Mission statements are fine and employee handbooks are dandy, but what really matters in an organization is the purpose behind it all. That’s the message in a new book from Nick Craig, founder and president of Core Leadership Institute. Whether in business or in our personal lives, a strong sense of purpose offers firm footing on shifting ground. After working closely with 10,000 senior executives over 10 years, Craig learned that for “95% of them, it wasn’t about quitting their job and going to work for Save the Children…. (It) was about realizing that purpose is present in every moment, and we can choose to operate from it or not.” Craig joined the Knowledge@Wharton radio show on SiriusXM to talk about his book, Leading from Purpose: Clarity and the Confidence to Act When It Matters Most.

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

What do the internet, nuclear power, GPS, cloud computing, voice recognition and artificial intelligence all have in common? They were all developed with the help of the U.S. government. As economist Mariana Mazzucato and others have documented, government-led research efforts have been crucial to breakthroughs in a number of key technologies that later yielded big dividends for American industry.

Leaders must increase their capacity to learn amid changing conditions. Take our quiz to find out if you are seeking opportunities to grow. For more insights, see “Leaders: Break Through Your Learning Blockers.”

Instructions: Evaluate each of the following twelve behaviors and rate your experience regarding how consistently you demonstrate.

What skills do you have that sets you apart from other candidates? Tell me why you are the best person for this job? How do you compare yourself to others who might be interested in this role?

Like everyone who has had a job to do, an entrepreneur needs certain skills to get the job done effectively. The term skill encompasses the concept of competence, proficiency, attributes and the ability to do something well. Skills are closely connected to knowledge, expertise, and capability. In some instances, skills are natural talents that have been developed and honed into skill sets. They are nurtured over time and through effort spent on learning, improving and accomplishing specific tasks or behaviors.

A filmmaker testing out a newly launched camera during a kayaking trip captured an incredible sight: a seal slapping a fellow adventurer with a live octopus.

Taiyo Masuda, 23, says he was on a GoPro-funded kayaking trip off the coast of New Zealand on Sept. 22 when he shot the now-viral video.

It happened in an instant: A seal surfaces near a kayaker, octopus in tow. The seal whips its head, smacking the boater with the mollusc. The man is left stunned.

Image: https://www.cnbc.com

Research and development (R&D) is the lifeblood of innovation. Universities, businesses, and federal agencies all leverage R&D to generate discoveries that drive economic development and improve quality of life. For major universities, academic research has always been a core function. However, over the past decade, universities have placed an increased emphasis on commercializing discoveries made through academic research—thus bringing campus discoveries to market more quickly. For businesses, effective R&D is vital to competitiveness as companies look to grow their share of increasingly globalized markets. Lastly, research conducted at federally financed R&D centers ensures the country stays on the leading edge of discovery in important areas like advanced materials, defense, energy, supercomputing, and many more. Together, universities, businesses, and national labs create an ecosystem of innovation through R&D that helps drive societal progress.

Three practices can help differentiate successful companies from those that struggle to gain traction.

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have evolved rapidly in recent years and continue to change how we interact with our surroundings. For companies, IoT brings new ways to monitor and manage objects in the physical world, while massive new streams of data offer better avenues for decision making (often mediated by machines).

One of the big decisions every aspiring entrepreneur has to make is when to quit your current job to devote yourself fulltime to your new startup. Some of you are so committed to the new passion that you quit your day job early, and dedicate all your time and resources to the new venture. Others wait until the new business starts to generate revenue and profit before making the move.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

Canada needs more billion-dollar companies.

According to 15 industry leaders, the lack of such companies is an impediment to growing the Canadian information economy, as stated in a new report produced on behalf of the Liberal government.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced a new $25 million venture capital fund aimed at high-tech startups in the Finger Lakes region.

The Finger Lakes Forward Venture Capital Fund (FLX Fund) will be managed by Excell Technology Ventures, an offshoot of Excell Partners, making early-stage investments ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million, according to an outline of the program.

As the first Entrepreneur in Residence for an Atlanta law firm, I get asked often — what does an EIR do? EIR’s are most commonly successful entrepreneurs whom, not ready to retire, become adjunct university professors — professors with expertise relevant to a syllabus, engaged on a non-tenure-track basis. 

This unique position is energizing for me. It’s the confluence of my entrepreneurial experiences spanning 40+ years. I have the opportunity to return to the heart of Atlanta’s tech community and give back via a firm focused on the same goal — helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Image: https://hypepotamus.com

If you are not an entrepreneur, you likely have no idea that the questions and comments you say to entrepreneurs can make their eyes roll. They range from understandable, to curious to offensive. Yet the result is the same: they are not welcomed and don't help them achieve the success they want.

So how do you know what topics or questions to avoid? Here's a list of the things you should avoid saying to an entrepreneur. I've even proposed some alternative talking points you can use the next time you see that entrepreneur family member, friend or stranger.

In From Silk to Silicon, a colorful history of globalization, Jeffrey E. Garten, former dean of the Yale School of Management, has identified 10 people who fundamentally changed the world over the past millennium by making it smaller, more connected, and otherwise better. The roster of characters includes military genius Genghis Khan and Cyrus Field, the pioneer of the trans-Atlantic telegraph. The individuals profiled were not just thinkers — they were doers. And each ushered in an age that continues to echo loudly today. In the following excerpt, Garten tells the story of the Silicon Valley pioneer and former Intel CEO who passed away at age 79 on March 21, 2016, and “the person most responsible for putting Moore's Law into practice.”

Image: Illustration by Marco Ventura - https://www.strategy-business.com

The ocean is equally as beautiful as it is terrifying. This couldn't have been captured anymore perfectly than in this timelapse video by YouTuber JeffHK. 

In the video, JeffHK documents his 30 day journey from the Red Sea to Hong Kong on a shipping barge. During his adventure, he travels through eight different bodies of water, and stops at ports in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The traveling sessions in between stops are the best parts of the video. It's in these sections where you get to see how gorgeous the stars are, and how chilling thunderstorms can be when you're surrounded by nothing but water.

How do angel investors and angel groups work? Where do you find them as an entrepreneur?

Angel investing has not only become trendy and highly profitable, it has emerged into being a powerful source of fuel for the national economy, jobs, and new innovation. For entrepreneurs, angels have become a primary source of funding, and for many startups, a vital part of their existence. How do angels and groups work? How is this type of fundraising different? How can founders connect with this money?

There is a painting by the German painter Peter von Cornelius (1784-1867) in which one sees Gunther, King of Burgundy, ordering Hagen, a Burgundian warrior, to sink the treasure of the Nibelung. Siegfried, the visionary innovator, will win the Nibelung treasure. Akin to the mythological lineage of the Nibelung, managers hold the vast treasure that consists of customers and consumers. As with Siegfried, visionary innovators will win it.

At the end of a long day, it’s tempting to dive into your social feeds or Netflix queue the minute you’ve finished eating. But back before screens bogarted all our free time, an after-dinner stroll was a popular activity and one associated with improved health and digestion. “Italians have been walking after meals for centuries,” says Loretta DiPietro, a professor of exercise science at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, “so it must be good.”

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DuPont today celebrated the opening of its Silicon Valley Technology Center, welcoming customers, community partners, industry groups and other guests to learn about the company's localized approach to innovation in the Bay Area. The site features DuPont's newest Innovation Center, a dedicated showcase featuring new and exploratory projects, labs to support ideation with on-site prototyping, and flexible meeting spaces that can connect customers to the company's global network of innovators and technical experts.

Higher- and business-education specialists QS Quacquarelli Symonds has released its 2019 Global MBA Ranking, evaluating 251 of the best business schools in the world.

QS ranked programs on employability for graduates, entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes, students' return on investment as measured by post-graduation increases in salary, academic thought leadership, and class and faculty diversity.

The Engine Accelerator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s first fund for so-called tough tech, officially closed at $205.2 million, according to a recent report from the school’s treasurer for the year ended June 30, 2018. The Engine initially announced in September ...

Image: Sail boats sit on a dock at the MIT Sailing Pavilion on the Charles River in front of the Boston skyline on cold winter day in Cambridge, Massachusetts January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder