These days you would be hard pressed to find a leader who does not know that a large part of his job is to coach his employees. Nor is it hard to find evidence that the companies with the strongest leadership cultures are those that develop people at every level.

And yet you don’t have to look too far to find managers who ignore this vital part of their job description. Why? The culture in which they work may not insist on it, and many managers also find the idea uncomfortable. The idea of talking one on one to an employee about how she is doing and what she could be doing better makes them uneasy. So they develop rationales for not coaching.

Here are the most common excuses I’ve heard, and my rebuttal to them.

There is a science to site selection. But rarely do the specifics of science itself so directly impact a location choice.

In late April, one day apart, new protease inhibitor drugs developed by both Merck & Co. and by Vertex Pharmaceuticals to treat Hepatitis C in combination with other drugs were to be reviewed by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel. Both companies expect a final decision by the time school’s out for the summer. Hanging in the balance, contingent on the FDA decision, is Vertex’s non-binding letter of intent, signed in January with prominent Boston developer The Fallon Co., to relocate its headquarters to twin office towers in a new US$2-billion downtown Boston waterfront complex called Fan Pier. Backed by incentives from the state and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the project has been in the works for well over two years, delayed in part by Fan Pier’s tenant and financing challenges resulting from the credit crunch. Fallon first broke ground on the overall development in 2007.

The word "innovate" can be traced all the way back to 1440. It comes from the Middle French word "innovacyon," meaning "renewal" or "new way of doing things".

Exactly what innovations actually happened in 1440 (rounder oxcart wheels?) is anybody's guess, but whatever they were, it's likely they improved the quality of life for more than a few people.

These days, the "innovation thing" is something of a no-brainer. Every company worth its low-salt lunch has identified innovation as a core competency needing to be developed.

Who in their right mind (or is it right brain?) can deny the value of improving things? Isn't this what human beings, those grand inventors of the microchip and the chocolate chip, are supposed to do?

Just last month, the U.S. State Department announced that it was shutting down www.America.gov, the website launched to provide cultural and policy content to the world. Instead, the State Department will focus on using social media to get out its message. The aim is to communicate in a more interactive way with today’s networked audiences around the world—like those blogging Egypt’s revolution from Tahrir Square or documenting Syrian unrest on YouTube.

Shutting down your website to communicate solely through social media channels might seem like a crazy idea for any large organization. But then again, there is some logic to it. The Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks receives over ten times as much traffic to its Facebook page (19.4 million unique visitors each month) as to its corporate website (1.8 million). For Coca-Cola, the divergence is even starker: 22.5 million visitors on Facebook vs. just 270,000 to its website—over 80 times as much traffic.

To some of you this will be totally elementary, but it's still good to get a refresh.

Via a Deutsche Bank report, here's a breakdown of bank revenues based on the industry average.

Obviously, the biggest source of income is Net Interest Income.

Here's Deutsche's definition:
The largest component of a bank’s revenue is net interest income (NII)—which accounts for about 65% of revenues on average. NII is the dollar difference between the interest earned on a bank’s earning assets (i.e. loans, securities and other interest earning investments) and the funding cost of a bank’s liabilities—which consists of deposits and borrowings. NII is driven by volumes (i.e. assets) and spreads (net interest margin).

It has been said that in order to be an entrepreneur a person has to be selfish and self-centered so that they can achieve their goal. While success in any field requires dedication and focus it is disingenuous to tar all wannabe entrepreneurs with this rather outdated brush.

The truth is somewhat different. In reality, to become successful a person has to develop a number of characteristics that are all positive and will in fact help that person become a more rounded human.

The bottom line is that becoming an entrepreneur can assist personal growth in a number of ways that are key not just to successful business but also to the enhancement of an individual’s standing.

1. "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

2. "The Wright brother flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility." - Charles Kettering

3. "Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Carroll

4. "In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd." - Miguel de Cervantes

5. "The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do." - Henry Moore

Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of America's energy use, and until we line the coast with wind turbines, a lot of that energy is going to come from coal plants and other dirty sources. So wouldn't it be nice if buildings themeselves could help clean the air?

Alcoa, a company that makes aluminum panels for the construction industry, recently announced a new coating with the overwrought brand name Reyobond with EcoClean. When applied to aluminum panels, the titanium dioxide coating interacts with sunlight to break down the smog-causing compound nitrogen oxide into an innocuous substance that washes off the building in a rain. Alcoa claims that 10,000 square feet of coated aluminum would have the air-cleaning effects of 80 trees.

Facebook's earliest employees, like Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker and Eduardo Saverin, need no introduction.

You may not have heard of the others, but all of them left a valuable mark.

They were responsible for everything you've come to love, like the photo app, the ability to tag friends, and even Facebook's blue/white color scheme.

Many of Facebook's first employees are no longer at the company. Some left to join reputable startups like Twitter; others started their own companies like Quora and YouTube.

Israel was the entrepreneurial miracle of the 1990s. It attracted more venture capital per person than anywhere in the world. Startups popped-up fast, leading to the country having the highest density of tech startups in the world. Through the '90s—and well into the 2000s—the tiny nation produced more Nasdaq-traded tech companies than anywhere else outside of Silicon Valley.

"But a curious thing happened on the way from being a place that had nothing to lose to a place that everyone expected to win," writes TechCrunch senior editor Sarah Lacy in her new book, Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky. "Somehow, as Israel developed more of the ingredients that academics would consider crucial to high-growth company formation, returns from those startups have plummeted." Inc.com's Christine Lagorio recently spoke with Lacy.

Dr Anneli Pauli, from the Directorate General for Research & Innovation, outlines the Commission's Innovation Union initiative to boost smart, sustainable and inclusive growth…

Given the changing demographic profile in Europe and the increasing global competition for investments, markets and talented people, the EU needs to find ways to create millions of new jobs to replace those lost in the financial crisis. The EU also has to safeguard its prosperity by increasing its labour productivity and producing first-class products and services to compensate for its higher wages. This, in turn, will depend to a large extent on its capacity to innovate in products, services, business and social processes. This is why innovation is one of the key strands of the Europe 2020 strategy.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. job growth is driven by startup companies, according to a 2010 Kauffman Foundation study.

But, job seekers who dream of joining a new company hoping it will become the next Starbucks or Google should carefully consider the risks and rewards, says Polly Black, director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University.

"It is very exciting to join a startup. Since it is often an 'all hands on deck' situation, you will have the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the business right away," Black says. However, there is some risk involved and those tempted to accept job offers from startup businesses without a long-term track record need to know the right questions to ask before making the leap. Black explains the five most important things to consider:

1. Passion -- Do you have a real passion for what the small startup company is doing? You will likely be working long hours for little pay, so you need to have a passion for what you are doing.

More than 500 CEOs considered a wide range of criteria, from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment, in our annual ranking of the best states for business. The charts and articles in this special report show how each state fares on the factors most essential for a business-friendly environment—as well as what states are doing to attract and retain companies in the increasingly competitive battle to win site selection.

While the Lone Star State may not be perfect—many leaders would like to see improvements in its education system—it is Periclean Athens compared to California in the eyes of the 550 CEOs surveyed for Chief Executive‘s seventh annual report on the best and worst states in which to do business. It’s the seventh time in seven years running that Texas has led the states, and the seventh year California—to no one’s great surprise—ranked as worst state.

We tend to assume that innovation happens in the same way, everywhere. But countries grow in different ways, and they also create intellectual capital in different ways. As varying innovation models blossom in Asia and the Middle East, we'd be wise to watch and learn. Let's start off with some trends:
Learning from our neighbors

We are seeing a rapid increase in opportunities to plan, design, and construct corporate and academic projects with a focus on science and technology in developing countries throughout the Middle East and Asia. Countries such as China, India, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia have had underdeveloped infrastructure and are now growing at much higher rates than developed countries.

A new census leads us to ask how population has changed, but usually discussion is focused on changes since the last census. But even more interesting is to appreciate the vaster changes over a greater sweep of time, for example: the fifty years since 1960, when the United States had 179 million people, toward the end of the post-war Baby Boom.

Over this fifty year period, the country experienced a tremendous economic expansion and metropolitan growth. The attatched maps and charts display these changes, both in the greatest absolute and relative (percentage) losses and gains. We can then assess areas and regions that changed the most – or the least – and how this pattern differs from the most recent decade.

The smart grid industry’s focus is now shifting to the true purpose of the smart grid movement: applications that will improve the efficiency, reliability and versatility of the electric grid. This report analyzes six key smart grid application trends that will help shape the industry landscape in the years to come: distribution automation, data analytics, demand response, carbon management, home energy management and electric vehicles. The applications that prevail in this new arena will define the smart grid experience for industrial, commercial and residential customers. Along the way, new business opportunities that arise from these applications will become available for the providers of software, systems, devices and services, and enhance customer awareness and control of energy consumption. Companies mentioned in this report include Echelon, Google, EnerNOC, ZigBee and Microsoft. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

Whenever anyone releases a ranking of states that are best or worst for business, someone -- the states at the bottom of the list -- is bound to grumble.

CNBC has taken a more comprehensive look at 10 factors important to businesses in its annual Best States for Business. Each state gets 10 separate rankings in addition to the overall best. Different businesses may need different things, so their owners can better evaluate the states for those factors most important to their needs.

While California ranks 32nd overall, tied with Arkansas, the Golden State is first in technology/innovation and in access to capital (measured only by venture capital investment). However, it has the highest cost of living, tied with Hawaii, ranks 49th in business friendliness (a measure of regulations and legal system) and 48th in cost of business (taxes and commercial lease rates).

The Gillard Government will invest a record $3 billion in the nation’s premier scientific research agency, the CSIRO, through a new Quadrennial Funding Agreement to operate over the four years from 2011.

The Agreement will allow the CSIRO to continue to work with industry, government and the research community to build a stronger economy, a healthier society and a cleaner environment.

Finding room for this funding in a responsible Budget has been difficult, but it demonstrates the value the Government places on this important institution.

The CSIRO is a highly successful national asset, delivering returns by taking research discoveries to the market, increasing Australian industry competitiveness, and improving the evidence base for policy development and government investment.

America's passenger rail is the sad, neglected stepchild of passenger transportation in America. In recent years, there has been growing support to reinvest in trains, especially high-speed ones, as a cheaper and less polluting mode of intercity transportation than driving or flying. The constant argument against more investment is simple: no one takes the train, so why pour more money into it? But perhaps no one takes the train because there are no trains to take? Look at this little animation (from Greater Greater Washington, via Grist), that shows the creeping death that budget cuts have brought to Amtrak service: