal Creations | Flickr 

Do you remember the first time self development became important to you?

I do. I was 7 years old and I was in love with basketball. My mother had bought me a book called Rare Air, the autobiography of Michael Jordan. 

Through this book, Michael Jordan brought me into his world. He shared stories of what inspired him, the emotions he felt, how he handled the failures and rejections and how he discovered his passion.

Are you bored in your job, unchallenged by your work and have an idea for a great new business you just can’t get past your boss’s door? Maybe it’s time to walk out the door and go it alone.

Starting your own business can reap deep personal and professional rewards, but if you take the leap, your days of punching the clock on a regular schedule will end. If it’s work you love and you crave the freedom of operating under your own steam, starting your own small business will energize your career and make the long hours that await you melt away.

Over the past decade, I’ve become something of an expert in personal disruption, after quitting a high-profile position on Wall Street, pursuing several entrepreneurial paths, co-founding two investment firms, and reinventing myself as a writer and speaker. If you are going to disrupt your career there are a lot of questions. But maybe the biggest hurdle is the “can” question: “Can I afford to make the change”?

We all want it both ways: to get what we want from a tough negotiation and to walk away with our relationship intact. The good news is that kind of outcome is possible. But how exactly do you drive a hard bargain while also employing soft skills? How do you advocate for what you want without burning important bridges?

The stage has been set for a disruptive return of the “Small IPO” to the private equity marketplace (Seed, Series A, B etc.).

This go-around, the liquidity boom will not be the exclusive provenance of the Four Horsemen (Alex Brown Inc., Hambrecht & Quist, Robertson Stephens & Co., and Montgomery Securities), the four boutique investment banks that drove liquidity for Silicon Valley during the boom.

Image: http://medcitynews.com

The world of healthcare investing changes daily. One of the biggest (and best) opportunities for medical device, biotech and pharma companies to find funding today is through an increasingly established group of corporate venture capitalists.

But which ones are the best? What are they like to deal with? We’d like your help in getting those answers.

Image: http://medcitynews.com

“Ask me for anything,” Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked, “but time.”1 Board members today also don’t have that luxury. Directors remain under pressure from activist investors and other constituents, regulation is becoming more demanding, and businesses are growing more complex. McKinsey research suggests that the most effective directors are meeting these challenges by spending twice as many days a year on board activities as other directors do.2

Venture capitalists who are busy chasing unicorns, or companies with valuations of $1 billion or more, shouldn’t lose sight of the need to manage their overall portfolios, says fund-of-funds manager FLAG Capital Management.

While this advice might seem obvious on the surface, managers of venture funds face immense pressure to keep betting on potentially huge winners rather than cashing in some chips to boost fund performance in the short run.

Image: http://blogs.wsj.com

New co-working hubs are appearing across all cities.

They are filled by young businesses that can't justify an office of their own but require a business address, a place to hold meetings that isn't laden with pushchairs, and a regular place to work that isn't hindered by the distractions of home life.

Image: Innovation Birmingham provides an incubation hub for businesses at Faraday Wharf